Global shipments of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels reached an all-time high in March, data showed Friday, apparently led by South Korean tech players' efforts to expand sales of high-end Ultra HD (UHD) displays.The combined shipments of LCD panels by global tech firms reached 23.9 million units in March, up 11 percent from a year earlier and a record monthly high, according to the data compiled by industry tracker IHS Inc. It also marked a 20 percent increase from February.By size, sales of

North Korea test-fired four short-range missiles into the West Sea on Friday in an apparent saber-rattling against the ongoing Seoul-Washington military exercise, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.The North Korean military "launched four short-range projectiles presumed to have a range of some 140 kilometers into the West Sea in succession between 4:15 p.m. and 5 p.m. today from Dongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province," the JCS said in a brief statement.Friday's launch came after the b

Nancy Pelosi, the U.S. House minority leader, called on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Thursday to apologize for the sexual slavery of Korean and other Asian women during World War II."We have been clear about what we'd like to hear about comfort women," Pelosi told reporters when asked about her view on Abe's planned congressional speech in Washington later this month. "I hope that a statement will be made to free (Japanese) people from this burden of the issue of comfort women."She made th

PARIS (AFP) -- At least 11 people were killed when gunmen armed with Kalashnikovs and a rocket-launcher opened fire in the offices of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday.President Francois Hollande, who immediately headed to the scene of the shooting in Paris, described it as a "terrorist attack." Hollande said 11 people were killed and another four were in critical condition after the attack, branding it an "act of exceptional barbarism" and calling an emergency cabinet meeting.H

Unionized workers at Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's largest shipbuilder, voted against a tentative wage agreement on Wednesday due to a complaint about the pay award agreed upon by the union and management, the company's union said. The union and management reached a tentative agreement on the pay raise on Dec. 31, which includes a basic pay increase of 37,000 won (US$33.56) per month and a special bonus of 2 million won. They also agreed to count regular bonuses, equal to 700 percent

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. said Thursday it has reached a tentative agreement on wages with its unionized workers, putting an end to the partial strikes that have taken place since last November. Under the agreement, the shipbuilding conglomerate agreed to increase basic pay by 37,000 won (US$33.94) per month, a 2 percent hike, and give workers company stocks equivalent to 150 percent of the base monthly salary together with another 2 million won as a bonus.The company also agreed to include i

SEOUL (AP) -- A South Korean activist says he will launch balloons carrying DVDs of Sony's ``The Interview'' toward North Korea to try to break down a personality cult built around dictator Kim Jong Un. The comedy depicting an assassination attempt on Kim is at the center of tension between North Korea and the U.S., with Washington blaming Pyongyang for crippling hacking attacks on Sony Entertainment. Pyongyang denies that and has vowed to retaliate.  Activist Park Sang-hak said Wednesday he wil

A family member of the former Korean Air Lines Co. executive at the center of the "nut rage" scandal came under fire on Wednesday after prosecutors revealed a text message in which she promised to "take revenge" on behalf of her sister. Cho Hyun-min promised her sister Hyun-ah she would "take revenge no matter what" via a text message on Dec. 17 in apparent outrage over the ongoing probe into a row involving nuts that delayed the departure of a flight. The 31-year-old Cho, who currently holds an

South Korea said Wednesday it will provide North Korea with US$620,000 in aid through the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).In 2006, the unification ministry, which is in charge of Seoul's ties with Pyongyang, signed a deal with the Bangkok-based agency to cooperate in a "technology assistance" project worth a total of $4.17 million.The UNESCAP has been working to help North Korean officials learn skills in technology-related sectors such as the environment,

President Park Geun-hye pledged Wednesday to lay the groundwork for potential unification in the new year amid continuing tensions on the Korean Peninsula."I will open the path toward unification by laying substantial and specific groundwork for unification ... by ending a seven-decades-long division," Park said in a New Year's video message uploaded on YouTube and posted on her Facebook page.The Korean Peninsula was divided into the capitalistic South and communist North after its liberation fr

