[Graphic News] 115 million men and boys married as children: UNICEF

　An estimated 115 million boys and men worldwide were married as children, 23 million of them before the age of 15, UNICEF said in the first ever in-depth study of child grooms.　The Central African Republic had the highest prevalence of child marriage among boys at 28 percent, followed by Nicaragua at 20 percent and Madagascar at 13 percent.　Data from 82 countries showed that boys are being married at high rates around the world: in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, South Asia, East Asia and Oc

WorldJune 18, 2019

[News Analysis] Will Xi’s Pyongyang visit create momentum for stalled nuclear talks?

With Chinese President Xi Jinping set to visit North Korea this week, all eyes are on whether his visit will create new momentum to move forward stalled denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang. State-operated media outlets in China and North Korea announced Monday night that the Chinese president is scheduled to make a state visit to North Korea on Thursday and Friday. According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, the two leaders will discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula

North KoreaJune 18, 2019

Prosecution assigns complaint against Moon to criminal department

The prosecution on Tuesday assigned the complaint brought against President Moon Jae-in by Rep. Kwak Sang-do of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party to a criminal investigation department. In the complaint, filed June 13, Kwak alleges that Moon violated related regulations by calling for an investigation into former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-eui, as well as other current and past cases.  On March 18, Moon called on the police and the prosecution to look into the Kim Hak-eui case a

Social AffairsJune 18, 2019

[Feature] Chinese raids hit North Korean defectors’ ‘Underground Railroad’

A decade after leaving her family behind to flee North Korea, the defector was overwhelmed with excitement when she spoke to her 22-year-old son on the phone for the first time in May after he too escaped into China.While speaking to him again on the phone days later, however, she listened in horror as the safe house where her son and four other North Korean escapees were hiding was raided by Chinese authorities.“I heard voices, someone saying ‘shut up’ in Chinese,” said

NationalJune 18, 2019

New art appraisal company enters market

A new art appraisal company has recently launched its services, filling a void created after the disbandment of a major player in the field here. Previously, local art appraisal services were offered mainly by a network consisting of the Korean Art Appraisal Board and the Korean Art Appraisal Association in cooperation with the Galleries Association of Korea. The appraisal board opened in 2001 and started to offer appraisal and authentication services in cooperation with the Korean Art Appr

Arts & DesignJune 18, 2019

[Newsmaker] Prosecutor-general nominee faces rocky hearing

Rival parties are expected to fiercely debate the appointment of Prosecutor-General nominee Yoon Seok-youl at his confirmation hearing.Some of the issues at stake are the alleged involvement of Yoon’s mother-in-law in a fraud case, how he managed to amass a fortune of 6.59 billion won ($5.56 million), and the envisioned reform of the prosecution.Claims by victims of fraud allegedly committed by Yoon’s mother-in-law were made public by an opposition lawmaker last year.“The mothe

PoliticsJune 18, 2019

[Robert J. Fouser] Japan’s quiet moves toward accepting immigrants

The Olympics are no longer the big global moment that they were in the late 20th century, but, as events surrounding the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang showed, they still have symbolic power. The Summer Olympics in 2020 will be held in Tokyo, and a short visit on the way back to the US from South Korea reveals the effects of the symbolic power of the Olympics.As expected, the city is investing heavily in infrastructure. Many train and subway stations are being upgraded. New hotels are going up a

ViewpointsJune 18, 2019

[Kim Seong-kon] The best-case scenario vs. the worst-case scenario

We still remember that in the past our military dictators vastly exaggerated the threat from North Korea to justify tyranny, intimidating people with the fear of imminent war. Ex-military generals frequently triggered that fear so they could suppress the general public. At that time, the right-wing dictators bragged, “We are the only ones who can prevent war from breaking out on this peninsula.”Today, the situation is reversed. Now, the left-wing politicians who fought against the mi

ViewpointsJune 18, 2019

Korea allows permanent overseas exhibition of cultural heritage for 1st time

The Cultural Heritage Administration has authorized two early 20th century paintings to be exhibited in Australia, marking the first time state-designated cultural heritage has been allowed to be exhibited permanently outside the country. According to the administration, a Chaekgado painting and a Lotuses painting, originally created as folding screens, were recently sold by a private owner to the National Gallery of Victoria to be exhibited in its Korean exhibition halls.After the go-ahead from

