Seoul

South Korea has banned the sending of leaflets critical of the regime to neighboring North Korea. The parliament in Seoul passed a law to that effect on Monday, which also makes it a punishable offense to pass on money or USB data carriers containing entertainment or information. Earlier, Pyongyang had sharply increased pressure on its neighbors to the south.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has issued an apology for the death of a 47-year-old South Korean government worker, who was shot dead and his body set alight North Korean troops. The unidentified man was found floating on the sea, in the North's waters.

The apology came in the form of a letter sent to South Korea's Blue House Friday morning, which acknowledged that the incident should not have happened.

According to the Blue House, the letter read "Chairman Kim Jong Un asked to convey that he feels very sorry that instead of giving aid to our compatriots in the South who is struggling with Covid epidemic, we have given President Moon and our compatriots in the South a great disappointment with this unseen misfortune in our sea."

The mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon, has been found dead. Seoul police had started a wide search after he went missing earlier on Thursday. According to Seoul police official Choi Ik-s, his body was discovered by a rescue dog in a park northeast of the presidential office shortly after midnight on Friday local time. The cause of death is yet unclear though there is no evidence of homicide so far.

The police in Seoul has started a wide search after Mayor Park Won-soon has gone missing, following a verbal message to his daughter that she described as sounding like a will. His phone has been turned off and police officers are focussing on the Sungbuk neighbourhood where his signal was last detected. A government official has confirmed that he did not turn up for work on Tuesday.

Park has been mayor of Seoul since 2011 and has been viewed as a leading candidate for the 2022 presidential election.

After just two days, the embassy of the United States in South Korea has taken down the banner with the message "Black Lives Matter".

Bloomberg and Reuters report that the banner was removed after President Trump expressed displeasure with it.

The embassy of the United States in South Korea has tweeted a picture showing a banner with the message "Black Lives Matter" on the walls of the embassy in support of the ongoing anti-racism protests in the United States and around the world.

Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of Seoul's education office, calls for postponement of reopening schools. All schools, as well as kindergartens, were supposed to reopen this week, as per governmental decision. In a post to Facebook on May 11, he stated that "if the current trend of concerns over a second wave of COVID-19 continues, (I) believe there is a need to review the school reopening schedule." Hee-yeon suggests postponing the reopening by a week.

South Korea, who was quick to take action to contain the spread of Covid-19 earlier this year, is struggling to contain new infections. Over the weekend, the country counted 69 new cases, equal to the number reported in the entire previous week and the highest daily number in over a month. Most new cases are linked to Seoul bars and nightclubs and authorities are in the midst of tracking down and testing over 7,000 patrons.