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1.President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday denounced North Korea's sending of trash-carrying balloons to South Korea and its military cooperation with Russia as "anachronistic" acts that go against the progress in history, during an address marking the 74th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. 2.At least 23 workers, mostly Chinese nationals, were killed after a fire at a lithium battery plant in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, Monday. The foreign ministry held an emergency meeting in the wake of the fire to review measures to support the foreign victims. 3.The European Union formally launched accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday, setting the states off on a path towards membership. According to EU officials, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected midweek in Brussels.

1.Former ruling People Power Party interim leader Han Dong-hoon and two other PPP politicians announced their bids for party leadership on Sunday. Representative Lee Jae-myung resigned as chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party on Monday in a step to seek another term as party leader in a national convention set for August. 2.National Security Adviser Chang Ho-jin said Sunday that South Korea will not be bound by anything with regard to its assistance to Ukraine if Russia provides North Korea with precision weapons. 3.The official Saudi Press Agency reported Sunday that at least 1,300 people have died during this year's Haji pilgrimage, which took place during intense heat, adding that most of the deceased did not have official permits.

1.South Korea on Friday summoned the top Russian envoy in Seoul to lodge a protest over a new treaty Russia signed with North Korea that calls for immediate military assistance if either is attacked. The South Korean government also said Thursday it will reconsider its stance on arms supply to Ukraine. 2.Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday the city of Gyeongju in South Korea's North Gyeongsang Province has been recommended as the host city candidate for the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Confirmation is expected to be made later this month. 3.President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday that South Korea will create a small modular reactor industrial complex in the city of Gyeongju and a hydrogen industrial cluster in North Gyeongsang Province to boost the local economy, during his 26th debate forum on improving people's livelihoods in Gyeongsan.

1.North Korea and Russia agreed to provide immediate military assistance if either faces armed aggression, under the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement that the leaders of North Korea and Russia signed Wednesday. 2.According to Seoul’s defense ministry on Wednesday, Romania will buy 920 million U.S. dollars worth of South Korean K-9 self-propelled howitzers. The deal was announced during South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik’s weeklong trip to Eastern Europe. 3.President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday declared that South Korea is in a “demographic national emergency” due to its declining population, and vowed to tackle the low birth rate by providing better housing and improving support for child care.

1.According to Sputnik news on Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement. Putin arrived in Pyongyang early on Wednesday in his first trip to North Korea in 24 years and held summit talks with Kim. 2.The Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday sent inspectors to the office of the Korean Medical Association in Seoul and conducted a probe regarding the KMA-led one-day walkout on Tuesday that involved community doctors and other medical staff, as well as a massive rally in Seoul. 3.According to the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery on Wednesday, a girl statue symbolizing the victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery will be unveiled to the public in Italy for the first time.

1.The Korean Central News Agency announced on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to North Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. This is Putin's first visit to the North in 24 years. 2.Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said Tuesday the government ordered community doctors who joined a one-day walkout to return to work, warning that they would face legal punishment unless they comply with the order. 3.According to a report by the International Institute for Management Development on Tuesday, South Korea ranked 20th in terms of global competitiveness among 67 countries surveyed in 2024, compared with 28th the previous year.

1.Medical professors at hospitals affiliated with Seoul National University began an indefinite walkout on Monday against the government's medical reform. The government urged SNU hospital leaders to consider requiring professors to compensate for losses incurred by the hospitals due to the collective action. 2.According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a Swedish think tank, on Monday, North Korea may have assembled up to 50 nuclear weapons and could produce more. The institute estimated that North Korea had up to 30 nuclear weapons last year. 3.The final declaration of the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland was approved by 80 of the 93 participating states at the close of the two-day event on Sunday.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Uzbek counterpart held a summit Friday in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent to strengthen economic cooperation in the areas of mineral supply chains, infrastructure and energy. 2. Vice foreign ministers from South Korea and the United States held a phone conversation on Friday to discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin's expected trip to North Korea next week and other alliance, regional and global issues. 3. The Ministry of Economy and Finance on Friday assessed in the Green Book that South Korea's economic recovery has gathered pace on robust exports and recovering domestic demand, though external uncertainties continued.

1. In an interview with Uzbekistan’s state media on Thursday, President Yoon Suk Yeol said he plans to enhance South Korea’s reciprocal and future-oriented cooperation with Uzbekistan, and will seek ways to strengthen economic ties through partnership in mineral supply chains and cutting-edge technologies. 2. The UN Security Council on Wednesday held a meeting to discuss North Korea’s worsening human rights condition, with South Korea’s Ambassador to the UN Hwang Joon-kook presiding as rotating president. 3. The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates steady for the seventh straight time and projected one rate cut perhaps as late as December, as it noted “modest further progress” towards its two percent inflation target.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev agreed Tuesday to collaborate on the supply chain for critical minerals, from exploration and development to commercialization. 2. The Korea Meteorological Administration said Wednesday a 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck near the southwestern county of Buan at 8:26 a.m. It was the strongest quake to hit the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding waters so far this year. Fifteen aftershocks were reported as of 2 p.m. 3. South Korea's foreign ministry on Wednesday dismissed Japan's renewed protest over Seoul's routine maritime survey near the East Sea islets of Dokdo, emphasizing a firm stance against "unjust claims."

