South Korean stocks traded 1.21 percent higher late Friday morning, as an improved outlook over the global economy boosted investors' sentiment, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 22.33 points to 1,871.45 as of 11:20 a.m.Blue-chip shares continued to gather ground, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics rising 2.87 percent and Hyundai Motor adding 0.22 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO added 0.47 percent.Brokerage houses also traded higher, with KDB Daewoo

Aug. 23, 2013

South and North Korea began talks Friday to arrange reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.The Red Cross talks, held at the neutral border village of Panmunjom, aim to iron out details for the reunions of people from the two Koreas to meet relatives they have not seen in over six decades.The reunions are widely expected to take place next month on or around the Chuseok holiday that falls on Sept. 19 this year.Chuseok is equivalent to Thanksgiving and is celebrated in both Korea

North Korea Aug. 23, 2013

The U.S. is poised to suspend another major weapons shipment to Egypt amid deep divisions within the Obama administration over whether to cut off aid to the military-backed government. The debate mirrors similar disagreements over intervening in Syria, where there are new reports that chemical weapons have been used by the government.Factions within the administration line up largely along two fronts: those who want the U.S. to take more decisive action to counter widespread violence in both Egy

World News Aug. 23, 2013

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday on the back of signs of an economic recovery in China, the United States and the eurozone, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 6.11 points, or 0.33 percent, to 1,855.23 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares led the market gain, with No. 1 player Samsung Electronics adding 1.35 percent and its rival LG Electronics climbing 0.57 percent. Top chipmaker SK Hynix gained 1.07 percent.Carmakers also traded hig

Aug. 23, 2013

A mysterious glitch halted trading on the Nasdaq for three hours Thursday in the latest major electronic breakdown on Wall Street, embarrassing the stock exchange that hosts the biggest names in technology, including Apple, Microsoft and Google.The problem sent brokers racing to figure out what went wrong and raised new questions about the pitfalls of the electronic trading systems that have come to dominate U.S. stock markets.Nasdaq said only that the problem lay in its system for disseminating

World Business Aug. 23, 2013

A North Korean man was found on Gyodong Island near the western port city of Incheon Friday and is currently under investigation by authorities, military officials said. "A naked North Korean man arrived in Gyodong Island earlier in the day," a military official said. "He was found by residents at around 3:40 a.m."The man told residents that he came from the North, the official said. Military and intelligence officials are currently questioning him over the motivation for his defection. Located

North Korea Aug. 23, 2013

The U.S. government apparently sought Thursday to stay away from the fallout from Sen. John McCain's controversial remarks over territorial disputes between China and Japan."I don't have anything specific on his remarks other than to just reiterate that our policy on the Senkaku Islands is long-standing and has not changed," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at a press briefing. "The United States does not take a position on the underlying question of the ultimate sovereignty of the Se

World News Aug. 23, 2013

Japan’s Topix index erased earlier losses as investors weighed an unexpected increase in China’s manufacturing against Federal Reserve minutes showing broad support for paring unprecedented stimulus. Daikin Industries Ltd. (6367), an air-conditioner maker that gets 18 percent of revenue in China, rose 0.2 percent after falling as much as 1.7 percent. Mazda Motor Corp., an automaker that gets 30 percent of its sales in North America, pared its loss to 2.5 percent. Tokyo Electric Power Co., owner

World Business Aug. 22, 2013

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Thursday defined President Park Geun-hye's first six months in office as lacking principles and trust, saying she failed to keep many of her campaign promises and neglected the public's wishes.Park, who took office on Feb. 25, has often cited principles and trust as the key pillars of her political philosophy."President Park Geun-hye's politics of principles and trust has turned into a politics that keeps silent in times of a democratic crisis and ove

Politics Aug. 22, 2013

South Korean stocks traded 0.8 percent lower late Thursday morning, dented by losses in foodmakers and brokerage houses, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 14.86 points to 1,852.60 as of 11:20 a.m.Major brokerage firm KDB Securities Co. dipped more than 2 percent, and CJ Cheiljedang, a food manufacturing giant, slumped 3.1 percent. In contrast, defensive shares gained, with state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. climbing 2 percent. The local currency was ch

Aug. 22, 2013

Disgraced populist politician Bo Xilai went on trial Thursday accused of abuse of power and netting more than $4 million in bribery and embezzlement, marking the ruling Communist Party's attempts to put to rest one of China's most lurid political scandals in decades.Bo entered the courthouse under police escort in the eastern city of Jinan, the court said, in closely choreographed proceedings held under extremely tight security, with police sealing off nearby roads with red and yellow traffic ba

World News Aug. 22, 2013