Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Thursday deplored a growing division among the public ahead of a court ruling on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. "It is regrettable that the public is being disunited and the tension is escalating due to a series of events, making people even become hostile to each other," Hwang said during a national prayer breakfast meeting. Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn (Yonhap)"I myself and the government will make the best

Politics March 2, 2017

2PM, a South Korean pop idol band, canceled the remainder of its concerts in Seoul following an onstage injury of member Jun. K, according to the group's agency Thursday. Boy band 2PM (JYP Entertainment)JYP Entertainment said it canceled the remaining half of the team's "6Nights" concerts that were scheduled at Seoul Olympic Park from Friday to Sunday.A 2PM gig on Feb. 26 at the venue was abruptly halted after Jun. K fell off a moving vehicle while singing. He fractured his right elbow and right

Performance March 2, 2017

North Korea on Thursday vowed to take its "toughest' military counteractions against South Korea and the United States as the allies kicked off their annual military exercise.Seoul and Washington started their two-month long joint drill on Wednesday amid high tension sparked by Pyongyang's launch of a new ballistic missile last month. The North has long denounced the exercise as war rehearsal for a northern invasion. (Yonhap)The General Staff of the Korean People's Army warned that Seoul and Was

North Korea March 2, 2017

US President Donald Trump called North Korea "a world menace" and "a world problem" that must be dealt with "soon" on the eve of his first speech to a joint session of Congress, even though he made no mention of the problem during the address, a report said.Trump made the remark when he had dinner at the White House Monday evening with a group of 18 reporters from regional TV affiliates around the country, according to WCPO-TV, an ABC-affiliated television station in Cincinnati, Ohio. US Preside

International March 2, 2017

North Korea is likely to undertake provocations in coming weeks as South Korea and the US conduct annual joint military exercises that the communist nation has bristled at, a US think tank said Wednesday.The two militaries kicked off the annual Foal Eagle maneuvers on Tuesday, a field training exercise involving ground, air and naval forces, which will run through the end of next month.(Yonhap)Separately the allies plan to conduct Key Resolve, a computer-simulated command post exercise, starting

North Korea March 2, 2017

The use of the nerve agent VX in the killing of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of North Korea's leader, raises the dangerous specter of a cash-strapped Pyongyang ultimately selling such a chemical weapon to terrorist groups like al-Qaida, a former senior diplomat warned Wednesday.The use of VX added to mounting evidence that North Korea was behind Kim's killing in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 13. VX is a chemical agent listed as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations and its use is banned un

North Korea March 2, 2017

South Korea's state-run trade and investment promotion agency will hold a forum next week, providing information on dozens of small and midsized overseas firms that are or will soon be available for investment or a takeover, the agency said Thursday.The one-day forum will be held Tuesday at the Seoul headquarters of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. (Yonhap)It will mark the fifth of its kind, and will provide information on about 30 overseas firms that are available for mergers and ac

Industry March 2, 2017

The US Trade Representative said Wednesday the free trade agreement with South Korea resulted in a "dramatic increase in our trade deficit," stressing it's time for a major review of how the US approaches trade deals. "The largest trade deal implemented during the Obama administration -- our free trade agreement with South Korea -- has coincided with a dramatic increase in our trade deficit with that country," USTR said in President Donald Trump's 2017 Trade Policy Agenda. (Yonhap)Compared with

March 2, 2017

South Korea's won has risen more than 6 percent against the US dollar this year, the best performer among major currencies, data showed Thursday.The won was last traded at 1,133.7 per dollar on Monday, up 6.1 percent from the end of last year, according to the Korea Center for International Finance. This undated file photo shows a board for foreign exchange rates at a South Korean bank. (Yonhap)It marks the biggest gains among the world's currencies during the two-month period.The dollar has bee

March 2, 2017

South Korea's industrial output rose for three months in a row in January on a continued recovery of exports, government data showed Thursday.Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries moved up 1.7 percent in January from a year earlier, continuing its upward march from a 4.2 percent gain in December and a 5.3 percent rise in November, according to the data by Statistics Korea. (Yonhap)From a month earlier, the figure also rose 3.3 percent on a gain in chips and elec

Industry March 2, 2017

An expected rise in demand for liquefied natural gas is likely to boost demand for LNG carriers, which in turn will help South Korean shipbuilders clinch more LNG ships and related facilities, industry sources said Thursday.Earlier, Royal Dutch Shell, a global oil and gas firm, has said global demand for LNG reached 265 million tons in 2016, and the LNG demand is set to grow at twice the rate of gas demand, at 4 to 5 percent a year through 2030. (Yonhap)Shell added further investments will need

Industry March 2, 2017

Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors Corp., saw their combined sales in the United States drop nearly 7 percent in February as Kia's sales slumped, industry data showed Wednesday.The two South Korean auto giants sold a combined 95,693 units in the US last month, down 6.9 percent from the same period last year, the data showed.  (Yonhap)Hyundai's sales remained flat at 53,020 units, compared with last year's 53,009, but Kia's took a 14.2 percent dive to 42,673 units from last y

Mobility March 2, 2017

South Korea's retail giant Lotte Group said Wednesday that it has suffered a disruption to its Chinese website in what could be a cyberattack by unidentified Chinese hackers in apparent retaliation against its cooperation with the deployment of an advanced US missile defense system in South Korea.The website, www.lotte.cn, has remained inaccessible to visitors since Tuesday afternoon.(Yonhap)A Lotte official said the disruption was caused by a virus planted by hackers, citing an analysis of comp

Industry March 1, 2017