North Korea condemns arrival of US nuclear-powered sub in Busan SEOUL, February 11 (AJP) - North Korea on Tuesday condemned the arrival of a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine in Busan the previous day. The USS Alexandria, a Los Angeles-class attack submarine, docked at a naval base in the southern port city to resupply and provide rest for its crew. Commissioned in 1991, the Alexandria is making its first visit to South Korea. "We express grave concern over the U.S. dangerous hostile military act that can lead the acute military confrontation in the region around the Korean peninsula to an actual armed force conflict," the official state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, quoting a defense ministry spokesperson as saying. The spokesperson also denounced it as "a clear expression of the U.S. invariable hysteria for confrontation" with Pyongyang. North Korea has vehemently protested the presence of U.S. strategic assets and joint military exercises with Seoul, claiming that they threaten "regional stability." Meanwhile, this year's first joint live-fire drills between South Korea and the U.S. are currently underway in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province. 2025-02-11 14:25:58

South Korea adds more medals in speed skating at Harbin Asian Winter Games SEOUL, February 10 (AJP) - Speed skater Kim Jun-ho won bronze in the men's 500-m race at this year's Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China which kicked off last Friday. He clocked in at 35.03 seconds, securing third place behind China's Gao Tingyu (34.95 seconds) and Japan's Wataru Morishige (34.97 seconds). This was his second bronze medal, having also won in the 100-m race last Saturday. Later in the day, Kim along with Cha Min-kyu and Cho Sang-hyeok won silver in the men's team sprint. In snowboarding, Kang Dong-hun secured another bronze medal in the men's big air event, following his bronze-medal finish in the men's slopestyle event last Saturday. Meanwhile, South Korean speed skaters missed out on a medal in the women's 3,000-m event, with medals remaining elusive in recent years. Kim Bo-reum's silver medal in the 2017 Sapporo Games remains the best result so far. As of Monday, South Korea remains second in the overall gold-medal count with a total of 11 gold, 10 silver, and nine bronze medals, trailing behind host country China, which secured 21 gold, 18 silver, and 15 bronze medals. 2025-02-10 17:48:40

Acting President seeks phone call with Trump SEOUL, February 10 (AJP) - Acting President Choi Sang-mok is seeking to have a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Monday. Choi has been handling state affairs after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law debacle late last year. Seoul has made a request through diplomatic channels, according to the ministry. "It is expected to hear from the U.S. side, once arrangements are made," a ministry spokesperson told reporters. When Trump began his first term in 2017, South Korea was in the midst of a similar political turmoil with former disgraced President Park Geun-hye facing impeachment over a massive influence-peddling and corruption scandal, causing the first phone call between the two countries to come belatedly. Trump spoke with then-Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn about 10 days after taking office. Since his inauguration last month, Trump has met with a number of global leaders including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. He has also spoken by phone with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, there have been no official phone calls between Seoul and Washington yet. Meanwhile, working-level discussions between the two countries are expected in the coming weeks. National security adviser Shin Won-sik is set to visit the U.S. later this month, while Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul is preparing for a bilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 2025-02-10 17:17:13

Ex-first lady cleared of allegations over India trip and luxury jacket SEOUL, February 7 (AJP) - Former First Lady Kim Jung-sook has been cleared of allegations of abuse of power and embezzlement of state funds. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said on Friday that it dropped charges against Kim, the wife of former President Moon Jae-in, over allegations related to her solo trip to India and her handling of a luxury jacket worn during a state visit to France. "We conducted a thorough investigation, questioning multiple individuals and reviewing relevant materials, and found no legal misconduct," prosecutors said. The investigation began after a complaint was filed in December 2023 by Lee Jong-bae, a Seoul city official. He accused Kim of abusing her power and misusing state funds for her 2018 trip to India's Taj Mahal, claiming it was for personal purposes. She was also accused of improperly retaining a Chanel jacket worn during a 2018 state visit to Paris, which was reportedly loaned for the occasion, and of taking private swimming lessons that were reportedly arranged through a presidential security official. But prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to support these allegations. As for the India trip, they said that it could not be considered a personal trip, as the Indian government had repeatedly requested her attendance. 2025-02-07 17:49:30

Singer Song Dae-kwan dies of heart attack SEOUL, February 7 (AJP) - Singer Song Dae-kwan died of a heart attack on Friday. He was at 78. According to his agency Starlineup Entertainment, Song, who had been hospitalized several times this year, felt unwell the day before and was rushed to a hospital, but died while receiving treatment. Making his debut in 1967, Song shot to fame with his iconic song "Sunny Day" in 1975, ending a decade-long period of obscurity. He remained popular among older fans, mostly with the country's old-style elegiac songs, often called "trot." In the later years of his life, he was once embroiled in a fraud case in 2013 due to his wife's failure to invest in real estate. 2025-02-07 16:00:57

