North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the family mausoleum enshrining the mummified bodies of the two former leaders on Tuesday, marking the 20th anniversary of the national founder's death, the country's state news wire said.Accompanied by top echelon military officials, Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun at the stroke of midnight and paid tribute to the embalmed bodies to mark the 20th anniversary of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's death, according to an English-language report by

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's biggest technology firm by revenue, estimated its second-quarter operating profit at a sharply lower than expected 7.2 trillion won (US$7.11 billion) on Tuesday amid a slowdown in its smartphone business.The preliminary estimate represents a 24.4 percent fall from the operating profit of 9.53 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. The figure also marks a 15 percent crash from the operating profit of 8.49 trillion won posted duri

The United States tried to cool Monday a new spy row with Germany after Chancellor Angela Merkel warned reports an alleged German double agent helped the CIA could again damage trust between the allies.Revelations that a 31-year-old German intelligence operative was suspected of espionage revived suspicion between Berlin and Washington which had barely ebbed following reports last year the US National Security Agency (NSA) tapped Merkel's cellphone.Merkel, who was furious over the previous US-Ge

K-pop sensation EXO’s Chen will contribute a song to the soundtrack for the drama “It’s Okay, That’s Love” in his first solo activity since his debut in 2012.  (EXO's Chen)The news about Chen’s participation on the album has excited EXO fans who viewed it as a move to back fellow member D.O., who has a role in the TV series. D.O is to play an innocent high school student who dreams of becoming a best-selling author to make his mother happy.  (EXO's D.O)The SBS-TV drama will also feature top-clas

South Korean actor Joo Won will appear as a guest on the hit SBS-TV variety show “Running Man.” The 26-year-old heartthrob will participate in the filming of the program in Seoul on Tuesday, eight months after he stepped down from the KBS-TV reality show “1 Night, 2 Days.” Joo’s appearance on the show comes following months-long efforts by the production team. Having wrapped up his work in the musical “Ghost,” the actor is gearing up for his upcoming drama “Nodame Cantabile,” in which he will pl

Super typhoon Neoguri was barrelling toward Japan's Okinawa islands Monday, packing violent winds and torrential rains as officials warned residents to stay indoors, while the biggest US Air Force base in the Pacific evacuated some of its aircraft.The storm could be one of the worst in decades, with gusts of up to 270 kilometres per hour (160 miles per hour) expected to slam into the southernmost subtropical island chain early Tuesday, and possibly reaching mainland Japan by Wednesday, the natio

A group of some 1,700 local consumers launched a class-action lawsuit against six local and foreign automakers Monday, claiming that they have overstated the gas mileage of some of their vehicles.In the lawsuit to be filed with the Seoul Central District Court, the plaintiffs sought between 1.5 million won and 3 million won (US$1,490-$2,960) each in compensation for the mileage gap.The move comes after the government said last month that it will fine two local SUV makers and four import car bran

South Korea and Turkey have reached a de facto agreement for free trade in the investment and service sectors, the trade ministry here said Monday.The agreement, once implemented, will complement a free trade pact for products between the countries that went into effect in May 2013, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA) in the investment and service sectors were resumed in August 2013 after a 17-month suspension due to what minist

소녀시대 윤아가 한국판 ‘노다메 칸타빌레’ 여주인공에 낙점된 것으로 알려져 온라인이 뜨겁다.7일 제작사 측에 따르면 윤아는 ‘노다메 칸타빌레’의 여주인공인 노다메 역할에 캐스팅돼 세부 사항을 검토 중이다. 이 역할엔 심은경과 아이유 등이 거론된 바 있다.니노미야 토코모의 동명 만화가 원작인 ‘노다메 칸타빌레’는 우에노 주리가 드라마와 영화 주인공을 맡아 일본에서 뜨거운 인기를 모았다.한국판 ‘노다메 칸타빌레’는 클래식을 하는 음대생들의 가슴 뛰는 사랑과 성장을 그릴 예정으로 주원이 한국판 남자 주인공을 맡았고 도희도 합류했다.윤아의 여주인공 낙점에 네티즌들의 반응은 대체적으로 회의적이다. 일본 드라마 여주인공으로 나온 우에노 주리가 원작 캐릭터에 100% 가까운 싱크로율을 보였는데, 윤아와는 그다지 어울리지 않는다는 반응인 것.이에 네티즌들은 심은경과 아이유, 고아라, 이하나, 최강희, 하연수 등을 물망에 올리며 노다메에 어울리는 여배우 찾기에 불이붙었다.‘노다메 칸타빌레’ 윤아 캐

