South Korea says North Korea open to denuclearize if regime safety guaranteed

The new all-girl pop group NewJeans is being criticized for sexually suggestive lyrics. The group's management agency insists some of the lyrics are being deliberately misinterpreted.

Should North Korea's missile launches be viewed as tests or diplomacy?

Each country fired two ground-to-air missiles in a show of strength after North Korea conducted its farthest-ever missile test, which caused evacuations in Japan.

North Korea's latest spate of missile launches has put its neighbours on edge. The barrage of weapons tests includes one that flew over Japan in the longest-ever recorded distance, capable of reaching the US territory of Guam.

Under a 2019 revision of the law, globally recognized K-pop stars were allowed to put off their service until 30. Military service is hugely controversial in South Korea where all able-bodied men aged between 18 and 28 must fulfil their duties as part of efforts to defend against nuclear-armed North Korea.

The Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War (Victory Day) is a national holiday in North Korea celebrated on July 27 to mark the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement which brought a cease fire to the Fatherland Liberation War that took place between 1950–1953.

North Korea says missile launches were nuclear attack simulation on South. North Korea says its recent barrage of missile launches were a "simulation" of a nuclear attack on the South. It comes as intelligence suggests North Korea is preparing to hold its first nuclear weapon test in five years.

President Han Duck-soo said the government would carry out a "thorough investigation" as the casualty count continued to climb overnight. A 561-member task force will interview witnesses to the tragedy.

Police have set up a 475-member task force as the president and prime minister call for new safety measures to prevent a repeat of the tragedy.

Federal police in South Korea have raided local police departments as part of an investigation into alleged ineptitude. Police have already admitted mistakes in responding to the crowd surge that killed scores of people.

North Korea fired at least 23 missiles into the sea on Wednesday, including one that landed less than 60 km (40 miles) off South Korea's coast, which South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol described as "territorial encroachment" and Washington denounced as "reckless".

North Korea has fired 26 missiles in two days as the regime demands the attention of neighbors and the US. International observers fear that a seventh nuclear test at the Punggye-ri proving grounds could follow.