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1. The ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party finalized the national budget for next year on Wednesday, and agreed to pass it through the National Assembly later this week. The two sides also agreed to hold a vote on the budget at 10 AM Thursday.

2. The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday ended its meeting on North Korea’s latest test-firing of ICBMs without a joint response. Kim Song, North Korea’s envoy to the United Nations, warned the allies will face consequences if they continue military cooperation.

3. A group of countries led by the U.S., including South Korea, members of NATO and the EU, released a joint statement on Tuesday denouncing the repeated attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

1. The defense ministry said Tuesday that South Korea, the United States and Japan launched a system to share North Korean missile warning data in real time, in the latest effort to bolster trilateral security cooperation against the North.

2. President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday named National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of National Intelligence Service Director Kim Kyou-hyun last month. Former Second Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul was tapped to replace Foreign Minister Park Jin.

3. A magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit rural Gansu province in north-west China just before midnight on Monday, killing at least 118 people and injuring hundreds.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday named Ahn Duk-geun as the new minister of trade, industry and energy. Ahn's appointment comes three months after incumbent minister Bang Moon-kyu assumed the post in September. Bang is widely expected to run in the general elections in April.

2. The South Korean military said North Korea fired a long-range missile into the East Sea on Monday morning, in its fifth intercontinental ballistic missile launch this year. The latest launch came hours after the North fired a short-range missile from Pyongyang late on Sunday.

3. The Korea Meteorological Administration said Monday that temperatures are forecast to further dip later this week. Monday's morning lows ranged from minus 18 to minus 3 degrees Celsius nationwide.

1. Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo on Thursday raised the possibility of North Korea launching an intercontinental ballistic missile this month,... upon arriving in Washington for a South Korea-U.S. security meeting designed to discuss nuclear issues.

2. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday that the South Korean economy continues to show signs of gradual recovery for the second consecutive month driven by a rebound in the manufacturing sector.

3. Hungary on Friday blocked the European Union from approving a financial aid package for Ukraine, just hours after E.U. leaders agreed to officially open accession negotiations for Ukraine to join the bloc.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday ended his four-day state visit to the Netherlands, which focused on ensuring a stable supply chain of key materials and expanding bilateral semiconductor industry cooperation.

2. The ruling People Power Party said Thursday that the party will transition to an emergency leadership committee system, following the resignation of party leader Kim Gi-hyeon.

3. The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its benchmark lending rate steady between 5.25 and 5.50 percent for a third consecutive time after a two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The central bank also hinted at cutting the rate by a quarter percentage point three times next year.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday pledged to provide full support for semiconductor cooperation between South Korea and the Netherlands, as he visited the headquarters of Dutch chipmaking equipment company ASML.

2. According to data compiled by Statistics Korea on Wednesday, South Korea's on-year employment grew at a slower pace for the first time in four months in November. The number of employed people rose by 277,000 from a year earlier, slowing from the previous month's 346,000.

3. The U.S. Department of the Treasury said Tuesday it imposed sanctions on more than 250 individuals and entities, including a South Korean national, for involvement in Russia’s arms procurement. South Korea on Wednesday said an investigation has been launched into the individual.

1. The preliminary candidate registration for the April 10th general elections opened Tuesday, signaling the start of a four-month race. Prospective candidates can register their preliminary candidacies with the national Election Commission until the official candidate registration opens on March 21st.

2. President Yoon Suk Yeol began his state visit to the Netherlands on Monday by meeting with a group of Korean residents and vowing to upgrade the two countries’ relations to a “semiconductor alliance.”

3. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Tuesday, there are eight measles patients in South Korea as of Monday. Health authorities are urging people to check their vaccination history before traveling abroad as measles is becoming prevalent worldwide.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol departed Monday on a state visit to the Netherlands to strengthen semiconductor cooperation between the two countries.

2. The Finance Ministry said Monday that South Korea will establish a government-wide commission for the comprehensive management of supply chains of items necessary for major industries, amid growing supply chain risks.

3. The World Health Organization Executive Board adopted a resolution on Sunday in order to improve the “catastrophic” humanitarian crisis in the war-torn Gaza strip, urging prompt and unobstructed humanitarian aid access to the region.

1. South Korea’s main rival political parties have agreed to hold a 30-day extraordinary session starting next Monday. Three plenary sessions will be held on December 20th, 28th, and January 9th. Lawmakers aim to finalize next year’s budget during the session on the 20th.

2. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced Friday that it will launch a pan-governmental task force to address concerns about the increasing number of children with respiratory illnesses. This comes as cases of mycoplasma pneumoniae have risen in recent weeks.

3. The national security advisors of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will meet in Seoul on Saturday to discuss North Korea’s growing military threat and global security issues, as they continue to promote trilateral cooperation in Asia.

1. The ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party agreed Thursday to open an extraordinary National Assembly session on December 11th, and hold two plenary meetings on December 20th and 28th to deal with the 2024 national budget and pending bills, respectively.

2. Paek Kee-bong, a South Korean lawyer, was elected as a judge of the International Criminal Court for the 2024-2033 period on Wednesday, during a session of the Assembly of State Parties at U.N. headquarters in New York. This marks the third time a South Korean national has secured a seat at the court.

3. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a rare move on Wednesday by invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter to formally warn the Security Council of an impending “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza, and urged its members to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.