Day: February 18, 2024

South Korea’s air passenger traffic shot up 57 percent on-year in January on the back of the strong demand for routes connecting to China, data showed Sunday.

The number of international travelers to and from South Korea reached 7.28 million, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

It represents around 91 percent of the figure tallied in January 2019, indicating international travel has nearly recovered to the pre-pandemic level.

By destination, the number of travelers on routes connecting to China reached around 873,000, marking an increase of more than eightfold from the 104,000 tallied a year earlier.

This also marks the first time that the monthly figure has surpassed 870,000 since August of last year, when China announced the resumption of group tours to South Korea.

In the wake of the rising demand for travel to China, Korean Air Co., the country’s flagship carrier, plans to resume routes to Zhangjiajie in April.

The number of passengers on routes con
necting to Japan came to 2.03 million in January, up 53 percent on-year, apparently as more travelers took advantage of the weaker Japanese yen.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

South Korea’s imports of frozen fruit products hit a new record in 2023, data showed Sunday, amid the growing burden on consumers to purchase fresh goods due to lingering inflation.

The country’s imports of frozen fruit products came to 64,000 tons in 2023, up 6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Rural Economic Institute.

“As the price of domestically produced fruits rose at a wide margin due to the falling supply, the demand for relatively affordable frozen fruits rose, leading to a higher amount of imports,” the institute said in a report.

In 2023, prices of agricultural, livestock and fishery products climbed 3.1 percent on-year. Of major items, prices of apples and tangerines spiked 24.2 percent and 19.1 percent, respectively.

In a survey conducted by the institute in December involving 500 local consumers, 38 percent responded that they had purchased frozen fruit products as they were easier to preserve.

Another 22 percent of the respondents mentioned the price
competitiveness of frozen products compared to fresh goods.

The survey further revealed that frozen blueberries were the preferred choice for 30 percent of the respondents, followed by mangoes at 22 percent

Source: Yonhap News Agency

The top diplomats of the Group of Seven (G7) countries have condemned North Korea’s arms transfers to Russia, calling it a direct violation of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The foreign ministers of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and Japan and the High Representative of the European Union issued the statement amid persistent speculation that the Sept. 13 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Russian spaceport might have led to an arms deal.

The foreign ministers “also expressed their deep concern about the potential for any transfer of nuclear or ballistic missile-related technology to North Korea or any Russian transfers to North Korea of conventional weapons or other dual-use items,” according to the statement issued after the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Pyongyang is suspected of having provided artillery and munitions to Russia for use in Moscow’s w
ar in Ukraine in exchange for Russia’s potential transfer of weapons technology.

In January, the White House said the North had provided Russia with several dozen ballistic missiles, some of which were used against Ukraine on Dec. 30, Jan. 2 and Jan. 6.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

(ATTN: UPDATES with joint statement by S. Korea, U.S., Japan in paras 1-8; CHANGES headline; ADDS photo)

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) — South Korea, the United States and Japan urged North Korea on Saturday to take “immediate” steps to end “all” human rights violations as they marked the 10th anniversary of the release of a landmark U.N. report on the reclusive state’s rights abuses.

The three countries’ missions to the United Nations released a joint statement commemorating the anniversary of the 2014 U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) report that accused the North Korean regime of “systematic, widespread and gross” human rights violations and made related recommendations.

“We urge the DPRK to abide by its obligations under international law, take immediate steps to end all human rights violations and abuses — including the immediate resolution of issues involving abductees, detainees, and unrepatriated prisoners of war — and engage with the U.N.’s human rights experts for that purpose,
” they said in the statement.

DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The three countries pointed out that the report asserted the North has committed human rights violations that amount to “crimes against humanity,” and indicated “the gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world.”

“Unfortunately, a decade later, this is still the case. The DPRK remains one of the world’s most repressive regimes, imposing severe restrictions on freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, association, religion or belief, and movement,” they said.

The countries also noted the “inextricable link” between the North’s rights abuses and its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs.

“The DPRK’s use of forced and exploited labor — both domestically and overseas — support its unlawful and threatening programs, as do food distribution policies that favor the military, leading to chronic malnourishment among it
s citizens,” they said.

Separately, Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, reiterated calls for the North to begin a reform process to improve human rights.

