[Newsmaker] 3.9 magnitude quake detected in central S. Korea

A 3.9 magnitude earthquake struck the central South Korean city of Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, on Sunday, with no damage or injuries reported, the weather agency said.The quake occurred at 11:04 a.m. in Sangju, 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration."No damage is expected but many people might have felt the tremor," said a KMA official.  Tremors from Sunday's quake were felt across the country, with 279 emergency calls report

Social AffairsJuly 21, 2019

Investors pour money into short-term vehicles amid low rates, uncertainty

Investors have increasingly shifted their money to short-term financial instruments, such as money market funds, amid low interest rates and growing economic uncertainties, data showed Sunday. Money market funds are short-term debt securities such as Treasury bills and commercial papers. They are widely considered to be as safe as bank deposits while providing a higher return. The net asset value of MMFs came to 120.18 trillion won ($102 billion) as of Wednesday, breaching the 120 trillion-won t

EconomyJuly 21, 2019

Damage from cryptocurrency-related crimes estimated at 2.7 tr won

The financial damage caused by cryptocurrency-related crimes reached nearly 2.7 trillion ($2.3 billion) over the past two years, government data showed Sunday. The financial loss of scams and fraud involving cryptocurrencies came to 2.69 trillion won between July 2017 and June 2019, according to the data from the justice ministry. The ministry said 132 cryptocurrency-related criminals and fraudsters have been indicted and detained, with another 288 indicted without physical detention over the ci

Social AffairsJuly 21, 2019

Portman is Thor, Ali is Blade and more from Marvel's Phase 4

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- “Avengers: Endgame” may have closed a chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the blockbuster factory is not slowing down and only expanding in scope and diversity. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige led a marathon presentation at San Diego Comic-Con Saturday night, announcing plans for the first two years of “Phase Four,” which will include Natalie Portman taking up the hammer as Thor, making Angelina Jolie an immortal for “The Eternals&rd

FilmJuly 21, 2019

Q2 economic growth estimated at around 1%

South Korea's quarterly economic growth is estimated at 1 percent for the second quarter of the year, shifting from a contraction of 0.4 percent the previous quarter, financial industry sources said Sunday.The Bank of Korea is set to unveil its estimate for second-quarter growth this week. Earlier, the central bank had predicted that Asia's fourth-largest economy would expand 1.2 percent during the April-June period. But a drawn out trade dispute between the United States and China, combined wit

EconomyJuly 21, 2019

US security adviser Bolton heads for S. Korea, Japan amid trade row

US National Security Adviser John Bolton left for South Korea and Japan on Saturday, a US official said, amid a growing trade dispute between Seoul and Tokyo over wartime forced labor. White House National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said on Twitter that Bolton "departed today for Japan and South Korea to continue conversations with critical allies and friends." The visit by Bolton to South Korea and Japan came a day after US President Donald Trump said he is willing, if

Foreign AffairsJuly 21, 2019

Trump offers to help ease tension in Japan-South Korea dispute

WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) -- US President Donald Trump on Friday offered to help ease tensions in the political and economic dispute between Japan and South Korea, which threatens global supplies of memory chips and smartphones.Lingering tension, particularly over the issue of compensation for South Koreans forced to work for Japanese occupiers during World War Two, took a turn for the worse this month when Japan restricted exports of high-tech materials to South Korea.The United States has bee

Foreign AffairsJuly 21, 2019

US-S.Korean military exercise to proceed - top S.Korean official

A top South Koreanofficial on Saturday said a US-South Korean military exercisewould go ahead as planned next month, denying Pyongyang'scharges that holding it would breach an agreement made between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un."The nature of the exercise is not offensive ... and is forstrengthening the alliance," Choi Jong-kun, the secretary forpeace planning to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, told the Aspen Institute's annual strategic forum.Later

Foreign AffairsJuly 21, 2019

North Korea slams Japan over its trade spat with Seoul

SEOUL (AFP) -- North Korea's state media has slammed Japan for its recent trade restrictions against Seoul over wartime slavery disputes, accusing Tokyo of "destroying the trend of peace" on the Korean peninsula.After South Korea's high court ordered Japanese firms that used forced labour to compensate Korean victims, Tokyo earlier this month restricted the export of several chemicals to South Korea that are crucial to its world-leading chip and smartphone companies. South Korea's left

North KoreaJuly 21, 2019

50 years ago, humanity's first steps on another world

HOUSTON (AFP) -- Americans were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing on Saturday, a generation-defining event watched by half a billion people globally, as the US seeks to pivot to a new era of crewed space exploration.At 4:18pm ET (2018 GMT) on July 20, 1969, the lunar module carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down on the Sea of Tranquility, following a four-day journey.NASA replayed online the CBS broadcast that was seen around the world. "Hou

