South Korea reached an agreement with Australia that will allow its commercially grown grapes to be exported to the Oceania country, the government said Sunday.The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency said Canberra has agreed to ease quarantine inspections of the Campbell Early type of grapes, which effectively translates into the easing of restrictions on all outbound shipments of the fruit. Under existing rules only nine cities and counties in South Korea were allow to export grapes to Australia

Warmer climate and urban development has caused a spike in the number of cockroaches being caught in South Korea, a local pest control company said Sunday.According to Cesco, it counted over 2.39 million cockroaches in 2016, up a sharp 18.1 percent from around 2.02 million in the previous year.It said last year's numbers are 28.5 percent greater than the average annual infestations reported in the 2012-2016 period. During this time, the total pest solutions company reported getting rid of over 1

The government is pushing to relocate the presidential office now situated at the foot of a mountain in Seoul to a state office complex in the downtown area in 2019, sources said Sunday.Later in the year, the government plans to launch a committee in charge of finalizing the relocation plan, according to officials at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.Under the tentative plan, the presidential workplace, as well as the offices for secretaries and security officials, will be moved from Cheon

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Saturday hailed the adoption of tough UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea, saying he especially appreciates the support of China and Russia.The 15-member council unanimously adopted Resolution 2371 in response to the North's two intercontinental ballistic missile tests last month."President Donald J. Trump commends the United Nations Security Council for passing a new resolution that increases sanctions on North Korea in response to its recent

MANILA -- North Korea's delegation to a key regional security forum in Manila has asked the host Philippines not to release to the media the video footage of its arrival at a local airport, an informed source said Sunday.North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila early in the day. Ri is to join the ASEAN Regional Forum scheduled for Monday. It is part of a series of meetings of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.Organizers a

South Korea's maximum interest rate that private lenders can charge customers will be lowered to 24 percent per annum from January 2018, the nation's financial regulator said Sunday. In a statement, the Financial Services Commission said it will promulgate an ordinance in October to lower the maximum legal lending rate with the change to come into force after a three-month grade period.  The move is aimed at helping ease interest rate burdens for desperate borrowers, according to the FSC. C

SK Engineering & Construction Co., a South Korean builder, said Sunday that it has signed a $1.6 billion deal with an Iranian company to carry out an oil refinery modernization project.Under the agreement with Tabriz Oil Refining Co., an affiliate of Parsian Oil and Gas Development Group Co., the South Korean builder will renovate and upgrade the gasoline and diesel manufacturing facilities in the Tabriz oil refinery compound, some 600 kilometers northwest of Tehran, according to SK E&C. In this

South Korean electronics companies are to benefit from the launch of Apple Inc.'s next flagship iPhone 8 smartphones expected to be launched later this year as they are providers of major electronic parts, industry sources said Sunday.Apple is forecast to release new iPhone models equipped with flexible organic light-emitting panels, augmented reality, a nearly bezel-free design and other state-of-the-art gadgets to mark the 10th anniversary of the launch of the iconic mobile device. (Yonhap)"Sa

The number of South Koreans traveling to China plunged from April through June of this year amid the diplomatic row over Seoul's decision to deploy US anti-missile defense systems on its soil, tourism industry data showed Sunday. The total visitors going to China fell by 50 to 60 percent in the quarter compared with the year before, which roughly coincides with Beijing ordering its travel agencies to stop selling group tours to South Korea in mid-March, Hana Tour and Mode Tour said. China has al

Nuclear action or sanctions taken by Washington against Pyongyang will lead to a "sea of fire" engulfing the US mainland, a North Korean newspaper said in its Sunday edition printed before the United Nations' adoption of a new sanctions resolution against the reclusive country."The day the US dares tease our nation with a nuclear rod and sanctions, the mainland US will be catapulted into an unimaginable sea of fire," the North's ruling-party newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in an article.The article

The insured amount per policy holder in South Korea rose at the slowest clip last year due mainly to a drop in insurance sales, industry data showed Sunday.A life insurance policy holder had some 47.6 million won ($42,200) in insured amount in 2016, up 0.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Life Insurance Association. (Yonhap)The on-year gain tied the slowest pace of 0.2 percent set in 2011, compared with 5.8 percent growth in 2015.Industry watchers said the

