1. Elementary, middle and high schools nationwide are returning for the new school year on Thursday without the mask mandate for the first time in 4 years since the outbreak of COVID-19.
2. Data from Statistics Korea on Thursday shows that South Korea’s overall industrial production stood at 109.7, up 0.5 percent from the previous month. However, retail sales edged down 2.1 percent on-month.
3. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Wednesday sanctioned three companies and two individuals for “illicitly” generating income for the North Korean government.
