South Korea's presidential office said Friday that it is carefully monitoring the North's first party congress in 36 years so it can cope with any unexpected developments.Most South Koreans are taking time off after Seoul designated the day as a temporary national holiday so as to boost domestic consumption, but senior officials in charge of diplomatic and security affairs at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae all reported to work to check on the various pieces of news and intelligence coming

South Korea's steelmaking giant POSCO was the most popular option in the stock markets in the second quarter for foreign investors, market data showed Friday, amid improving sentiments helped by its better-than-expected earnings. According to the data by the Korean Exchange and others, foreign investors bought a net 328.4 billion won (US$284.5 million) worth of POSCO stocks on the Seoul bourse during the April-June period. This represented the largest portion of foreign net buying, which came to

North Korea's sole trade union called for a working level meeting with South Korean counterparts to arrange the inter-Korean football match in August, the communist country's state-run media said Friday.According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the letter sent to the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) suggested holding a meeting in late May in China. The North's General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea (GFTUK), however, said the d

An international human rights group is urging North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to halt forcing its people to engage in forced labor without due compensation, a report by a U.S.-based media outlet said Friday.The report carried by Radio Free Asia (RFA) said the Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Kim calling for an end to mandatory forced labor, and requested that Pyongyang become a member of the International Labor Organization under the United Nations.The move by the New York-headquartered non-g

North Korea opened its first party congress in more than three decades on Friday as the country's leader Kim Jong-un is seeking to further cement his power amid speculations over Pyongyang's possible nuclear test.The congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) comes as North Korea was slapped with tougher sanctions by the U.N. Security Council in March over its nuclear test and long-range rocket launch early this year.North Korea kicked off its rare party congress at the April 25 House of Cult

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's leading carmaker, has sold more than 2 million vehicles in Canada since its debut in the market more than three decades ago, industry sources said Friday.Since 1984 when it first exported its cars to Canada, its cumulative overseas shipments to the North American country came to 2,005,801 units in April, according to the sources. Hyundai Motor's sales there slumped in the 1990s, and its cumulative sales could not exceed the 1 million mark until 2008.But sales pic

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on North Korea on Thursday to resolve problems through dialogue and become a responsible member of the international community as the communist nation is set to hold a key national meeting.Ban made the remark to reporters after a visit to Brookland Middle School in Washington, saying sanctions on Pyongyang are aimed more at persuading the North to join the international community, rather than punishing the regime."I hope the North will heed to this and s

North Korea is set to open its first party congress in more than three decades on Friday, a venue expected to focus on bolstering the personality cult of the country's leader Kim Jong-un who has been in power for nearly five years.The congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) comes as North Korea was slapped with tougher sanctions by the U.N. Security Council in March over its nuclear test and long-range rocket launch early this year.North Korea is poised to open the party congress later in

North Korea may carry out a live fire exercise during the key party congress that kicks off Friday as part of its ongoing effort to ramp up tensions and get the people to rally behind its leader, an informed source said.The government insider said there is a chance that Pyongyang could show off an artillery attack against a mockup Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea's presidential office, to participants who have converged on the capital city this week to take part in the critical Workers' Party of Korea

North Korea warned Friday that it will strengthen its nuclear deterrence capability as long as the United States maintains its current policy of hostility toward the communist country.In a statement released by the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK), which handles inter-Korean relations, Pyongyang claimed that Washington provided the cause for triggering the nuclear standoff on the Korean Peninsula.It is perfectly rational to counter nuclear weapons with nuclear weapons, th

North Korea is unlikely to chart a different course on its nuclear weapons program at its key party congress, a newspaper controlled by China's ruling Communist Party said Friday. The state-run Global Times newspaper, however, voiced cautious hope that North Korea may do "pragmatic analysis" about its policy of pursuing both nuclear advances and economic development. North Korea has been gearing up for its first party congress in 36 years, which started on Friday and is expected to display the N

A major state-run think tank in South Korea will likely lower its growth projection for the country as worsening market situations at home and abroad are clouding the outlook for Asia's fourth-largest economy, sources said Friday.As the Korea Development Institute (KDI) is to announce its growth projection for South Korea in mid-May, sources close to the matter said that the think tank could lower its growth forecast to the 2 percent range for this year. In its December outlook, it revised down

Rescuers are in a race against time to find survivors from a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake as the death toll from Ecuador's strongest earthquake in decades has risen above 400.    On Monday, teams from Ecuador and neighboring countries fanned out across the country's Pacific coastline to look for the dozens of people still missing.    In the port city of Manta, a group of about 50 rescuers working with sniffer dogs, hydraulic jacks and a drill managed to free eight people trapped for more th

Flooding in and around the US city of Houston has killed at least five people and prompted mass rescues, reports said.   With rain wreaking havoc in the Texas city -- the fourth most populous in the country -- Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster in nine counties.   A flash flood watch for Houston will remain in effect until Wednesday morning, with more rain expected Tuesday, the city's Office of Emergency Management warned.    Rain came down at rates as high as four inches an hour

Prosecutors said Tuesday they have launched an investigation into Booyoung Co., a mid-tier South Korean construction company, and its chief over alleged tax evasion.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said the apartment builder is suspected of evading some billions of won in taxes.The probe started after the National Tax Service referred the company and its chief Lee Joong-keun to state prosecutors for an investigation after conducting a tax audit.Prosecutors said they will summon rel

Based on Alexandre Dumas’ novel “The Three Musketeers,” the musical rendition of the classic tale is returning to the Seoul stage. The story revolves around the adventures of D’Artagnan in his quest to become part of the elite three musketeers -- Athos, Porthos and Aramis -- in the backdrop of early 17th century France.The original Broadway production first opened in 1928 to rave reviews. “The Three Musketeers” musical finally made its local debut in 2009, where it ranked No. 1 in performance ti

The Literature Translation Institute Korea’s Translation Academy is recruiting new students for its 2016 semester, which begins this September.The academy offers two-year courses in the translation of Korean literary and cultural texts into English, French, German, Spanish and Russian. The programs feature comprehensive and in-depth training in literary translation, comprising some 9 to 15 hours of classes per week, as well as excursions that provide insight into Korean culture and history, talk

    Lawyers for mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011, called Friday for the state to be found guilty of "inhuman" treatment for holding him in isolation for almost five years.   "The crimes my client was accused of are irrelevant," Oystein Storrvik told the court on the fourth and final day of the 37-year-old's lawsuit against the Norwegian state.   "The person who is hated by everyone has only the law as his last chance to guarantee his fundamental rights

North Korea has yet to master ballistic missile technology that can allow a warhead to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere after flying through space, Seoul's top defense official said Friday, refuting Pyongyang's claims that it can build an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM).On Tuesday, Pyongyang claimed it has acquired the re-entry technology with the country also releasing photos of a ground-based simulation and what is described as the tested re-entry vehicle that had a mushroom shape.A

President Park Geun-hye pledged Friday to support the development of self-driving cars to ensure local carmakers won't lag behind their global competitors.Park said South Korea can compete with Google and other foreign rivals in developing driverless cars and eco-friendly vehicles, including electric cars, citing the technological prowess of local carmakers and information and technology companies.South Korea is the world's fifth-largest automobile producer and is home to Hyundai Motor Co. and i