SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has been developing a massive ballistic missile as powerful as a tactical nuclear weapon, sources said Thursday, after the full lifting of U.S.-imposed restrictions on missile development. The surface-to-surface missile, which can carry a warhead of up to 3 tons with a flight range of 350-400 kilometers, [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — North Korea has developed real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) coronavirus testing equipment on its own, state media said Monday, as the country continues to fight against the global pandemic. Scientists and workers at the 111 Factory in Pyongyang have developed the equipment, which meets global standards, for the first [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Slightly more than half of all South Koreans do not support the idea of postponing the regular joint summertime military drills between Seoul and Washington, a poll showed Monday. In the poll of 500 people aged 18 and older nationwide conducted by Realmeter last Friday, 50.4 percent of the [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — North Korea could, in theory, give its entire population a single COVID-19 vaccine shot in less than 10 days if given time to ensure the integrity of its cold chain and make other preparations, a U.S. website monitoring the reclusive state has said. In an article on the North’s [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Four South Korean activists have been charged with espionage for allegedly taking orders from Pyongyang and staging a series of protests opposing Seoul’s plan to procure U.S.-built stealth fighter jets, sources said Friday. According to the sources, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the National Police Agency (NPA) recently [...]
SEOUL, July 3 (Korea Bizwire) — North Koreans surpassed South Koreans in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), one of the leading English language proficiency tests, last year, a report showed Saturday. According to a report from the U.S.-based Education Testing Service (ETS), the administrator of TOEFL, the average score in the [...]
SEOUL, June 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea decided Monday to develop its own interceptor system like Israel’s Iron Dome to defend the country’s key infrastructure against long-range artillery threats from North Korea. The defense project promotion committee, presided over by Defense Minister Suh Wook, approved the 2.89 trillion-won (US$2.56 billion) project expected to begin [...]
SEOUL, June 27 (Korea Bizwire) — A researcher from a Seoul-based private think tank has been indicted on espionage charges after allegedly contacting a North Korean agent and spying for the North, prosecutors said Sunday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said it has referred Lee Jeong-hun, a research fellow of the April 27 Era [...]
SEOUL, June 25 (Korea Bizwire) — A little over half of South Koreans do not want the government to provide COVID-19 vaccination support to North Korea, according to a recent survey. In a joint survey by four polling agencies on 1,006 people aged 18 and older from Monday-Wednesday, 51 percent of respondents said they disapprove [...]
SEOUL, June 20 (Korea Bizwire) — As South Korean archbishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik has been named the new prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy of the Holy See, his possible role in arranging Pope Francis’ visit to North Korea is drawing attention from the Catholic community at home and abroad. On June 11, the [...]