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. 28 (Yonhap) -- The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Thursday denounced North Korea's constitutional amendment to enshrine its policy on nuclear force, Seoul's foreign ministry said. South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Gunn, and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Hiroyuki Namazu, respectively, held a conference call to discuss the outcome of Pyongyang's key parliamentary meeting and their joint responses to its growing nuclear threat. North Korea has stipulated the policy of strengthening its nuclear force in the constitution at the 14th Supreme People's Assembly held on Tuesday and Wednesday. During the meeting, leader Kim Jong-un said trilateral security cooperation between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan poses "the worst actual threat" and vowed to bolster the country's nuclear capability. The nuclear envoys strongly condemned North Korea's continued pursuit of nuclear weapons while ignoring the cr

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By Yoo Jee-ho HANGZHOU, China, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- Two-time defending champions South Korea defeated the host country China 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the men's football tournament at the Asian Games on Sunday. Hong Hyun-seok and Song Min-kyu had a goal apiece in the first half of South Korea's clean sheet victory at Huanglong Sports Centre Stadium in Hangzhou. South Korea will meet Uzbekistan in the semifinals at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Hong, midfielder for the Belgian club KAA Gent, put South Korea on the board in the 18th minute with a curling free kick from outside the right edge of the box. Goalkeeper Han Jiaqi made a desperate and ultimately futile attempt to keep the ball out of the net. Hong nearly grabbed his second goal of the match four minutes later, forcing Han to make a tough stop with his fingertips with a header set up by Hwang Jae-won. South Korea doubled their lead with Song's goal. Forward Cho Young-wook charged down the right wing and rolled the ba

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(ATTN: ADDS more info in paras 4-8, photo at bottom) SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Yonhap) -- Russia proposed conducting three-way naval exercises with North Korea and China when Moscow's defense minister held a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in late July, South Korea's intelligence agency was quoted as saying Monday. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the proposal when he held a one-on-one meeting with the North's leader, National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Kim Kyou-hyun said during a close-door briefing to the parliamentary intelligence committee, according to Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the ruling People Power Party. Shoigu visited the North from July 25-27. Asked about the agency's analysis of North Korea's recent increase in military provocations, Yoo said they appear to be in response to the South Korea-United States joint Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise conducted from Aug 21-31. The agency reportedly confirmed North Korea's two short-range

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(ATTN: UPDATES with details in 4th para) BORYEONG, South Korea, Oct. 3 (Yonhap) -- The Coast Guard apprehended 22 Chinese nationals Tuesday suspected of attempting to illegally enter a western coastal city by boat, officials said. The group of Chinese nationals, known to be around their 40s, faces charges of attempting to flee after the vessel carrying them illegally docked at a port in Boryeong, 140 kilometers south of Seoul, at 1:53 a.m., according to the officials. Coast Guard officials arrived at the scene after being tipped off by military authorities on the unidentified boat approaching waters near the coastal city. One of the group members had fled the scene by land, but the police later caught the Chinese national in Ansan, 29 kilometers south of Seoul. Police found the person at an acquaintance's home and handed the individual over to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard is also chasing the vessel, which fled toward China and conducting an investigation into the app

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SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korea leader Kim Jong-un said he was "deeply impressed" with the advanced state of Russian aviation technology as he visited an aircraft plant during his ongoing visit to Russia this week, Pyongyang's state media said Saturday. Following his summit meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Kim visited an aircraft plant that produces advanced fighter jets including the Sukhoi Su-35 in the far eastern region of Komsomolsk-on-Amur the previous day. "Saying that he was deeply impressed by the rich independent potential and modernity of the Russian aircraft manufacturing industry and its ceaseless enterprising efforts toward new goals, he sincerely hoped that the plant would make sustained development by achieving higher production growth in the future," the official Korean Central News Agency said. julesyi@yna.co.kr

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(ATTN: ADDS remarks by South Korean military official in paras 13-16) By Yi Wonju SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has launched a newly built "tactical nuclear attack submarine" capable of carrying out an underwater nuclear attack, with leader Kim Jong-un vowing to "further strengthen the state nuclear deterrence," the North's state media said Friday. The launching ceremony for the submarine, held Wednesday, was attended by the North Korean leader ahead of the country's 75th founding anniversary, which falls on Saturday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "The submarine-launching ceremony heralded the beginning of a new chapter for bolstering up the naval force of the DPRK and made clearer the steadfast will of the WPK and the government of the DPRK to further strengthen the state nuclear deterrence both in quality and quantity and by leaps and bounds for regional and global peace and security," the KCNA said, referring to the ruling Workers' Pa

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By Kang Yoon-seung SEOUL, Sept. 12 (Yonhap) -- More than half of the regions in South Korea are facing the risk of losing population completely, data showed Tuesday, amid the country's critically low birth rate. Of South Korea's 228 administrative districts, 118, or 51.8 percent, saw the population risk index fall below 0.5 as of February, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The population risk index is calculated by dividing the number of females aged 20 to 39 by the population of those aged 65 and above. A region is classified as a risk-prone area when it falls below 0.5. "(The decline) will impose burdens on the regional economy and finance, posing a threat to the survival of local communities," First Vice Finance Minister Kim Byoung-hwan said during a government meeting on addressing the regional population issue. Kim added the decline of regional communities will eventually hurt the country's economic competitiveness, emphasizing the importance of crea

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SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Monday denounced the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for criticizing Pyongyang's nuclear development, calling it a "conspiracy between the U.S. and its followers." At the 67th IAEA General Conference in Vienna, Austria, last week, IAEA member states adopted a resolution urging the recalcitrant regime to suspend its nuclear weapons program and abide by its obligations under U.N. Security Council resolutions. "We vehemently denounce and reject the abnormal behavior of the IAEA which has been completely reduced to a reptile organization that serves the U.S. away from its elementary mission as an international organization to maintain impartiality," a spokesperson for the North's nuclear power ministry said in a press statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. Stressing that North Korea withdrew from the nuclear agency in 1994, he said the IAEA has "neither qualifications nor justification to say this or

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SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will stage a large-scale military parade in central Seoul later this month for the first time in a decade, featuring tanks, fighter jets and other advanced assets, to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the country's armed forces, defense officials said Wednesday. Some 4,000 troops and over 170 pieces of military equipment, including K2 battle tanks, the country's new "high-power" missile, and attack drones, will parade from Sungnyemun Gate to Gwanghwamun Square on Sept. 26 to commemorate the landmark anniversary, according to the officials. This year's event will proceed under the theme of "strong military, strong security, and peace through strength" to demonstrate the military's resolve to defend the country, with a focus on sending a message to North Korea against provocations, one of the officials said. The country has usually held a military parade every five years in time for Armed Forces Day on Oct. 1 but such a parade was

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