Nippon Express Co., Japan's largest distribution service provider, dedicated an international logistics center in the free economic zone in the port city of Busan on Friday, paving the way for the company to strengthen its operations in Northeast Asia.The company held a ceremony with the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority to launch the center. Nippon Express injected 2.77 billion won ($2.4 million) into the project with work starting in August of last year. The facility has a floor area o

President Park Geun-hye and Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg agreed on Friday to strengthen cooperation in building eco-friendly ships and offshore plants, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday.The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding in 2012 that calls for, among other things, cooperation in building eco-friendly ships, the presidential office said.Ships account for more than 90 percent of South Korea's exports to Norway.Bilateral trade between the two reached a record high of $7.4 billion l

The international community should seek an "interim freeze" on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs as a denuclearization deal with Pyongyang will not be possible for the foreseeable future, a former senior U.S. official said Friday. During a forum on the communist regime in Seoul, Robert Einhorn, former special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control at the U.S. State Department, also said that should Pyongyang accept the freeze, the world should be prepared for "parallel talks" on

Headquarters for an anti-terrorism council will be set up when terror attacks occur in South Korea, the government said Friday, as part of its ongoing effort to strengthen the country against terrorism.Under a revised bill, the headquarters will be created under an anti-terrorism council at the Prime Minister's Office to oversee planning and management of anti-terrorism measures, an official source said.The bill will go into effect on June 4, he said.The council will be headed by the prime minis

South Korea attained its third-largest trade surplus in March and extended the surplus streak to 50 months, as imports again fell at a faster pace than exports, customs data showed Friday.The country's trade surplus came to $9.86 billion last month, up from a surplus of $7.07 in the previous month, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.The March figure marked the 50th consecutive month of a trade surplus, with an 18.6-percent on-year jump from $8.34 billion a year earlier.It is al

An appeals court upheld a jail sentence passed by a lower court on a lawmaker, formerly affiliated with the main opposition party, for taking bribes from a businessman.The Seoul High Court handed down a 16-month jail term to Park Ki-choon, formerly of the Minjoo Party, for receiving some 280 million won ($243,000) from the head of a distribution agency, only known by his surname Kim, in return for business favors. The court also convicted Park of making one of his aides hide the bribes he receiv

The United States detected North Korea's failed missile launch and confirmed the latest action did not pose any threat to North America, the Defense Department said."U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) systems detected and tracked what we assess was a failed North Korean missile launch at3:33 p.m. CDT (central daylight time)," the Pentagon said in a statement. "According to North American Aerospace Defense Command, the missile launched from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America.""Th

Chilean university has launched a course on the study of the Korean language as learning Korean appears to be the latest craze among Chileans, the South Korean Embassy in Santiago said Thursday.The Virginio Gomez Professional Institute, affiliated with the University of Concepcion, located in Chile's second-largest city of Conceptcion, held a ceremony along with the embassy the previous day to celebrate the opening of the course.It marks the first time a Korean language course has been launched

South Korea denounced Japan Friday after Tokyo issued a diplomatic report renewing the country's claims to the South's easternmost islets of Dokdo.The annual report, Diplomatic Bluebook 2016, was reported to the Cabinet with claims that Dokdo is clearly Japanese territory historically and under international law."It is beyond deplorable that the Japanese government repeated its unjustified territorial claims to Dokdo, which is our territory historically, geographically and by international law,"

Lawmakers here said Friday they will continue efforts to cut mobile phone service rates in the upcoming session of the National Assembly.Last year, Rep. Woo Sang-ho of the main opposition Minjoo Party and 14 party colleagues proposed legislation on eliminating basic fees, standing at around 10,000 won ($8.60) a month.Chances are slim, however, the bill will pass the current parliament scheduled to finish at the end of May."I will first submit a bill on eliminating basic fees, returning to the Na

