North Korea is believed to have produced an additional four to six nuclear weapons since late 2014, with its total arsenal now estimated at between 13-21 weapons, a U.S. think tank said Tuesday.The Institute for Science and International Security released the assessment in a report, making estimates about the amounts of weapons-grade plutonium and highly enriched uranium the North is believed to have produced at its Yongbyon nuclear complex.The assessment came after recent reports that the North

South Korea's export prices continued to drop from a month earlier in May, central bank data showed Wednesday, partly contributing to a prolonged slump in the country's exports.In local currency terms, export prices fell 4 percent on-year last month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.May marks the fifth consecutive month there was an on-year drop following a revised 5.2 percent decline in the previous month.From a month earlier, export prices gained 2.4 percent.The on-month in

The chairman of embattled South Korean retail giant Lotte Group said Tuesday he is "sorry for causing concern" over corruption allegations and pledged to fully cooperate with the investigation.Chairman Shin Dong-bin made the remark to reporters at the groundbreaking ceremony for a joint venture chemical plant in Lake Charles as prosecutors stepped up the investigation into allegations that Lotte created slush funds through illicit means.It was the first time Shin has spoken to the media since th

The United States on Tuesday welcomed China's decision to ban exports to North Korea of a series of so-called "dual-use" items that can be used not only for civilian, but also for military purposes, such as nuclear and missile development.China's Commerce Ministry announced the measure earlier Tuesday, adding about 40 items to the list of items banned for export to the communist neighbor. The ministry said the decision was part of efforts to implement the latest U.N. Security Council sanctions r

A Seoul court on Tuesday rejected a prosecution request for an arrest warrant for a former Hanjin Shipping chief accused of illegal stock trading.Last Sunday, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office filed for a warrant to arrest Choi Eun-young, who is facing charges of misusing insider information to sell company stocks. Choi Eun-young (Yonhap)However, the Seoul Southern District Court said Choi is not considered a flight risk, nor is it concerned that Choi would attempt to destroy evide

Prosecutors on Tuesday filed for an arrest warrant for the former head of the scandal-ridden local unit of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser.John Lee, currently CEO of Google Korea, has been under investigation over Oxy's toxic humidifier sterilizer, which has caused dozens of deaths and illnesses in South Korea since 2011. John Lee, head of Google Korea (Yonhap)Lee led the South Korean unit of the consumer goods company from June 2005 to May 2010, while sales of its sterilizer product were at their peak.Th

The suspect in the Mount Sapaesan murder case has admitted he had intended to rape the victim, Uijeongbu police said Tuesday. The suspect, a 45-year-old man surnamed Jeong, had previously been indicted under charges of robbery and murder.The police continued their investigation to discern whether Jeong had also attempted sexual assault, as the victim, a 55-year-old lone female hiker, had been found partly naked.  (Yonhap)Jeong initially insisted that he had only been after money, and that he had

The South Korean finance minister said Tuesday that the government will announce a package of fiscal policies that would sufficiently stimulate the economy in the second half amid growing concerns over further economic downturn.Asia's fourth-largest economy has been in the doldrums since the beginning of the year as faltering exports, the key economic driver, weigh heavily on the entire economy, especially production. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho (Yonhap)The latest data showed that South Korea's i

South Korea's advertising expenditure for 2015 was the sixth largest among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a report showed Tuesday.Advertising expenses in the country reached $11.8 billion last year to trail behind the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, and France, according to the report by the Korea Advertisers Association.The report said the local advertising market expanded by 5.4 percent and 6.2 percent on-year in 2014 and 2015, respective

Creditors of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. on Tuesday pressed the embattled shipbuilder's workers to refrain from going on strike, saying that a potential walkout would deter the ongoing efforts to salvage the financially shaky firm.The move came as 85 percent of some 7,000 unionized workers at Daewoo Shipbuilding voted for a strike earlier in the day, according to the labor union. They have claimed that the shipbuilder's restructuring schemes submitted to creditors only calls for

