(Yonhap Feature) UNIST building AVATAR system for teleoperated robots

ULSAN — An avatar refers to an image that represents a computer user in online games and chat rooms.

However, the term avatar has taken on a new meaning in the robotics field. It stands for an interActive and intuitiVe control interfAce for a TeleoperAted Robot (AVATAR) system, designed to transport human presence to a remote location in real time.

First vice FM to visit Russia soon amid tensions over Ukraine: sources

SEOUL — First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin is expected to pay a visit to Russia soon, sources said Monday, after tensions flared between the two countries following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s suggestion of the possibility of South Korea providing weapons aid to Ukraine.

Chang, who served as an ambassador to Russia until early last month, plans to make a two-day trip to Moscow in mid-May to exchange goodbye greetings with Russian officials because he was unable to do so as he took over as vice minister while on a visit to Seoul for a conference of diplomatic mission chiefs, the sources said.

(LEAD) Ex-DP leader Song to voluntarily appear before prosecutors Tuesday: lawyer

SEOUL — Song Young-gil, a former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), plans to voluntarily appear before prosecutors this week for questioning about a growing political funding scandal, his lawyer said Monday.

“Song will voluntarily appear at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office at 10 a.m. Tuesday,” lawyer Sun Jong-moon said in a message to the media.

Official says no plans for now to form three-way nuke deterrence consultative body with U.S., Japan

SEOUL — A senior official at South Korea’s foreign ministry said Monday that Seoul has no plans for now to create a trilateral consultative group on extended deterrence with Washington and Tokyo.

The official made the remarks amid media speculation that South Korea, the United States and Japan may establish a three-way nuclear consultative body, after President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to create a bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) to strengthen extended deterrence against North Korea’s threats.

S. Korea reports 5 more mpox infections

SEOUL — South Korea confirmed five more cases of mpox Monday, bringing the country’s total to 47, health authorities said.

Three patients are from Seoul, and the other two from South Chungcheong Province and Busan, respectively, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. None of them traveled abroad, it added.

Festival set for this week to move beyond conflict over Jeju naval base

SEOUL — The Navy, provincial authorities and local residents will hold a festival in and around a naval base on the southern resort island of Jeju later this week to promote harmony among them after a period of conflict over its construction, the armed service said Monday.

The festival, called the Day of Ilgangjeong, is set to take place in the fishing town of Gangjeong, now home to the Navy’s Maritime Task Flotilla Seven, from Friday to Sunday. Ilgangjeong means “Gangjeong is the best” in local language.

Army’s 8th Corps ends defense mission ahead of next month’s dissolution

SEOUL — The South Korean Army’s Eighth Corps ended its eastern coastal defense missions Monday ahead of its official dissolution slated for next month as part of a plan to streamline the structure of the military, officials said Monday.

The unit handed over its key missions to the Third Corps in a key step toward its dissolution set to take place on June 30 under the reform plan aimed at creating a slimmer yet smarter military based on cutting-edge technologies.

Source: Yonhap News Agency