‘S. Korea will struggle to meet economic growth target this year’

South Korea’s top fiscal policymaker said Sunday that South Korea will struggle to achieve its economic growth target this year but has enough fiscal space to handle its plans to increase expenditure.“Domestic investments and exports are supposed to recover in the second half of the year (in order to reach the growth rate target) but (we are) experiencing difficulties,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki in a live television interview with KBS.In July,

EconomySept. 1, 2019

How can startups solve Seoul’s urban problem with AI, IoT?

South Korean capital Seoul is one of the most tech-savvy cities in the world, and this has allowed the startup community here to brim with solutions to tackle its problems.For startups honing their tech capacity, ranging from ultrafine dust management to household waste treatment and fire prevention, the forthcoming tech event hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Start-Up Seoul: Tech-Rise 2019, could be a chance to gain access to venture investors and corporate representatives.As part of

TechnologySept. 1, 2019

[Graphic News] Record number of fires rage in Amazon rainforest

　The Amazon rainforest has seen a record number of forest fires this year, according to Brazil’s space research center.　　The official figures show that more than 75,000 forest fires were recorded in Brazil in 2019 -- the highest number since 2013. That compares with 41,404 in the same period in 2018.　The Group of Seven nations on Monday pledged tens of millions of dollars to help fight raging wildfires in the Amazon and protect its rainforest.　

World NewsSept. 1, 2019

Moon set for trips to Thailand, Myanmar, Laos

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will open a busy tour of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos on Sunday, another key diplomatic undertaking in his campaign to broaden and deepen Seoul's partnerships with the Southeast Asian bloc.The trip will make him the first South Korean leader to visit Thailand and Myanmar in seven years and the first-ever South Korean leader to visit Laos.With the upcoming six-day journey, Moon will fulfill his promise to visit all the 10 member states of the Association of Southe

Foreign AffairsSept. 1, 2019

Fire, tear gas and petrol bombs as Hong Kong engulfed by chaos

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Chaos engulfed the heart of Hong Kong late Saturday, as police fired tear gas and water cannon at pro-democracy protesters who defied a ban on rallying, set fires, and hurled petrol bombs in some of the most intense clashes in months.Police had banned the demonstration on security grounds, and on Friday arrested several key activists and legislators in a dragnet on pro-democracy figures.But on Saturday afternoon tens of thousands of protesters under a colourful canopy of umbre

World NewsSept. 1, 2019

N. Korea says Pompeo's remarks make talks with US more difficult

A recent remark by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about “North Korea’s rogue behavior” will make talks with the United States more difficult, the North’s KCNA news agency on Saturday quoted its vice foreign minister, Choe Son Hui, as saying.“We recognized that North Korea’s rogue behavior could not be ignored,” Pompeo said on Tuesday, while speaking at the American Legion National Convention in the state of Indiana.Pompeo’s comment was unreasona

North KoreaSept. 1, 2019

S. Korea routed by Argentina to open FIBA Basketball World Cup

South Korea got blown out by Argentina 95-69 on Saturday to start the men's basketball world championship in China.South Korea, world No. 32, shot just 31.9 percent from the field, including 8-for-23 from behind the arc, in Group B action at the FIBA Basketball World Cup at Wuhan Sports Centre in Wuhan, China. The fifth-ranked Argentina drained six three-pointers in the third quarter alone en route to making 17 of 31 attempts from downtown.Ricardo Ratliffe, a US-born, naturalized center for Sout

More SportsSept. 1, 2019

Seoul stocks to move in tight range this week on trade woes

South Korean stocks are expected to move in a tight range this week as investors remain wary over the US and China trade row, analysts said Sunday.On Friday, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended up 34.38 points, or 1.8 percent, at 1,967.79 on hopes of US-China trade talks. Last week, the KOSPI gained 1 percent. Investors will remain cautious as the world's two biggest economies prepare to hold face-to-face talks in Washington this month, according to Kim Yong-gu, an anal

MarketSept. 1, 2019

N. Korea's FM unlikely to attend UN General Assembly

North Korea's top diplomat is unlikely to attend this year's meeting of the UN General Assembly in a move that, if confirmed, would dash expectations for a meeting between him and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the sidelines.The North had earlier informed the UN that Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho would attend the UN General Assembly session opening on Sept. 17. But last week, Pyongyang changed the level of its keynote speaker to an ambassadorial, or "Corps Diplomatique," official f

North KoreaSept. 1, 2019

Korea's exports down for 9th straight month on trade feud, chips

South Korea's exports plunged 13.6 percent in August from a year earlier, extending their on-year fall to a ninth consecutive month, data showed Sunday, due to the protracted trade row between the world's top two economies and a prolonged drop in chip pricesOutbound shipments came to $44.2 billion last month, compared with the $51 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.   The decline was also in part due to a base ef

