South Korea reported its 12th fatality from the new coronavirus and 169 new confirmed cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections here to 1,146. A 73-year-old man, a member of a religious sect in the southeastern city of Daegu, died of COVID-19, according to the city government. The man, who had a history of diabetes and high blood pressure, had been admitted and treated since Sunday. Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which has nearly 210,000 members across the country, has been

President Moon Jae-in is expected to hold a meeting with the leaders of South Korea's ruling and opposition parties this week on the COVID-19 epidemic, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Wednesday. Moon plans to discuss the matter with Lee Hae-chan, head of the ruling Democratic Party; Hwang Kyo-ahn, chief of the main opposition Future United Party; and leaders of other major parties on Friday, according to the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official stopped short of reveali

South Korea on Wednesday started to regulate the country's exports of facial masks as demand for sanitary products has been running high here amid the spread of the new coronavirus. Under the measures, effective until April 30, the government will limit mask exports to a maximum of 10 percent of total output here, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. While the country's daily production of masks reached 11 million units as of Tuesday, which doubled from two weeks earlier, South