SEOUL, April 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities believe North Korea is ready to roll out a new 3,000-ton submarine, only waiting for the right timing, sources said Sunday. The assessment comes after a U.S. think tank said the North has moved a submersible missile test barge at its missile test site to a different position, possibly indicating an upcoming test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). "Both South Korea and U.S. intelligence authorities made the assessment that North Korea has already finished building the 3,000-ton submarine unveiled in July 2019," according to sources. "The authorities assess that North Korea is reviewing the right timing to roll out the submarine for a strategic effect, including maximizing pressure against the United States," a source said. The source added that the North could reveal the submarine at a launching ceremony and actually roll out an SLBM, such as the Pukguksong-3. Last month, 38 North

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(ATTN: RECASTS headline; TRIMS; ADDS details throughout; CHANGES photos) SEOUL, April 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Sunday decided to resume administering AstraZeneca vaccines to eligible recipients after temporarily putting the program on hold amid growing concerns over its safety. The use of AstraZeneca's vaccine will resume Monday, except for those aged 30 and below, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). South Korea earlier put the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine for people under age 60, special education instructors and school nurses on hold, after the country reported three cases of blood clots among recipients of the jabs, with two of the patients in their 20s. "While we have found three cases of blood clots so far, we have reached a conclusion that they cannot be considered as cases of side effects," KDCA Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong said, pointing out that the decision was made on scientific grounds. South Korea earlier made a tenta

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SEOUL, April 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is closely monitoring North Korea's military moves in coordination with the United States, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday, amid signs of activity at the North's main shipyard used to develop submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). According to 38 North, commercial satellite imagery of the North's Sinpo Shipyard indicates that a missile canister for the submarine missile test barge has likely been removed, possibly for maintenance or for the replacement of a new canister or launch frame to accommodate larger SLBMs. "Our military has been closely tracking and monitoring North Korea's military moves, while the South Korean and the U.S. intelligence authorities have been maintaining close cooperation," JCS spokesperson Col. Kim Jun-rak told a regular briefing. "Keeping various possibilities in mind, we maintain a readiness posture," he added. Asked about any signs that North Korea is ready to launch a new 3,0

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(ATTN: UPDATES with more details on vaccinations in paras 12-18; ADDS photo) SEOUL, April 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 600 for the first time in six days Monday partly due to fewer tests over the weekend, amid looming concerns over the fourth wave of the pandemic. The country reported 587 more COVID-19 cases, including 560 local infections, raising the total caseload to 110,146, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Monday's figure was down from 614 the previous day, but it was still high given fewer tests conducted over the weekend. The daily figure hovered over 600 in the past four days as people increased their activities in spring, raising concerns over another wave of the pandemic. The country added two more deaths, raising the total to 1,770. Last week, South Korea decided to maintain the current level of social distancing rules through May 2 to contain the virus, adding more restrictions

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SEOUL, April 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign ministry voiced "grave concerns" Monday over Japan's decision, expected this week, to release contaminated water from its wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. Tokyo appears set to formally announce the final decision in a meeting of related ministers on Tuesday, according to media reports, despite strong opposition from the Japanese fishery industry and concerns from neighboring countries. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in a lower house committee earlier in the day that the government cannot put off the decision any longer and that he wants to finalize the decision "within days". "Our government expresses grave concerns as the decision can have direct and indirect impact on the safety of our people and the surrounding environment," South Korean foreign ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said. "It will be difficult to accept if the Japanese side decides to release the contaminated water fr

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(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; ADDS details in throughout; RECONSTRUCTS) SEOUL, April 12 (Yonhap) -- Newly elected Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Monday the city will look for ways to allow small businesses, hurt by prolonged COVID-19 restrictions, to operate longer hours and asked the central government to approve COVID-19 self-testing kits to support the plan. "Many neighborhood businesses, which are the backbone of Seoul's economy, have been collapsing. ... The fundamental solution is to allow them to run their businesses," Oh said during an online coronavirus briefing at the city government. The city will work on "shifting the paradigm to 'mutually beneficial' virus restrictions, away from those that force small businesses to be the one who makes all the sacrifices," he said, adding that the plan was intended to minimize negative impact on small businesses throughout the protracted health crisis. The move comes in response to growing complaints from small businesses, su

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SEOUL, April 12 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in warned Monday that South Korea may be drawn into an "explosive" wave of COVID-19 infections if it fails to contain the current phase of the pandemic. "It's a perilous situation that could lead to an explosive pandemic if we let our guard down," he stressed during an emergency interagency meeting on responding to the coronavirus. The Cheong Wa Dae session was attended by top government officials, including Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol and Jung Eun-kyeong, director of the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). What's most important at the current phase is to locate "hidden people with infections" who appear to be everywhere, according to the president. Moon reaffirmed the government's zero-tolerance policy against the violation of social distancing regulations. The government would have no other choice but to raise the alert level in spite of the burden on the economy and people's livelihoods if the coron

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SEOUL, April 12 (Yonhap) -- Newly elected Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Monday the city will devise its own coronavirus restriction guidelines to minimize negative impacts on small businesses amid the prolonged health crisis. "Many neighborhood businesses, which are the backbone of Seoul's economy, have been collapsing. ...The fundamental solution is to allow them to run their businesses," Oh said during an online coronavirus briefing at the city government. The city will work on "shifting the paradigm to 'mutually beneficial' virus restrictions, away from those that force small businesses to be the one who makes all the sacrifices," he said. The move comes in response to growing complaints from small businesses, such as restaurants, gyms, bars and cafes, which have been reeling from strict business restrictions led by the central government. Business owners have claimed they have been disproportionately hurt by what they called the government's inconsistent, confusing and

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(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 6, 17, 19, 26, 28-29; CHANGES photos) SEOUL, April 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 600 for the first time in six days Monday partly due to fewer tests over the weekend, amid looming concerns over the fourth wave of the pandemic. The country reported 587 more COVID-19 cases, including 560 local infections, raising the total caseload to 110,146, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Monday's figure was down from 614 the previous day, but it was still high given fewer tests conducted over the weekend. The daily figure hovered over 600 in the past four days as people increased their activities in spring, raising concerns over another wave of the pandemic. The country added two more deaths, raising the total to 1,770. More transmissible variant cases are also straining the country's virus fight. The nation confirmed 49 more variant cases from Britain, Sou

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SEOUL, April 11 (Yonhap) -- A man has been sentenced to six years in prison for selling marijuana he smuggled in from the United States using an unmanned parcel locker, judicial sources said Sunday. According to the sources, the Seoul Central District Court recently handed down the prison term to a 29-year-old man, whose identity has been withheld, on charges of violating the Narcotics Act. He is accused of buying marijuana from U.S.-based drug dealers he met on the dark web, an area of the internet that is not accessible through regular search engines and selling some of it. The dealers hid the cannabis, which is classified as an illegal drug in South Korea, in shampoo bottles and shipped them internationally to an unmanned parcel locker here, according to the prosecution. Prosecutors charged the man with buying a total of 600 grams of marijuana over three occasions in 2019, although police said they seized more than 1 kilogram of the drug when they apprehended him.

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