Samsung SDS vows to expand enterprise blockchain platform

Samsung SDS Co. said Tuesday it will expand its partnerships with various industrial players to facilitate the convergence of its enterprise blockchain platform with other technologies and increase utlization.The IT service subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co. has been developing cloud-based blockchain technologies for use in the manufacturing, logistics, public sector, finance and health care sectors.  Samsung SDS said it has been working with local hospitals, insurance companies and digi

IndustryJune 18, 2019

Navy, Air Force conduct large-scale maritime rescue drills

The Navy and the Air Force said Tuesday they have conducted large-scale joint search and rescue drills in waters off the east coast as part of efforts to bolster the country's disaster relief capabilities.The joint exercises took place based on a scenario in which the military responds to a major maritime accident that leaves a massive number of people at sea waiting for help.  The maneuvers were launched last year, though the Coast Guard joined the recent drills for the first time.Upon a d

DefenseJune 18, 2019

Chinese President Xi to visit N. Korea this week: KCNA

Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to North Korea this week, the North's state media reported Monday, marking his first trip to Pyongyang since becoming president.Xi is scheduled to pay a two-day visit to North Korea from Thursday at the invitation of its leader Kim Jong-un, according to the Korean Central News Agency.It will be the first visit by a Chinese leader to its communist neighbor in 14 years. Though Xi visited North Korea in 2008, he was China's vice president at that

North KoreaJune 18, 2019

White House on Xi's NK visit: Focus is on denuclearization

WASHINGTON -- The world is focused on achieving North Korea's denuclearization, the White House said Monday in response to news of Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Pyongyang.Xi is to make a state visit to North Korea on Thursday and Friday, his first as China's president."Our goal is to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK as agreed to by Chairman Kim," a White House official told Yonhap on background, referring to North Korea by its official n

North KoreaJune 18, 2019

Top diplomats of S. Korea, Russia hold talks on N. Korea, bilateral ties

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Russia held talks in Moscow on Monday over issues related to North Korea and bilateral relations, officials said.During the meeting, foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, shared their assessments of the recent situation on the peninsula and discussed ways to boost cooperation for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and lasting peace, according to the officials."We agreed that now is a very criti

Foreign AffairsJune 18, 2019

Vice unification minister meets UN special rapporteur on NK human rights

Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho met with a UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea on Monday and discussed the issue of North Korean escapees held in China and other matters.The special rapporteur, Tomas Ojea Quintana, said after the meeting that he also discussed the need for humanitarian aid for North Korea. But he did not provide details of his discussions. Quintana arrived in South Korea earlier in the day for a five-day visit, during which he plans to hold a series of talks wi

North KoreaJune 18, 2019

S. Korea, China discussed Xi's N. Korea trip plan: Cheong Wa Dae

The South Korean government has closely consulted with China on a plan by President Xi Jinping to visit North Korea this week, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday.The presidential office was responding to multiple news reports that Xi will make a two-day trip to North Korea from Thursday. Such state media reports by Beijing and Pyongyang represent a formal announcement.South Korea has kept a close eye on the issue since it learned of a related move last week, Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Ko Min-jung said in

North KoreaJune 17, 2019

China's Xi to visit North Korea this week ahead of G20

BEIJING -- Xi Jinping will make the first trip to North Korea by a Chinese president in 14 years this week, state media said Monday, as Beijing tightens relations with Pyongyang amid tensions with the United States.Xi will visit Pyongyang on Thursday and Friday at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said Chinese broadcaster CCTV.The timing is likely to raise eyebrows at the White House as it comes one week before the G20 summit in Japan, where US President Donald Trump expects to

North KoreaJune 17, 2019

[Graphic News] World’s elderly population to hit 2.1 billion by 2050

　The world is projected to have more than 2.1 billion residents aged 60 and above by 2050, more than double the number of 2017, according to the United Nations.　The elderly population in Asia numbered 549 million in 2017 and will grow to around 1.27 billion in 2050.　The number of elderly is expected to grow fastest in Africa, by more than threefold to 226 million, the data shows.

