Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a major shipyard in South Korea, has to pay off or refinance up to 1 trillion won ($869 million) worth of debts that mature this year, but the shipbuilder's financial status is not good enough to deal with the situation amid the dearth of new orders and a delay in the delivery of drill ships, industry sources said Tuesday.According to the sources, Daewoo Shipbuilding has 440 billion won worth of debts scheduled to be due in April, 300 billion won in

Industry Feb. 14, 2017

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday denounced North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch as a violation of Security Council resolutions and urged the regime to abide by its international obligations."The secretary-general strongly condemns the launch of another ballistic missile by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on 12 February," Farhan Haq, deputy UN spokesman, said in a statement. "This action is a further troubling violation of Security Council resolutions."In this ph

Diplomatic Circuit Feb. 14, 2017

The US State Department said Monday that North Korea's ballistic missile launch is unacceptable and urged countries around the world to take steps to show Pyongyang consequences for its action."We call on all states to use every available channel and means of influence to make clear to the DPRK and its enablers that launches using ballistic missile technology, or efforts to advance North Korea's ballistic missile capabilities, are unacceptable," a department official said on background.(Yonhap)"

Diplomatic Circuit Feb. 14, 2017

South Korea’s ruling conservative Saenuri Party on Monday sought to revive political talk about President Park Geun-hye’s voluntary early departure in April, amid expectations that the fate of her presidency is most likely to be decided next month. “Politicians have left the entire decision on Park’s presidency up to the judicial authority, ignoring political solutions,” Saenuri Party’s Floor Leader Chung Woo-taik said at a party meeting.  (Yonhap)Before the parliamentary impeachment of Park on

Politics Feb. 13, 2017

South Korean idol group BTS (Bangtan Boys) released its new album "Wings: You Never Walk Alone" on Monday, topping all major streaming charts with its title song. (Big Hit Entertainment)"Spring Day," the title track of the new album, soared to No. 1 on all eight major music streaming services, including Melon, Mnet, Olleh Music and Genie, after the album's release. Other numbers from the album also ranked high on many charts.Melon, South Korea's largest music streaming service, even had a tempor

Performance Feb. 13, 2017

Amid expectations that the Constitutional Court will rule on whether to unseat or reinstate impeached President Park Geun-hye in early March, a new variable that could shake up the trial has emerged: voice recordings of Choi Soon-sil’s now-estranged associates. In what appears to be the final shot to turn the impeachment trial to President Park’s favor, her legal representatives plan to request judges to accept some 2,000 audio files as valid evidence.Ko Young-tae (Yonhap)In the audio files, sub

Politics Feb. 13, 2017

Park Bo-gum, the star of 2016 South Korean TV series "Love in the Moonlight," has met about 4,000 fans in Thailand as part of his tour of Asian countries to repay international fans for their love and support, his agency said Monday. (Yonhap)"I was surprised to see so many fans gathered at the airport when I arrived at a late hour," Park was quoted as saying by Blossom Entertainment during the fan meeting Saturday. "I appreciate your passion, but I hope you return home early. Still, I can feel t

Television Feb. 13, 2017

North Korea's state-run broadcaster on Monday released footage of the latest test-firing of a new ballistic missile in an apparent move to show off what the country called a successful launch.Pyongyang fired off a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, called Pukguksong-2, on Sunday from near an airbase in the country's northwestern province toward waters off its east coast.This photo, captured from footage released by North Korea's state-run broadcaster on Feb. 13, 2017, shows the country's

North Korea Feb. 13, 2017

Lee Chul-sung, head of the National Police Agency, said Monday the police will investigate fake news with malicious intention. “Acts of uploading fake news about certain individuals repetitively with malicious intention seem worthy of investigation,” Lee told reporters at a press conference.Lee Chul-sung, head of the National Police Agency (Yonhap)If the fake content is problematic but not serious enough to merit a formal inquiry, the police will consult with other authorities to have it blocked

Social Affairs Feb. 13, 2017

President Park Geun-hye could ask the Constitutional Court to summon more witnesses for her impeachment trial, a source said Monday, fueling suspicions she may be maneuvering to prolong the proceedings.Park's lawyers have drawn flak for making repeated requests to summon witnesses, including some who have already testified in court, as each request causes the Constitutional Court to review the necessity of the witnesses and schedule additional hearings.This image taken from Yonhap News TV shows

Politics Feb. 13, 2017

South Korea's defense chief ordered the military to tighten vigilance against a possible North Korean provocation on Monday, one day after its latest missile test, the defense ministry said. Defense Minister Han Min-koo visited the Aviation Operations Command in Icheon, 80 kilometers south of Seoul, to inspect the ongoing deployment of AH-64D Apache heavy attack helicopters, the ministry said in a statement. This photo provided by the defense ministry shows Defense Minister Han Min-koo (C) visit

Defense Feb. 13, 2017

The United States' recent withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement is expected to weaken its economic and strategic status in the Asia-Pacific region, a state-run think tank in Seoul said Monday.Last month, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order to pull out from the TPP, which was signed by his predecessor Barack Obama after seven years of negotiations with 11 countries.It has yet to be ratified due to US withdrawal.(Yonhap)"President Trump's decision to wi

International Feb. 13, 2017

President Park Geun-hye has appointed another lawyer to fight against her impeachment at the Constitutional Court, one of her legal representatives said Monday.Lee Dong-heub, who served as a Constitutional Court justice from 2006-2012, has joined the team of lawyers defending the president, Lee Joong-hwan said in a text message to reporters.This file photo shows Lee Dong-heub. (Yonhap)With the addition, Park has 15 lawyers while the National Assembly impeachment panel has 16 attorneys to serve a

Politics Feb. 13, 2017

South Korea's military said Monday that North Korea appears to have employed technologies used in submarine-launched ballistic missiles to develop a new type of intermediate-range rocket, citing its analysis of a launch test carried out by Pyongyang a day earlier. "North Korean leader Kim Jong-un likely ordered the task of developing a surface-to-surface Pukguksong-2 missile based on the successful SLBM test carried out in August. We have reached an assessment that the North is in the process of

North Korea Feb. 13, 2017

South Korea's domestic sales of personal computers inched up in 2016 from a year earlier, marking the first such growth in five years, industry data showed Monday.According to the data compiled by market researcher IDC Korea, South Korea's sales of PCs came to 4.62 million units last year, up 3.2 percent from a year earlier. Of that amount, slim-sized laptops accounted for 1.5 million units. (Yonhap)"Local sales of ultra-slim laptops came to 1.5 million units, more than 40 percent up from a year

Industry Feb. 13, 2017