IndustrySept. 1, 2019

S. Korean Chung Hyeon falls to Nadal in 3rd round at US Open

Chung Hyeon defeated one left-handed Spanish player at the US Open. He couldn't get past another one.The 170th-ranked South Korean player was dominated by world No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the third round of the season's final Grand Slam tournament in New York on Saturday (local time), losing in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in just under two hours at Arthur Ashe Stadium inside the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Chung defeated Fernando Verdasco, the aforementioned Spaniard southpaw, in Th

More SportsSept. 1, 2019

SKT T1 sets record with 8th LCK finals win

SKT T1 bagged its eighth LoL Championship Korea finals win on Saturday at the LCK Summer 2019 playoff at Korea University Hwajeong Gymnasium, beating Griffin 3-1 and setting record as the team with the most number of LCK champion title.Griffin became three-times consecutive runner-up, also a record, but with a bitter taste in mouth as it was the top ranking team in summer season's regular league. SKT T1, on the other hand, had been fourth ranking team but shot up to the finals through

IndustryAug. 31, 2019

USFK to close Yongsan Garrison within this year

The US Forces Korea will end all services at a major military base in the heart of Seoul within this year to prepare the return of the land to the South Korean government, military officials said Saturday. The US military has been moving its bases from around the country to a refurbished garrison in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, since 2017. While the USFK headquarters and the Eighth Army have moved to the new headquarters, called Camp Humphreys, the US military has been preparin

DefenseAug. 31, 2019

NK says ‘hopes for talks with US is fading’

North Korea’s hopes for talks with the US is fading, a senior North Korean official said Saturday, accusing the US of pushing Pyongyang to reconsider its measures. “Our hopes for talks with the US is gradually fading, and (the US is) pushing us into a situation where we cannot but reconsider all measures taken until now,” North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said in a statement on Saturday.  Referring to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statement

North KoreaAug. 31, 2019

US sanctions 3 shipping firms over illicit NK activity

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The United States on Friday sanctioned three shipping firms for allegedly engaging in illicit ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum goods to North Korea.The US Treasury Department announced the measures on its website, adding that the companies are based in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The department also sanctioned two Taiwanese individuals and designated a Panama-flagged vessel as blocked property for engaging in related activity."Shipping companies trading with Nort

North KoreaAug. 31, 2019

Pompeo calls out NK over forced disappearances

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called out North Korea and other nations on Friday for forcing disappearances of citizens viewed as a threat to their regimes.The statement marked International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, established by the United Nations."Authoritarian regimes often disappear advocates for freedom and human rights, journalists, political opposition and others to silence the voices of those who challenge their authority or express

North KoreaAug. 31, 2019

N. Korean leader visits resort construction site

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a resort construction site, Pyongyang's state media reported Saturday, making his first open field guidance trip in four months.  Kim visited Yangdok County Hot Spring Resort, located north of the capital city, Pyongyang, with senior party officials, including Kim's key aide, Choe Ryong-hae, and the leader's younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.It was the first time in four months that state media reported a fiel

North KoreaAug. 31, 2019

Moon distributes puppies of Pungsan dogs gifted by N.K. leader

Six puppies of two dogs given to President Moon Jae-in by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a gift last year were distributed to local governments Friday, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said. The North's leader gifted the pair of Pungsan-breed dogs, one male named Songkang and a female named Gomi, after their third summit in Pyongyang in September. Gomi gave birth to the six white puppies -- three male and three female -- in November. "The six puppies Gomi gave birth to are having t

North KoreaAug. 30, 2019

Moon appoints new agriculture minister

President Moon Jae-in formally appointed veteran bureaucrat Kim Hyeon-soo as the new agriculture minister Friday, the presidential office said.Kim, 58, a former vice agriculture minister, will assume the post Saturday to replace incumbent Lee Gae-ho. He is the first to be appointed among seven minister-level nominees tapped by Moon on Aug. 9 and subject to confirmation hearings. Kim went through a confirmation hearing Thursday at the National Assembly's agricultural and fisheries committee. In i

PoliticsAug. 30, 2019

World martial arts competition kicks off in Chungju

About 3,200 martial arts masters and officials from 106 countries gathered in Chungju, a city in the central South Korean province of North Chungcheong, on Friday to kick off the 2019 Chungju World Martial Arts Masterships.The competition, dubbed the Martial Arts Olympics, will continue through Sept. 6 at Chungju Gymnasium and seven other venues in Chungju, about 150 kilometers southeast of Seoul, under the slogan “Beyond the Times, Bridge the World.” A total of 2,414 athletes, accom

More SportsAug. 30, 2019