South Korea's unification ministry on Wednesday denied a Japanese report that Seoul's top point man on unification is likely to visit Japan early next month to exchange views about North Korea with officials there.Japan's Asahi Sinmun newspaper reported that Seoul is adjusting the schedule of Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo to push for his visit to Japan in June. The Korean government hopes that Hong may have meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Tokyo's top diplomat Fumio Kish

Korea and China will hold high-level talks this week on nuclear energy cooperation, the government said Wednesday.The bilateral Nuclear Power Joint Committee meeting, the 13th of its kind, is scheduled to open in Beijing on Thursday.In the two-day session, Korea will be represented by Hong Nam-ki, vice minister of science, ICT and future planning. His Chinese counterpart is Xu Dazhe, the director of the China Atomic Energy Authority. Other government officials and civilian experts will join the

The amount of cargo processed at Korea's seaports slipped 1.2 percent in April from a year earlier due to a drop in the transport of soft coal and vehicles, the government said Wednesday.The volume of cargo handled at six seaports came to 119.32 million tons last month, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Busan Port (Yonhap)The ministry attributed the decreased volume to the decreased shipping of soft coal and cars amid the global economic slowdown. Chemical shipments at the ports

Contingent liabilities in Korean securities companies jumped 22 percent in 2015 compared to a year earlier, raising worries about their financial soundness, government data showed Wednesday. Contingent liabilities in local securities firms reached 24.226 trillion won ($20.38 billion) last year, up from 19.891 trillion won a year earlier. A contingent liability is a potential liability. It depends on a future event occurring or not occurring. For example, if a brokerage company guarantees an asse

South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan on Wednesday postponed a meeting with the national Olympic body over his Summer Games ban.An official with the Korean Olympic Committee said Park's camp asked to put off the meeting indefinitely. The official didn't disclose any specific reason from the swimmer and only said Park's side would get back to the KOC later to reschedule the talks.Park and his representatives were scheduled to meet with the KOC's Secretary-General Cho Young-ho at 10 a.m. Wednesday at

국내외를 막론하고 ‘알뜰족’을 중심으로 생활 꿀팁 정보들이 빠르게 퍼져 나가고 있다.해외에서는 ‘life hack’이라 불리며 많은 관심을 받는 생활 팁, 알뜰족을 위한, 알뜰족에 의한 ‘생활꼼수’ 총정리!키 사이로 들어간 먼지, 머리카락 등으로 더러워진 컴퓨터 키보드를 보고 인상을 찌푸린 경험은 누구나 있을 것이다. 키보드를 키 사이까지 깨끗하게 닦기란 쉬운 일이 아니다. 물로 닦을 수도 없고, 가늘고 긴 도구로 그 사이를 파고 있자니 여간 귀찮은 일이 아니다. 이 문제를 한 방에 해결할 수 있는 방법이 있다. 간단할 뿐만 아니라 준비물 또한 포스트잇 등 접착메모지가 전부다. 1. 접착메모지의 접착 면을 키 사이로 넣는다. 2. 좌우, 상하로 움직이면 먼지, 머리카락 등이 접착제에 붙어 쉽게 제거된다. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)　　　　

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Wednesday said it is inappropriate for United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to run in the next presidential race after stepping down from his current post, as speculation is growing about Ban's possible entry into the country's politics."It is appropriate to follow the U.N. recommendation since the country gave birth to a U.N. chief," Park said during an interview with YTN Radio, referring to an understanding that asks former secretary-generals not to take an

Korean FinTech firm Kona I Co. Ltd. said Wednesday that it has rolled out a biometric smart card that features an embedded fingerprint sensor.The new model can identify the user's fingerprint and can be used to allow access to buildings or for other ID card uses in the security sector, the company said. A new biometric smart card by Kona I (Kona I)For instance, a biometric credit card can become active for only 15 to 20 seconds when a card holder taps a finger on a sensor, company officials said

Korea's steel industry is expediting restructuring, hoping to complete a market review within months to decide whether to seek state help, industry sources said Wednesday.According to the sources, the Korea Iron & Steel Association has picked Boston Consulting Group to write up a report, detailing areas and products of overcapacity. They said the report is due out in about two months.The restructuring drive has won over support from both the government and private companies as the local industry

