US aware of reports of NK short-range projectile launch: senior official

The United States is aware of reports that North Korea has launched a short-range projectile, a senior US government official said Wednesday, declining to comment further.Earlier, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North had fired two projectiles from near its east coast city of Wonsan on Thursday (Seoul time). The projectiles flew about 430 kilometers and landed in the East Sea, it said."We are aware of reports of a short-range projectile launched from North Korea," the offi

North KoreaJuly 25, 2019

N. Korea fires 2 new short-range ballistic missiles: Seoul

North Korea on Thursday fired two new short-range ballistic missiles, Seoul officials said, in an apparent move to put pressure on the United States ahead of possible nuclear talks between the two sides.South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that Pyongyang fired one missile toward the East Sea at around 5:34 a.m. and the other at 5:57 a.m. from Hodo Peninsula near its eastern coastal town of Wonsan. They flew around 430 kilometers and 690 km, respectively, both at an altitude of around 50 km.&

North KoreaJuly 25, 2019

Naver to spin off mobile payment division

Naver Corp., the operator of South Korea's dominant internet portal, said Wednesday it has decided to spin off its mobile payment division, Naver Pay. The new company, tentatively named Naver Financial, will be launched in November with an aim of making inroads into the financial services sector, including loans, insurance and investment.  The decision came after the number of Naver Pay users recently exceeded 10 million. Mirae Asset Daewoo Co., South Korea's top brokerage, plans to invest

IndustryJuly 24, 2019

Ex-Hyundai, Kia executives indicted over delayed engine recall

The prosecution on Wednesday indicted former executives of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors on charges of delaying recall processes in Korea for 18 months, though they were allegedly aware of engine defects.According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, three former executives who were responsible of product quality between 2015 and 2017 were indicted on charges of violating the Motor Vehicle Management Act.The companies were aware of problems such as engine stalls, connecting ro

MobilityJuly 24, 2019

S. Korea, Russia to hold working-level talks over mid-air confrontation

South Korea and Russia will hold working-level talks this week over a recent mid-air standoff over the East Sea after the sides offered conflicting accounts of the incident, an official at Seoul's defense ministry said Wednesday, "Director-level talks between South Korea and Russia over the airspace intrusion will be held Thursday in Seoul," a ministry official said on the condition of anonymity.  On Tuesday, South Korea said a Russian warplane intruded into its airspace above the

Foreign AffairsJuly 24, 2019

Suspected North Korean spy currently under probe: report

Security officials and police are currently detaining and questioning a North Korean spy, CBS Nocut News reported Wednesday.The National Intelligence Service and National Police Agency last month arrested a North Korean man in his 40s on alleged spying here, according to the local new outlet.This marked the first case in thirteen years that a spy directly dispatched from Pyongyang was apprehended in South Korea. The arrested man is suspected of taking direct orders from North Kore

North KoreaJuly 24, 2019

N. Korean airline to resume Pyongyang-Macau flights in August: report

North Korea's state-run airline, Air Koryo, will resume twice-weekly Pyongyang-Macau flights in August, a media report said Wednesday. Citing an official from Macau's Civil Aviation Authority, NK News, which tracks North Korean issues, reported that Macau approved the route between Pyongyang and Macau. Air Koryo operated a flight service between the two airports in the 1990s, according to the report. (Yonhap)

North KoreaJuly 24, 2019

[Graphic News] Newly registered pet dogs up 40% in 2018

　The number of newly registered pet dogs in South Korea rose nearly 40 percent in 2018 from a year earlier, the country’s animal quarantine agency said.　Around 147,000 new dogs were registered with the state-run Animal Protection Management System last year, compared with the newly registered 105,000 pet dogs a year earlier, according to the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency. 　Since 2014, all pet owners are obligated to register their dogs with the system. As of 2018, the accumulated numb

Social AffairsJuly 24, 2019

[Feature] Marriage migrants often at mercy of Korean husbands

Earlier this month, a video went viral on social media showing a Korean man beating his Vietnamese wife in front of their toddler son during a more than three-hour ordeal at their home in Yeongan, South Jeolla Province. As he assaults the wife crouched in a corner, the man shouts, “Didn’t I tell you that you are not in Vietnam?” The video also shows the son, 2, crying by his mother’s side.The wife, who suffered broken ribs, has been moved to a women’s shelter. On hi

Social AffairsJuly 24, 2019

Doosan Heavy to export parts for US small modular reactor

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, South Korea’s industrial equipment maker has agreed to provide key parts needed for construction of a small modular reactor in the United States, the company said Wednesday.Under a partnership with NuScale Power, the South Korean company will supply parts crucial for a nuclear steam supply system and other parts for the SMR. SMR is a new kind of light water reactor for a nuclear power plant.  The project is a part of a plan between NuScale a

