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1. South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that the government has imposed independent sanctions on 11 vessels and five individuals and entities engaged in illegal ship-to-ship transfers of oil and other products to North Korea, tightening the sanctions against the North's maritime activities.

2. President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday the government will expand eligibility for individual savings accounts, or ISAs, and raise the limit on the non-taxable amount.

3. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he delivered a speech about South Korea's capabilities and policy in the nuclear energy and artificial intelligence sectors.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday said North Korea’s recent definition of South-North relations as those between “hostile” nations amounted to an acknowledgement of the regime’s nature as an “anti-national and anti-historical group.”

2. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui arrived in Russia on Monday at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as the Kremlin said it aims to further develop ties with the North in all areas. The two Ministers are set to hold talks on Tuesday.

3. Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday won a landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses, cementing his status as the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came in a distant second.

1. North Korea said Monday it successfully test-fired a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile. The Korean Central News Agency said the missile loaded with a hypersonic maneuverable controlled warhead was launched Sunday afternoon as part of regular activities to develop powerful weapons systems.

2. South Korea on Monday unveiled plans to establish a "semiconductor mega cluster" in southern Seoul by promoting a total investment of 622 trillion won, or roughly 472 billion U.S. dollars. President Yoon Suk Yeol said Monday it is expected to create at least 3 million jobs over the next 20 years.

3. Taiwan's current vice president and leader of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, Lai Ching-te, was elected Taiwan's president on Saturday, defeating his China-friendly rival from the main opposition party.

1. South Korea’s new Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, who assumed office this week, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held their first phone conversation on Thursday. The two agreed to work together to address North Korean threats and support peace in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.

2. The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld another appellate court ruling that ordered Nippon Steel to compensate the family of a late South Korean victim forced into wartime labor during Japan’s colonial rule.

3. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday that South Korea has shown growing signs of an economic recovery led by exports, though domestic demand remains weak.

1. In a widely expected decision, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea on Thursday kept its policy rate unchanged at 3.5 % for the eighth straight session, amid woes over a still weak economic recovery and slower-than-expected inflation moderation.

2. Lee Nak-yon, former leader of the Democratic Party, announced his departure from the party Thursday. Lee delivered his plans to join forces with three other non-mainstream lawmakers who quit the party a day earlier to launch a new party ahead of April's parliamentary elections.

3. South Korea’s UN Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook said Wednesday during a U.N. Security Council session that Russia's recent launches of North Korean ballistic missiles into Ukraine give Pyongyang military insights and could encourage it to export weapons to other countries.

1. North Korea’s state media reported Wednesday that Kim Jong-un called South Korea the country’s “principal enemy” and said he has “no intention of avoiding war.”

2. The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced Wednesday that the assailant who stabbed opposition leader Lee Jae-myung in the neck last week committed the crime out of “subjective political beliefs.” Lee Jae-myung left the hospital Wednesday, eight days after the attack.

3. President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday his government will allow the reconstruction of homes 30 years or older even if they meet safety requirements in order to improve housing conditions and increase home supply.

1. A heavy snow advisory was issued across the greater Seoul area on Tuesday morning, with up to 10 cm of snow expected to accumulate in the region. The Korea Meteorological Agency said up to 3 cm of snow per hour is forecast to hit Seoul during the evening rush hour.

2. President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday called for prioritizing the improvement of people’s livelihoods in the new year during a Cabinet meeting. He listed increased support for vulnerable groups and new transportation systems as some of the government’s latest projects.

3. Wissam Tawil, a senior Hezbollah commander has been killed in an apparent Israeli drone attack in southern Lebanon. Tawil’s death is the latest incident to fuel concerns that the October 7th attack against Israel is now escalating into wider regional conflict.

1. The JCS said Monday the zone designated for the cessation of hostile actions effectively no longer exists with North Korea breaching the September 19th military agreement. Military sources said Sunday that some artillery shells fired by Pyongyang last Friday fell as close as 7 kilometers above the Northern Limit Line.

2. The parliamentary science committee passed a set of bills Monday aimed at establishing an independent space and aerospace agency, named the Korea Aerospace Administration. KASA will operate under the Ministry of Science and ICT and be overseen by the presidential science advisory committee.

3. Korean American actor Steven Yeun won Best Actor for Netflix original "Beef" at the 81st Golden Globe Awards Sunday. He made history as the first actor of Asian descent to receive the "Best Actor" award in the category.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday vetoed two opposition-led special investigation proposals, one of which involves allegations against first lady Kim Keon Hee. The Presidential Office called the opposition party's unilateral passage of the two special counsel bills "evil laws meant for the general elections."

2. South Korea's finance ministry said Thursday it expects the country's economy to grow 2.2 percent this year on the back of a rebound in the semiconductor cycle and a recovery of exports. Inflation is projected to be 2.6 percent in 2024.

3. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that North Korea fired some 200 artillery shells into waters off its western coast Friday morning. The shells fell into the maritime buffer zone north of the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday received the first government policy report of the year and said the ban on stock short selling will remain in place until measures are devised to resolve short selling's harmful effects on retail investors.

2. The South Korean Army said Thursday that South Korea and the United States held their first joint training of the year by staging a live-fire exercise near the border with North Korea to bolster their joint combat readiness.

3. At least 95 people have been killed by two explosions near the burial site of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani on the fourth anniversary of his assassination by the U.S. The Iranian Health Minister revised the death toll down to 95 from 103 Thursday and said 211 people had been injured.