"옷을 벗고 지낼 자유를 달라" "벗은 몸을 보지 않을 권리도 있다"충북 제천의 한적한 시골에 들어서 마을 주민들과 첨예한 갈등을 빚었던 일명 '누드펜션' 문제가 매듭지어지고 있다.주민 반발과 대내외의 비판 여론에 해결책을 찾던 제천시가 문제의 펜션은 미신 고 숙박업소라는 보건복지부 유권해석에 따라 폐쇄명령을 내리고 공중위생법관리 위 반 혐의로 운영자도 경찰에 고발했다.경찰은 미신고 숙박업 부분에 대한 수사와 함께 펜션 운영자 등을 공연음란죄로 도 처벌할 수 있는지 검토하고 있다.  (사진=연합뉴스)펜션 운영자는 건물 매각까지 고민하는 것으로 알려졌다. '누드펜션'은 폐쇄 운 명을 맞았지만, 나체주의(누디즘 혹은 자연주의) 자체에 대한 관심은 불러일으켰다.논란의 중심에 선 누디즘은 국내에선 낯선 개념이지만, 서양에선  학문·예술· 종교 등 여러 영역에서 논의돼왔다.영국 런던 출신 작가, 심리학자에 나체주의자인 필립 카콤은 2010년 나체의  역 사·의미를 탐구하는 책을 집필했다. 그

배우 고(故) 최진실 씨의 딸 준희(14) 양이 외할머니로부터 학대를 당하고 있다며 경찰에 신고까지 했다는 충격 고백을 했 다.최 양은 5일 자신의 페이스북에 "토요일 새벽 1시 55분 지금도 집안이 다 박살 났습니다 경찰들도 찾아오고 정신이 없다"며 "이 사실을 알리지 못하고 죽는다면 너 무 억울할 것 같다. 저 좀 살려달라"고 밝혔다. (사진=최준희 인스타그램/연합뉴스)그는 "제 일생이 꼬이기 시작한 건 엄마가 하늘나라로 간 이후부터 아닐까 싶다 "며 "저를 사랑으로 키워준 이모할머니가 있었는데 외할머니와 사이가 좋지 않아 외 할머니가 강제로 못 보게 했다"고 주장했다.그러면서 "이모할머니가 보고 싶어서 우울증에 걸렸을 때 외할머니는  잔인하게 도 이모할머니의 물건을 바닥에 던지며 소리를 지르고 욕설을 했다. 이모할머니와 연락을 막기 위해 수시로 제 휴대전화 검사도 했고, 가져가서 돌려주지도 않았다"고 덧붙였다.최 양은 또 "할머니의 윽박과 폭력은 날이 갈수록 늘어만 갔다"며 "

Operating profits of companies listed on South Korea's benchmark KOSPI are expected to reach nearly 200 trillion won ($177.6 billion) for 2017 amid the recent stock rally, a survey showed Sunday.Local brokerages forecast that KOSPI-listed firms will post a combined 193 trillion won in operating profit for this year, up 29 percent from last year's 160 trillion won, according to the poll by FN Guide, a market research firm.It beat the earlier projection of 172 trillion won set in the beginning of

MANILA -- South Korea's top diplomat will make her debut on the multilateral diplomatic stage Sunday by joining ministerial meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, where she will discuss cooperation on diverse issues, including North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha arrived in Manila on Saturday and held back-to-back bilateral talks with counterparts from Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia.On Sunday, Kang will participate in the S

South Korea's per capita gross domestic is expected to edge past Italy's in 2018, the government predicted Sunday, based on growth forecast data. The prediction, if it is met, will place the country's per capita GDP at slightly more than $30,000 and just over that of the European country. South Korea was ranked 29th worldwide, with Italy standing at 27th as of October 2016, the government said.The data is based on reports released by the International Monetary Fund that ranked 190 countries, wit

South Korean Kim In-kyung is on the verge of capturing her first LPGA major in Scotland.Kim opened a six-stroke lead at the Ricoh Women's British Open at Fife, Scotland, on Saturday (local time), after a third round of six-under 66 at Kingsbarns Golf Links.The bogey-free round puts Kim in the driver's seat for her maiden LPGA major. Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand and Georgia Hall of England are tied for second at 11-under, followed by former British Open champ from South Korea, Park In-bee, at 10

South Korean sprinter Kim Kuk-young has crashed out of the men's 100-meter semifinals at the ongoing world championships.Kim finished 23 among 24 semifinalists with a time of 10.40 seconds at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships in London on Saturday (local time). Only the top eight made it to the final. It was Kim's worst 100m time of the season.Kim was the first South Korean to ever reach the world championships semifinals in the 100m. On Friday, he clocke

Hyundai Motor Co. and its corporate cousin Kia Motors Corp. outpaced Ford Motor Co. to become the No. 2 hybrid automobile sellers in the United States in July, industry data showed Sunday.According to market tracker HybridCars.com, the two South Korean automakers sold 4,976 vehicles that make use of both an internal combustion engine and electric motor to get high fuel mileage. The total represents a 9 percent increase from 4,566 units sold in the previous month and more than a twofold surge com

The South Korean government welcomed the United Nations' fresh sanctions against North Korea on Sunday, renewing its call on the communist state to stop all provocations."The government welcomes the unanimous adoption of Resolution 2371 by the UN Security Council in response to North Korea's ballistic missile provocations on July 4 and 28," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a released statement.The statement came only hours after the UNSC adopted the new sanctions resolution."Through the r