When residents of the International Business District (IBD) in Songdo, South Korea go to work, pick up their kids from school, or shop for groceries, driving is optional. That's because the $40 billion district— currently a work-in-progress about the size of downtown Boston — was designed to eliminate the need for cars.

For most people, prison is a place to escape from. For South Koreans in need of a break from the demands of everyday life, a day in a faux jail is the escape.

South Korean officials on Thursday began to dismantle the country's largest canine slaughterhouse complex, as animal rights activists push to end the custom of eating dog meat. About one million dogs are eaten a year in South Korea, often as a summertime delicacy with the greasy red meat -- invariably boiled for tenderness -- believed to increase energy.

Lee Soo-keun escaped to South Korea from the North through a hail of bullets in 1967, only to be hanged as a spy two years later. Almost 50 years later, his name has been cleared.

Simon Cowell, known as the former judge on America's Got Talent and American Idol, donated $42,000 to the Humane Society International (HSI) to help save 200 dogs from a South Korean dog meat farm. Ninety of the dogs were temporarily sheltered this week at a Cambridge trucking company before being taken to another shelter in Montreal for rehabilitation, socialization and eventual adoption.

Smartphones or TVs may be Samsung's most popular products, but they are certainly not the most profitable for the company. The South Korea electronics giant has announced its estimates for the third quarter of the year, and that data points to the company achieving the highest operating profit in its entire history. Samsung is set to reach 17.5 trillion won ($15.8 billion), up 20% from the same period last year. Not only that: revenues will also reach a record 65 trillion won ($57.3 billion), almost 5% more than last year.

Seoul, South Korea (CNN)North Korea said it would close a key missile test facility in the presence of "international experts" and potentially destroy its primary nuclear complex if the United States agrees to corresponding measures, South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced in a joint press conference with Kim Jong Un Wednesday. The two leaders made the announcement on the second day of a three-day summit, their third this year, as part of efforts with the United States to contain the threat of war on the Korean Peninsula.

Kim Jong-un has agreed to shut down one of North Korea's main missile testing and launching sites, says South Korea's President Moon Jae-in. After meeting in Pyongyang, the two leaders "agreed on a way to achieve denuclearisation," said Mr Moon. The agreement was described by Mr Kim as a "leap forward" towards military peace on the peninsula. Mr Kim also said he hoped to "visit Seoul in the near future" - he would be the first North Korean leader to do so.

A joint statement says the two Koreas agreed to establish buffer zones along their land and sea borders to reduce military tensions and prevent accidental clashes. The statement signed by the countries’ defense chiefs also says the Koreas agreed to withdraw 11 guard posts from the Demilitarized Zone by December with the aim of removing them eventually.

Shocking footage showing a South Korean pastor beating her followers and ordering them to beat one another has emerged as Korean police investigate claims that she ran a cult in Fiji, forcing people to work without pay and endure violent rituals. The footage appears to show violent assaults on members of the South Korean Grace Road Church.

The shine is starting to come off South Korean President Moon Jae-in's engagement strategy with the North. The liberal politician, who reversed nearly a decade of conservative hard-line policy toward North Korea after his election last year, is preparing for a third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un amid growing public skepticism about his approach.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry stated Thursday that "one cannot expect any progress in the implementation" of Pyongyang's denuclearization agreement with the U.S. if Washington maintains its emphasis on sanctions. The reclusive state took steps such as dismantling its nuclear test site even before the unprecedented North Korea-U.S. summit on June 12, but the two sides have still failed to decide any timeline for Pyongyang to give up its existing nukes.

South Korea is urging North Korea to speed up the process of denuclearizing. 

The country needs to convince more couples to have children. But its biggest city is no paradise for parents.

Russia is a nuclear power. But an economic power it is not. Last year, the country’s GDP totaled around $1.6 trillion, less than that of the state of Texas. Nor is its wealth growing: Russia’s GDP in 2017 was smaller than it was in 2013, adjusting for price changes. And yet there’s no question of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s international influence. Witness his ability to hack bigger, richer countries’ democratic elections, or, as this week’s Helsinki summit highlighted, to cow Donald Trump.

North Korean officials did not show up on Thursday for a meeting with Americans at the inter-Korean border to discuss the return of remains of United States soldiers killed in the Korean War, officials said. Kim Jong-un, the North’s leader, committed to repatriating American soldiers’ remains in his June talks with President Trump. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week, after meeting with officials in North Korea, that working-level talks on the matter would be held on or around Thursday in Panmunjom, the so-called truce village on the border between North and South Korea.

An Overwatch hack creator in South Korea could face jail time after violating the Game Industry Promotion Law and Information and Communication Technology Protection Law. A 28-year old man was handed a suspended one-year prison sentence and two year's probation, according to South Korean news broadcaster SBS News. The hacker reportedly collected a large sum of money in exchange for the program—200 million won, or around $180,000, SBS News said.

North and South Korean officials met Friday for talks on resuming reunions of families divided by the 1950-53 Korean War as the rivals boost reconciliation amid a diplomatic push to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis. Seoul’s Unification Ministry said the meeting will discuss ways to carry out an agreement on the reunions made between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in during a summit in April.

A South Korean court has ruled the killing of dogs for meat is illegal, in a landmark decision that animal rights activists have said could pave the way to outlawing the eating of canines. The meat has long been a part of South Korean cuisine, with about 1 million dogs believed to be eaten annually, but consumption has declined and the practice is now something of a taboo among younger generations amid increased pressure from activists.

Upcoming military exercises with South Korea have been “suspended indefinitely,” a U.S. official said Thursday. A formal guidance from the Pentagon for the suspension of planned joint exercises in August will be issued shortly, according to several reports. The announcement comes two days after President Trump’s stunning promise to stop the “expensive, provocative” missions following his historic summit in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.