Webtoon-based anime 'True Beauty' to return with second season SEOUL, February 7 (AJP) - Webtoon-based anime "True Beauty" will return with its second season, according to StudioN, an affiliate of South Korea's largest portal Naver. The anime, adapted from Naver's hit webtoon series by Lim Ju-kyung, known by her pen name Yaongyi, is expected to be available on American streaming platform Crunchyroll sometime this year, with an exact release date yet to be decided. When the first season was released in September last year, the 13-episode series rapidly ranked among the top 20 most-watched shows on Crunchyroll, which has more than 120 million subscribers in over 200 countries across the world. The hit webtoon series, which was originally uploaded on Naver from 2018 to 2023 and garnered over 6.4 million views, tells the story of a teenage girl who learns makeup skills to transform herself and gain confidence after being bullied because of her looks. "As the huge popularity of the first season of 'True Beauty' suggests, webtoon-based anime are gaining traction overseas. We will do our best to make the second season even better," a StudioN staffer said. 2025-02-07 15:29:42

Rampant human rights violations continue in North Korea, fresh report reveals SEOUL, February 6 (AJP) - Despite international pressure and condemnation, human rights violations remain rampant in North Korea, a recent UN report reveals. Based on testimonies from 175 North Korean defectors between November 2022 and October 2024, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) disclosed its findings on Wednesday, ahead of the upcoming UN session in Geneva later this month. More than half of them said that they had suffered various forms of abuse including forced labor, food shortages, and inhumane treatment at detention facilities. They also recounted that their telephones and electronic devices had been "frequently wiretapped." Their testimonies also revealed that those "considered 'criminals' for accessing or distributing prohibited content were often subjected to public trials reportedly designed to intimidate the population and received disproportionate punishments, including in a few cases execution by firing squad." Despite these revelations, OHCHR insisted that its efforts to improve human rights "appears to be known" in the renegade country, adding that the "treatment of persons in detention had slightly improved, reportedly due to international scrutiny." Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized the United Nations, while signing an executive order to withdraw from several UN bodies. "It's not being well run, to be honest and they're not doing the job," he said. 2025-02-06 16:44:35

Actor Son Suk-ku most favored star in advertising SEOUL, February 4 (AJP) - Actor Son Suk-ku appeared most frequently in TV commercials last year, according to an analysis released by an IT startup on Tuesday. IGAWorks analyzed about 9.5 million users of telecom KT's internet protocol television (IPTV) service and satellite subscribers to calculate data, also using its own mobile algorithm it developed. It found that Son was the most sought-after model with 6.96 billion ad exposures, followed by actress Go Youn-jung (6.64 billion) and actor Namgoong Min (6.49 billion). Son, who gained fame for his role in the 2022 hit crime film "The Roundup," has been appearing in ads for various goods and brands including beer, health supplements, cars, and other retail products. Other stars who appealed the most to advertisers and endorsed ad deals were actors Ma Dong-seok and Cha Eun-woo, as well as actresses Lee Na-young and Lee Bo-young. Also included is former figure skater Kim Yu-na, who still maintains star power in advertising. 2025-02-04 17:13:13

MBC to conduct internal probe into ex-employee's death amid workplace bullying allegations SEOUL, February 4 (AJP) - MBC is set to launch an internal investigation into the death of its former employee on Wednesday, according to the terrestrial broadcaster. Oh Yoanna, formerly of an ex-girl band trainee, who joined MBC as a weathercaster in 2021, died in September last year. Little was known about the death of the 28-year-old until last week, when her family belatedly revealed that she had left a lengthy suicide note on her mobile phone. It took them about three months to unlock the device due to a passcode. Her sordid memo in her final moments reportedly contains complaints about workplace bullying by her superiors and peers, making her work environment unbearable, which may have caused her mental suffering. MBC, which had remained nonchalant, claiming that Oh never raised her grievances with the company, has now formed a team to conduct a probe amid growing criticism for failing to take any action. Oh's family claimed that MBC "tried to cover up" the truth behind her death and urged a thorough investigation. Police have also launched an investigation into the case after her family filed a lawsuit against two MBC employees who reportedly led the bullying. Meanwhile, Oh's co-worker Kim Ga-young, who is accused of being one of the bullies, voluntarily stepped down from a radio program she had been appearing on. Kim and three other MBC employees allegedly involved in the bullying have declined to comment so far. 2025-02-04 15:45:22