MobilityJuly 24, 2019

Renault Samsung’s SM6 offers premium quality at affordable price

Renault Samsung, the South Korean unit of French carmaker Renault, has released an upgraded version of its premium sedan SM6 while keeping its price down, amid intensifying competition in the midsized sedan market, the company said Wednesday.The company has added the upper-end premium model SM6 Premiere and a liquefied petroleum gas version of the vehicle to cater to the diversifying needs of customers. Emphasizing the premium features of the sedan, the company said it has applied the Bose surro

MobilityJuly 24, 2019

KFS endeavors to create more urban forests in fight against fine dust

Amid growing concerns about worsening fine dust, the Korea Forest Service is making efforts to provide more green spaces by creating forests in cities as part of measures to tackle the environmental problem. Under plans to reduce fine dust and build green infrastructure for urbanities, set by the KFS last year, the government agency is going to create at least one urban forest in each of the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces across the country starting this year. In addition, the agency is pl

EconomyJuly 24, 2019

[David Ignatius] Uncertainty clouds the path forward for Afghanistan

At the military headquarters here (Kabul) where commanders oversee America’s longest war, an official explains in one sentence the US-led coalition’s bottom-line objective: “Peace is a situation where we can leave, and we don’t have to come back.”But how will the United States move toward this endgame, as US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad nears conclusion of his secret peace negotiations with the Taliban jihadists that America has been fighting for 18 years? Afghan

ViewpointsJuly 24, 2019

[Leonid Bershidsky] A comedian‘s triumph is a test for benevolent populism

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has achieved something none of his predecessors managed: Winning a parliamentary majority, obviating the need to form a coalition. Whether he knows how to capitalize on this unprecedented victory will be evident from his next steps.According to preliminary results from Sunday’s snap election, Zelenskiy’s Servant of the People grouping looks set to not only win 122 seats under the party list system, but a further 125 seats under the first-past-t

ViewpointsJuly 24, 2019

‘Seoul’s office building market boom will peak next year’

After picking up last year amid a slowing economy, Seoul’s office building market is likely to catch its breath in the upcoming months and peak next year as large-sized premium buildings spill into the market for sale and lease, according to commercial real estate company Cushman & Wakefield.“Since 2010, the office building market (in Seoul’s key business districts) has mostly seen supply outrun demand,” Philip Jin, head of research at the Korean office of the US-base

EconomyJuly 24, 2019

KADIZ emerges as potential flashpoint?

The Korea Air Defense Identification Zone in the East Sea has come under the spotlight after warplanes from four countries became tangled in the area Tuesday. Two Russian TU-95 strategic bombers and two Chinese H-6 strategic bombers entered the KADIZ without prior notice in the early hours of Tuesday. A Russian A-50 -- an early warning and control aircraft -- further trespassed into South Korea’s airspace above the Dokdo Islets, twice, prompting the Air Force to fire over 300 warning shots

DefenseJuly 24, 2019

N. Korea rejects food aid over S. Korea-US military drills

South Korea hopes to deliver food aid to North Korea as initially planned, despite Pyongyang’s refusal to accept it in a show of the regime’s discontent with an upcoming joint military exercise with the US.The Unification Ministry said Wednesday that North Korea’s working-level officials have expressed “a negative view” toward South Korea’s assistance of 50,000 tons of rice, citing the joint military drills scheduled for next month.The World Food Program&rsquo

North KoreaJuly 24, 2019

South Korea, US to continue discussion on Strait of Hormuz

South Korea agreed to continue consultations with the US over cooperative measures for Washington’s effort to safeguard freedom of navigation in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz off Iran, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday. South Korea’s national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, who met with US national security adviser John Bolton in Seoul, agreed on “the need for international efforts for the safe voyage of private merchant ships,” according to Ko Min-jung, presidenti

Foreign AffairsJuly 24, 2019

South Korean nationals aboard Russian ship detained by North Korea

North Korea has been holding a Russian fishing ship carrying two South Korean nationals since July 17, after the vessel drifted into waters off eastern North Korea due to a mechanical problem, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Wednesday. The 300-ton red crab fishing vessel, Xiang Hai Lin 8, which sails under the flag of Russia, was apprehended at sea by North Korea authorities and moved to the port city of Wonsan after entering North by crossing the maritime border. The ship was headed to

North KoreaJuly 24, 2019