China could exercise a veto against any new UN sanctions on North Korea, ignore existing sanctions and even accept the communist neighbor as a nuclear state if the incoming administration of Donald Trump plays the "Taiwan card," a US expert said.Trump sparked China's anger by accepting a call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen earlier this month in breach of the decades-long diplomatic tradition that the US has kept under its "One China" policy since severing ties with Taiwan and normalizing

World News Dec. 13, 2016

Calling himself a "child of the United Nations," outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon delivered a farewell address to the UN General Assembly expressing appreciation for the honor to serve the global organization."As some of you said, I am a child of the United Nations. After the Korean War, UN aid fed us. UN textbooks taught us. UN global solidarity showed us we were not alone. For me, the power of the United Nations was never abstract or academic," Ban said in the address during a UN Gene

World News Dec. 13, 2016

The platform of a crane truck overturned at a reinforcement construction work site in the central city of Cheongju on Monday, killing two workers and seriously injuring two others, police said.Around 1:29 p.m., two workers, both of them brothers, crashed to the ground 8 meters below when they were aboard the carrier to engage in reinforcing panels on the external wall of a two-story plant before being pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Another brother of theirs and their co-worker sustained s

Social Affairs Dec. 12, 2016

South Korea's sovereign credit rating will not be affected much by the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, global credit appraiser Standard & Poor's (S&P) said Monday."Although the political uncertainty could remain a distraction to policymakers for some time, we believe the effective (South) Korean bureaucracy will keep the government running smoothly," S&P said.On Friday, the National Assembly passed a motion to impeach President Park over an influence-peddling scandal in which her long-ti

Politics Dec. 12, 2016

South Korean swimming icon Park Tae-hwan has grabbed his third gold medal at the world's top short course competition.He won the men's 1,500-meter freestyle at the FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships in Windsor, Canada, on Sunday (local time), with a record time of 14 minutes, 15.51 seconds.The 2008 Olympic gold medalist broke the meet record, held by Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy since 2014, by 0.59 second. Park also surpassed the Asian record of 14:22.47, set by Zhang Lin of China i

More Sports Dec. 12, 2016

South Korea is expected to have a population similar to the current level in 30 years, despite widespread predictions of a tumble due to the country's chronically low birthrate, government data showed Monday.The country's population is estimated to reach 51.05 million in 2045, slightly higher than last year's number of 51.01, given its total fertility rate, life expectancy and a net inflow of foreigners, according to the data by Statistics Korea.The statistical agency said South Korea's populati

Social Affairs Dec. 12, 2016

An opposition lawmaker submitted the signatures of some 210,000 citizens to the Constitutional Court on Monday, demanding President Park Geun-hye step down as the court prepares to rule on the impeachment of the scandal-hit president. Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the splinter People's Party handed over the signatures, gathered online and offline over the last month, to the court's civil service office."I urge the Constitutional Court to be aware of the people's wish, and make a prompt and fair decision

Politics Dec. 12, 2016

South Korea's financial authorities on Monday vowed to make all-out efforts to stabilize the market under strain from increased uncertainties at home and abroad.In a joint emergency meeting, the two state regulatory agencies -- the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) -- agreed to push for an "aggressive response" to a host of challenges.Many predict speedy market interest rate hikes due to the incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's fiscal expansionary

Dec. 12, 2016

Local unit of the US-based tech firm Apple is estimated to post 800 billion won ($680 million) in earnings this year on the back of strong sales of its iPhone lineup, industry sources said Monday.The operating profit of Apple Korea Inc. is expected to reach over 800 billion won with its sales to reach 3 trillion won, they said.  A total of 2.6 million iPhones were sold in South Korea as of November, they said, adding that the number is expected to reach 2.9 million by the end of this year. That

Technology Dec. 12, 2016