1. The leaders of South Korea and Turkmenistan on Monday held a summit in Turkmenistan's capital city of Ashgabat and adopted a joint statement outlining their cooperation for Seoul's "K-Silk Road Cooperation" initiative 2. The main opposition Democratic Party and minor parties on Monday voted to unilaterally select 11 parliamentary committee chiefs with the ruling People Power Party boycotting a plenary meeting over the voting. 3. The UN Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution proposed by the U.S. for a permanent ceasefire and release of hostages in Gaza. Hamas said it welcomed the resolution and is ready to engage with mediators in negotiations.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday embarked on a weeklong Central Asia trip that will take him to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on a mission to expand cooperation in critical minerals and other key sectors. 2. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Monday, North Korea has sent around 310 trash-carrying balloons across the border overnight. The North's latest balloon campaign came hours after South Korea resumed loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts in the border area. 3. Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said Monday the government ordered community doctors to keep providing medical treatment and report to authorities when they close their businesses, after the doctors voted to stage a strike in protest of the government's medical reform.

1. Vitor Abreu, owner of the U.S. geoscience research company Act-Geo, said Friday that a potential discovery of oil and gas reserves off South Korea's East Sea is "highly prospective," citing the presence of hydrocarbons in the offshore fields. The project has a presumed 20 percent success rate. 2. According to the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs on Thursday, an advisory body of UNESCO reportedly deferred the nomination of controversial Japanese mines on the island of Sado as a World Heritage site, asking for additional documents. 3. The European Central Bank on Thursday lowered its deposit rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.75% from a record high of 4%, for the first time in almost five years, citing a sustained fall in inflation.

1. During his Memorial Day speech, President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday South Korea will not sit idle against North Korea's "despicable" provocations and vowed to protect people through robust military readiness and a strong alliance with the United States. 2. A North Korean defectors' group said Thursday it has sent about 10 large plastic balloons carrying 200-thousand flyers criticizing the North Korean regime, dollar bills, and USB sticks loaded with K-pop and trot music, across the border. 3. During a meeting with leading international news agencies, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he highly appreciates South Korea's position not to directly supply weapons to Ukraine, and that Moscow is ready to restore relations with Seoul.

1.Five-term main opposition Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Won-shik was elected as the Parliamentary Speaker for the first half of the 22nd National Assembly on Wednesday. Woo was elected with 189 votes in favor out of 192 present with ruling PPP boycotting the vote. 2.According to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea on Wednesday, South Korea's real gross domestic product increased 1.3 percent on-quarter in the January-March period, matching an earlier estimate, as recovery in exports continued and private spending remained firm. 3.President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday that South Korea will establish a critical mineral partnership with major African nations to develop resources on the continent in a "mutually beneficial" way. President Yoon made the remark during a business summit held on the second day of the Korea-Africa Summit.

1.The inaugural summit between South Korea and African nations kicked off Tuesday. President Yoon Suk Yeol said South Korea aims to expand trade and investment with Africa through agreements such as Economic Partnership Agreements and Trade and Investment Promotion Frameworks. 2.President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday endorsed a motion calling for the full suspension of a 2018 inter-Korean tension reduction pact, allowing South Korea to resume military training near the border and restart loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts towards the North. 3.South Korea’s Health Minister said Tuesday hospitals are allowed to accept resignations of trainee doctors. He added that the government withdrew a return-to-work order for trainee doctors and will halt an administrative step to punish them if they return to hospitals.

1.In an interview with AFP published Sunday, President Yoon Suk Yeol said he hopes to lay the foundation for comprehensive cooperation with African nations, including the exchange of information related to critical minerals, technological collaboration and joint exploration. 2.South Korean police said Sunday they have received over 800 reports related to trash-filled balloons sent by North Korea. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff added that North Korea continued jamming GPS signals for five straight days. In response, the presidential National Security Council decided Monday to suspend the 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction pact. 3.President Yoon Suk Yeol said Monday that a potentially massive oil and gas reserve could be buried off the southeast city of Pohang and drilling will begin later this year to determine whether it is real.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol held talks with Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio on Friday to discuss ways to boost trade and investment between the two countries. The Sierra Leone President is in Seoul to attend the Korea-Africa summit scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday next week. 2. South Korea's military said Friday that North Korea staged GPS jamming attacks in waters near South Korea's northwestern border islands for a third straight day in the latest in a series of provocative acts this week. 3. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a criminal hush-money scheme to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. A panel of 12 Manhattan jurors unanimously convicted him just after 5pm local time on Thursday, with sentencing now set for July 11.

1. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday that North Korea fired around 10 short-range ballistic missiles at 6:14 a.m. into the East Sea. The provocation came just a day after the North sent hundreds of large balloons carrying trash and manure into the South. 2. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Thursday adopted a joint statement pledging to invest more in each other's countries and urging North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons. 3. The 22nd National Assembly began its four-year term on Thursday. The National Assembly will hold its first plenary session next Wednesday to elect a new speaker.

1. South Korea and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement freeing up trade between the two countries after President Yoon Suk Yeol and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held summit talks in Seoul. 2. During an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the government promulgated the amendment to the Sewol Victim Support Act, but approved motions demanding the Assembly reconsider four other bills. All five bills were passed by the opposition-controlled National Assembly on Tuesday. 3. According to Palestinian medical officials and the official Palestinian news agency on Tuesday, twenty-one Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli strikes on an area of tents housing displaced people in the designated humanitarian area west of Rafah.