Korea 24 - 2022.04.18

Korea24 &ndash; 2022.04.18. (Monday)<br /> <br /> News Briefing: All COVID-19 social distancing measures have been lifted in South Korea for the first time in over two years, except mask-wearing. This comes as the latest daily case count fell below 50,000 for the first time in 68 days. (Eunice KIM)<br /> <br /> In-Depth News Analysis: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is said to have overseen the successful test-firing of a new weapon on Saturday, that the regime claims will boost the efficiency of their tactical nuclear weapons. This latest provocation came ahead of joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea, which kicked off on Monday, as well as US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim&#039;s five-day trip to Seoul. To discuss these latest developments Professor Andrei Lankov from Kookmin University joins us on the line.<br /> <br /> Korea Trending with Walter Lee:<br /> 1. The suspects of the Gapyeong Valley Murder case was caught by police on Saturday after having been on the run since last December. (이은해-조현수, 공개수배 중 여행갔다 꼬리잡혀)<br /> 2. There was a surprise reunion of the disbanded K-pop group 2NE1 at the Coachella music festival on Saturday. (CL, 코첼라 무대 찢었던 美친 존재감..2NE1 7년만 재결합 선물)<br /> 3. K-pop superstars BTS announced a new album will be coming on June 10. (라스베이거스 공연 마친 BTS, 6월 10일 새 앨범으로 컴백 예고)<br /> <br /> Monday Sports Round-up: Sports reporter Yoo Jee-ho from the Yonhap News Agency joins us on the line to give us a recap on the key sporting headlines, including golfer Kim Hyo-joo&rsquo;s fifth career LPGA title on Saturday, the SSG Landers storming to the top of the KBO league, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays ending up in the injured list after suffering through another poor start and how the four Korean teams fared in the AFC Champions League.<br /> <br /> Morning Edition Preview with Richard Larkin:<br /> - In tomorrow&rsquo;s Korea Times, Jung Da-min reports on eleven South Koreans taking part in the Invictus Games for the first time this year. <br /> -