World NewsJune 17, 2019

Naver launches mobile payment service in Japan

South Korea’s internet giant Naver said Monday it has introduced a mobile payment system that can be used at stores in Japan, a move that the company said could help Koreans traveling there have a better shopping experience.According to the firm, its users can purchase items in Japan via its own mobile payment service Naver Pay. Using the tool called Cross-Border service, the users can carry out electronic payments by swiping a QR code with mobile devices.  The service is available at

TechnologyJune 17, 2019

Private kindergartens file constitutional suit against government

Private kindergartens filed a petition with the Constitutional Court last month, challenging an Education Ministry ordinance that requires them to use a state-managed online accounting system.Some 340 chiefs of private kindergartens with over 200 students each filed the petition May 24, accusing the ministry of infringing on their rights and saying the regulation has no basis in law. The signatories represent about 60 percent of all private kindergartens with more than 200 children. On the same

PoliticsJune 17, 2019

Incheon mayor apologizes for reddish tap water

Incheon Mayor Park Nam-choon on Monday apologized for the city’s botched response to contaminated tap water and laid out a set of measures to tackle the problem. The cause of the reddish tap water was to be announced Tuesday.“I apologize that we did not have a crisis response manual for every case, we did not seek advice from experts and we did not have a response process in place,” Park said during the press conference. Incheon Metropolitan City will monitor the water qua

Social AffairsJune 17, 2019

[Diplomatic circuit] KOICA builds biggest national museum for Congo

The Korea International Cooperation Agency on Friday held a ceremony marking the completion of a national museum in Congo, a project that was begun in 2012. The construction of the Congo National Museum in the capital city Kinshasa was funded by KOICA, a state-run aid organization. The museum will be the biggest museum in the country when it opens, KOICA said.  The South Korean aid group said it has funded $21 million for the project that is aimed at preserving cultural artifacts and to en

Diplomatic CircuitJune 17, 2019

Coarse language costs Liberty Korea Party

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party’s Secretary-General Han Sun-kyo on Monday stepped down from his post, citing health reasons, after stirring controversy for repeatedly using offensive language.Han is one of many Liberty Korea Party lawmakers who have come under fire in recent weeks for incendiary language aimed mostly at the Moon Jae-in administration.“Today I am stepping down from the secretary-general position due to health reasons,” Han said in a text message sent to

PoliticsJune 17, 2019

Little luxuries from France

Luxury parasols and umbrellas, with elaborate embroidery and lace, precious tortoiseshell handles and silver and ivory shafts offer a glimpse into the French culture of luxury in the 17th to 20th centuries. Platform-L, a modern and contemporary art venue in Seoul, is holding “Summer Bloom,” an exhibition featuring antique French umbrellas and parasols from different periods, collected by Michel Heurtault. Born in 1966, Heurtault may be the only state-certificated master in the world

Arts & DesignJune 17, 2019

[Jeffrey Frankel] US recovery turns 10

This month marks the 10th full year of the US economic recovery that began in June 2009. Back then, a “trough” in business activity signified the end of the Great Recession that followed the 2007-08 global financial crisis. The current expansion has continued, uninterrupted, ever since.The best explanation for the length of this recovery is disappointingly simple: The Great Recession was the United States’ worst downturn since the 1930s. The deeper the hole, the longer it

ViewpointsJune 17, 2019

[Cass R. Sunstein] We are living in historic times. Or are we?

If we are living through historic events, would we know?In 1965, Arthur Danto, a philosopher at Columbia University, argued that it is impossible to tell, when you’re in the midst of things, whether an event is going to be deemed “historic” by future historians. If something happens -- Russia successfully reclaims Crimea, for example, or Pete Buttigieg declares that he’s running for president -- its ultimate significance will be determined by causal chains that cannot pos

ViewpointsJune 17, 2019

Sono Village offers special discount for foreigners

For foreigners in South Korea who are planning a summer retreat in Gangwon Province, Daemyung Hotel & Resort’s Sono Village may be an option. On Wednesday the resort chain announced a promotion for foreign guests staying at Sono Village, a Vivaldi Park property in Gangwon Province, a two-hour drive from central Seoul. Under the promotion, a silver suite at Sono Village costs 215,000 won ($181), a deluxe gold suite 241,000 won, a grand gold suite 263,000 won and a royal deluxe suit

TravelJune 17, 2019

Samsung heir keeps tight rein on future businesses

Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung Electronics, on Monday continued his visits to the tech giant’s emerging businesses in the fields of automotive parts and the fifth-generation network. Samsung Vice Chairman Lee visited the headquarters of Samsung Electro-Mechanics in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, to check out the affiliate’s new businesses in auto parts and 5G modules, according to the firm.The Samsung affiliate is a major provider of

TechnologyJune 17, 2019