CultureJune 18, 2019

Commemorative Resistance Film Festival to kick off next month

The 2019 Resistance Film Festival will be held in Seoul from July 4-7, commemorating the spirit of the Korean independence fighters during Korea’s 1910-45 Japanese colonization, screening 27 films depicting resistance movements around the world.Preparing for the festival’s second edition, organizers expressed their hopes the film festival will become an annual event, eventually to be held at the National Memorial of Korean Provisional Government, slated to open in 2021. This year, it

FilmJune 18, 2019

US piles pressure on Iran with troop deployment, new photos

WASHINGTON -- The United States ratcheted up pressure on Iran Monday, announcing the deployment of 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East and producing new photographs it said showed Tehran was behind an attack on a tanker ship.The twin moves came as Iran set a 10-day countdown for world powers to fulfil their commitments under a nuclear deal abandoned by the United States, saying it will otherwise surpass its uranium stockpile limit mandated by the accord.Tensions between Tehran and Washing

World NewsJune 18, 2019

Nissan’s 6th-generation Altima to hit Korea in July

Amid rebounding sedan sales in the South Korean market, Nissan Korea said it will launch a sixth-generation model of its bestselling midsized sedan, the Altima, here in July. According to the carmaker, the most distinctive aspect of the fully transformed Altima is its design.  With a sportier, more dynamic exterior design, Nissan said it had equipped the latest Altima with its award-winning Nissan Vmotion 2.0 design. In 2017, the Nissan Vmotion 2.0 was recognized as the best concept ca

MobilityJune 18, 2019

AFoCO shares sustainable forest restoration commitment at APFW

The Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) shared its strategic priorities at the Asia-Pacific Forestry Week on Tuesday, in Songdo Convensia Convention Center, Incheon, reaffirming its commitment to contribute to regional cooperation and relevant works.The opening ceremony of the event was held on Tuesday and will run through Friday. It is the largest forestry gathering in the APAC region organized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization bringing government, private, academia, researc

IndustryJune 18, 2019

AFoCO envisions greener Asia through regional cooperation.

The establishment of Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) was proposed by South Korea at the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit in 2009. It is aimed at strengthening regional forest cooperation by transforming proven technology and policies intro concrete actions in the context of sustainable forest management to address the impact of climate change. The ASEAN-ROK Forest Cooperation was formalized in 2012 as the initial phase of AFoCO. Under this cooperation mechanism, regional forestry act

IndustryJune 18, 2019

KT vows to invest W500b in cloud computing business

　South Korean telecommunications firm KT said Tuesday it will invest up to 500 billion won ($421 million) in expanding its cloud computing business, with an aim to target government agencies and financial firms. 　During a press conference in Seoul, KT announced its five-year business plan to support companies’ efforts to migrate massive data to cloud servers. KT pledged to increase the country’s cloud services market to 7 trillion won by 2023. 　As the government is seeking to ease re

TechnologyJune 18, 2019

Samsung’s system chip head says M&As needed for non-memory goal

Samsung Electronics will aggressively push for mergers and acquisitions of startups and sizable global businesses in the field of non-memory semiconductors, said the head of its system-on-chip business on Tuesday. Kang In-yup, president of the system LSI business of Samsung’s device solutions division, emphasized that Samsung “is open to M&As,” after announcing his unit’s plan to accelerate the development and commercialization of neural processing units and NPU-equip

TechnologyJune 18, 2019

S. Korean diplomat elected vice chair of UN body for climate change accord implementation

A South Korean diplomat has been elected as the vice chair of a UN body handling implementation issues related to an international climate change accord, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. On Monday, Yoo Yeon-chul, Seoul's ambassador for climate change, took the vice chairmanship of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. His term lasts for two years.It is the first time that a South Korean official has taken a top SBI post.Yoo's election ref

Foreign AffairsJune 18, 2019

Lawmaker indicted in alleged real estate speculation case

Sohn Hye-won, a former lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party, was indicted Tuesday over alleged real estate speculation, prosecutors said.The independent lawmaker faces charges of violating an anti-corruption law and a law banning the purchase of real estate under borrowed name. Sohn has been subject to a probe over allegations that she purchased a score of buildings in an old district of Mokpo, about 410 kilometers south of Seoul between March 2017 and September 2018, using inside information

PoliticsJune 18, 2019

NK media reports on 'Parasite' popularity, highlights downside of capitalism

A North Korean propaganda media outlet carried a report on South Korea's Cannes-winning film, "Parasite," on Tuesday, saying the movie shows that the South's society is seriously ill with the cancerous problem of the rich-poor gap.The article in DPRK Today, one of the North's propaganda websites, marks the first time that a North Korean state media outlet has mentioned the winner of the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival. It is rare for a North Korean media outlet to report

North KoreaJune 18, 2019