South Korea's largest automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. will implement a massive recall of their vehicles in South Korea and the United States, the companies and U.S. regulators said Tuesday.Hyundai said it is set to begin recalling 81,000 Tucson vehicles on July 15 in the U.S. to replace the secondary hood latch. A separate recall is also scheduled for 62,000 units in South Korea later this month.The recall affects Tucson vehicles built in South Korea from M

The ratio of female workers in South Korea's 600 largest companies by revenue has been on the rise in recent years, data showed Tuesday, as South Korea is pushing to bring more women into the nation's workforce.The number of female employees at the 600 firms stood at 235,171 last year, accounting for 21.6 percent of their total workforce. The figures represent a gradual increase from 207,941, or 20.6 percent, in 2011, according to data compiled by the Federation of Korean Industries that speaks

Real estate transactions involving Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho and the conglomerate's affiliates have come under the spotlight as prosecutors are looking into whether some deals were used as a way to create a slush fund for the owner's family, according to investigators and industry experts Tuesday.  Lotte is South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate, with the value of the real estate owned by its listed affiliates estimated at 10.7 trillion won ($9.12 billion) as of 2015, according to corpo

South Korea and Azerbaijan agreed on Tuesday to expand bilateral economic cooperation in the infrastructure and industrial plant sectors, the trade ministry here said.The two sides held the first round of economic talks in Seoul to discuss ways to bolster trade and investment and help more South Korean firms participate in infrastructure projects in the Central Asian country, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Infrastructure.Azerbaijan, located along the Caspian Sea, is known for i

Police said Tuesday they have arrested a South Korean high school student, who follows the international hacktivist group Anonymous, on charges of hacking some thousands of domestic and foreign websites since last year.The 16-year-old, whose identity was withheld, is suspected of defacing a total of 3,847 websites from 87 countries between April 2015 and April of this year, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. The suspect allegedly put the message "Website got hacked" on the first

President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday called for national unity, which she cited as a prerequisite for achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and laying the groundwork for reunification.In a video message to a session of the National Unification Advisory Council, Park also pledged to establish a "new order" on the peninsula by severing the vicious cycle of North Korean provocations followed by rewards."Following its fourth nuclear test and missile launch early this year, North Korea

Cheil Worldwide Inc., an advertising unit of Samsung Group, said Tuesday that its negotiations to sell a controlling stake to Publicis Groupe SA, a French advertising company, have ruptured.The company, part of the country’s largest family-controlled conglomerate, said there are currently no talks under way with any other firm."Talks between main stakeholders and the global advertising agency ended without a specific conclusion," the company stated in a regulatory filing.Earlier, media reports c

South Korea's Defense Minister Han Min-koo departed for France for a three-day visit to the European country where he plans to hold talks on North Korea and ways to expand bilateral defense cooperation measures, the ministry said Tuesday.During the visit, Han will meet with France's Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Wednesday.Han's visit to France, that runs through Thursday, comes at the invitation of Paris which expressed a wish to discuss "practical" measures to further strengthen bilate

North Korea has placed a large number of propaganda slogans and catchphrases all over the country to help build up the personality cult of its leader Kim Jong-un.Detailed examination by Yonhap News Agency of some 1,000 pictures taken from May 4 to 24 in Pyongyang and Sinuiju, revealed that the reclusive country is focusing on idolizing Kim. The photos were obtained by Yonhap through a third source.The incumbent leader took power following the sudden death of his father in late 2011.The communist

President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday called for continued effort to revamp the public sector, reiterating that it is the "starting point" for inducing reform in the private sector. During a meeting with government ministers, heads of state-run firms and public organizations, Park also urged them to make an "all-out" effort to establish a performance-focused work environment that moves away from the deep-rooted culture favoring seniority, and retool their organizations to focus on key functions."(I