North Korean train service has virtually come to a stop due to a nationwide power shortage, a US-based media outlet said Sunday.The train from the border city of Hyesan now takes 10 days or longer to get to Pyongyang, US radio broadcaster Radio Free Asia reported, citing Japanese media outlet Asia Press. "Before (the power shortage,) the Hyesan-Pyongyang route took about 24 hours. Now nobody wants to ride on that train," a source in Hyesan told the Asia Press.Similarly, a source in Musan, North

North Korea Nov. 20, 2016

South Korea's trade promotion agency said Sunday it has opened a center to help small and medium-sized firms make inroads into Chile. The center, launched in Santiago last Friday, is offering marketing, legal and accounting advice to Korean firms that are trying to sell their products in Chile, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said. The center is expected to serve as a bridgehead for small and medium-sized enterprises to tap the South American country's market, it said. The center is

Industry Nov. 20, 2016

Medipost Co., a South Korean biotechnology firm, said Sunday it has set up a joint venture in Japan to sell stem cell-based drugs in the Japanese market. Yang Yoon-sun, CEO of Medipost, said the 50:50 joint venture was launched early last month with a Japanese partner. "The joint venture will begin procedures to get approval for a clinical test of Medipost's stem cell-based drugs," Yang said.Medipost's stem cell-based treatment of damaged cartilage, named Cartistem, won approval for sales from t

Industry Nov. 20, 2016

South Korean women on average stay less at one job compared with men, mainly due to breaks in their careers caused by child bearing and other domestic responsibilities, official data showed Sunday.According to employment insurance data compiled by the Korea Employment Information Service, the average time a woman stayed at one job stood at 3.4 years as of 2015, more than 2.1 years shorter than the 5 1/2 years of her male counterpart.The findings are not different from information collected in 20

Social Affairs Nov. 20, 2016

Sales of luxury imported cars rose in South Korea over the past 10 months of this year, despite a prolonged economic downturn, according to industry data Sunday. The data by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association showed that sales of luxury imported cars gained 3.2 percent on year to 136,523 vehicles for the January-October period. For the 10-month period, sales of all imported cars fell 5.5 percent on year to 185,801 vehicles. Premium marques, such as Jaguar Land Rover, Inf

Mobility Nov. 20, 2016

New international sanctions being ironed out after North Korea tested its fifth nuclear device in September will include tighter exemption rules regarding the export of coal, diplomatic sources in Seoul said Sunday.Official insiders said that talks at the United Nations Security Council are in their final stages, and will include more stringent guidelines on the "livelihood exemption" clause in Resolution 2270 announced in March to penalize the North for its fourth nuclear test in January and th

North Korea Nov. 20, 2016

The spike in cigarette prices last year did not help people give up smoking, the latest data by the Seoul city government showed Sunday.According to findings submitted to a city councilman by checking information gathered from stop smoking clinics and centers set up to help people end their tobacco dependence, there were some 69,982 enrolled in support centers in the capital city in 2014, with 39,858 succeeding in giving up the bad habit.In 2015, when the government raised prices for a pack of c

Industry Nov. 20, 2016

Prosecutors on Thursday grilled former presidential secretary over allegations he pressured local food and entertainment giant CJ Group to fire its vice chairwoman.The prosecution team, looking into the scandal involving President Park Geun-hye's close friend, called in Cho Won-dong to appear as a suspect before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to answer questions about the suspicions raised."I will tell everything to the prosecution," he told reporters before entering the prosecut

Social Affairs Nov. 17, 2016

China will not give up North Korea as the country fits its need for a "strategic buffer zone" and its importance has increased due to the US efforts to isolate Beijing, a Chinese expert on Korean affairs said Thursday."Up until recently when ties between China and South Korea improved and the nuclear crisis on the peninsula repeatedly flared up, some even in our country mentioned giving up North Korea," Wu Peng, a politics professor at China's Southwest University, said during an international s

North Korea Nov. 17, 2016

President Park Geun-hye's approval rating continued to decline amid a corruption scandal involving her confidante, data showed Thursday.According to Realmeter, Park's support came to 9.9 percent this week, dropping 1.6 percentage points on-week. It is the lowest to date in surveys by the pollster. The survey was conducted on 1,525 South Koreans with a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.A separate research conducted by Gallup Korea earlier pegged Park's approval rating at 5 percent.Park has

Politics Nov. 17, 2016