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SEOUL, April 25 (Yonhap) -- The family of a late comfort woman has won a damages suit filed against the Japanese government in South Korea, a local court said Friday. The Cheongju District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, Lee Man-young, the son of the late Gil Gap-soon, and ordered the Japanese government to pay 200 million won (US$139,000) in compensation. This marks the third time a Korean court has issued a ruling recognizing the Japanese government's liability for compensating comfort women victims and their families. "Both countries are signatories to the Hague Convention, which acknowledges mutual judicial jurisdiction, and a nation can be treated as a legal entity. Although we have not yet received the official ruling, it appears the court accepted these arguments and acknowledged Japan's liability for damages," the plaintiff's attorney said. Born in 1924 in Muju, 183 kilometers south of Seoul, Gil Gap-soon was taken to Nagasaki, Japan, in 1941 at the age of

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(ATTN: UPDATES with latest developments; CHANGES headline, photos) SEOUL, April 25 (Yonhap) -- A fire at the COEX exhibition center in southern Seoul was put out Friday two hours after it began, forcing some 1,200 evacuations, firefighting officials said. The fire broke out inside a restaurant on the second floor of the exhibition center. Firefighters responded to a fire report shortly after 11 a.m. and put out the main flames around 11:40 a.m. before completing extinguishing the blaze at 1:14 p.m., according to the officials. There were no casualties except for four people who were treated at the scene after inhaling smoke. More than 1,200 people evacuated the exhibition center and nearby buildings as smoke billowed out into the surrounding neighborhood. The World IT Show 2025, which was under way at COEX, was suspended but it later resumed. More than 120 firefighting personnel and 33 fire engines were deployed to the scene. Police and firefighting authorities sus

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(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; RESTRUCTURES; ADDS more info in last 10 paras) SEOUL, April 26 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has unveiled its new destroyer for the country's navy as part of its broader plan to enhance maritime power, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Saturday. On Friday, Pyongyang held a launching ceremony of its new 5,000-ton multipurpose destroyer at a shipyard in the North's western port city of Nampho, according to the report by the KCNA. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the ceremony with his daughter, known as Ju-ae, and examined the newly built naval warship, named the Choe Hyon after a deceased North Korean anti-Japanese revolutionary fighter. The ship, planned to be delivered to the North Korean navy early next year, is armed with weapons systems that significantly enhance its air defense, anti-ship, anti-submarine and anti-ballistic missile operations, the report said. It can also be equipped with supersonic strategic cruise

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(ATTN: ADDS more info throughout; REPLACES photo) SEOUL, April 26 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has participated in a launching ceremony of a new destroyer for the country's navy, touting the military's efforts to enhance its maritime power, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Saturday. North Korea unveiled its new 5,000-ton multipurpose destroyer at the ceremony held at a shipyard in North Korea's western port city of Nampho on Friday, the 93rd founding anniversary of the People's Revolutionary Army, according to the report by the KCNA. Kim attended the ceremony with his daughter, known as Ju-ae, and examined the newly built naval warship, named Choe Hyon after a deceased North Korean anti-Japanese revolutionary fighter. The ship, planned to be delivered to the North Korean navy early next year, is armed with weapons systems that significantly enhance its air defense, anti-ship, anti-submarine and anti-ballistic missile operations, the report

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(ATTN: UPDATES with WSJ report in paras 9-12) By Song Sang-ho WASHINGTON, April 25 (Yonhap) -- The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said Friday that South Korea and the United States agreed to seek "expedient and meaningful" progress toward "reciprocal and balanced" trade during a bilateral meeting in Washington the previous day. In a readout, the office cast the meeting between USTR Jamieson Greer and Ahn Duk-geun, South Korea's minister of trade, industry and energy (MOTIE), as "productive." The two sides met as Seoul is angling to secure exemptions and exceptions from the Trump administration's "reciprocal" and sectoral tariffs. "During the productive meeting, Ambassador Greer underscored the priorities of President Trump's America First Trade Policy, and both sides agreed on the importance of achieving expedient and meaningful progress toward reciprocal and balanced trade between the United States and Korea," the office said. "The ministers discussed next

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By Yoo Jee-ho SEOUL, April 26 (Yonhap) -- The NC Dinos announced Saturday they will remove all aluminum panels at their home stadium in the southeastern city of Changwon after one of them caused the death of a fan during a game late last month. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) team said all 227 louver panels, installed on windows and walls at Changwon NC Park, will be taken down over the next four days. The decision was reached after the latest round of meetings involving the Dinos, the city of Changwon and the city-run Changwon Infrastructure Corp. on Friday. During a KBO game at Changwon NC Park on March 29, a female fan in her 20s was struck by a louver panel that fell off the window of the Dinos' office above a concession stand. She died of a head injury two days later. The piece, which fell from about 18 meters above the ground, was 2.6 meters long and 40 centimeters wide, and weighed about 60 kilograms. The deceased fan's younger sister and another fan also suffe

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SEOUL, April 26 (Yonhap) -- Russia confirmed for the first time that North Korean troops have been deployed and are fighting alongside Moscow in the war against Ukraine, media reports said Saturday. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, took note of the "role of North Korean fighters" in the Kursk border region, as he reported on the "complete liberation" of the territory to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia's TASS and Ria Novosti reported. "I want specially to note the participation of servicemen of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in liberating border areas of the Kursk region ... in accordance with the Treaty on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between our countries," he was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency, referring to North Korea by its official name. It marks the first acknowledgement of the North Korean troop deployment by a Russian official. North Korea has not confirmed the dispatch. Gerasimo

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By Song Sang-ho WASHINGTON, April 25 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has said that tariff talks with scores of countries will be finished "over the next three to four weeks," claiming he has already made 200 deals, as South Korea and other trading partners are trying to secure exemptions from his administration's "reciprocal" and sectoral tariffs. Trump made the remarks in Tuesday's interview with TIME, which was released Friday, a day after Seoul and Washington held high-level trade talks during which they set a broad framework for future talks on tariffs and economic cooperation issues. "I would say, over the next three to four weeks, and we're finished, by the way," Trump said, according to a transcript posted on the magazine's website. He added, "I'll be finished. Now, some countries may come back and ask for an adjustment, and I'll consider that, but I'll basically be, with great knowledge, setting ..." The president said that he has made 200 deals "100

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(ATTN: UPDATES with details; CHANGES headline, photos) SEOUL, April 25 (Yonhap) -- A fire broke out inside a restaurant at the COEX exhibition center in southern Seoul on Friday, firefighting officials said. No casualties have been reported so far. Firefighters responded to a fire report shortly after 11 a.m. and are currently putting out the blaze. People were evacuating the building as black smoke filled the exhibition center and billowed out into the surrounding neighborhood. hague@yna.co.kr

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SEOUL, April 26 (Yonhap) -- Acting President Han Duck-soo called for efforts to achieve a "more mature democracy" in South Korea on Saturday amid growing speculation he may announce a bid to run in the upcoming presidential election. "We will work to realize a more mature democracy to faithfully transmit to our future generations the values of liberal democracy, upheld by the April 19 civil revolt," Han said in a congratulatory message at the national breakfast prayer meeting celebrating the 1960 pro-democracy movement. Han's message was read by Lee Hee-wan, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. "I hope South Korea becomes a country that leads the world in all areas of politics, economy and society by uniting the hearts of all people," he said. Han's message came amid speculation the acting president could be a potential game changer for the conservative camp in the June election to be held to pick a new leader after former President Yo

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