The Rio Olympics are less than 100 days away and it seems South Korean athletes are taking no chances when it comes to the threat of contracting the Zika virus. South Korea's stars will wear tracksuits which have been infused with insect repellant designed to keep mosquitoes away, as well as long pants and blazers for the opening and closing ceremonies.

A former North Korean military chief who Seoul had said was executed is actually alive and in possession of several new senior-level posts, the North's state media said Tuesday. The news on Ri Yong Gil marks yet another blunder for South Korean intelligence officials, who have often gotten information wrong in tracking developments with their rival. It also points to the difficulties that even professional spies have in figuring out what's going on in one of the...

A few weeks ago, on a Sunday afternoon, about 70 people gathered at Ichon Hangang Park in Seoul, South Korea, to do absolutely nothing. There was not a smartphone in sight, no texting or taking selfies, and no one rushing to get anywhere. The crowd was taking part in South Korea's annual Space Out Competition, a contest to see who can stare off into space the longest without losing focus. WoopsYang, the visual artist who created the event in 2014, said it's designed to highlight how much people have been overworking their brains and how much they stand to gain by taking a break.

South Korea’s intelligence agency is to continue to hold 13 North Koreans at the heart of a bitter dispute between the rival countries, with Pyongyang accusing Seoul of abducting the group from a restaurant, according to an official. Intelligence officers want longer to question the group of 12 waitresses and a manager at a North Korea-run restaurant in China, who arrived in Seoul in April. South Korea says they defected of their own free will, while the North claims they were abducted.

Days before the Whale Festival in Ulsan, South Korea, last month, authorities raided a cold storage unit and found more than 27 tons—about 40 whales’ worth—of whale meat worth $3.4 million. The meat belonged to minke whales, which can grow to 35 feet long and swim as fast as 20 miles an hour. While Japan, Norway, and Iceland get most of the heat for whaling, conservationists say South Korea engages in controversial whaling practices too. South Korean fishermen are known to take advantage of a loophole that allows them to legally sell whale meat from animals that are accidentally caught in fishing nets.

A medium-range ballistic missile fired Wednesday by North Korea flew about 620 miles and landed near Japan's territorial waters, Seoul and Tokyo officials said, one of the longest flights by a North Korean missile. The U.S. Strategic Command said North Korea fired two presumed Rodong missiles simultaneously, not just one. The command said initial indications were that one of the missiles exploded immediately after launch, while the second was tracked over North Korea and into the Sea of Japan.

Samsung hoped that no Olympic athlete would leave Rio empty handed. The South Korean electronics giant provided each of the 11,000 athletes competing in the Rio 2016 Olympics with a special edition Galaxy S7 smartphone. One country, however, has refused the gift. According to Radio Free Asia, North Korea prevented its 31 competing athletes from receiving the complimentary phone. A North Korean official reportedly went to the Samsung office and collected all of the phones that were to be provided to the country's athletes.

Kim Jong Un has reportedly ordered the elimination -- possibly by execution -- of agents that fail to stop high-profile elite North Koreans from defecting.

Enraged North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is alleged to have ordered terror attacks against top South Korean nationals living in China and other East Asian nations over the defection of a London-based diplomat. The step is believed to be part of a series of harsh measures, including abductions that Kim has taken following Thae Yong-ho's defection to South Korea along with his family. Security for South Koreans living abroad has been stepped up due to the perceived threat, given that the high-profile defection has caused a huge embarrassment to Kim's regime.

High-speed boats from the Korea Coast Guard and navy surround vessels simulating foreign boats fishing illegally in South Korean waters during an exercise in the West Sea last Friday. A vast number of Chinese boats allegedly cross into South Korean waters to fish illegally every year.

North Korea on Saturday threatened to aim fire at the lighting equipment used by "provocative" American and South Korean troops at a truce village inside the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas. The North's Korean People's Army accused U.S. and South Korean soldiers of "deliberate provocations" by aiming their lights at North Korean guard posts at Panmunjom since Friday evening.

I spent five years living in the clamor of Seoul, South Korea, and the smaller provincial capital of Jeonju. When I finally returned home to rural Nebraska, the silence was palpable. The negative space had an almost oppressive quality. I would look out on so much land and see nothing and be reminded that this was the same landscape that once caused homesteaders to lose their minds. I had come home — literally, this was the Nebraska town I grew up in — to take a job at a small newspaper in Scottsbluff.

South Korea has elite troops on standby ready to assassinate Kim Jong Un if the country feels threatened by North Korean nuclear weapons, the country's defense minister revealed this week. Asked in parliament Wednesday if there was a special forces unit already assembled that could eliminate North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, Han Min-koo said: "Yes, we do have such a plan. "

Typhoon Chaba will threaten lives and property across Japan and South Korea this week.

At least six people have been killed after Typhoon Chaba battered South Korea, say authorities.

The Apple iPhone 7 went on sale in South Korea on Friday, seeking to fill a void left by arch-rival Samsung on its home turf following a damaging recall fiasco over the Note 7 smartphone. The South Korean electronics giant discontinued the Note 7 -- one of its key iPhone challengers -- on October 11 following reports that replacements for combustible models were also catching fire. The decision is set to cost Samsung billions in lost profits, and there are already signs that Apple is reaping some of the benefits.

Park Geun-hye under investigation over claims she let an old friend and daughter of a religious cult leader interfere in important state affairs

[South Korean] President Park Geun-hye is deep trouble. The stories have been out for a few days now, and even the English-language papers have caught on...

Thousands of South Koreans rallied in Seoul Saturday, demanding the resignation of President Park Geun-hye. Police estimated that around 12,000 demonstrators attended the evening protest, according to the country's semi-official Yonhap news agency. South Korea's president faces scrutiny for allegedly leaking state documents to a friend. On Friday, Park Geun-hye ordered the resignation of 10 of her senior secretaries as political turmoil continued to grip the country.