South Korea urged the North on Wednesday to speed efforts for reunions of families separated since the war that divided the neighbors, but vowed to continue joint military drills with the United States, despite protests from Pyongyang.Uncertainty remained whether the North would keep its pledge to hold the reunions ahead of the start of the drills, but the South said it would not use the military exercises as a means to secure the family event.The North proposed the family reunions last week in

North Korea Jan. 29, 2014

South Korea's handset maker LG Electronics Inc. surpassed its global rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co. in terms of smartphone sales in the fourth quarter of last year, data showed Wednesday.LG Electronics saw its smartphone sales advance 53 percent in the October-December period from a year earlier by shipping 13.2 million units, according to the data compiled by market researcher Strategy Analytics.Samsung Electronics Co., the world's No. 1 smartphone maker, saw its sales advance 37 percen

Industry Jan. 29, 2014

South Korea will take "swift" and "proactive" action against any financial market instability in accordance with its contingency plans, the country's top economic and financial policymaker said Wednesday, addressing growing worries over the fallout from U.S. Fed tapering on emerging market countries."We are closely watching the market on worries that the market instability could prolong in emerging markets, and that it could spill over into other emerging and even advanced countries at a time wh

Jan. 29, 2014

South Korea's current account surplus widened in December from the previous month on an increasing exports, with the combined yearly surplus topping the estimate, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday.The current account surplus reached $6.43 billion in December, up from $6.03 billion in November, according to the central bank. The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.Korea posted a surplus for the 23rd straight month in December, with the combined surplus hitting a rec

Jan. 29, 2014

The international Red Cross has earmarked US$5.6 billion to aid North Korea, down some 15 percent from a year earlier, a media report said Saturday.The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies allocated the budget for 2014 to launch diverse projects on disaster management and sanitation for people in the impoverished communist country, according to the Voice of America.Last year, the IFRC set aside $6.63 million for its projects in North Korea, and had expected to increas

North Korea Jan. 4, 2014

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his South Korean counterpart, Yun Byung-se, will focus on ways to denuclearize North Korea when they meet next week in Washington, the State Department said Friday."We do still believe the onus is on North Korea," the department's deputy spokeswoman, Marie Harf, said at a press briefing.She pointed out North Korea has committed on multiple occasions to denuclearize."It is a key topic of discussions with the South Koreans that wil

North Korea Jan. 4, 2014

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- South Korea will be attractive to global investors over at least the next five years, a U.S. magazine said, citing its size, recent performance and economic potential.In its latest edition, Foreign Affairs magazine picked South Korea and five other countries -- Mexico, Poland, Turkey, Indonesia and the Philippines -- as well as the Mekong region.They are "well positioned to thrive" as China's economic growth slows and many of other once-hot emerging markets have coole

Business Jan. 4, 2014

OSLO, Norway – The head of a watchdog group that is trying to rid the world of chemical weapons has received the Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in the Norwegian capital.Ahmet Uzumcu, director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, collected the award Tuesday on behalf of the group.Noting the organization's role in leading the mission to destroy Syria's chemical weapons, Nobel committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland said the “anonymous inspectors from the OPCW do an ex

World News Dec. 10, 2013

The return of veteran politician Suh Chung-won to the parliament is expected to trigger a major shift of power within the ruling Saenuri Party and boost President Park Geun-hye’s mandate to govern.The former party leader and close ally to Park won his seventh term as lawmaker by winning the by-election in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. Park Myung-jae from the same party scored a landslide win in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.Although high-level Saenuri Party officials have indicated otherwise,

Politics Oct. 30, 2013