South Korea has succeeded in a ground combustion test for the first- and second-stage engines of its domestic space rocket, a related agency said Thursday.The 75-ton thrust engine test was conducted "smoothly" as planned a day earlier at the Naro Space Center located in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, according to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. The 75-ton liquid engine is a core technology for the Korea Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV)-II."The duration of combustion was 75 seconds," it said.

A growing number of foreigners have visited South Korea for travels related to meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions over the past year, having a ripple effect across the nation's tourism industry, the state-run Korea Tourism Organization said Thursday. South Korea has become a major incentive travel destination in Asia as its vibrant culture and advanced technology have attracted more travelers from various nations.The KTO said a series of big incentive tours by major Asian companie

South Korean online music content provider KT Music unveiled the country's first virtual reality-backed music service on Thursday."Genie VR," a computer-generated multimedia service that plays the visuals alongside music content, will be provided on a separate section of Genie's mobile app, the music service maker and distributor said during a news conference.The affiliate of mobile carrier KT currently offers two music-streaming services -- Genie Music and Olleh Music. Wearing HMD, or a head mo

North Korea has just launched a weeding campaign in rice paddies following a month-long drive to plant rice as part of a nationwide effort to boost the country's grain production.In an editorial, the North's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun called on the people to make a concentrated effort to root out weeds in the rice fields as required by the country's ruling Workers' Party. It said such measures are critical to increase rice production this year.The country has ended the spring rice planting sea

Prosecutors raided local advertisement companies Thursday over allegations that they gave illegal kickbacks to a minor opposition party lawmaker during the parliamentary elections held in April.The Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office raided about six offices over suspicions that Rep. Kim Su-min of the People's Party illegally received some 178 million won ($154,000) from the firms through forged contracts.Kim was in charge of the party's election campaign ahead of the April 13 general ele

South Korean stocks closed 0.14 percent lower Thursday as individual investors opted to lock in gains from the previous day's increase despite earlier gains led by the central bank's surprise interest rate hike. The local currency inched up against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 2.91 points to finish at 2,024.17. Trading volume was moderate at 591.4 million shares worth 7.58 trillion won ($6.57 billion) with decliners far outpacing advancers 525 to 300.The

South Korea's top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co. said Thursday that it has received a temporary license for testing self-driving technologies, the latest in a series of moves by Seoul to develop autonomous vehicles.It marks the first time that a local auto parts maker has received a license for test driving.Hyundai Motor, a flagship unit of the South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Group, received a license in March to test drive its Genesis luxury sedan equipped with a high-tech driving ass

A state-run think tank on biotechnology said Thursday that it will breed as many as 3,000 nonhuman primates at a colony to be built by the end of next year in a bid to ensure a stable supply of the animals for the country's biomedical research.The state-run Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology held a groundbreaking ceremony to construct the Support Center for Nonhuman Primates Resources on a site of 72,000 square meters in the southwestern city of Jeongeup. The institute will

South Korea on Thursday condemned a recent terrorist killing in Kazakhstan and pledged to continue efforts to root out terrorism in the world.On Sunday, three civilians and three soldiers were killed in a rampage by gunmen in Kazakhstan's northwestern city of Aktobe.Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said Wednesday the attackers were followers of pseudo-religious groups who had received instructions from abroad."Our government cannot hide our shock and concern over the loss of innocent lives

South Korea's National Assembly picked six-term main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea lawmaker Chung Sye-kyun as its new speaker Thursday after parties reached a deal on the parliamentary formation issue earlier in the week.Rep. Chung was voted in as the speaker for the first half of the 20th National Assembly at the plenary session of parliament.Chung will be obligated to sever party ties during his two-year term.The appointment of the speaker, which was deadlocked after the new parliament bega

A woman who stabbed her husband to death during a fight was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday, according to the Daegu High Court. The 49-year-old woman had gotten into a fight with her husband over a phone conversation she had had with another man.  (123Rf)When the husband turned violent, the woman took out a weapon from the kitchen and stabbed him to death. Their child who was at home at the time is said to be suffering from shock and stress. The Daegu court said that the murder was n

Police raided the headquarters of a Seoul subway operator Thursday as part of their probe into the cause of the accident that killed a 19-year-old maintenance worker on a station platform late last month.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency dispatched around 100 officers to raid some 10 organizations, including the head offices of Seoul Metro in the southern part of the capital. Eunsung PSD, a subcontractor who had hired the victim -- identified only by his surname Kim - was also included on the

Controversy has flared up over South Korean authorities' recent approval of a new drug that premises to treat both high blood pressure and erectile dysfunction.In early May, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety gave the green light to the antihypertensive and anti-impotence medicine developed by Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co., a leading South Korean drugmaker. It marks the first time that an antihypertensive medication combined with anti-impotence treatment has been approved in South Korea. The new dr

The South Korean finance minister said Thursday that Asia's fourth-largest economy will show far clearer signs of recovery in the second quarter helped by government-led stimulus policies."The South Korean economy has been in a modest recovery mode in recent months, rebounding from a slowdown in the beginning of the year," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in a meeting of economy-related ministers in Seoul. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho (Yonhap)"In the second quarter, we will see the effects of incre

Kia Motors Corp. said Thursday that it has reached a deal with the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon on incentives, giving a boost to South Korea's second-largest carmaker in running its plant in Mexico.The two sides said in a joint statement after a signing ceremony in Nuevo Leon that they found a reasonable middle ground, Kia Motors said.A company official said the deal would cover infrastructure such as roads, railways, electricity and industrial water for the plant, noting no significant

South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party said Thursday the government should roll out more state military projects to help normalize financially troubled shipbuilders, which emerged as a potential threat to local industries and the job market."Although restructuring in the private sector is inevitable, there also must be government efforts to provide (troubled firms) with work," Saenuri said during the meeting with government policymakers. The party highlighted that the government should consider plac

South Korea made public a five-year master plan on Thursday aimed at developing the country as a global power in the information security industry.Under the "K-ICT 2020" project, the government will focus on "globalizing" its cybersecurity and other information protection technology.In the face of North Korea's cyber threats, South Korea has continued efforts to fortify its cyber environment.But it has much to be desired to enhance the global competitiveness of the infosecurity sector, which is

South Korea's automobile exports fell for the seventh straight month in May due to faltering demand from emerging markets, the government said Thursday.Outbound shipments of vehicles came to 218,655 units last month, down 11.6 percent from 247,343 units tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The May figure narrowed from a 19.7-percent on-year drop in April, the largest decline since September 2009 when it plunged 22 percent in the aftermath of the global

Healthcare funds have outshone other equity funds in the past month on a recent rally in pharmaceutical and biotechnology stocks, a fund ratings company said Thursday. Healthcare funds took the top five spots in the domestic equity funds' yield rankings released on Tuesday by Korea Fund Ratings.The company surveyed the yield results of homegrown stock-based funds for the month ending June 7.Mirae Asset Global Investment Co. managed four out of the five highest-yielding healthcare funds, with the

The Seoul city government announced a set of guidelines on providing subsidies for the construction of Korean traditional houses Thursday amid efforts to preserve such buildings in the city.According to the new guidelines set up by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, those who erect new hanok, or Korean traditional accommodations, can receive up to 100 million won ($86,700), including 20 million won in special loans. If they are built within the special zones designated for the conservation of ha