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1. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday embarked on a diplomatic trip to France and Vietnam. One of the highlights will be a 30-minute speech by the President in Paris, in hopes to boost Busan's bid for the 2030 World Expo.

2. South Korea's ruling People Power Party and the Yoon Suk Yeol administration decided to exclude the so-called “killer” test questions from the nation's annual college entrance exam, which deal with materials not covered by public education.

3. Seoul issued its first heat wave advisory this year, as the capital’s daytime high climbed up to 34 degrees Celsius, marking the hottest temperature so far this year. Some regions in Gyeonggi-do Province even reached up to 37 degrees.

1. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Thursday. In response, the national security advisors of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan issued a joint statement condemning North Korea's missile launches.

2. According to the latest economic trends report released by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Friday, exports fell by over 15 percent on-year. However, despite global economic uncertainties, consumer and business sentiment improved and price increases slowed.

3. A Korean woman who was 8 months pregnant was killed in what appears to have been a random shooting in downtown Seattle this week.

1. After 10 straight rate hikes, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it would freeze its rate hike campaign at between 5.0% and 5.25%., however, most officials estimate that there might be as many as two more quarter-point hikes this year.

2. The South Korean government began daily briefings on Japan's planned release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday in a bid to alleviate public anxiety.

3. South Korea filed a 44.7 billion won, or 35 million USD, damage suit against North Korea on Wednesday for blowing up the joint liaison office in 2020.

1. Data from Statistics Korea released on Wednesday shows that there were 28.83 million people in employment last month, up more than 351 thousand compared to the previous year, bringing the employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 to its highest ever.

2. A director at the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, Song Han-na, on Tuesday said that satellite imagery has been released, showing that China is expanding detention centers where about 2 thousand North Korean defectors are reportedly being detained.

3. According to the U.S. Labor Department on Tuesday, the country’s consumer price index in May increased by 4 percent compared to the same month last year, showing the smallest on-year gains since 2021. Stocks rallied on rising anticipation of a rate freeze by the central bank.

1. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will visit France and Vietnam next week to participate in the General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions in Paris to rally international support for the 2030 Busan World Expo bid and hold a bilateral summit with his Vietnamese counterpart.

2. According to the Ukraine's deputy defense minister on Monday, Ukraine's military forces successfully conducted counteroffensive operations over the weekend, recapturing 7 villages from Russian occupation.

3. The U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez announced last week that he would extend the suspension of U.S. semiconductor equipment export controls to South Korean and Taiwanese companies for the time being.

1. The officials from the Yoon Suk Yeol administration are questioned by lawmakers at the National Assembly starting Monday for three days. The session runs through Wednesday with the focus on political and diplomatic issues gripping the country.

2. Starting Monday, Japan is carrying out a two-week test run on the process for discharging contaminated water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant despite concerns of the local fisheries representatives.

3. Ukraine on Sunday claims to have liberated three frontline villages in the western Donetsk region, marking its first successful results of its counter-offensive which began a week ago.

1. South Korea’s ruling and main opposition parties have agreed on Thursday to establish a special committee on Japan’s Fukushima wastewater release. The committee will be holding parliamentary hearings that could involve the 21-member team of Korean experts who returned from the inspections of the plant’s water treatment facilities.

2. According to the Bank of Korea on Friday, South Korea’s current account has again marked a deficit in April due to decreased dividend payments from overseas and a deficit in the tourism-related account.

3. South Korea lost to Italy in the semifinals of FIFA U-20 World Cup 2-1. South Korea’s third-place match against Israel kicks off on Sunday at 2:30 PM in La Plata.

1. The Yoon Suk-Yeol administration on Wednesday revealed a National Security Strategy highlighting the threat of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

2. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions, one of South Korea's two main umbrella labor unions, decided Wednesday to boycott the presidential advisory board for labor policies.

3. As of Wednesday, some 400 wildfires are burning in Canada and more than half of them are yet to be controlled, burning areas as large as about 30% of South Korea.

1. South Korea was elected to the UN Security Council on Tuesday as a non-permanent member, winning the support of more than two-thirds of the UN General Assembly. The two-year term kicks off at the start of next year. This marks the country's return to the UNSC after 11 years.

2. Japan has started releasing seawater into an underwater tunnel built to release the contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean according to the country’s local media on Tuesday.

3. According to the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report released Tuesday, the latest global growth outlook for this year has been set at 2.1%, up from 1.7% of the previous report in January. It also raised concerns over the possibility of a further economic slowdown caused by stress in the banking sector.

1. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that the South Korea-U.S. alliance has now been elevated to a 'nuclear-based' alliance during his Memorial Day speech delivered at Seoul National Cemetery.

2. The International Maritime Organization said on Monday that it will respond to North Korea if the country does not offer the organization any advanced notices for future satellite launches. This came after North Korea slammed the organization for adopting its first resolution last Wednesday, criticizing the country over its recent attempt to launch a satellite.

3. Ukrainian forces on Monday attacked along the frontline in the Donetsk region to punch through Russian defensive lines as military analysts said this appears to be Ukraine’s long-anticipated counteroffensive.