South Korean sprinter Kim Kuk-young set the men's 100m national record with 10.07 seconds on Tuesday.Kim won the men's 100m final at the Korea Open International Athletics Competition in Jeongseon, some 210 kilometers east of Seoul, with the record-breaking time.Kim broke his own record twice in three days on the same track. On Sunday, Kim ran the 100m in the semifinals of a different competition in the then-record time of 10.13 seconds. Later in the final, Kim posted a wind-aided, unofficial ti

More Sports June 27, 2017

North Korea clearly has the ability to produce tritium internally, a basic element for making hydrogen bombs, although the country has yet to weaponize it, an American nuclear expert said Tuesday."The evidence is quite clear that North Korea is able to produce tritium, which is necessary for a hydrogen bomb to create fusion. So you need tritium when you are going to have hydrogen bombs," Siegfried Hecker, a professor at Stanford University, told a group of journalists here.(Yonhap)During his 201

North Korea June 27, 2017

The Moon Jae-in administration of South Korea honors an "alliance decision" to deploy a high-profile US missile defense system here as it strives to enhance the transparency of relevant domestic procedures, a top defense official said Tuesday.Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk visited Seongju, where the US Forces Korea's THAAD battery is in partial operation.Meeting with residents there, he pointed out that the THAAD deployment is an alliance decision aimed at countering North Korea's growing nu

Politics June 27, 2017

Banks and other financial institutions in South Korea have been on guard over threats of cyberattacks by alleged financial blackmailers, according to the banks and financial institutions on Tuesday. No damage has been reported so far, but about 20 banks, brokerages and the Korea Exchange received threats by hacking groups about paralyzing their Web sites.They received e-mails that set a deadline to transfer funds to the blackmailers to avoid the attacks.  (Yonhap)On Monday, four financial instit

Companies June 27, 2017

A state-run think tank on Tuesday revised up its 2017 growth forecast for the South Korean economy by 0.3 percentage point to 2.8 percent on the strength of global trade and eased uncertainties at home and abroad."The South Korean economy will likely see the upbeat pace of its exports and investment slow down to some extent, but private consumption should make a slight upturn in the second half," the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade said in a report. It said such deve

Economy June 27, 2017

Samsung Electronics Co. plans to release the refurbished edition of the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 smartphone next month, industry sources said Tuesday.According to the sources, Samsung will release the smartphone under the name the Galaxy Note FE, with a price tag below 700,000 won ($616). Official sales are slated to start July 7. (Yonhap)The South Korean tech giant suspended production and sales of the Galaxy Note 7 last year amid reports that some of the devices caught fire while charging. A pr

Industry June 27, 2017

South Korea said Tuesday that it plans later this week to repatriate eight North Koreans who were rescued last week in the East Sea, as they expressed wishes to go home.The government plans to send them back home around Thursday as it will seek to notify North Korea of its plan the day before, according to South Korea's unification ministry. (Yonhap)A ship carrying the North Koreans was found drifting near Ulleung Island in waters off South Korea's east coast on June 23 suffering from an engine

North Korea June 27, 2017

President Moon Jae-in urged the parliament to quickly approve the government request for a supplementary budget Tuesday, stressing it is the only way to ensure an economic recovery and even higher-than-expected growth.In his latest call on the opposition-led parliament to endorse the government bill to create an 11.2 trillion won ($9.85 billion) extra budget, the president insisted early execution of the additional government spending may ensure an annual economic expansion of over 3 percent for

Politics June 27, 2017

BEIJING -- China has shriveled its coal imports from North Korea to zero for three months until May as part of efforts to implement sanctions on the North adopted by the UN Security Council, Chinese customs data said Tuesday.The data showed there were no coal imports from North Korea in May but were sharp increases in coal imports from Indonesia, Mongolia and Russia.China suspended all coal imports from the North in March and April in an embargo that is set to remain in place for the rest of the

North Korea June 27, 2017

Financial authorities have urged banks to take measures to mitigate risks from household lending, before tightening rules on home lending early next month, an official said Tuesday. At a meeting with heads of some 20 retail banks on Monday, Financial Supervisory Service Governor Zhin Woong-seob called for them to improve their risk and compliance management, according to an FSS official who attended the meeting.Effective next Monday, the lending ceiling for homes located in areas designated by t

Market June 27, 2017

Japan-based South Korean golfer Lee Bo-mee was named an honorary ambassador for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Tuesday.In a ceremony held in Seoul, Lee joined a slew of other sporting stars as the latest goodwill spokesperson for South Korea's first Winter Games. South Korean golfer Lee Bo-mee poses with the mascots of the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics and PyeongChang Winter Games, Bandabi (left) and Soohorang, after being named an honorary ambassador for PyeongChang 2018 in Seoul on J

More Sports June 27, 2017

South Korean shares hit a fresh intra-day high late Tuesday morning, thanks to a retail investor buying spree. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 1.51 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,390.17 as of 11:20 a.m. The index rose to as high as 2,391.86 at one point in morning trading.  Large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 0.25 percent, while global chipmaker SK hynix surged 1.48 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 1.52 percent and its smalle

Market June 27, 2017

Suh Yun-bok, who won the 1947 Boston Marathon with a world record time, passed away on Tuesday. He was 94 years old.The Korea Association of Athletics Federations said Suh died of natural causes at around 4:40 a.m.former Boston Marathon champion Suh Yun-bok (Korean Sport & Olympic Committee)Suh became the first Asian champion of the Boston Marathon in 1947, setting the then-world record with 2:25.39. It was also the first world record set at the Boston Marathon, which began in 1897.Suh also part

More Sports June 27, 2017

Six South Korean fighter jets are flying back home Tuesday after participating in a multinational air combat training exercise led by Pacific Air Forces, the nation's Air Force said.The KF-16s took off earlier in the day from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, where the annual RED FLAG-Alaska training was staged. South Korea`s KF-16 fighter jets fly over the Pacific with aerial refueling support from the US Air Force`s KC-135 Stratotanker on June 3, 2017, in this photo provided by South Korea`s A

Defense June 27, 2017