G20 nations pledge all tools to lift growth

SHANGHAI (AFP) -- The world‘s 20 top economies will use all policy tools available to lift sluggish global growth, they said Saturday, despite German disquiet over fiscal and monetary stimulus.The global recovery was continuing but “remains uneven and falls short of our ambition for strong, sustainable and balanced growth”, the G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs said in a communique in Shanghai.They met amid fears driven by slowing growth in host nation China, steep falls in world fin

World BusinessFeb. 28, 2016

S. Korean, U.S. finance ministers discuss N.K. sanctions

The finance ministers of South Korea and the United States have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in implementing international sanctions on North Korea for its recent nuclear and long-range rocket tests, the finance ministry said Sunday.The United Nations Security Council, led by the U.S., is set to adopt a fresh resolution for strong sanctions over the North's latest provocations.Earlier this week, Washington unveiled key points of the draft sanctions resolution that requires mandator

North KoreaFeb. 28, 2016

Film about 'comfort women' attains break-even point

A local movie depicting the horrendous suffering of Korean women who were sexually enslaved for Japanese soldiers during World War II has reached the break-even point in four days after its release, data showed Sunday."Spirits' Homecoming" sold 296,524 tickets on Saturday alone, taking the accumulated number of viewers to 756,665 since its release on Wednesday, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). With the robust performance, the film exceeded its break-even point a day earlier, where r

FilmFeb. 28, 2016

Korean cosmetics' popularity grows in U.S.

South Korea's cosmetics exports to the United States rose at the fastest pace among all sectors last year as the popularity of Korean makeup products grew among American consumers, a report showed Sunday. Korean beauty products sold to the U.S. jumped 70 percent last year, outdoing a 20.4 percent surge of car exports to the world's No. 1 economy, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said in a report, without specifying the amount. Korean companies have been rapidly expanding their

Social AffairsFeb. 28, 2016

Korea to help Philippine police boost investigative capability

South Korea will launch a three-year project with the Philippines to help the Southeast Asian country's police boost their investigative capability, especially in cases involving South Korean nationals living there, the police said Sunday.South Korea plans to invest US$6.6 million for three years starting in 2016 for the project, led here by the Korean National Police Agency and the Korea International Cooperation Agency.Under the project, the South Korean police agency will transfer its investi

Social AffairsFeb. 28, 2016

Korea most successful in bridging digital divide: survey

People in South Korea have easy access to the Internet regardless of their age, income and educational backgrounds, showing the smallest digital divide in the world, a U.S. research center said Sunday. According to the survey on 45,435 people in 40 nations conducted by the Pew Research Center, South Koreans aged between 18 and 34 all had access to the Internet, while the corresponding figure for the elderly was 92 percent.  The gap is far below the 14 percentage points in the United States and 3

Social AffairsFeb. 28, 2016

Twins' Park Byung-ho sees 'nothing straight' in 1st live batting practice

After facing live pitching for the first time since joining the Minnesota Twins, South Korean slugger Park Byung-ho said Saturday he didn't see anything straight at the plate.The Twins had their first full workout here in Florida, and Park, who signed with the Twins earlier in the offseason after getting posted by his South Korean club Nexen Heroes, faced actual pitching for the first time since competing at the Premier 12 tournament in November.And his impression: There was "nothing clean.""I a

BaseballFeb. 28, 2016

China's chief nuke envoy flies into Seoul for N.K. talks

China's chief nuclear envoy arrived in Seoul on Sunday for talks with key South Korean officials to coordinate the countries' response to North Korea's recent nuclear and long-range rocket tests.Wu Dawei is scheduled to first meet with his South Korean counterpart Hwang Joon-kook Sunday afternoon before holding talks with Seoul's foreign minister a day later, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "As strategic partners, China and South Korea could discuss any kinds of issues between us,"

Foreign AffairsFeb. 28, 2016

Gaeseong shutdown leads to W815b in losses for firms

The sudden shutdown of a joint inter-Korean factory complex north of the Demilitarized Zone has cost South Korean companies 815 billion won ($660 million) in damages so far, the companies said Wednesday. “The figure will rise as companies are still counting business losses and those numbers have not been included,” said the representative body for 124 South Korean companies which had been running factories in Gaeseong industrial park. The complex, located in the North Korean border city of Gaese

Feb. 28, 2016

Son Yeon-jae wins World Cup all-around silver with personal-best score

South Korean rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae established a personal best to grab silver in the individual all-around at the season's first World Cup stop Saturday in Finland.Son earned a career-high 73.550 points in total from hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon over two days at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup in Espoo, Finland. She finished runner-up to Aleksandra Soldatova of Russia, who earned 73.750 points from her four events.Son was third after hoop (18.400) and ball (18.350) programs Friday, and

More SportsFeb. 28, 2016

Korean bobsleigh tandem secures season-ending No. 1 ranking

The South Korean bobsleigh team of Won Yun-jong and Seo Young-woo secured a season-ending No. 1 ranking with a victory in Germany on Saturday.Won, the pilot, and Seo, his brakeman, captured their second career gold medal at the eighth and the final International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup of the 2015-2016 season in Konigssee, Germany, with a combined time of 1:39.50 after two runs. Their first World Cup title came in January in Whistler, British Columbia.The South Koreans h

More SportsFeb. 28, 2016

N. Korean leader observes test-fire of new weapon amid tension

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has observed the test-fire of a new anti-tank guided weapon, the North‘s state media reported Saturday, amid a growing tension with the outside world over its nuclear and missile programs.　Kim claimed the portable anti-tank laser-guided rocket has the longest firing-range in the world and its rate of hits is “as accurate as a sniper’s rifle firing” as well as its armor penetrating capability and destructive power are marvelous.　“He noted with great satisfaction th

North KoreaFeb. 27, 2016

Nuclear reactor shuts down over technical glitch

A nuclear reactor in South Korea‘s southwestern nuclear complex temporarily stopped operation Saturday due to a technical glitch, an official said, but it does not pose any radiation risks.　The 950,000-kilowatt “Hanbit 1” reactor stopped operating at around 5:16 a.m. due to a problem in a device that condenses a steam into water, according to Min Sung-mok, an official of the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, the operator of South Korea’s nuclear power plants.　The device, which is required to mainta

IndustryFeb. 27, 2016

New N. Korean rocket turns enemy tanks into ‘boiled pumpkin’

SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea on Saturday boasted of a newly developed anti-tank weapon that its leader said was so powerful it could turn the most heavily armoured enemy tanks into “boiled pumpkin”.　Pyongyang‘s state media said leader Kim Jong-Un had watched tests of the portable, laser-guided rocket and declared it had the “longest firing range in the world”, and was “as accurate as a sniper’s rifle”.　“He noted with great satisfaction that even the special armoured tanks and cars of the enemies wh

North KoreaFeb. 27, 2016