Yoona, actress and member of K-pop girl group Girls’ Generation, confirmed Monday that she would play the female lead in the drama “Nodame Cantabile.”  (OSEN)The idol will play Nodame, a talented yet eccentric piano student, a counterpart to Korean actor Joo Won who will play her boyfriend and conductor. Veteran actor Baek Yoon-sik and Dohee of K-pop girl group Tiny-G have also joined the cast, playing Nodame’s teacher and a music student named Sakura, respectively. Nodame Cantabile was original

South Korean entertainment powerhouse YG Entertainment is to debut its long-awaited rookie idol band WINNER in August. WINNER, the five-member boy group unveiled by the agency in 2013, wrapped up its “WINNER WEEK” last Sunday with a sixth teaser video on the YG official blog that heralded the group’s debut on Aug. 1. The fledgling band has broadened its presence for the last three promotional weeks -- “TEST WEEK,” “NEW YORK WEEK” and “WINNER WEEK” -- while disclosing photo shoots taken in Korea

President Park Geun-hye pledged Monday that she will spare no effort to help boost achievement in South Korea's economic diplomacy with other countries."I will visit anywhere for the sake of our economic takeoff,"Park said in a meeting with local business leaders meant to demonstrate her commitment to taking follow-up steps for her recent trip to Central Asia.The comments came weeks after she traveled to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to expand economic cooperation and win support for h

The South Korean alpine town of Pyeongchang will start hosting international events for disabled athletes in its preparation for the next Winter Paralympic Games, officials said on Monday.The organizing committee for the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang said the host city will be staging up to two international competitions in each of the Winter Paralympic sports a year as part of its "Actualizing the Dream Project (ADP)." Alpine skiing, para-snowboarding, ice sledge hockey, biathlon, cros

South Korea is near the bottom in terms of traffic safety among developed countries, with its traffic fatality rate being the second-highest among surveyed countries despite improvement over the past decade, data showed on Monday.The number of South Koreans killed on the road reached 105 per 1 million people in 2011, ranking 30th among 31 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that provided the data.South Korea's reading, although an improvement from 119 in

South Korea's major tech players have expanded the battery capacities of their flagship smartphones over the past years, data showed Monday, as they engaged in a fierce competition over wider displays and faster networks.Samsung Electronics Co., the world's No. 1 maker of handsets, saw its battery capacity of the Galaxy 5S model reach 2,800mAh, up 87 percent from the 1,500mAh posted by the Galaxy S smartphone released in June 2010.The improvement was also observed in phablets, a cross between ta

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a front-line military detachment in the East Sea and instructed firing drills, its official media said Monday.The young leader "inspected the defense detachment on Ung Islet ... which is defending an outpost in the East Sea of Korea," the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in an English dispatch, without disclosing the date of the visit, as it often does.The islet is located in waters off its eastern border town of Wonsan, Gangwon Pro

North Korea said Monday it will dispatch a cheerleading contingent to the upcoming Incheon Asian Games.In a government announcement, the communist country said it will send a cheerleading contingent to the 17th Asian Games along with its athletes.It said the purpose of the contingent is to improve inter-Korean relations and to show Pyongyang's commitment to unification.The latest announcement then said that both North and South Korea should desist from confrontation, and open a new chapter of re

Actress Jang Na-ra confessed that she didn’t even talk to actor Jang Hyuk 12 years ago when they costarred in the hit rom-com drama “Successful Story of a Bright Girl” in 2002.“I did not (privately) chat with him, except when we talked during the filming of the drama back then,” the singer-turned-actress said Sunday during an interview on the MBC show “Section TV.” “We did not even know each other’s mobile numbers. I am not the (kind of) person who can approach someone first. That’s why we could

Tablo, a member of the South Korean hip-hop group Epik High, revealed two photos of his baby girl, Haru.  (Instagram)The 33-year-old rapper introduced his daughter as his “muse” in the captions to the photos taken at his recording studio. The celebrity father and his starlet baby are capturing the hearts of viewers while starring in the KBS-TV babysitting reality show “Superman Is Back.” 　By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)

South Korean exporters are facing growing protectionism as economies around the globe, in particular those in developing countries, still struggle to shield their local industries from a prolonged economic slowdown and surge in foreign imports, industry data showed Sunday. According to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), a total of 34 import restrictions, including anti-dumping measures, were newly imposed on South Korean-made goods by 17 countries last year