“We call on the DPRK to initiate a reform process to implement the recommendations of the 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry and to respect human rights,” Miller said. “We also urge the international community to take immediate action to address the egregious human rights situation in the DPRK and for Member States to respect the principle of non-refoulement.”

The COI report included recommendations that Pyongyang undertake “profound and institutional reforms without delay” to introduce checks and balances on the powers of the nation’s leader and the ruling Workers’ Party, including the introduction of an independent and impartial judiciary and a multiparty political system.

The spokesperson stressed that promoting respect for human rights and human dignity in the North remains a “top priority” for the U.S. government.

“We remain
committed to shining a spotlight on human rights abuses and violations, promoting accountability for those responsible for them, and increasing access to independent information inside the DPRK,” he said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

South Korea’s health authorities recently ordered trainee doctors to submit their daily work logs amid their looming collective action in protest of the government’s decision to raise medical school enrollment seats, officials said Sunday.

Doctors have warned of a massive strike and other responses in opposition to the government’s decision announced earlier this month to add 2,000 to the country’s medical school freshmen quota next year, marking a sharp rise from the current 3,058 seats.

Protesting the decision, trainee doctors of five major general hospitals in Seoul said that they would submit their letters of resignation on Monday. They also decided to walk off the job on the following day.

Local health authorities’ order issued to hospitals to submit doctors’ daily work logs came as the government vowed to take stern actions should doctors engage in a strike.

“(The directive) was issued to prevent instances where doctors, having received the government’s return-to-work orders, return to the hospital
, only to leave again to participate in collective action,” an official from the health ministry said.

As of Friday afternoon, 235 trainee doctors had submitted resignation letters, prompting the government to issue work-resumption orders for 103 doctors who have not actually worked.

Of the doctors who have received the order, 100 of them returned to their workplace, while the return of the remaining three has not yet been confirmed.

Under the local medical law, the government possesses the authority to potentially revoke doctors’ licenses should they receive criminal punishments after failing to adhere to the order to return to work.

The Korean Medical Association, the largest lobbying group for doctors, on Saturday vowed to take “unbearable” steps and said they could walk off the job indefinitely if the government continues to threaten interns and residents opposing the plan.

Meanwhile, major hospitals issued announcements their surgery schedules may be adjusted due to the collective move.

Students fr
om 35 out of 40 medical schools also committed to submitting leave of absence requests to their respective universities on Tuesday, showcasing their solidarity with the ongoing doctors’ protest.

In a Gallup Korea poll involving 1,002 individuals last week, 76 percent of respondents favored the “positive aspects” of the medical school quota hike, with only 16 percent expressing a negative view.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

The recent establishment of diplomatic ties with Cuba could have positive economic impacts on the South Korean economy, the presidential office said Sunday, citing Cuba’s rich natural resources.

“Cuba has significant mineral resources critical for electric battery (EV) production, such as cobalt and nickel,” read the press release, which laid out the formal diplomatic relationship’s expected effects by sector.

Seoul and Havana established diplomatic relations in New York on Wednesday, with the two countries’ representatives to the United Nations exchanging diplomatic notes to mark the establishment of formal ties.

South Korean businesses can look to tap into Cuba’s vast reserves of natural resources, read the release, when and if the United States lifts the economic and trade embargo against Cuba, the world’s fifth-largest reserves of nickel and fourth largest of cobalt.

South Korea is home to three of the world’s five biggest EV battery makers.

The presidential office said it will help South Korean bus
inesses make inroads into the country in such sectors as daily necessities, home appliances and machinery, given the scarcity of such items due to Washington’s economic sanctions against Havana.

The South Korean government also pointed out possible business opportunities and cooperation in the energy sector as Cuba, suffering from chronic electricity shortages, is looking for ways to expand electricity generating facilities and renewable energy use.

Medical and biotechnology were also cited as potential sectors for future economic and research cooperation between the two, the office said.

“Cuba had been an untapped market,” it said, “Direct trade is still very limited due to the U.S. sanctions, but we will take this opportunity of the formal diplomatic ties to lay the groundwork for gradual expansion of economic cooperation.”

Seoul is planning to set up a consulate there to help South Korean visitors to the country. Prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 14,000 Korean nationals visit
ed the country every year

Source: Yonhap News Agency

South Korea and Japan plan to hold their first meeting of transport officials in eight years this week, Seoul’s land ministry said Sunday, amid a recent thaw in bilateral relations.