North Korea has promoted Gen. Ri Myong-su, chief of the military's general staff, to vice marshal, the North's media said Friday, a move designed to help its leader tighten his grip on power.The 82-year-old Ri, chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, was bestowed with the title on Thursday, a joint decision made by the North's key military commissions, the Korean Central News Agency said.Early this year, Gen. Ri was promoted to the chief of the KPA's general staff to replace his

Investors have pumped in more cash in bond funds than stock funds so far this year as they seek more stable returns, a fund rating and consulting company said Friday. Domestic bond-focused funds have seen a cash inflow of 1.37 trillion won ($1.2 billion) this year through April 12, KG Zeroin said in a statement. In contrast, investors withdrew a total of 465 billion won from their stock funds. Cash outflows from the exchange traded funds were not included in the tally, it said. Investors are inc

South Korea's jobless rate dropped to 4.3 percent in March from the previous month's 4.9 percent, with the number of newly employed people rebounding to over 300,000 last month, a government report showed Friday.The unemployment rate for young adults also edged down to 11.8 percent last month from an all-time high of 12.5 percent in February, but the figure is the highest youth unemployment rate on record for March, the report compiled by Statistics Korea said, raising concern that the sluggish

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un paid tribute to the North's founder on Friday, the birthday of his grandfather, as Pyongyang made a botched attempt to launch a ballistic missile.The young leader Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, accompanied by senior military officials, to commemorate the 104th birthday of Kim Il-sung, known as the Day of the Sun, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Since 1997, the North has celebrated the April 15 anniversary with lavish festivals to show its

A South Korean game will feature a character based on actor and TV personality Lee Kwang-soo, his management said Friday.Lee will be a new character in the mobile board game "Game of Dice" created by South Korean mobile game company Joy City Co., King Kong Entertainment said.   Lee Kwang-soo (OSEN)"The character 'Kwang-soo' will reflect the star's cheerful characteristics loved by many Asia fans," it said.Nicknamed "Asia's Prince," Lee is widely popular in Asia for his delightful role on variety

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's No. 2 carmaker, said Friday that it plans to showcase its Niro hybrid SUV at a motor show to be held in China later this month in a bid to test customer response ahead of its official launch there.The Niro crossover SUV will be displayed at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, which kicks off on April 25, according to the company. The Niro is to be launched in China in October.  (Yonhap)Kia Motors' first hybrid SUV whose production is based on its own

North Korea attempted to launch what is presumed to be a medium-range ballistic missile Musudan early Friday from its east coast, but the attempt ended in failure, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. "North Korea seems to have tried a missile launch from the East Sea area in the early morning today, but it is presumed to have failed," the JCS said. Sources said the launched missile was the intermediate-range ballistic missile Musudan, also known as the BM-25. (Yonhap)The missile lifted off at 5:30 a

No South Korean victims have been reported so far in a deadly earthquake that struck southern Japan, a South Korean official said Friday.The 6.4-magnitude temblor hit Kumamoto Prefecture and the surrounding areas on the island of Kyushu at around 9:26 p.m., Thursday, leaving at least nine people dead and hundreds injured."We have not received any reports yet of South Koreans being harmed in the earthquake," Park Ki-jun, deputy chief of the South Korean consulate general in Fukuoka, told Yonhap N

Koreans’ meat consumption has surged nearly fivefold in the last 30 years, but still falls behind the average intake of other rich nations, a report by Food Ministry showed Friday. (123RF)According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Koreans had 51.3 kilograms of meat on average in 2014, less than 63.5 kilograms consumed by the member countries of the Organization for the Economic Cooperation and Development.The U.S. topped the list with 89.7 kilograms per capita, followed by

A renowned Korean-American computer scientist has been named a member of a U.S. commission set up by President Barack Obama to bolster cyber defenses.Peter Lee, corporate vice president of Microsoft Research, was one of the 10 members of the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity that Obama announced on Wednesday.Lee, a U.S.-born citizen of Korean descent, graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, taught at Carnegie Mellon University and served at the Defense Advanced Researc