(ATTN: DELETES repeated quote in 2nd to last para) By Choi Soo-hyang SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rode a white horse to visit Mount Paekdu, the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula considered the birthplace of his late father, slamming U.S. sanctions and calling for greater "self-reliance" efforts to frustrate them, state media reported Wednesday. Kim has visited the mountain, considered one of the peninsula's most sacred places, ahead of big political or diplomatic decisions and events, and the latest trip has spawned speculation about whether another big decision might be forthcoming. The leader "climbed up Mount Paekdu, riding a white horse through the first snow," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, releasing a series of photos of him riding a horse running up the snow-covered mountain. Kim also visited a special tourist zone under construction in Samjiyon County at the foot of the mountain, and lashed out at the United States f

View Option

SHARE LIKE

(ATTN: ADDS unification ministry's comment at bottom, more quotes, photos; minor edits) By Choi Soo-hyang SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rode a white horse to visit Mount Paekdu, the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula considered the birthplace of his late father, slamming U.S. sanctions and calling for greater "self-reliance" efforts to frustrate them, state media reported Wednesday. Kim has visited the mountain, considered one of the peninsula's most sacred places, ahead of big political or diplomatic decisions and events, and the latest trip has spawned speculation about whether another big decision might be forthcoming. The leader "climbed up Mount Paekdu, riding a white horse through the first snow," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, releasing a series of photos of him riding a horse running up the snow-covered mountain. Kim also visited a special tourist zone under construction in Samjiyon County at the foot of the moun

View Option

SHARE LIKE

SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- When South Korea's biggest annual art show, the Korean International Art Fair (KIAF), was on its course at the COEX convention center in southern Seoul on Sept. 26, a tall young man came to the venue, his face shaded under a cap. He turned to the show's booth allotted to Johyun Gallery and stood planted for a long while in front of flower and bird paintings by Korean master painter Kim Chong-hak. A gallery employee walked him through the collection, but it was only after the man left the exhibition that the employee found out that the visitor was RM, the leader of K-pop global sensation BTS. RM again showed up unannounced for a Korean art exhibition at the Jeongdong 1928 Art Center in central Seoul on Oct. 5, where he stayed two hours to savor a calligraphy work by legendary Korean painter Kim Whan-ki and some 70 more Korean paintings. Prohibitively hectic global engagements, including a concert for which RM and the six other BTS members fle

View Option

SHARE LIKE

(ATTN: UPDATES with KCNA's commentary in last 3 paras) By Choi Soo-hyang SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rode a white horse to visit Mount Paekdu, the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula considered the birthplace of his late father, slamming U.S. sanctions and calling for greater "self-reliance" efforts to frustrate them, state media reported Wednesday. Kim has visited the mountain, considered one of the peninsula's most sacred places, ahead of big political or diplomatic decisions and events, and the latest trip has spawned speculation about whether another big decision might be forthcoming. The leader "climbed up Mount Paekdu, riding a white horse through the first snow," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, releasing a series of photos of him riding a horse running up the snow-covered mountain. Kim also visited a special tourist zone under construction in Samjiyon County at the foot of the mountain, and lashed out at the Unite

View Option

SHARE LIKE

SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- The bizarre show has finally ended, albeit with an unexpected twist. South Korea's scoreless draw with North Korea in their World Cup qualifier in Pyongyang on Tuesday wasn't the result they had hoped for, but at least it brought a merciful end to the overriding sense of strangeness surrounding the much-anticipated contest. The Group H match in the second round of the Asian qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup was South Korean men's first away match in North Korea in 29 years. The expectation for the rare Korean derby had been building up since the two Koreas were placed in the same group in July. The two sides were also in the same group in two straight qualifying rounds for the 2010 World Cup. In regional qualifiers, teams play each other twice in a home-and-away format, but the two scheduled home matches for North Korea against South Korea were held in Shanghai instead. North Korea refused to display the South Korean national flag or