The two countries plan to hold high-level talks of transport officials in Seoul on Tuesday to share related policies and seek cooperation, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Seoul and Japan launched the talks in 2000 but suspended them after 2016. The resumption came after the two countries held a summit in March last year, which paved the way for the improvement of bilateral ties.

The two nations aim to exchange their perspectives on a wide array of issues, including rural transportation systems and eco-friendly mobility.

“The meeting, marking the first of its kind in eight years, will reconfirm the importance of the bilateral cooperation between South Korea and Japan,” an official from the transport ministry said. “We hope to continue exchanges to build grounds for the future of ties.”

Source
: Yonhap News Agency

South Korea and the United States will kick off a research campaign to uncover the cause of air pollution across Asia during the winter season as part of efforts to better address air quality challenges and come up with policies designed to improve air quality.

The ASIA-AQ, a joint effort by South Korea’s National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), aims to collect detailed air quality data over several locations in Asia using aircraft, satellites, and ground sites.

It has already completed four flights in the Philippines and Taiwan over the past few weeks.

“This campaign seeks to find the causes behind air quality deteriorating in the Korean Peninsula during wintertime,” said Yoo Myung-soo, the NIER director general of the climate and air quality research department, during a media briefing at the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, on Friday.

“The results of the joint investigation will also be used to enhance t
he effectiveness and reliability of domestic policies concerning the atmospheric environment,” he added.

The joint research, tentatively set for Feb. 19-26, comes eight years after South Korea led the KORUS-AQ campaign with NASA in 2016, which found that 52 percent of ultrafine particles examined in Seoul were picked up from within South Korea and 48 percent from overseas, including 34 percent coming in from China.

The main differences between the KORUS-AQ and the new initiative is the time of the year the research is conducted, which changed from spring to winter, and the mobilization of the newly launched GEMS satellite, Barry Lefer of NASA said.

In 2020, South Korea launched the world’s first geostationary environment satellite, or GEMS, to monitor air pollutants across Asia from 36,000 kilometers above ground.

The research team will also utilize detailed ground measurements from 11 air quality research sites, including in Seoul and on the islands of Baengnyeong and Jeju, and collect aircraft sampling
of the lower atmosphere using NASA’s DC-8, an in-situ aircraft flying within the altitude of 2,000 feet.

“This means that from the ground we can measure what you breathe but from space we can measure the accumulation of total pollutants,” said Jim Crawford from NASA leading the ASIA-AQ project.

The campaign is also designed to cross-check the measurements of the GEMS, which monitors the air quality in Asia eight times a day, as the data requires verification through comparison with ground-based observations.

“It will take time to calibrate the raw data and turn it into data that is useful for science,” said Crawford, adding the interpretation and findings from the data will be open to the public the following year.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

An arts university in Cuba is set to open a Korean language class starting next month on a trial basis, the Korean Cultural Center in the Caribbean country said Sunday.

The language course, which began preparations in January, could become a part of the Instituto Superior de Arte’s (ISA) regular curriculum as early as September amid a growing demand for Korean language education and the recent establishment of Seoul-Havana diplomatic ties, the center said.

“Since Cuba puts great emphasis on its public education system, it is very meaningful that the country is running a Korean language course for university students,” said Chung Ho-hyeon, the principal of the Korean Language School in Cuba. “It will help promote the Korean language following the establishment of diplomatic ties.”

South Korea and Cuba established diplomatic ties in New York on Wednesday, with the two countries’ representatives to the United Nations exchanging diplomatic notes to mark the establishment of formal ties.

Founded in 1976 by th
e Cuban government, the ISA offers higher education in various genres of arts, including music, visual arts and theater, among others. The school has offered language courses in Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese, but not Korean.

In 2012, a Korean language course was opened at the University of Havana, a public school located in the country’s capital, but was closed in 2018, due to various factors inside the country

Source: Yonhap News Agency

Police said Sunday they were chasing two suspects who were believed to have jumped off the city’s highest building without prior consent.

According to Haeundae Police Station, the two men, who are believed to be foreign nationals, are suspected of trespassing the 101-story LCT residential building and leaping from the 99th-floor observation deck with parachutes on Thursday morning.

The police were dispatched to the scene upon receiving a report about the incident but could not identify the suspects.

In 2019, two Russian nationals were fined 5 million won (US$3,740) each for similar acts in the city

Source: Yonhap News Agency