One Japanese national and a South Korean accomplice have been arrested for smuggling gold bullion worth some 3.5 billion won ($3.07 million) from Hong Kong, the customs authorities said Thursday. The Incheon-based customs agency said a 24-year-old Japanese man, whose identity was withheld, and a 49-year-old South Korean, identified only by his last name Hong, are in custody. They are suspected of bringing in some 70 kilograms of gold bars into the country from Hong Kong via Japan, Singapore and

Social Affairs July 13, 2017

A new large building is under construction inside the North Embassy compound in Beijing, raising suspicions that it might be for commercial use in violation of UN resolutions, a US-based Internet news organ specializing in North Korea said Thursday. "The Embassy in Beijing is reportedly building new lodging facilities for North Koreans visiting China in its compound. It's still unclear whether it will be for commercial use or not," NK News said, citing unidentified sources. "I think (the buildin

North Korea July 13, 2017

President Moon Jae-in urged the opposition parties to quickly approve the government-proposed bill on an extra budget Thursday, saying the government was running out of time to take meaningful measures to address the record-high youth unemployment rate."As a new government elected by the people, the government wishes to work hard to meet the expectations of the people, but it is so frustrating that new (government) organizations and a budget to work with are being blocked," the president said in

Politics July 13, 2017

A Seoul appellate court on Thursday cleared a former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman of bribery charges in a military chopper lobbying scandal. The Seoul High Court overturned a lower court's ruling, which found retired Adm. Choi Yoon-hee guilty of receiving 20 million won in bribes ($17,560) from an arms broker, identified only by his family name Ham, in 2014. Choi, 64, was indicted in 2015 for exerting influence as then chief of the Navy on the military to adopt an untested Anglo-Italian AW159

Social Affairs July 13, 2017

South Korean women tend to consider themselves chubbier than they actually are while men are inclined to think the opposite, a survey showed Thursday.About 20 percent, or 5,002 women, of the 25,281 women polled said they are overweight, although they actually have normal body weight, according to the survey jointly conducted by professor Kwon Jin-won of Kyungpook National University and Park Suzan of the Institute of Health and Environment of Seoul National University between 2007 and 2014. (Yon

Technology July 13, 2017

Samsung Electronics Co.'s market cap has grown to exceed that of the entire secondary bourse and more than make up for the company's erased stocks this year, data showed Thursday.The market cap of the tech firm as of the end of trading Wednesday was 362 trillion won ($316.7 billion), including preferred shares. Ordinary shares accounted for 326 trillion won.According to the Korea Exchange, the sum is equal to 23.27 percent of the main bourse KOSPI. It is 1.72 times bigger than the entire market

Market July 13, 2017

A former US rights envoy has insisted the US government provide humanitarian aid to North Korean residents only if transparency in its distribution is secured, a US broadcaster reported Thursday. Robert King, the former US special envoy for North Korea's human rights issues, made the claim during a hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, Radio Free Asia said.  Former US human rights envoy Robert King (Yonhap)Aid at the civic level should also be extende

North Korea July 13, 2017

President Moon Jae-in was set to meet with his de facto power transition team Thursday to listen to their policy recommendations that may very well set the course of his single five-year presidency.The meeting was scheduled to be held over lunch at the presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, involving all senior members of the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee, according to Cheong Wa Dae.The committee earlier said it will narrow down over 200 new policy objectives for the new president to 10

Politics July 13, 2017

Blamed for air pollution and speculation of price hikes down the road has dampened demand for diesel-powered vehicles to a four-year low in the first half of this year, industry data showed Thursday.The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association said among new cars registered in January to May this year, 46.3 percent were diesel-driven vehicles. This is the lowest since 43.5 percent in 2013. The proportion of diesel engine cars had reached as high as 52.5 percent in 2015, before falling to 47.6

Mobility July 13, 2017

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday taking a cue from overnight Wall Street gains, led by tech and chemical shares.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 13.65 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,405.42 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market cap Samsung Electronics continued to rise, moving up 0.92 percent and chipmaker SK hynix increased 0.58 percent. LG Display gained 1.38 percent. Chemical shares gathered ground, with industry leader LG Chem rising 4.01 percent and top cosm

Market July 13, 2017

South Korea's ICT ministry said Thursday that it will open two additional new complexes to promote virtual reality and augmented reality technology as the country aims to become a global powerhouse in the sectors.The two centers will be set up at Korea National University Of Arts in Seoul and at the Jeju Free International Development Center, located on the southern resort island of Jeju, to accommodate various VR and AR companies, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said.The comple

Technology July 13, 2017

WASHINGTON -- American voters consider North Korea a greater threat to national security than the militant group Islamic State, a survey showed Wednesday, amid heightened concern in the US in the wake of the North's test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile.According to the joint survey by Morning Consult and Politico, 40 percent of a total of 1,983 registered voters surveyed in the July 7-9 poll picked the North as the top threat to the US, followed by the IS with 30 percent and Russ

North Korea July 13, 2017

South Korea's senior diplomat will depart for Europe this week to discuss closer cooperation with Sweden, Britain and the European Union, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam will arrive in Sweden on the first leg of the week-long trip that will begin on Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.Lim will hold policy consultations with Swedish Deputy Foreign Minister Annika Soder there on Friday to discuss collaboration on Korean Peninsula issues and other

Foreign Affairs July 13, 2017

US fast-food chain McDonald's is facing further trouble in South Korea as more complaints were filed on Wednesday over undercooked hamburger patties, which allegedly caused at least one girl to become ill. A family, whose identity was withheld, filed a complaint against McDonald's Korea with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, seeking an investigation into a possible breach of food safety law. According to their legal representative, their three-year-old daughter suffered acute hemor

Social Affairs July 13, 2017

A group of South Korean scientists have developed high-strength and high-entropy alloys that can withstand temperatures as low as minus 196 degrees Celsius, the ICT ministry said Wednesday, a finding that can have various industrial applications.The team led by Kim Hyung-seob at Pohang University of Science and Technology developed the world's first such alloys by improving the cryogenic tensile properties, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said."Here, we induced twinning at room

Technology July 12, 2017