WASHINGTON -- The US pointman on North Korea, Amb. Joseph Yun, held secret meetings with North Korean diplomats in Oslo and New York before flying to Pyongyang to bring home a long-detained comatose American college student, a news report said Wednesday.The Olso meeting took place last month after Yun, special representative for North Korea policy, persuaded Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to approve the rare contact by assuring him that the agenda would focus only on the status of Americans de

North Korea June 15, 2017

A group of South Korean scientists have developed an adhesive patch inspired by protuberances in the suction cups of octopuses, the ICT ministry said Thursday, a finding that can have various electronic and medical applications.The team led by Bang Chang-hyun at Sungkyunkwan University developed the world's first patch that can be attached and detached up to 1,000 times without the need for any adhesive material, even in wet conditions. (Yonhap)"This study was to develop the material of a highly

Technology June 15, 2017

The US business lobby in South Korea floated the idea Wednesday that Asia's fourth-largest economy should create a "Buy American Fund" ahead of crucial summit talks between leaders set for later this month.President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to hold his first summit with US President Donald Trump in Washington, a meeting that could set the tone of bilateral relations going forward. The American Chamber of Commerce said if Moon announces a $10 billion "Buy American Fund” meant

Market June 14, 2017

South Korean stocks ended mildly lower Wednesday as investors took a wait-and-see stance to check the results of the US Federal Reserve's policy rate-setting meeting, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 2.06 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 2,372.64. Trade volume was moderate at 386 million shares worth 6.63 trillion won ($5.89 billion), with losers slightly outnumbering gainers 418 to 407.Institutional investors and f

Market June 14, 2017

Paraguay's state-run news agency IP (Agencia de Informacion Paraguaya) on Wednesday joined a content-sharing platform to be run by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. With the latest entry, the total number of overseas news agencies confirmed as subscribers to the PyeongChang News Service Network came to 44. Fabrizio Caligaris, Paraguay's minister of information and communication, shakes hand with Park No-hwang, president and CEO of South Korea's Yonhap New

Olympic Games June 14, 2017

South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday that it will help the upcoming annual conference of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank by providing 110 transport vehicles.The second annual meeting of AIIB's board of governors is slated to be held on the country's southern resort island of Jeju from Friday to Sunday under the theme of "sustainable infrastructure," bringing together some 2,000 officials and businessmen from 77 countries, including finance ministers and central b

Mobility June 14, 2017

This year's taekwondo world championships to be held in South Korea will be the largest in the competition's history, organizers said Wednesday.The World Taekwondo Federation said 917 athletes from 183 nations have signed up for the June 24-30 WTF World Taekwondo Championships in Muju, some 240 kilometers south of Seoul. This undated photo, provided by the North Jeolla Provincial Government, shows Taekwondowon in Muju, North Jeolla Province, the venue for the 2017 World Taekwondo Federation Worl

More Sports June 14, 2017

South Korea's total assets rose 5.8 percent in 2016 from a year earlier on a large increase in nonfinancial assets, central bank data showed Wednesday.The country's national assets came to 13,078 trillion won ($11.6 trillion) at the end of 2016, up 715 trillion won from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The 2016 tally is eight times higher than the country's nominal gross domestic product for the same year.The increase came mostly from a rise in nonfinancial a

Economy June 14, 2017

INCHEON -- South Korean football's technical director on Wednesday hinted at firing beleaguered men's head coach Uli Stielike this week in light of the team's shocking loss to Qatar.Lee Yong-soo, head of the technical committee at the Korea Football Association, will preside over a meeting at 2 p.m. Thursday at the National Football Center in Paju, just north of Seoul. It will come after 43rd-ranked South Korea dropped to No. 88 after losing to Qatar 3-2 in Doha in the final Asian qualifying rou

Soccer June 14, 2017

Financial authorities said Wednesday the credit card commission charged on small merchants will be cut from August to help ease the financial burdens of mom-and-pop stores. The commission rate for small merchants with annual revenue of 500 million won ($444,168) or less will be reduced by 0.64 percentage point to 1.3 percent, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement.  Currently, credit card firms charge small merchants with annual revenue of 300 million won or less a commission

Market June 14, 2017

South Korean stocks traded lower late Wednesday morning as institutions offloaded large-cap stocks in an apparent move to lock in profits, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 5.26 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,069.44 as of 11:20 a.m.The Seoul index had opened higher on Wall Street gains. On Tuesday (local time), the S&P 500 increased 2.45 percent to finish at a record-high and the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.44 percent. The Nasdaq Composite Index also

Market June 14, 2017

South Korean exports of information and communication technology  products increased for the seventh month in a row in May on brisk overseas sales of semiconductors and displays, government data showed Wednesday.A total of $15.4 billion in Korean-made ICT products were shipped overseas last month, up 17.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.(Yonhap)May's overseas shipments of ICT products posted a double-digit on-year in

Technology June 14, 2017

The European Commission has decided not to impose extra duties on purified terephthalic acid products sold by South Korean manufacturers following a months-long probe into dumping allegations, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.The European Union's executive body launched the investigation into South Korean PTA products, mostly used in making polyester, in August 2016 amid allegations raised by European rivals that they were being sold at lower-than-market prices.  The commission recently

Economy June 14, 2017

South Korea will host the 2018 World Firefighters Games, a major international sporting event for firefighters, in the central city of Chungju in September next year, government officials said Wednesday.The Sept. 10-18 games, also known as the "mini-Olympics for firefighters," are expected to bring together about 6,000 full-time, volunteers, industrial, military fire service personnel and their families from 50 countries worldwide. This file photo shows firefighters taking part in the 2010 World

More Sports June 14, 2017

Six builders newly made the list of South Korea's top 500 companies by sales in 2016 on the robust real estate market, with Samsung Electronics Co. retaining its No. 1 spot, a corporate tracker said Wednesday.A total of 32 companies, or 6.4 percent of the total, were newly included on or excluded from the list last year, with the building and construction materials industry becoming the biggest gainer with six new entrants, according to CEO Score.(Yonhap)The car and auto parts industry posted th

Industry June 14, 2017