North Korea said Monday it plans to mark its two key anniversaries slated for April, including the birthday of the country's late founder, as "big" political festive events, hinting at a massive military parade.The Rodong Sinmun, the country's main newspaper, cited the 105th birthday of Kim Il-sung, which falls on April 15, and the 85th anniversary of the creation of the Korean People's Army on April 25.This image captured from footage of North Korea's state-run broadcaster on April 15, 2012, sh

North Korea April 3, 2017

North Korea has named a military academy that trains commanding officers for guards after Ri Ul-sol, a late senior politician and military official known as a messenger of the late founder Kim Il-sung, according to footage from a North Korean broadcasting program aired Monday.In the program of the North's Korean Central TV on highlighting the personal cult of the North's current top leader Kim Jong-un, a soldier was seen holding a flag of the Ri Ul-sol Guard General Service Military Academy, tas

North Korea April 3, 2017

JEJU -- Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Monday renewed his vow to revitalize the local tourism industry hit by China's ban on group tours to South Korea in retaliation for the installation of a US missile defense system on the peninsula.During a ceremony commemorating the victims of a 1948 government-civilian clash, Hwang said the government will push to attract more tourists from countries other than China and encourage more Koreans to use domestic tour programs. Acting Pre

Social Affairs April 3, 2017

A global cyberspace conference will be held in South Korea this week, providing a chance for experts and policymakers to discuss regional and global cooperation against growing threats in cyberspace, the foreign ministry said Monday.The ministry said it will host the Inter-Regional Conference on Cyber/ICT Security jointly with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Seoul for a two-day run from Tuesday.  (Yonhap)OSCE is one of the world's largest security-oriented intergovern

Defense April 3, 2017

South Korean stocks extended gains late Monday morning helped by gains in information-technology stocks.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 5.58 points, or 0.26 percent, to hit 2,165.81 as of 11:20 a.m.The broad index didn't follow Friday's losses on Wall Street.The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.31 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index declining 0.04 percent.Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities, said investors' buying on Samsung Electroni

April 3, 2017

The South Korean under-20 football team head coach Shin Tae-yong on Monday announced a 25-man provisional squad for the upcoming FIFA competition at home.South Korea will host the FIFA U-20 World Cup from May 20 to June 11 in six cities. The young Taeguk Warriors are in Group A with Argentina, England and Guinea. South Korean national under-20 football team head coach Shin Tae-yong speaks during a press conference at the Korea Football Association (KFA) headquarters in Seoul on April 3, 2017. (Y

Soccer April 3, 2017

South Korea's budget mobile carriers plan to receive preorders for Samsung Electronics Co.'s latest flagship, the Galaxy S8 series, industry sources said Monday.CJ HelloVision's mobile carrier brand Hello Mobile and SK Telink Co. -- the two leading mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) -- said they will start receiving early orders for the new premium smartphones Friday.(Yonhap)MVNOs refer to mobile service providers that rent networks from the country's three carriers: SK Telecom Co., KT Cor

Technology April 3, 2017

South Korean golfer Ryu So-yeon has captured her second career LPGA major championship.Ryu defeated Lexi Thompson with a birdie on the first playoff hole to win the ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills Country Club's Dinah Shore Tournament Course in Rancho Mirage, California, on Sunday (local time). In this Associated Press photo, Ryu So-yeon of South Korea watches her putt during the final round of the ANA Inspiration tournament on the LPGA Tour in Rancho Mirage, California, on April 2, 2017. (Yonh

Golf April 3, 2017

The number of South Korean business groups' affiliates subject to restrictions on mutual investment and loan guarantees rose sharply in March from a month earlier, the corporate watchdog said Monday.The Fair Trade Commission said 1,155 firms were on its monthly watch list as of end-March, up 24 from the previous month.(Yonhap)They are owned by the country's 27 largest business groups, including Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group.Five groups, including CJ and POSCO, added a combined 34 more af

Industry April 3, 2017

South Korea's major business groups reduced donations significantly last year, industry data showed Monday, amid the alleged bribery scandal that led to the ouster of the country's president.The total contributions made by the companies affiliated with the country's 10 biggest conglomerates declined 5.2 percent to 974.8 billion won ($875 million) last year from 1.25 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data by market researcher Chaebul.com. (Yonhap)Samsung Group topped the list with 470

Industry April 3, 2017

LG Electronics Inc. has increased the number of employees serving in its smartphone division, a regulatory filing showed Monday, while that of its bigger rival Samsung Electronics cut back the number of workers for the fourth consecutive quarter.According to the regulatory filing, there were 6,790 workers at LG Electronics' Mobile Communications division as of the fourth quarter of 2016, up 18.8 percent from the earlier three-month period. The number had been falling after reaching its peak of 8

Technology April 3, 2017

About a third of small companies seeking M&As with foreign companies do so because they want to localize production, a survey by a trade body said Monday.The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency polled 92 small and middle market companies that were interested in M&As with overseas partners in the March 15-28 period and found that 31 percent of them were motivated by manufacturing localization.(Yonhap)Another 27 percent wanted stronger technological competitiveness through tie-ups, while 19 pe

Industry April 3, 2017

Large conglomerates are accounting for less of the nation's exports, their percentage falling to the lowest mark in eight years in 2016, statistics showed Monday.Exports by conglomerates in 2016 totaled $308.5 billion, equal to 62.3 percent of South Korea's entire exports for the year, according to the Trade Statistics Service. The latest figure is the lowest since the 62 percent recorded in 2008, and it compares with 67.8 percent in 2012, after which the figures have fallen continuously.(Yonhap

Industry April 3, 2017

South Korea's chipmaker SK hynix Inc. became the No. 3 player in the global semiconductor market in terms of sales during the fourth quarter of 2016 on robust sales of memory chips, industry data showed Monday.According to the data compiled by industry tracker IHS, SK hynix saw its standing move up by two notches on-quarter in the September-December period with $4.5 billion in sales.(Yonhap)US-based Intel Corp. topped the list with $15.5 billion, followed by SK hynix's bigger rival Samsung Elect

Industry April 3, 2017

MOKPO, South Korea -- Some 50 items presumed to belong to those that were on the ill-fated ferry Sewol have been retrieved from the wreck that has been brought to the port of Mokpo after being raised from the bottom of the sea, the government said Monday.Salvage operators raised the 6,800-ton Sewol ferry and placed it on a semisubmersible ship last month, nearly three years after the vessel sank off the country's southwestern coast near Jindo Island in April 2014.  Operators work to drain water

Social Affairs April 3, 2017