US President Barack Obama and Britain's prime minister both believe a bomb may have downed a Russian plane in Egypt, with reports Friday suggesting their theory was based on intercepted communications.With concerns over security mounting, European airlines readied to bring home thousands of tourists from the Sinai peninsula resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, from where the crashed Russian plane took off last Saturday.But there were angry scenes at the airport as thousands of anxious Britons who had hope

China will restart initial public offerings, state-run media reported Friday, after suspending them in July as part of a rescue package to rein in a rout that wiped trillions of dollars from market capitalisations.Chinese IPOs usually drain funds away from the stock market as the country's restrictive IPO system offers guaranteed profits for investors who are lucky enough to secure flotation shares.The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) suspended 28 already approved new issues in July

President Park Geun-hye on Friday asked for national efforts to make the Korea Visit Years starting next year a success so it can propel the country to such heights in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang and make a great leap in the tourism industry."We need to upgrade the nation's tourism industry to make it a country where foreigners want to visit again," Park said in her speech to the ceremony to launch the 2016-2018 Korea Visit Years. (Yonhap)Noting that with only two years left before t

A large K-pop festival created by South Korea's leading content and media company CJ E&M opened in South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju Friday.It is the first time the annual K-pop convention is taking place in its home country. KCON launched in 2012 and has quickly developed to be North America's largest annual Korean cultural festival that incorporates K-pop concerts with a marketplace showcasing a variety of Korean products and trends. In April, KCON was held in Saitama, Japan, making

Freedom of navigation and flight should be guaranteed in the disputed South China Sea, South Korea's Defense Minister Han Min-koo said in a regional security forum held on Wednesday in Malaysia where defense chiefs from the U.S. and China and Asian countries gathered together.Speaking to the general session of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), Han said "The stance of the Republic of Korea is that a peaceful resolution of the South China Sea dispute and the freedom of navigat

North Korea has denied the entry of two South Koreans to the joint industrial complex in the North's border town of Kaesong, a unification ministry official here said Wednesday.The North verbally notified its decision on Tuesday to deny the two, including a vice chairman of the South Korea's management committee for the complex, the access, claiming that they oppose its stance and only represent the South Korean side, according to the official. The official said that the North's decision is in v

The EU urged Volkswagen Wednesday to hurry up its investigation into the pollution-cheating scandal after revelations that the row may also involve petrol engines and not just diesel.The comments by the 28-nation bloc came as shares in embattled German auto giant took a renewed battering on the latest revelations."The commission invites VW to speed up its internal investigation," European Commission spokeswoman Lucia Caudet told a daily briefing."We need to clarify without delays what kind of CO

 The presidents of China and Taiwan will meet this weekend in Singapore, the two sides said Wednesday, in the first such talks between the rivals since they split at the end of a civil war in 1949.Seen as an attempt to boost the pro-Beijing Kuomintang's chances in Taiwan's presidential elections in January, the surprise meeting is likely to rattle voters already concerned about Beijing's growing influence on the island. (Yonhap)It follows a swift warming of relations with Beijing since Taiwan's

South Koreans work the second-longest hours among OECD countries, but with relatively low labor productivity, recent data showed. 　Statistics compiled by the Paris-based club of advanced economies show that the average South Korean -- including salaried employees, self-employed and part-timers -- worked 2,124 hours in 2014, up 45 hours from the previous year.  　This marks 1.2 times, or 354 hours, more than the average for the 34 Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development member countri

A Russian airliner crashed on Saturday in Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula, the office of the prime minister said in a statement. A "Russian civilian plane... crashed in the central Sinai," the office of Prime Minister Sharif Ismail said in a statement. A senior aviation official said it was a charter flight operated by a Russian company and had on board 217 passengers and seven crew members. Communication with the aircraft was lost, he added. Sergei Lzvolsky, an official with the Russian aviatio

Pressure on China over its claims to most of the strategic South China Sea went up a couple of notches this week. First the U.S. sent a warship, in its most direct challenge yet to Beijing's artificial island building. Then, over Chinese objections, an international tribunal ruled it had jurisdiction in a case brought by the Philippines on maritime claims.Neither action appeared likely to stop China in its tracks, as it seeks to assert its control over resource-rich waters that it considers vita

The Indonesian parliament has approved the first batch of funds for joint development of a new South Korean fighter jet with stealth capabilities, government officials said Saturday, amid mounting questions here over the possibility of the very project.According to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Indonesian parliament approved a 1.07-trillion-Rupiah (US$78.6 million) budget Friday to be invested in South Korea's fighter jet development project, called KF-X.The money is th

President Park Geun-hye began talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Saturday ahead of a trilateral summit with Japan. Park and Li are expected to discuss ways to further boost bilateral relations and exchange opinions on issues of mutual interest, including North Korea's nuclear weapons program, according to South Korean officials. Li arrived in Seoul earlier in the day in his first trip to South Korea since 2013 when he took office. Park and Li are set to meet with Japanese Prime Mini

South Korean shares are expected to trade in a tight range next week as investors remain concerned over a possible U.S. rate increase, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,029.47 points on Friday, down 0.54 percent from last week.Earlier this week, the South Korean stock market gained ground on the back of upbeat data from China, the country's top trading partner.The market, however, later edged down as investors took a wait-and-see approach

A newly proposed U.N. resolution on North Korea's human rights situation recommends the communist nation accede to the International Labor Organization and comply with all labor related pacts, U.N. sources said Friday.The European Union-proposed resolution, which has been submitted to the Third Committee of the U.N. General Assembly, calls for referring the North to the International Criminal Court for human rights abuses, just as last year's resolution did.But this year's resolution moved a ste

U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin said Friday it is not aware of any talks taking place between South Korea and the United States about the THAAD missile defense system, reversing an earlier claim that such discussions are already under way."We regret the inaccurate information that was provided by Lockheed Martin yesterday at a media event in Washington," Jennifer Whitlow, senior vice president for communications at Lockheed Martin, said in a statement. "We are not aware of any discussions bet

Health authorities stepped up monitoring Thursday on students and faculty at Konkuk University in Seoul after an unconfirmed virus infected a total of 31 people and a school building was shut down.　Ten more were confirmed to be suffering from similar symptoms on the same day, after 21 had shown symptoms of high fever and coughing since last week. 　　The government said it is closely monitoring over 850 students and lecturers who have been using the College of Animal Bioscience and Technology buil

Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea said Friday that there is enough time to author a single history textbook for secondary school students apparently to dispel public concerns over the lack of preparation.The Ministry of Education announced on Monday that history textbooks for middle and high school students nationwide will be written by the government-designated authors and in use by the 2017 academic year.Following the announcement, some raised concerns that there is only one year left, saying t

WASHINGTON -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her U.S. counterpart Barack Obama on Friday will adopt a joint statement on North Korea by renewing their strategic alliance to effectively contain its nuclear ambitions and provocations, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.　During a summit at the White House, the highlight of Park’s four-day trip to Washington, the two leaders are also expected to reaffirm their bilateral partnership and agree to upgrade their ties for shared economic prosperity an

WASHINGTON -- In a ritzy dinner event hosted by President Park Geun-hye in Washington on Wednesday, a number of prominent U.S. figures graced the occasion, expressing their full commitment to keep the bilateral friendship vital.　Representing the U.S. government, Secretary of State John Kerry attended the event spending the entire evening side-by-side the South Korean leader on the second day of her four-day visit to the U.S. 　President Park Geun-hye talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry