US says Trump and Kim had meeting, not summit, in DMZ

The latest encounter between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the inter-Korean border was a meeting, not a summit or a negotiation, the State Department said Tuesday.The impromptu meeting in the Demilitarized Zone on June 30 had raised questions about whether it was a summit akin to the previous encounters in Singapore in June 2018 and in Vietnam in Feb. this year. "It wasn't a summit, it wasn't a negotiation; it was a meeting of two leaders," department

North KoreaJuly 10, 2019

Seoul brings issue of Japan’s retaliatory action to WTO

The government said Tuesday it had raised the issue of Tokyo’s economic retaliatory measures against Seoul at a World Trade Organization meeting amid intensifying tensions between the two countries, stemming from a long-standing dispute regarding forced labor during Japan’s 1910-45 occupation of the Korean Peninsula.During a meeting of the WTO’s Council for Trade in Goods held in Geneva, Ambassador to Geneva Paik Ji-ah said that that Japan’s restrictions on exports of key

North KoreaJuly 10, 2019

S. Korea, US hold talks on competition-related issues under FTA

South Korea and the United States on Tuesday held their first formal consultations on competition-related issues under their bilateral free trade agreement, the South Korean government said.The meeting in Seoul came at the request from the US Trade Representative, which claims that procedures of South Korea's Fair Trade Commission do not allow US parties a chance to review and rebut the evidence used against them in competition-related hearings. The USTR insists this violates the Korea-US FTA th

IndustryJuly 9, 2019

Labor, management leaders escalate feud over next year's minimum wage

Representatives of labor and management are escalating a feud over whether to increase the nation's legal minimum wage next year ahead of their final negotiations at the Minimum Wage Commission.The 27-member Minimum Wage Commission, a trilateral panel composed of nine representatives each from labor, management and the general public, was to begin its final round of negotiations at the Sejong Government Complex in Sejong on Tuesday before setting the hourly minimum wage for 2020 on Thursday. But

EconomyJuly 9, 2019

Kakao says its blockchain mining process is up to 15 times faster than Ethereum

After launching its blockchain platform for enterprise services last month, Kakao said Tuesday that its service can work up to 15 times faster than Ethereum.During a press conference in Seoul, Kakao’s blockchain subsidiary Ground X suggested that its blockchain platform Klaytn’s block mining took only one-fifteenth of the time Ethereum’s did. While Ethereum’s block mining time is 15 seconds, Klaytn completes the process in a single second.The reduced block mining time res

IndustryJuly 9, 2019

South Korean defected to North after decades of stigmatisation: friends

A South Korean man who made a rare defection to North Korea was partly driven by the stigma and financial hardship that followed his parents' own high-profile flight to Pyongyang more than three decades ago, friends said Tuesday.Choe In-guk, 72, arrived in Pyongyang on Saturday and announced he would live there in a video published by North Korean media, following in the footsteps of his parents who made a switch of allegiance in 1986.Such a move is highly unusual and is more frequently seen in

North KoreaJuly 9, 2019

Hyundai says little hold-up left for long-awaited US pickup

Hyundai Motor expects to enter the US pickup market soon with what’s likely to be an American-made vehicle aimed at luring buyers who aren’t traditional truck owners, an executive said Monday.“It’ll be a very versatile vehicle,” Michael O’Brien, vice president of product, corporate and digital planning for Hyundai’s US unit, said in an interview. “That has the promise of creating a whole new class of buyers.” The South Korean automaker won&rs

MobilityJuly 9, 2019

Delta's Hanjin KAL stake purchase is just "investment"

Delta Air Lines' recent purchase of a stake in Hanjin KAL, parent company of Korean Air Lines, was just an investment, not a ploy to help protect the airline's management rights, according to a local activist fund on Tuesday. In its reply to a letter sent by the Korea Corporate Governance Improvement fund, Delta Air Lines said its purchase of the 4.3 percent stake in Hanjin KAL was part of its investment plan, KCGI said in a statement. On June 20 (US time), Delta announced the stake investm

IndustryJuly 9, 2019

LG Display expects limited impact from Japan's exports curbs

Japan's tougher regulations on exports of key materials to South Korea will have a limited impact on LG Display's production of OLED panels, a senior company official said Tuesday, vowing to secure alternatives as part of its contingency plan.Last week, Japan began adopting a stringent approval process for exports to South Korea of high-tech materials, including fluorinated polyimides used to make flexible OLED displays, as well as resist and etching gas needed in the semiconductor fabrication p

TechnologyJuly 9, 2019

Seoul slams Japan's claim chemical exported to NK

South Korean Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo on Tuesday said Japan’s claim that its hi-tech materials were routed to North Korea was “completely groundless,” calling on Tokyo to stop making false accusations. South Korea and Japan will hold bilateral talks on Friday in Tokyo although the details are yet to be finalized, he added during a press conference.“We have abided by the responsibility of the international community for peace and security by exemplarily controlling ou

PoliticsJuly 9, 2019

[Graphic News] Cocaine production hit new record in 2017: UN

　Global cocaine production reached an all-time high in 2017, breaking the previous year’s record by 25 percent, the UN drugs and crime agency said in its annual report, as production soars in post-conflict Colombia.　The report said the jump in production “was mainly driven by increases in cocaine manufacture in Colombia, which produced an estimated 70 percent of the world’s cocaine.”　In the decade to 2017, there was a 50 percent increase in manufacture, reaching a record

World NewsJuly 9, 2019

Nam June Paik Art Center looks at ecosystems, up close

A tree welcomes visitors to the Nam June Paik Art Center’s latest exhibition, but it doesn’t produce any oxygen. Paik’s “Apple Tree,” made using 33 TV monitors, emits only electronic images. Exhibition “Ecological Sense” at Nam June Paik Art Center questions how we should perceive our current ecological system. The museum also noted that the exhibition aims to make the audience more sensitive to the changes in our ecological system.It features works by 1

Arts & DesignJuly 9, 2019

Olympic speed skating champion Lee Seung-hoon suspended for 1 yr over assault allegations

Two-time Olympic speed skating gold medalist Lee Seung-hoon has been suspended for a year over allegations of physically assaulting teammates.The Korea Skating Union announced its penalty on the 31-year-old on Tuesday, saying it had gathered sufficient testimony from witnesses to conclude that Lee assaulted two younger teammates on multiple occasions.Lee may appeal the decision with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. Assault allegations against Lee first surfaced in May last year followin

SportsJuly 9, 2019

[Lee Jae-min] Checks and balances key to ‘prosecution-police’ debate

Should police be permitted to terminate a criminal investigation on their own? This question is at the core of a long-standing debate between the prosecution and police over the adjustment of investigative power. There are many other issues, but this one has become very symbolic. The prosecution opposes it, while the police treat it as the lynchpin of the whole debate. National Assembly deliberation this fall will finalize the adjustment. As expected, it was also a hot topic at the confirmation

ViewpointsJuly 9, 2019

[Kim Seong-kon] Why do we need common sense?

When a society lacks common sense, absurd and irrational things can happen and, as a result, chaos and social disruption will prevail. What, then, is common sense? Common sense is widely known as “good sense and sound judgment in practical matters.” If so, we need to ask ourselves, “Do we have good sense and sound judgment? Are we practical?” Unfortunately, the answer is “No.” Oftentimes, Koreans seem to have neither good sense nor sound judgment not only in d

ViewpointsJuly 9, 2019

Prosecutor-general nominee under fire for alleged false testimony

The ruling and main opposition parties on Tuesday continued to clash over Prosecutor-General nominee Yoon Seok-youl, with the opposition honing in on his alleged false testimony in his confirmation hearing. The ruling Democratic Party continued to defend Yoon, saying he is fit to lead the prosecution and to continue a reform drive. It added that the confirmation hearing on Monday did not reveal any crippling allegations or evidence against the nominee.  The main opposition Liberty Korea Par

PoliticsJuly 9, 2019

Government to seek funds for materials industry

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Tuesday the government will propose additional funding to foster South Korea’s industrial materials production. He emphasized the urgency of nurturing the industry, referring to a recent trade dispute with Japan, as he presided over a weekly Cabinet meeting. “(The government) plans to ask the National Assembly (to approve) the additional funding necessary for that in the extra budget this time,” Lee said.In April, the government proposed a 6

PoliticsJuly 9, 2019

Korean stocks roiled by Japan’s export controls, lower odds of US rate cut

South Korean stocks suffered extended losses Tuesday, likely the result of Japan’s decision to place export restrictions on key semiconductor materials along with the growing possibility that the US Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged this month. The benchmark Kospi closed 0.59 percent lower from the previous trading at 2,052.03, despite opening higher. It fell more than 2 percent Monday, the worst decline in two months, amid a strong mood of lowered anticipation of an aggr

MarketJuly 9, 2019

[News Focus] Working-age population falls to 2013 level

SEJONG -- South Koreans have expressed significant fears about the nation’s workforce and growth potential in the coming decades, and it appears that recent demographic changes lend weight to those concerns.Two or three years ago, people aged between 15 and 64 began declining in number after a long period of continuous growth.People in this age group are classified as members of the working-age population, according to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development criteria. At pres

Social AffairsJuly 9, 2019