WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- US President Donald Trump said Tuesday North Korea is a "humanity problem" and he will talk about the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping."We're going to have a great meeting. I'm sure we're going to have a fantastic meeting and we're going to talk about a lot of things, including, of course, North Korea, a problem, and that's really a humanity problem," Trump said during a townhall meeting with business CEOs. US President Donald Trump (Yonhap)Trump is scheduled to hol

Foreign Affairs April 5, 2017

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- A majority of Americans support using force against China to defend South Korea or other Asian allies in the event of a military conflict, a survey showed Tuesday.The Pew Research survey, conducted among 1,505 people Feb.16-March 15, found that 58 percent back the use of force against Beijing "if an Asian ally such as Japan, South Korea or the Philippines were to become embroiled in a military conflict with China."By party, nearly two-thirds of Republicans, or 65 percent,

Foreign Affairs April 5, 2017

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves rose slightly in March from a month earlier due to a hike in the value of non-dollar currencies when converted into the US greenback, central bank data showed Wednesday.As of the end of March, the country's foreign exchange reserves came to $375.3 billion, up 1.39 billion from the previous month, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.(Yonhap)Foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, as well as Internat

April 5, 2017

High-class hotel chains in South Korea are scrambling to reshape their brand image by changing their names and through remodeling efforts, as they compete to attract customers in an increasingly tough market, industry sources said Wednesday. Grand Walker Hill, run by SK Networks Co., reopened under its new name Vista Walker Hill early this month. The hotel operator said it has formally ended the partnership with global hotel chain Marriott International, who owns the brands Sheraton and W.(Yonha

Industry April 5, 2017

Born in South Korea but adopted by an American family as an infant, hockey player Marissa Brandt has come back to the place of her birth in the unlikeliest of fashion: as a member of the women's national team.Brandt, 24, was adopted by a family in Minnesota when she was four months old. She went on to play hockey at Gustavus Adolphus College in the same state from 2011 to 2015, and now finds herself playing for South Korea less than one year from the PyeongChang Winter Olympics here.South Korean

More Sports April 5, 2017

South Korean shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking gains on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.03 point to 2,161.13 in the first 20 minutes of trading.The main index tracked overnight gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.19 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbing 0.07 percent.Most large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.Naver, the top Internet portal operator, gained 0.59 percent, and top steelmaker POSCO was u

April 5, 2017

After South Korea displayed a mediocre performance against China and Syria in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign last month, the Korea Football Association was put in a dilemma over whether to dismiss or keep men's national team head coach Uli Stielike. While avid football fans called for Stielike's head, the KFA technical committee, which reserves the rights to hire or fire national team coaches, announced on Monday that the German will remain at the helm, a decision that now puts the

Soccer April 5, 2017

The chief of the International Criminal Court said Tuesday the murder case of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother in Malaysia cannot be referred to the court immediately as both the countries are not state parties to its founding treaty.Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi made the remark during a press briefing at the Supreme Court in southern Seoul during her visit to attend the ICC's high-level regional seminar.Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi, president of the International Criminal Court, sp

Foreign Affairs April 4, 2017

South Korea's Army and Navy staged a large-scale joint live-fire exercise Tuesday, responding to North Korea's war threats and signs of preparations for additional nuclear or missile tests.The artillery drills, held just south of the eastern border with the North, involved the military's new Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers, according to the Army.South Korea's Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher being fired during training. (Yonhap)More than 360 rockets were fired from vehicle-based mobile launche

Defense April 4, 2017

South Korea is closely communicating with the United States on North Korea and other major issues ahead of the upcoming summit talks to be held between the US and China this week, the foreign ministry here said Tuesday.US President Donald Trump is to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in their first summit on Thursday and Friday (local time) in Florida. North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats are expected to be one of their major topics. (AP-Yonhap file photos)"We are having close

Foreign Affairs April 4, 2017

The race for South Korea's May 9 presidential election is largely expected to be a five-way competition, with all major political parties set to complete their candidate nomination procedures by Tuesday.With the political pendulum having swung in favor of the liberal bloc after a corruption scandal involving ousted President Park Geun-hye, liberal contenders, such as front-runner Moon Jae-in of the largest Democratic Party, have been leading in recent opinion polls, with conservative underdogs l

Politics April 4, 2017

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday instructed its ambassador to South Korea to request that Seoul implement a landmark 2015 deal to resolve the long-running rift over Japan's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, a Japanese broadcaster reported.Abe met with Ambassador Yasumasa Nagamine, who will return to Seoul later in the day after being recalled nearly three months ago in response to Korean civic groups erecting a statue of a girl symbolizing the sexual slavery victims in fron

Foreign Affairs April 4, 2017

South Korean stocks ended slightly lower Tuesday on increased selling by foreigners and institutions.The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 6.41 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,161.10Bae Sung-young, a market analyst at KB Securities Co., said the foreign selloff and profit-taking by investors are to blame for losses in the main bourse.Institutions remained net sellers of local stocks, selling more than 123 billion won ($109 million) and forei

April 4, 2017

The financial regulator said Tuesday it will allow mutual savings banks to extend policy loans to people with mid-level creditworthiness and those who have difficulty borrowing money from banks. Starting in June, mutual savings banks, such as the Nonghyup and Suhyup banks, will make non-mortgage policy loans worth 200 billion won ($178.3 million) with an annual interest rate of 9 to 14 percent to such people, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement.  Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the

April 4, 2017

South Korea's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the state to pay compensation to a suspect for forcing him to wear handcuffs and be tied with a rope during questioning by a prosecutor.The ruling came after Lee Young-chun, a former head of the militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' regional chapter in Goyang and Paju, north of Seoul, launched a lawsuit in May 2015, claiming he was forced to wear handcuffs and be bound with a rope against his will while being grilled by a prosecutor at the

Social Affairs April 4, 2017