2 S. Koreans seized by Houthi rebels in Red Sea: Seoul officials

Houthi rebels in Yemen seized three boats carrying two South Koreans and 14 others in the Red Sea this week, and all of them have been confirmed to be safe, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.The Iran-linked militia captured them and the three vessels -- two tugboats and a drilling rig -- at 3:50 a.m. (Korea time) on Monday in waters about 15 miles west of Yemen's Kamaran Island.They were on the way to the Berbera port in Somalia after departing from Jizan, Saudi Arabia.  They have been

Foreign AffairsNov. 19, 2019

GS units partner with US mobility startup Lime

Two affiliates of energy and construction-centered GS Group said Tuesday they have formed a partnership with US micro-mobility startup Lime to offer better mobility services using their infrastructure.GS Caltex Corp., a major refiner, and GS Retail Co., the group's retail business affiliate, will provide charging services for Lime's electric scooters at their gas stations, parking lots and convenience stores.  "This is one of our efforts to make gas stations mobility and logistics hubs

IndustryNov. 19, 2019

Samsung's DRAM market share hits 2-year high in Q3: report

Samsung Electronics Co.'s share in the global DRAM market rose to the highest in two years in the third quarter on robust chip demand for servers and smartphones, a report showed Tuesday.The Korean tech giant's DRAM market share stood at 46.1 percent in the July-September period, the highest since the second quarter of 2017, according to market tracker DRAMeXchange.  Samsung's third-quarter revenue increased by 5 percent from the previous quarter to $7.1 billion with strong demand from Chin

IndustryNov. 19, 2019

Trump says will 'strongly consider' testifying in impeachment probe

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump said Monday he is "strongly" considering accepting a challenge from opposition Democrats to testify in his own impeachment investigation.After the speaker of the lower house, Nancy Pelosi, upped the ante by suggesting that Trump come forward to tell the "truth," the Republican president said he was keen.Pelosi suggested "that I testify about the phony Impeachment Witch Hunt. She also said I could do it in writing," Trump tw

World NewsNov. 19, 2019

Airbnb incurs Paris wrath over Olympics partnership

LONDON (AFP) -- Airbnb became a leading partner of the Olympics in a nine-year deal announced Monday that drew strong criticism from Paris, host of the 2024 summer Games.In the deal unveiled in London, the home rental platform became a "Top" International Olympic Committee partner, joining titans including Coca Cola and Visa on the highest sponsorship level. But in a letter sent last week and seen by AFP on Monday, the mayor of Paris warned IOC head Thomas Bach about the "risks&qu

IndustryNov. 19, 2019

Seoul to invest 4.8tr won for Incheon airport expansion

South Korea will invest 4.84 trillion won ($4.2 billion) to expand its main airport by 2024 to meet rapidly rising travel demand, the transport ministry said Tuesday.Incheon International Airport Corp, the operator of Incheon International Airport, will make the investment in stages over the next five years to build a fourth runway and expand the second passenger terminal and other facilities, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport."In recent years, an increased num

EconomyNov. 19, 2019

Pentagon chief welcomes Japan's efforts for trilateral cooperation with S. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday welcomed Japan's efforts to strengthen trilateral cooperation with the US and South Korea, the Pentagon said, as relations between the two US allies remain tense ahead of the expiry of a bilateral military pact this weekend.Esper's comments came during a meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono on the sidelines of a defense ministers' gathering in Bangkok, Thailand."Secretary Esper welcomed Japan's efforts to strengthen coopera

Foreign AffairsNov. 19, 2019

US appears to be reviewing options for success of NK talks: minister

WASHINGTON -- The United States appears to be reviewing various options for the success of denuclearization negotiations with North Korea, Seoul's unification minister said Monday.Kim Yeon-chul made the remark to reporters after meeting with US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun in Washington. He declined to elaborate.Denuclearization negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled since February's second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean lea

North KoreaNov. 19, 2019

N. Korea rejects nuclear talks before US withdraws hostile policy

North Korea said Tuesday it has no interest in denuclearization negotiations with the United States unless Washington drops its "hostile" policy.Kim Yong-chol, who formerly led the negotiations as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's counterpart, issued the statement in response to Sunday's decision by South Korea and the US to postpone military exercises in support of diplomatic efforts to denuclearize the North."What we are demanding from the US is that it withdraw from combined

North KoreaNov. 19, 2019

China will not sit back if Hong Kong situation gets 'uncontrollable': UK envoy

China will not simply sit back and watch if months of protests in Hong Kong develop into an "uncontrollable" situation, the country's ambassador to Britain said Monday."I think the Hong Kong government is trying very hard to put the situation under control," Liu Xiaoming told a London press conference, as fresh violence erupts after months of protests."But if the situation becomes uncontrollable, the central government would certainly not sit on our hands and watch. We h

