There are N95s, reserved for health workers. There are KN95s, which you can buy easily — except that quality may vary. And now South Korea's KF94 masks are getting a lot of buzz.
The move is likely to increase tensions during President Trump's final weeks in office. Separately, Iran seized a South Korean oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, South Korea said Monday.
Beginning Christmas Eve and through Jan. 3, South Korea will limit public and private gatherings to four people. Many tourist sites popular during the holiday period will be closed.
New social distancing measures are due to take effect Tuesday evening. The government warns of an impending crisis, brought on by a third wave of infections.
Seventy years on, war participants are drawing starkly differing conclusions from the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. The decisive conflict's lasting legacy is still visible on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korean lawmakers say intelligence officials briefed them on the North's tough pandemic rules, including a Pyongyang lockdown and an execution of an official caught breaking restrictions.
Previous spikes in South Korea were linked to outbreaks at churches and protests. Health officials say the current wave appears to have no links to any major groups or events.
Multiple school districts have already canceled classes for Monday, in anticipation of a hurricane that could bring storm surges of up to four feet. The governor has declared a state of emergency.
Women usually clean and cook at their in-laws' — but many stayed home this year. "It's difficult to understand why we have to do so much hard work when it's not even for our own ancestors," one says.
Pyongyang says an unidentified man was found in North Korean waters and that he murmured he was from South Korea but then stopped responding to soldiers' questions and appeared to try to flee.
