TOKYO(AFP) -- Sony on Thursday halved its full-year profit forecast as it was battered by a near $1 billion writedown on its movie unit while a strong yen also dug into the Japanese firm's bottom line.The dour reading comes as the embattled entertainment giant struggles with a painful restructuring drive that has included layoffs and asset sales after years of huge losses.It said net profit in the nine months to December 31 plunged 80.7 percent to 45.6 billion yen ($405 million) and warned it ex

South Korean Nordic combined skier Park Je-un said Thursday he will compete with a pioneer mindset, as he is set to face top-class athletes in an upcoming international competition.Park will take part in the International Ski Federation (FIS) Nordic Combined World Cup in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, some180 kilometers east of Seoul, this weekend. The first FIS Nordic Combined World Cup in South Korea is also one of the test events for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.Park is currently the

Officials from the Violence Against Women in War Research Action Center and the National Movement for Resolving the Issue of the Military Comfort Women hold a press conference on Feb. 2, 2017, at the National Diet in Tokyo to address what they call NHK's biased reporting on the 2015 comfort women agreement between South Korea and Japan. (Yonhap)Japanese public broadcaster NHK was accused by local civic groups on Thursday of selectively airing misinformed opinions that were in favor of an agreeme

South Korea's presidential office said Thursday it will not allow a search and seizure by special investigators who are looking into an influence-peddling scandal centered on President Park Geun-hye.In a text message sent to reporters, presidential spokesman Jung Youn-kuk denied a media report that Cheong Wa Dae is willing to accept the special investigation team's visit to three particular offices. He added its stance on the matter "remains unchanged." State prosecutors, who handed over the cas

QR codes, a kind of matrix bar code, are becoming commonly used in Pyongyang as they have shown up in all kinds of ways in the last six months to mark exhibition items at a science complex, in inventory systems at supermarkets and on consumer products, a non-government organization said Thursday.According to the website Choson Exchange, a Singaporean organization that teaches North Koreans all about the market economy, a story titled "QR Codes in Pyongyang" carried photos of a bottle of mineral

Less Chinese tourists opted for Korea as a travel destination during the long Lunar New Year Holiday this year, Chinese media and travel agencies said Sunday.While as many as six million Chinese have gone or will go overseas during the holiday season from Jan. 27 to Feb. 2, the number to come to Korea has significantly decreased compared to last year.According to Ctrip, a Chinese online travel platform, Korea slipped to seventh, from third a year ago, on the list of travel destinations for Chine

The independent probe team that is looking into the influence-peddling and corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her friend is likely to seek an arrest warrant again for Lee Jae-yong, sources said Sunday.The team, led by Special Counsel Park Young-soo, is mulling over whether to again try to get an arrest warrant for the Samsung Group's de facto heir apparent after it finishes a face-to-face investigation of the president early next month. "Since this is the last chance (to se

South Korea's cosmetics industry saw its exports rise by more than 40 percent last year in large part thanks to Chinese consumers' bigger spending power and their increasing interests in grooming and beauty products, industry experts said Sunday.According to data from the Korea International Trade Association, exports of skincare and makeup products amounted toUS$3.97 billion last year, up 44.3 percent from US$2.75 billion.The number doubled from the 2014 figure of US$1.79 billion. Among the exp

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge issued an emergency order Saturday night temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban.U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued the emergency order after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect.As the decision was announced, ch

The South Korean comic book "Bad Friend" received an award at a global comics festival, Korea Manhwa Contents Agency (KOMACON) said Sunday.The book by a South Korean cartoonist, who goes by her pen name Ancco, was awarded the Prix Revelation at the 44th Angouleme International Comics Festival, becoming the first Korean comic book to be recognized by one of the most renowned comics awards events."I used to consider myself to be someone who led a weird, lonely life in Korea. But now I am here. Thi

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn will have a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump this week, Hwang's office said Sunday.The bilateral talks -- the first since Trump was sworn in as the 45th US president on Jan. 20 -- will begin at 9 a.m., Monday (Korea time).  The announcement came after Reuters reported, citing a White House statement, that Trump "will speak to the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea in separate calls on

NEW YORK (AP) - Google, Apple and other tech giants expressed dismay over an executive order on immigration from President Donald Trump that bars nationals of seven Mu-slim-majority countries from entering the U.S. The U.S tech industry relies on foreign engineers and other technical experts for a sizeable percentage of its workforce. The order bars entry to the U.S. for anyone from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.The move, ostensibly intended to prevent extremists

US President Donald Trump's executive order barring refugees from entering the country also extends to North Koreans fleeing from one of the most repressive regimes in the world, a US media agency said Sunday.The Voice of America said North Korean refugees are not allowed to enter the United States at least for four months as the executive order places a 120-day moratorium on the US Refugee Admissions Program.Under the 2004 North Korean Human Rights Act, North Korean escapees can attain refugee

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trumpwill speak to the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United ArabEmirates and South Korea in separate calls on Sunday, the WhiteHouse said in a statement.

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is seen as a strong contender in South Korea's presidential race, on Saturday touted national unity as his policy objective in response to calls to clarify his political stance.Ban made the remark to reporters during a visit to his hometown of Eumseong, 131 kilometers south of Seoul, where he met with his relatives to mark Lunar New Year's Day."We have to go in a direction that embraces everyone," he said."We have to save our country by joining forces

North Korea on Friday called on its people to overcome the international sanctions regime under a new slogan of boosting self-reliance and bracing for economic hardship, Pyongyang's state media showed.Bearing in mind the principle of self-development, North Koreans should endure difficulties by following in the footsteps of creators of "the spirit of Kangwon Province," according to the Rodong Sinmun, the country's main newspaper.Kangwon Province is the country's southeastern region where the coa

K-pop singer HyunA will embark on a global tour of North America next month, her management agency said Friday.HyunA (Yonhap)Starting off in Vancouver on Feb. 22, she will hold a concert in 8 cities total: Toronto on the 24th, Montreal on the 26th, Chicago on March. 1, New York on the 3rd, Dallas on the 6th, San Francisco on the 9th and Los Angeles on the 10th, according to Cube Entertainment. A former member of the now-disbanded girl group 4minute, she held fan events titled "The Queen's Back"

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The inauguration of a new president requires the recitation of a 35-word oath. That's it. Dress it up with some hoopla and glitz, though, and pretty soon you're talking real money.Donald Trump will have it to spend. Trump's Presidential Inaugural Committee has raised a record $90 million-plus in private donations, far more than President Barack Obama's two inaugural committees. They collected $55 million in 2009 and $43 million in 2013, and had some left over on the first go-r

BEIJING (AP) -- Hundreds of thousands of Chinese travelers were packing airports, train and bus stations Friday as they headed home for Lunar New Year celebrations.Officials expect that Chinese travelers will make almost 3 billion trips during the holiday travel rush that starts Friday and runs through Feb. 21. These trips include intercity flights, trains and local bus rides to villages for China's 1.4 billion people.Each year, it represents the world's largest seasonal migration of people as f

Danish prosecutors could decide by the end of this month whether to repatriate the daughter of a woman who is at the center of South Korea's widening corruption scandal, an official here said Friday.Chung Yoo-ra, the 21-year-old daughter of President Park Geun-hye's close friend Choi Soon-sil, has been held at a detention center in Aalborg, Denmark, since her arrest last week on suspicion of illegal stay. Choi is also under arrest in South Korea on charges of abusing her ties to the president to