View Option

SHARE LIKE

By Lee Haye-ah WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- The United States' sanctions campaign against North Korea is intended to bring the regime to the negotiating table with a mindset to be productive and reach solutions, a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday. Randall Schriver, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, made the comment at a forum discussing U.S. relations with China, including its role in denuclearizing North Korea. Negotiators from the U.S. and North Korea met in Sweden Oct. 5 to resume working-level talks on denuclearizing the regime, but the discussions broke down over what the North characterized as Washington's failure to come up with a new proposal. "We'll see where that goes," Schriver said of the talks at the Jamestown Foundation's annual China defense and security conference. "But in the meantime, we've been doing our part to try to maintain pressure on Pyongyang through the enforcement of sanctions, so that they will come to

View Option

SHARE LIKE

SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- The labor union of Seoul Metro announced Tuesday night that it would soon go on a three-day strike as it failed to reach a deal with the management. Unionized workers at the operator of eight subway lines in South Korea's capital plan to launch their collective action on Wednesday morning. The walkout is expected to drop the operation rate of Subway Lines 1 through 4 to as low as 65.7 percent of the normal level and that of No. 5-8 to 78.1 percent, according to the firm's officials. The company plans to mobilize alternative workers to minimize the impact from the strike, especially during rush hours. The union is demanding the abolition of the wage-peak system, hiring of more workers and better working conditions to improve safety related to operation of subways for a daily average of 7.5 million users. The two sides have been negotiating on the issues since June. Despite the walkout, the union will continue talks with management if i

View Option

SHARE LIKE

By Lee Haye-ah WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- A statue symbolizing Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II will be installed in Virginia, near Washington, this week, organizers said Tuesday. The bronze statue of a girl was brought to Washington nearly three years ago in November 2016, but was stored at a warehouse while civic groups and activists sought an installation ground. The activists have said they believe the Japanese government was thwarting their efforts as the issue of the sex slaves remains a sensitive subject in Seoul-Tokyo relations. On Thursday, the figure will be installed in Annandale, in the front lawn of a building owned by a Korean, according to the organizers. On Oct. 27, a formal unveiling ceremony will also be held there, with a vocal former sex slave, Gil Won-ok, in attendance. "By installing girl statues, we want to call attention to the history that Japan denies, resolve never to forget the victims,

View Option

SHARE LIKE

(ATTN: UPDATES with deal details in paras 3-5; CHANGES photo) SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- Unionized workers at Seoul Metro reached an agreement with the management Wednesday, effectively canceling a strike that was expected to affect public transportation in the capital. The two sides at the company that runs Seoul subway line Nos. 1 to 8 resumed talks at around 3 a.m., just hours after they walked away from the negotiating table. They dramatically reached a deal at around 8:53 a.m., just minutes before the planned strike was scheduled to start at 9 a.m. The agreement includes raising wages by 1.8 percent, hiring more safety and maintenance workers, and improving the working environment in line with an increase in female employees. They plan to hold additional talks on employing more workers to improve the safety of drivers. The move followed a five-day work-to-rule campaign that ended Tuesday at midnight. The union demanded the abolition of the wage-peak system,

View Option

SHARE LIKE

(ATTN: ADDS photos) SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- The bizarre show has finally ended, albeit with an unexpected twist. South Korea's scoreless draw with North Korea in their World Cup qualifier in Pyongyang on Tuesday wasn't the result they had hoped for, but at least it brought a merciful end to the overriding sense of strangeness surrounding the much-anticipated contest. The Group H match in the second round of the Asian qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup was South Korean men's first away match in North Korea in 29 years. The expectation for the rare Korean derby had been building up since the two Koreas were placed in the same group in July. The two sides were also in the same group in two straight qualifying rounds for the 2010 World Cup. In regional qualifiers, teams play each other twice in a home-and-away format, but the two scheduled home matches for North Korea against South Korea were held in Shanghai instead. North Korea refused to display the South Ko

View Option

SHARE LIKE