South Korea's parliamentary speaker Chung Ui-hwa on Wednesday expressed support for a new bill that allows the National Assembly to open hearings more often, adding the government's protest against the move conflicts with the principle of democracy.Chung made the remark during his last meeting with reporters.He is set to step down after serving for two years as the 20th National Assembly will kick off Monday.The speaker, who in recent months has locked horns with the presidential office and some

Korea's exports to China in April marked a 10th month of sliding downwards, the longest skidding streak since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, trade figures showed Wednesday.The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said exports to China last month came to $9.63 billion, an 18.4 percent fall on-year, continuing the downward path that began in July last year.The longest shrinking streak to date was 11 months, from October 2008 to August 2009. There was also a notable 10-month slide i

Key ruling party members of North Korea and Cuba have held talks to discuss ways to further develop their friendly ties, Pyongyang's state media said Wednesday.The talks were held in Cuba on Monday between the North Korean delegation led by Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) central committee, and members of the Communist Party of Cuba led by Salvador Antonio Valdes Mesa, vice president of the Council of State of Cuba, according to the Korean Central News Agency (K

The ratio of Korea's short-term foreign debt to its foreign reserves fell to the lowest level in over 11 years in the first quarter on the back of a fall in borrowing by local banks and a fall in foreign investment in local bonds, data showed Wednesday.The country's short-term external debt, with a maturity of one year or less, totaled $103 billion as of the end of March, decreasing $4.3 billion from three months earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The end-March figure acc

Korea's top 30 business groups reduced the number of their executives by about 500 over the past year due mainly to downsizing and business restructuring moves, data showed Wednesday.The total number of senior executives at the 30 largest conglomerates was 9,632 as of May 16, down 484, or 4.8 percent, from a year ago, according to the data compiled by corporate researcher CEO Score.Leading conglomerate Samsung Group shed the largest number of executives at 374 in the process of selling its defen

The imminent overhaul of the shipbuilding industry is shaking up local banks, which will have to raise their reserves once the loans to companies are reclassified as risky, financial officials said Wednesday.The majority of the loans to the troubled shipbuilders -- Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries -- are categorized as "normal" in risk ratings, a far cry from the firms' abysmal financial standings.  Local banks' exposure to the three

Creditors of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. are moving to put the midsize local shipyard under court receivership this month, ending their yearslong financial aid, amid ongoing efforts to revamp the ailing industries, such as shipping and shipbuilding, industry sources said Wednesday.According to the sources, the creditors, led by the state-run Korea Development Bank, will discuss later in the day whether to extend a lifeline to the financially troubled shipbuilder. But the sources said the cre

Korean stocks started higher Wednesday, following overnight gains on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 15.99 points, or 0.83 percent, to 1,953.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading. (Yonhap)Top market cap Samsung Electronics gained 0.24 percent, and industry leader Hyundai Motor was up 0.37 percent. The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. also rose 1.34 percent.In New York on Tuesday (local time), the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 213.12 points, or 1

Fine dust concentration reaches alarming levels when cooking food on stoves using oil without proper ventilation, the Environment Ministry said.The ministry said it measured the concentration level of PM2.5 -- the fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter -- that build up while cooking on a stove at 32 sample houses and calculated the average.The tests showed that after some 10 minutes of pan-frying mackerels the level of PM2.5 surged to 2,290㎍㎥. This is a 76-fold denser t

Korean prosecutors on Tuesday raided the offices of eight local firms that manufacture construction materials to determine if they rigged prices of their products.The move aims to determine if companies deliberately fixed prices that distorted the free market and hurt other firms and consumers that used their products.Investigators raided offices of the firms and homes of senior executives, and confiscated documents and other materials, which they think will help determine the validity of the pr

Korean singer and contemporary dancer Nam Hyun-joon, better known by his stage name Poppin' Hyun Joon, has secured a ticket to a global dancing competition in the United States, his agency said on Tuesday.The 37-year-old dancer, famous for his popping techniques, and his teammates won second place in the preliminary competition in Korea on Saturday, according to his management company Happy Face Entertainment.In Korea, Nam is considered to be one of the first-generation K-pop street dancers, alo