Vietnamese prime minister to meet Korean business leaders during Seoul visit

SEOUL, June 25 (AJU PRESS) - Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will meet with Korean business leaders next week during his visit to Seoul aimed at boosting economic cooperation between the two countries, corporate sources said. Chinh will attend the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum, organized by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul next Monday. The forum will be attended by about 300 Korean participants, including Minister of Trade, I

June 25, 2024

PHOTOS: Korea hosts international conference on carbon reduction

SEOUL, June 25 (AJU PRESS) – The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency opened the two-day Global Net Zero Connection 2024 conference in Seoul on Monday to discuss international cooperation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. About 160 representatives from seven countries, four international organizations, and 60 domestic and foreign companies are participating in the event, which includes forums, inter-government talks and business consul

June 25, 2024

Opinion: Escalating Israel-Hezbollah clashes threaten to spark regional war and force US into conflict with Iran

SEOUL, June 25 (AJU PRESS) - Months of relentless exchanges between Israel and Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah have seen mass civilian evacuations and widespread death, injury and destruction. The violence has worsened since early June, accompanied by increasingly heated rhetoric. Both sides have prevented the tit-for-tat attacks from escalating into a full-blown war, recognizing the likely catastrophic consequences. The question is whether this fragile containment can hold i

June 25, 2024

PHOTOS: Seoul officials, military leaders discuss anti-drone defense system

SEOUL, June 24 (AJU PRESS) – The Seoul city government hosted a forum on the defense of the capital against drone attacks from North Korea on Monday, involving government officials, military leaders and security experts. The conference took place amid heightened tensions across the border after North Korea recently sent hundreds of balloons carrying garbage to the South, which raised alarms about the potential danger of unmanned flying vehicle attacks from Pyongyang. The forum focuse

June 24, 2024

King Sejong Institute set to open more Korean classes overseas

SEOUL, June 24 (AJU PRESS) - Korea will open more Korean-language centers overseas to encourage more foreigners to learn Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Monday. Named after Sejong the Great (1387~1450) who invented Hangeul, the state-run King Sejong Institute opened its first center in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in 2007 to promote Korean language and culture globally. As of 2023, there were some 248 institutes in about 85 countries, with som

June 24, 2024

Battery factory fire in South Korea kills 22, mostly Chinese workers

SEOUL, June 24 (AJU PRESS) – At least 22 people, mostly Chinese migrant workers, were killed in a fire that swept through a lithium battery manufacturing plant in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, on Monday, firefighters said. Eight others were injured, including two seriously, and one person was unaccounted for. The blaze started at 10:31 a.m. at a three-story factory building owned by Aricell, a local primary battery maker, in the industrial city in Gyeonggi Province. The cau

June 24, 2024

Kara set to return with new album next month

SEOUL, June 24 (AJU PRESS) - K-pop girl group Kara will resume their activities with the release of a new album next month. Currently consisting of five members - Park Gyu-ri, Han Seung-yeon, Heo Young-ji, Kang Ji-young and Nicole, Kara will reunite for the album slated for release in July, according to the five-member band's management agency last week. Their return to the K-pop music scene comes nearly two years after they released a special album in November 2022 to celebr

June 24, 2024

One dead, mass casualties feared in battery factory fire in South Korea

SEOUL, June 24 (AJU PRESS) - A fire broke out at a battery manufacturing plant in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, on Monday, leaving at least one worker dead and six others injured, authorities said. Officials fear the casualty count may rise, as an estimated 23 people, including 20 foreign nationals and two Koreans, are believed to be trapped inside the facility. The blaze started at 10:31 a.m. at a factory operated by Aricell in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. The cause of the

June 24, 2024

NewJeans' Japanese debut album tops Oricon chart 

SEOUL, June 24 (AJU PRESS) - K-pop girl group NewJeans topped Japan's major music chart with their Japanese debut album. The quintet's four-track album, "Supernatural," ascended to No. 1 on the Oricon's daily singles chart on June 21, immediately after its release and remained there the following day. First released in 1968, the chart serves as one of key indicators for gauging the popularity of songs and albums in the island country. "Supernatural&q

June 24, 2024

500 yoga practitioners gather in southern Seoul to celebrate 10th International Yoga Day

SEOUL, June 24 (AJU PRESS) - Despite heavy showers, 500 yoga practitioners and enthusiasts gathered last Saturday at COEX, a massive underground shopping mall complex in Seoul's southern district of Gangnam, to celebrate the 10th International Yoga Day. The event, jointly hosted by the Embassy of India to Korea and the Korea Yoga Association (KYA), was attended by Indian Ambassador Amit Kumar and KYA President Cheon Jun-pil, who greeted guests and yoga practitioners at the ope

June 24, 2024