World NewsJuly 21, 2019

Hong Kong police seize explosives as rival camps rally

HONG KONG (AP) -- Police in Hong Kong discovered a stash of a powerful homemade explosive as the semi-autonomous Chinese city readied for another major pro-democracy protest on Sunday following a pro-Beijing rally that attracted thousands.Police said they found about 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of TATP and arrested a man in a raid on a commercial building late Friday night. TATP, or tri-acetone tri-peroxide, has been used in terrorist attacks worldwide.Materials voicing opposition to an extradition

World NewsJuly 21, 2019

Golf-Korean duo An and Park on the rise at British Open

South Korea's An Byeong-hun roared up the British Open leaderboard as he picked up three strokes by the halfway stage of his third round on Saturday.With the leading pairs still to tee off on a pleasant day on the Antrim coast, An made headway as he got himself to five under, just three off the lead held jointly by Ireland's Shane Lowry and American J.B. Holmes.An, who carded a four-under 67 on Friday, gathered birdies at the second, fourth, fifth and eighth to jump 20 places up the leaderboard

GolfJuly 21, 2019

Tour agency sells trips to Pyongyang for soccer match between Koreas

A tour agency specializing in trips to North Korea has launched the sale of a tour package to Pyongyang for a rare World Cup qualification soccer match between South and North Korea, its website showed Saturday.In a recent draw, the two Koreas were placed in the same group for the second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.South Korea is to play North Korea in an away match in October and expectations are growing that the game could take place in the North's capital of Pyongyang. 

Social AffairsJuly 21, 2019

Hyundai Mobis develops camera system to replace side mirrors

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea's largest auto parts maker, said Sunday it has developed a camera monitoring system that will replace side-view mirrors in next-generation vehicles. Three high-performance camera sensors inside the vehicle will not only increase driving safety by significantly reducing blind spots, and but also improve fuel efficiency as side-view mirrors will be hidden inside the car, Hyundai Mobis said in a statement. "The paradigm shift to the future car is demanding both f

IndustryJuly 21, 2019

S. Korea, US mulling renaming next month's joint military exercise

South Korea and the United States have been considering staging a joint military exercise next month as scheduled but under a different name, sources said Sunday, amid warnings from North Korea that the drill could affect its nuclear talks with Washington.The allies were known to have planned to conduct the summertime exercise, named 19-2 Dong Maeng, to verify Seoul's capabilities for its envisioned retaking of wartime operational control of its troops from Washington. But they are reviewin

Foreign AffairsJuly 21, 2019

FAO predicts food shortages in N. Korea will worsen in Q3

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations forecast North Korea will suffer worsened food shortages in the third quarter, the Radio Free Asia reported Saturday. In its quarterly Early Warning Early Action food security and agriculture report, the FAO reportedly placed North Korea among nine countries at "high risk" of food crises. The report picked drought and African swine fever virus as major factors that threaten the North's food security. The eight other high-risk

North KoreaJuly 20, 2019

Memory chip prices jump following Japan export curbs

Major memory chip prices have jumped 25 percent in the past two weeks following Japan's restrictions on exports of high-tech materials to South Korea, industry data showed Saturday.  The prices of dynamic random-access memory chips jumped by up to 25 percent to $3,736 on Friday from $3,030 on July 5, one day after Japan's announcement on export curbs. Those of NAND flash memory chips rose by up to 6.1 percent to $2,493 from $2,350 during the same period, according to global market research

TechnologyJuly 20, 2019

[Newsmaker] S. Korea remains on alert over Typhoon Danas

South Korea was set to remain on alert Saturday for any remaining impact of Typhoon Danas, though it appears to by dying down, government officials said.The central government and local administrative bodies are maintaining their emergency response systems and are taking steps to minimize damage from the typhoon, small in scale though it may be."There could be some damage in mountainous areas of Jeju Island and other southern parts of the country until tomorrow from heavy rain and strong wi

Social AffairsJuly 20, 2019

N. Korea calls Japan's export curbs politically motivated move for electoral gain

North Korea on Saturday claimed that Japanese export restrictions targeting South Korean companies are politically motivated and aimed at getting more votes in an upcoming election.Japan has tightened regulations on exports to South Korea of three critical industrial materials in an apparent retaliation over last year's South Korean Supreme Court rulings that ordered Japanese firms to compensate victims of forced labor during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.The North's offi

North KoreaJuly 20, 2019

Japan vows action if S. Korea hurts companies in trade row

Japan's foreign minister said Tokyo will take "necessary measures" against South Korea if interests of Japanese companies are harmed in an escalating dispute over World War II forced labor.  The neighboring countries and US allies are quarreling over South Korean court decisions ordering Japanese companies to compensate victims of forced labor during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Friday after summoning South Korean Ambassa

Foreign AffairsJuly 20, 2019