SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- All seven members of the K-pop sensation BTS have renewed contracts with their agency, BigHit Music, for the second time, music industry sources said Monday. The sources said all seven members -- RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook -- have recently signed the new contracts with the agency. The signing comes after Hybe, the parent company for BigHit, announced in a regulatory filing Wednesday that its board has approved a plan to renew contracts with the group. Industry experts say the smooth renewal of contracts eliminated Hybe's biggest "risk" factor or uncertainty by clearing the way for BTS' plan to reunite as a group in 2025 after taking a hiatus to complete its members' mandatory military service. BTS debuted under Big Hit Entertainment, the predecessor of Hybe, in 2013. The members first renewed their contracts in October 2018. BTS has become the first K-pop act to top the U.S. Billboard's Hot 100 main singles chart and t

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SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea will allow the entry of foreigners to the country from Monday, Chinese state media reported, lifting its border closure to foreign nationals for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. China's state broadcaster CCTV reported Pyongyang authorities said they will allow foreigners to enter the country after a two-day quarantine period upon arrival, without specifying the source of the announcement. North Korean state media has not yet reported on the move. North Korea has slowly been easing its border curbs imposed at the start of the pandemic in early 2020 by allowing delegations from China and Russia in July and allowing the re-entry of North Koreans from abroad last month. Earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un led a delegation of high-ranking officials to visit Russia for a summit with President Vladimir Putin and sent North Korean athletes to the 2023 Asian Games which opened in China's Hangzhou on Sunday.

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By Kim Boram HANGZHOU, China, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Kwon Soon-woo crashed out of the second round of the men's singles tennis at the 19th Asian Games on Monday. Kwon, placing 112th in world rankings, was upset by No. 636 Kasidit Samrej of Thailand 3-6, 7-5, 4-6 in a second round match at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China. Since returning from a shoulder injury that kept him sidelined for six months earlier this year, Kwon has suffered six straight defeats on the world stage, including the U.S. Open in August. The 25-year-old Korean tennis player had been considered a gold medal contender in the men's singles at the ongoing Asiad for his career of two ATP titles and a third-round finish at a Grand Slam tournament. He has been ranked as high as world No. 52. He will vie for the men's doubles gold medal with his best friend in tennis, Hong Seong-chan. brk@yna.co.kr

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By Lee Minji SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- Defense Minister nominee Shin Won-sik said Monday that a landmark inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement should be discarded as it is a "wrong" accord that has weakened the military's combat power amid North Korea's continued military provocations. The Comprehensive Military Agreement was signed in 2018 when then President Moon Jae-in traveled to Pyongyang for summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The deal is designed to dial down military tensions, prevent accidental clashes and build mutual trust. The effectiveness of the accord, however, has increasingly been questioned recently, as Pyongyang has repeatedly taken military actions disregarding it, while pressing ahead to advance its nuclear and missile programs. "The September 19 military agreement is a wrong accord that has increased our military's vulnerability," Rep. Shin of the ruling People Power Party said in a written statement to the parliamentary de

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(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more info; CHANGES photos) SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, China and Japan held a series of meetings in Seoul on Monday ahead of their trilateral high-level talks this week to discuss resuming the long-stalled summit of their leaders. On Tuesday, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Byung-won is set to hold the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) with Takehiro Funakoshi, Japan's senior deputy foreign minister, and Nong Rong, China's assistant minister of foreign affairs, in Seoul to discuss restarting the cooperation mechanism among the three neighbors. Ahead of the three-way talks, Chung held separate bilateral talks with his Japanese and Chinese counterparts on Monday, a ministry official said, amid a push to resume a possible trilateral summit. Separately, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin also met with Chung, Funakoshi and Nong at the ministry earlier in the day. "Korea, Japan and China are close neighbors that cannot be

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(ATTN: UPDATES with Yoon's nosebleed during meeting; CHANGES headline) By Lee Haye-ah SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol bled from the nose while leading a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office on Monday, a government official said, attributing it to his intense schedule during and after his trip to New York last week. Yoon was in New York from Monday to Friday, attending the U.N. General Assembly and meeting with 47 heads of state on the sidelines, including through 41 bilateral summits. "The president undertook a murderous schedule of bilateral meetings in New York and continued the intense schedule with public livelihood events immediately after returning home, so it appears he overworked," the official said. The nosebleed occurred during the closed-door portion of the Cabinet meeting after Yoon relayed the results of his New York trip on live television. In the broadcast remarks, he instructed the government to take active measures to follow up

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SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States kicked off a combined naval exercise in the East Sea on Monday to reinforce readiness against growing military threats from North Korea, the Navy said. The three-day exercise involved nine vessels and two patrol aircraft from the two sides, including two South Korean submarines, the ROKS Yulgok Yi I destroyer, the USS Shoup Aegis-equipped destroyer and the USS Robert Smalls cruiser, the Navy said. The Navy said the anti-submarine warfare and live-fire drills were designed to strengthen the allies' combined operational capabilities and interoperability amid evolving nuclear and missile threats from the North, including its recent claimed launch of a space launch vehicle and unveiling of a new submarine. "This exercise will serve as an opportunity to effectively deter and respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and further solidify the combined defense posture," R. Adm. Kim In-ho, who led the South Kor

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By Lee Haye-ah SEOUL, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a stern warning against North Korea on Tuesday, saying the regime will be brought to an end by the South Korea-U.S. alliance if it uses nuclear weapons. Yoon made the remark during a speech marking the 75th Armed Forces Day, which is celebrated on Oct. 1 and commemorates the founding of the country's armed forces. "The North Korean regime must clearly realize that nuclear weapons will never be able to guarantee its security," he said during a commemorative ceremony held at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of the capital, noting the regime has been upgrading its nuclear and missile capabilities in defiance of the international community's warnings and "blatantly threatening" to use nuclear weapons. "This constitutes an existential threat to our people and a grave challenge to world peace," he continued. "Based on battle-ready combat capabilities and a solid readiness posture, our military will im

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SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung will attend an upcoming court hearing on his arrest warrant on corruption charges, his party said Monday. The hearing to be held Tuesday at the Seoul Central District Court will mark his first public appearance since ending a 24-day hunger strike on Saturday. Lee, the chair of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), will be accompanied by his lawyer for the hearing, DP spokesperson Kwon Chil-seung said in a briefing. Lee has been under medical treatment after he pulled out of the hunger strike in protest of what he called the "incompetent and violent" government of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Should the court issue the warrant, it would deal a serious blow to Lee's leadership and the main opposition party ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for April. The former DP presidential candidate has been accused of breach of trust, bribery and other charges stemming from his time as mayor of Seongnam, south

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(ATTN: RECASTS paras 2, 8) By Song Sang-ho WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday military cooperation between North Korea and Russia undermines global peace, highlighting America's "ironclad" security commitment to South Korea. Blinken made the remarks amid concerns that a rare summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month might have led to an arms deal that observers fear could help strengthen Pyongyang's military capabilities and support Moscow's war operations in Ukraine. "Beyond the (missile) launches themselves, the DPRK threats to broader security were demonstrated clearly by Kim Jong-un's visit to Moscow this month," Blinken said during a forum on the South Korea-U.S. alliance co-hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Korea Foundation. DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "The DPRK i

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