The US Defense Department said Tuesday the planned deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea will move forward regardless of the political situation in the Asian nation."Our THAAD deployment continues. The effort to do that as quickly as possible continues forward, and I'm not aware of any plans to alter that at this point," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said at a briefing in response to a question whether the impeachment or resignation of President Park Geun-hye would

Defense Nov. 30, 2016

South Korea's industrial output dropped for the second consecutive month in October on a sharp drop in mobile devices and cars, government data showed Wednesday.Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries fell 1.6 percent last month from a year ago, according to the data by Statistics Korea.The figure continued its minus growth for two months in a row, following a 1.7 percent on-year drop in the previous month.From a month earlier, industrial output also backtracked 1

Nov. 30, 2016

For the players on the humble Brazilian club from an out-of-the-way city known for its agribusiness plants, these were going to be the games of their lives.Chapecoense was having the best season in its 43-year history, heading to the first of two matches in the final of the Copa Sudamericana, the continent's No. 2 club tournament. The once-downtrodden club and its itinerant players were enjoying the heights of soccer glory.It all ended suddenly late Monday night on a muddy Colombian hillside. Th

World News Nov. 30, 2016

South Korea's opposition parties on Tuesday recommended two former prosecutors as candidates for the independent counsel to investigate an influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her confidante.The main opposition Democratic Party and the splinter People's Party said they have picked lawyers Cho Seung-shik and Park Young-soo.The president is supposed to select one by Friday. Her spokesman said she will finalize the appointment without any delay.Prosecutors have named the

Politics Nov. 29, 2016

Bank lending rates on new household loans edged up in October and interest rates paid by banks on new deposits also increased, central bank data showed Tuesday.The average interest rates on fresh household loans extended by local banks came to 3.08 percent last month, up 0.05 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The BOK data came a week after the government vowed to introduce the debt service ratio in early December, a new early warning system for potent

Nov. 29, 2016

A South Korean human rights organization is pushing for the publication of a report on mass graves of the victims of North Korea's human rights violations next year, a U.S. broadcaster monitored here reported Tuesday. The Seoul-based Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) plans to publish its first report on the collective graves in April or May, insisting it has gotten a grasp of 12 places believed to have such mass graves through interviews with 277 North Korean defectors and satellite imag

North Korea Nov. 29, 2016

The level of received school education matters most when it comes to reducing the risk of high blood pressure, a medical study suggested Tuesday, breaking the conventional notion that illnesses are closely tied to income.A research team led by Lee Hae-young of Seoul National University Hospital looked into health conditions of 7,089 people from 2001-2007 to find correlations between hypertension and the level of education and income.The study discovered that the number of patients with high bloo

Technology Nov. 29, 2016

South Korea's imports of Iranian crude oil soared in the third quarter of this year from a year earlier following the lifting of international sanctions against the Middle East country, government data showed Tuesday.A total of 29.8 million barrels of crude oil was imported from Iran during the July-September period, soaring 147.7 percent from 12 million barrels tallied over the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Iran had been one

Industry Nov. 29, 2016

All new cars launched in South Korea over the past 12 months have satisfied government standards on vehicle interior air quality, the transportation ministry said Tuesday.The government test checked the interior air quality of six new cars launched here between July 2015 and June 2016, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The new cars include the Sportage SUV and the K7 midsize sedan from the country's No. 2 automaker Kia Motors Corp. and the SM6 midsize car from Renau

Mobility Nov. 29, 2016

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment will remain unchanged next month, though they expect an increase in domestic demand and exports, central bank data showed Tuesday.The business survey index (BSI) of manufacturing firms came to 72 in December, unchanged from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists, while a reading below the benchmark means the opposite.An index measuring local firms' sentiments toward exports came

Nov. 29, 2016

One would have to have an annual income of 360 million won ($306,252) to be in the top 0.1 percent rank, a social segment made up mostly of CEOs, business owners and doctors, a report said Tuesday.By individual group, shareholders were the top earners with an average 1.35 billion won.The report, drawn up by researcher Hong Min-ki of the Korea Labor Institute, is based on an analysis of statistics from the National Tax Service and the Ministry of Employment and Labor from 2011-2014.CEOs accounted

Nov. 29, 2016