US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson talked tough against North Korea, including openly mentioning military strikes, but the real policy isn't likely to be much different from that of the previous administration, a US expert said Sunday.While visiting Seoul and Tokyo, Tillerson said that the two decades of diplomatic efforts to disarm the North failed, and there was no point in pursuing the diplomatic path any longer. He also said that the US was considering a wide range of options, including the

Foreign Affairs March 20, 2017

Any military option against North Korea, whether big or small, carries a significant risk of leading to full-scale war that could claim millions of lives, The New York Times reported Sunday.Talk of pre-emptive strikes against the North has come to the fore after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday that all options were on the table in dealing with the communist nation and the military option was one of them.On Sunday, The New York Times looked into three possible military options --

North Korea March 20, 2017

The United States should be prepared for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea as the communist nation is getting closer to perfecting capabilities to deliver a nuclear missile to the US, a House lawmaker said Sunday.Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) made the remark in an interview with Fox News, days after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that all options were on the table in dealing with the communist nation and the military option is one of them."The closer that the North Korean regime gets to be

Foreign Affairs March 20, 2017

South Korean shares opened weak Monday, taking their cue from the decline in Wall Street last Friday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 8.17 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,156.41 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Most large caps traded mixed, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 0.9 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 1.32 percent, and No. 1 steelmaker POSCO gained 2.06 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,128.65 won against the US dollar, up 2.95 won

March 20, 2017

The economic gap between South and North Korea remained wide in 2016 as the South Korean economy, Asia's fourth largest, expanded at a much faster clip, a US intelligence report said Monday.In terms of purchasing power, South Korea's gross domestic product came to$1.93 trillion last year, 48 times larger than the North's $40 billion, according to the CIA's World Factbook. This undated file photo shows a North Korean man working at a bag factory in Pyongyang. (Yonhap)South Korea's GDP ranked 14th

March 20, 2017

South Korea's producer prices rose slightly last month from a year earlier due to a hike in the prices of coal and petrochemicals, the central bank said Monday.The producer price index came to 102.62 in February, up from 98.48 a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. Producer prices serve as an indicator of future consumer inflation.Month-on-month, the February index also gained from a revised 102.31 in January.Prices of manufactured goods rose 6.9 percent in Februar

Industry March 20, 2017

South Korea's households are exposed to growing financial risks from mounting debt, weak income growth and high unemployment rates, data showed Monday.The deepening trouble of ordinary people in Asia's fourth-biggest economy contrasts sharply with the government's increased tax revenue and local firms' increased net profit.According to Statistics Korea, the monthly income of a household here with two family members or more averaged 4.4 million won ($3,884) last year, up only 0.6 percent from 201

March 20, 2017

South Korea will play Honduras first in an international football tournament created as a test event for the upcoming U-20 World Cup, the local organizing committee of the FIFA competition said Friday.The South Korean organizers previously said they will host the four-nation football tournament this month to test their readiness ahead of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which will run from May 20 to June 11. The invitational tournament features host South Korea, Zambia, Honduras and Ecuador, all partici

Soccer March 17, 2017

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday reaffirmed Washington's "ironclad" security alliance with South Korea amid growing military threats from a provocative North Korea.The US top diplomat made the remarks during his meeting with South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who took over in December after then President Park Geun-hye was impeached by parliament over a massive corruption scandal.South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn shakes han

Foreign Affairs March 17, 2017

German skeleton slider Jacqueline Loelling won the inaugural race at the new South Korean Olympic venue on Friday.Loelling captured the women's skeleton gold medal at the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation World Cup at Alpensia Sliding Centre in PyeongChang, host of the 2018 Winter Olympics lying some 180 kilometers east of Seoul. Jacqueline Loelling of Germany crosses the finish line in the women's skeleton event at the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation World Cup at A

More Sports March 17, 2017

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday that all options even including military choice remain on the table in dealing with North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, adding that the so-called strategic patience with Pyongyang has ended.US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (Yonhap)Tillerson also urged China to refrain from retaliating against South Korea over the ongoing deployment of an advanced US missile defense system on its soil, calling the move purely a self-defense measure. He mad

Foreign Affairs March 17, 2017

Former German international coach Uli Stielike is set to become the longest-serving head coach for the South Korean men's national football team following the FIFA World Cup qualifier against China next week. Stielike has been leading South Korea since Sept. 24, 2014. He will surpass former Huh Jung-moo's record of 911 days should he retain his job until next Friday, one day after South Korea squares off with China in the final Asian qualification round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Huh, now depu

Soccer March 17, 2017

Nine presidential hopefuls in the conservative Liberty Korea Party got together in Seoul on Friday and gave speeches to appeal to party members ahead of a primary later this month.The nine contenders, including South Gyeongsang Gov. Hong Joon-pyo, former six-term lawmaker Rhee In-je, and former floor leader Won Yoo-chul, unveiled their political visions and security and economic pledges to thousands of supporters and other party members at a convention hall in Yeoeuido. Presidential hopefuls of

Politics March 17, 2017

Die-hard supporters of the disgraced former President Park Geun-hye are moving to create their own political party and held inaugural gatherings in Daegu and Seoul this week to set up regional chapters.The Park supporters vowing to fight to nullify the Constitutional Court's decision to oust Park from the presidency have chosen an interesting name for their party -- Saenuri Party. Supporters of Park Geun-hye meet in Seoul on March 17, 2017, to establish a regional chapter of the Saenuri Party. (

Politics March 17, 2017

South Korea's agency handling trade remedies said Friday that it has decided to extend the current anti-dumping tariffs imposed on some foreign stainless steel products by three additional years.The Korea Trade Commission said it will ask the finance ministry to continue to slap anti-dumping tariffs of 3.56 to 15.39 percent on stainless steel products imported from Japan, India and Spain for three more years. James Kim (center), chairman of AMCHAM, speaks during a press conference at the US busi

Industry March 17, 2017