World NewsNov. 18, 2019

S. Korea issues cold wave alert for Seoul, central regions

South Korea issued a cold wave alert for Seoul and parts of central and eastern regions, effective from late Monday, the weather agency said.The cold wave watch will be applied to the capital city and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province, the administrative city of Sejong and central Chungcheong Province, as well as Gangwon Province in the east, as of 11 p.m., the Korea Meteorological Administration said.  A cold wave notice is announced when the lowest temperature in the morning is forec

Social AffairsNov. 18, 2019

South Korea lowers travel advisory for Catalonia

South Korea lowered its travel alert for Catalonia, in northeastern Spain, on Monday as the unrest stemming from a pro-independence movement has eased, the foreign ministry said. A "navy" travel warning, which calls for caution, now applies to the region, including Barcelona, adjusted from the "yellow" alert, meaning travel restraint, that had been in effect since mid-October, the ministry said.  South Korea raised the travel alert last month as riots led by separat

World NewsNov. 18, 2019

[Diplomatic circuit] Former Indonesian foreign minister zeros in on significance of ASEAN

Former Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations played an important role in three aspects -- relationship among member states, their international status and the economy. Natalegawa was in South Korea to launch the Korean edition of his book “Does ASEAN Matter?” last week to commemorate the 30th anniversary of ties between Seoul and ASEAN.The launch comes ahead of the special commemorative summit between South Korea and 10 ASEAN mem

Diplomatic CircuitNov. 18, 2019

[Diplomatic circuit] Korea Foundation, Danish Embassy open VR-incorporated exhibition

The Korea Foundation, the Embassy of Denmark in Seoul and Denmark’s Animation Workshop have opened an exhibition that incorporates virtual reality and animation in celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Denmark, organizers said.“Just in this room you can visit the island of Hawaii in 1983, and virtually experience its ecosystem. … We are looking forward to more synergies between Korean and Danish animation industries,” Danish Ambas

Diplomatic CircuitNov. 18, 2019

North Korea should refrain from raising tension on the peninsula: defense minister

North Korea should cease escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula since Seoul and Washington have postponed their planned joint aerial drill, South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said Monday, according to the pre-distributed address to a regional defense ministers’ conference.Attending the sixth Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus, Jeong also said working-level talks between the US and North Korea and the third summit between the leader

DefenseNov. 18, 2019

Too much time on smartphone poses health threat

More people are falling ill from spending too much time on mobile screens.Last month Rep. Kim Kwang-soo of the National Assembly’s health and welfare committee said “smartphone maladies” are taking a toll on public health, calling for a government-level response. The lawmaker said South Korea has the highest rate of smartphone ownership in the world, citing a 2018 report by US-based think tank the Pew Research Center, which in turn has led to an increase in health problems aris

TechnologyNov. 18, 2019

[Graphic News] Number of Chinese tourists dips 41% over 3 years on THAAD row

　South Korea suffered a tumble of about 41 percent in the number of visiting Chinese tourists over the past three years, since its decision to deploy an advanced US missile defense system here, according to a recent report.　A total of 4.79 million Chinese travelers visited South Korea in 2018, down 40.6 percent from 8.07 million two years prior, according to the report from the Federation of Korean Industries.　In contrast, the number of Chinese tourists to Japan surged 31.4 percent to 8.38 milli

NationalNov. 18, 2019

N. Korean official says Pyongyang not interested in 'fruitless' summit with US

North Korea is no longer interested in holding another "fruitless" summit with the United States, a former chief nuclear envoy of the communist nation said Monday, urging Washington to drop its "hostile policy" against Pyongyang.Kim Kye-gwan, currently an adviser to the North Korean foreign ministry, made the remarks in a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, saying that he understood US. President Donald Trump's recent tweet on leader Kim Jong

North KoreaNov. 18, 2019

Jin Air to put repaired B737-NG back into service

Jin Air Co., the budget carrier unit of Korean Air Lines Co., said Monday it will put a B737-NG plane that underwent repair work for cracks back into service this week.Engineers from Jin Air and Boeing jointly conducted the repair and replacement work on structural cracks on the B737-NG plane in the past two weeks, the company said in a statement.  The US Federal Aviation Administration and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport have approved the outcome of the repair work after

IndustryNov. 18, 2019

National maritime museum opens on west coast

A national maritime museum has opened in Taean-gun, South Chungcheong Province, opening up its entire exhibition space and its maritime artifact collection to the public. The Taean Maritime Museum partially opened its exhibition space in December last year and introduced some of its collection. About 60,000 visitors have come to the museum to date, the institution reported.  The museum has recently finished works to open its other exhibition halls, in which the museum will present its 30,00

Arts & DesignNov. 18, 2019