SEOUL (AFP) -- South Korea's inflation rate hit its lowest  point for 14 months in December, reflecting plunging oil prices, state data showed Wednesday.Consumer prices in December rose 0.8 percent from a year ago, slowing from  1.0 percent growth in November, according to state-run Statistics Korea. This marked the lowest gain since October 2013 when consumer prices rose  0.9 percent.Consumer prices for the whole of 2014 rose 1.3 percent after growing at the  same pace in 2013.Inflation has rem

South Korea's top carmaker, Hyundai Motor Co., and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. are aiming to sell 8.2 million units globally next year, about 1.5 percent higher than their global sales this year, industry sources said Wednesday.Although the final decision on these figures is yet to be made, Hyundai's and Kia's sales targets for overseas markets are likely to stand at 3.18 million units and 1.44 million units, while those for the home turf may come to 1.87 million and 1.71 million, res

The number of stock trading accounts at local brokerage houses reached a historic high this year as more retail investors opened new accounts ahead of big initial public offerings (IPOs), data showed Wednesday.The accounts that have been used for stock transactions over the past six months increased to 20.97 million as of Dec. 26, according to data by the Korea Financial Investment Association (KFIA).Active trading accounts first surpassed 10 million in July 2007 and reached over 20 million in M

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's special envoy set to fly to Russia is likely to meet the European country's president next week to discuss diverse bilateral pending issues, sources in Seoul said Sunday.Choe Ryong-hae, the senior secretary of the Workers' Party of (North) Korea, will embark on a eight-day trip to Russia on Monday, according to the Moscow's foreign ministry.The planned visit by Kim Jong-un's close aide came as the communist country has launched vigorous diplomatic campaigns in r

South and North Korea exchanged fire across the heavily fortified border on Sunday in the latest clash on the divided Korean Peninsula amid concerns that tensions could scuttle high-level talks between the two sides.There were no reports of casualties or property damage in South Korea, though no details were immediately known about the situation in the North.The incident occurred around 5:40 p.m. when South Korea, after broadcasting warning messages, fired warning shots against about 10 North Ko

GAZA CITY (AFP) -- A 12-hour ceasefire entered into force between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip at 0500 GMT on Saturday, the 19th day of a conflict that has killed hundreds.Israel and the Islamist movement said they would observe the temporary ceasefire, after US Secretary of State John Kerry was unable to reach a lasting truce during talks Friday in Cairo.In the hours leading up to the pause, however, the violence continued, with Israeli air strikes killing 23 people, among them four child

Cho Yang-ho, a corporate executive who led PyeongChang's successful bid to host the 2018 Winter Games, has been nominated to be the top organizer of the event, sources said Saturday.Cho, chairman of Hanjin Group, is in line to replace former chief organizer Kim Jin-sun, who resigned on Monday, citing the need for new leadership for PyeongChang, which will host South Korea's first-ever Winter Games.Cho, 65, was the head of PyeongChang's Winter Games bidding committee in 2011, when the alpine town

Prosecutors launched an investigation Saturday into the eldest son of the late owner of the Sewol ferry, after he was arrested one day earlier on suspicion of embezzlement related to April's deadly sinking.Yoo Dae-kyun, 44, the son of Yoo Byung-eun, was arrested Friday in Yongin, south of Seoul, following a three-month manhunt. Park Soo-kyung, a 34-year-old woman, was also captured on suspicion of helping Dae-kyun avoid the dragnet.Prosecutors kicked off their investigation into the younger Yoo

The United States, France and Australia called for the United Nations Security Council to deal with North Korea's human rights violations, a news report said Saturday.Ambassadors from the three countries to the U.N. sent a joint letter to the president of the Security Council on July 17, which called on the U.N. body to formally discuss a report by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) on human rights violations in the North, according to the Voice of America (VOA).Following a year-long probe, th

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama said Friday that the alliance between the United States and South Korea "remains as strong as ever" as he marked the anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War 61 years ago.In a proclamation issued ahead of Sunday's anniversary, Obama also said South Korea's rise from the war's ashes is "not an accident." It shows that liberty and democracy "do not come easily," he said, adding, "We must win them, and tend to them constantly, and defend them witho