Slightly over 8 percent of South Korea's major listed companies suffered a double whammy of operating and net losses in 2015 amid an economic slump, data showed Wednesday, sparking concern over their financial health.According to the data by the Korea 20000 Corporate Research Institute, 23 of the 273 listed companies with sales of at least 500 billion won ($447 million), or 8.4 percent, reported both operating and net losses last year.Of the total, 27 companies posted operating losses, while 55

Aug. 31, 2016

North Korea's latest submarine missile test makes it urgent for US President Barack Obama and other East Asia leaders to discuss the threat when they hold an annual regional summit next week, the State Department's top Asia official said Tuesday.Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel made the remark during a Foreign Press Center briefing to preview Obama's upcoming trip to China for a summit of the Group of 20 nations and then to Laos for a series of regional summits, including the East Asia

International Aug. 31, 2016

South Korean companies' business sentiment for the upcoming month rose sharply from a month earlier, but a majority of local firms continued to hold a negative outlook due to weak demand at home and abroad, a survey showed Wednesday.The business survey index for September came to 95, the highest level since 102.3 registered in April for the following month, according to the Federation of Korean Industries.The monthly index is based on a survey of 600 largest companies here. A reading below 100 m

Industry Aug. 31, 2016

A North Korean prison on the border with China has expanded detention facilities for female inmates in an indication that a growing number of women are forcibly repatriated from the neighboring nation, a U.S.-based human rights group said Tuesday.Satellite imagery confirms the expansion of the Jongori reeducation camp, also known as reeducation camp No. 12, in the North's northern city of Hoeryong, bordering China, the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea said in a joint report with AllSour

North Korea Aug. 31, 2016

US President Barack Obama will express his strong support for South Korea's security if he has a chance to meet with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on the sidelines of the upcoming summit of Group of 20 nations, the White House said Tuesday.Both Park and Obama are scheduled to attend the G20 summit in the southeastern Chinese city of Hangzhou on Sept. 4-5. The summit comes as tensions on the Korean Peninsula are running high in the wake of North Korea's successful submarine missile test."I

Defense Aug. 31, 2016

Nearly two dozen countries around the world host North Korean laborers that the communist regime is accused of forcing into harsh working conditions to earn hard currency for its nuclear and missile programs, a US State Department report showed Tuesday.The list of 23 countries, including China, Russia, Singapore and Thailand, was included in the department's recent report to Congress that details US strategy to promote initiatives to enhance international awareness of and address the human right

North Korea Aug. 31, 2016

South Korea's top court on Tuesday upheld a ruling by a lower court that South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. is not to blame for the leukemia death of one of its former employees at a chipmaking facility, citing a lack of evidence.In 2010, five people, including three bereaved family members of the three Samsung employees who died of leukemia after working at its semiconductor production lines, filed a suit with the Seoul Administrative Court to nullify the Korea Workers' Compensatio

Social Affairs Aug. 30, 2016

The South Korean government aims for a 3.7 percent increase in its spending next year to push the annual budget above the 400 trillion won ($358 billion) mark for the first time, with steep rises planned for youth job creation, expansion of custom-made welfare benefits and stabilization of public livelihoods, the finance ministry said Tuesday.The proposed 2017 budget calls for boosting spending on job creation, education, defense, and culture and tourism by 10.7 percent, 6.1 percent, 4 percent a

Aug. 30, 2016

North Korea is using Seoul's decision to deploy an advance antimissile system on its soil to intensify hostility toward South Korea, a media report citing sources in the reclusive country said Tuesday.A source in North Hamgyong Province told Radio Free Asia that North Korea's propaganda machine has harshly criticized Seoul's decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.According to the RFA, the source said lectures to the public include the claim that the development of THAA

North Korea Aug. 30, 2016

South Korea and Morocco have agreed to tighten collaboration in cultural sectors that include education, sports and youth exchanges as they seek closer bilateral diplomatic ties, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.In the sixth meeting of the bilateral joint cultural committee held a day earlier at the Moroccan foreign ministry, the countries reached the agreement under a shared understanding that exchanges between the two culturally rich nations would be mutually beneficial. During the meeting, C

International Aug. 30, 2016