A senior North Korean diplomat in charge of US affairs said Saturday Pyongyang will hold talks with Washington "under the right conditions," raising the possibility bilateral contact amid US President Donald Trump having expressed his willingness to meet with the North's leader.Choe Son-hui, director-general of the North America bureau chief of North Korea's foreign ministry, told reporters at the Beijing Capital International Airport that her country "will hold dialogue under right conditions"

US President Donald Trump raised the topic of renegotiating a free trade deal with South Korea first before mentioning cooperation on the North Korean nuclear front in a recent phone conversation with Moon Jae-in, South Korea's new president, an informed official here said Saturday."President Trump, during the phone conversation, first delivered congratulatory remarks, then said the FTA should be renegotiated for the mutual interest of both countries," an official at Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea's

The number of new child adoptees in South Korea reached a record low last year, data showed Saturday.According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of new child adoptees stood at 880 in 2016, falling 17 percent on-year. (Yonhap)Among the new adoptees, 334 were adopted by overseas families.Of those, 67 percent were sent to the United States. Other destinations included Sweden, Canada and Norway. A whopping 98 percent of the children adopted by overseas households

A North Korean parliamentary committee sent a rare letter of protest to the US House of Representatives on Friday over its new package of tougher sanctions. The sanctions were condemned as a "heinous act against humanity'' by the foreign affairs committee of the North's Supreme People's Assembly, according to a state media report. It was not immediately clear how the protest was conveyed -- if it was sent by mail or how it was addressed -- since North Korea and the United States have no diplomat

U.S. President Donald Trump said he doesn't oppose South Korea's newly elected President Moon Jae-in engaging in dialogue with Pyongyang, but reiterated that talks must be pursued under right circumstances.   According to a transcript of his interview with America's NBC News released on Thursday (local time), Trump said "He's (Moon) more open to discussion. I don't mind discussion, but its under certain circumstances."   "I could probably give you a much better answer to that in a month or two m

The rate of South Korean women either working or actively searching for jobs reached a record high in 2017, data showed Saturday, thanks to a rising number of married women returned to the job market.According to the data compiled by the Statistics Korea, 53 percent of women were found to be economically active this year, up 0.8 percentage points from a year earlier.This year's number is the highest since the agency started compiling data from June 1999. The figure refers to the portion of econo

While Samsung Electronics Co. plans to sell refurbished models of the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 smartphone in the near future, controversies surrounding the troubled model still linger, especially in terms of safety requirements, according to market watchers Saturday.   The South Korean tech giant said in March that it plans to sell refurbished Galaxy Note 7s. The production of the device was short-lived last year after some devices caught fire while charging due to battery problems. When and wher

The latest steps by U.S. President Donald Trump to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA) could undercut the price competitiveness of South Korean exports to America that are shipped through Mexico, according to experts Saturday.   The concern came as the Trump administration is anticipated to kick off official steps to renegotiate the free trade pact between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Trump has been seeking to roll out protectionist policies while calling Washington's trad

South Korean shares are likely to remain in a tight range next week, while testing whether it can breach the 2,300 point mark amid hopes of an extra budget being pushed forward by President Moon Jae-in, analysts said Saturday.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2.286.02 points on Friday, up 2 percent from a week ago.    This week the local stock market was boosted by expectations of an economic stimulus by the new administration, although it t

China is tightening rules for online news as censors try to control a flood of information spread through instant-messaging apps, blogs and other media sources that are proliferating across the country.      The rules announced Tuesday will require online publishers to obtain government licenses and block foreign or private companies from investing in online news services or directly disseminating news.       Chinese news outlets will have to undergo a security review before working with foreign

South Korea's presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in told the Washington Post in a recent interview that he agrees with US President Donald Trump's "pragmatic approach" to resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.In the interview published Tuesday, Moon of the liberal Democratic Party expressed support for Trump's parallel use of tough talk and peace gestures toward the recalcitrant state. Moon Jae-in, presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, gives the thumbs-up to a crowd on the campaign

An array of celebrities -- from Meryl Streep to Tina Fey to Scarlett Johansson to Julianne Moore to Chelsea Handler -- turned out to support Planned Parenthood at its centennial celebration, and to hear Hillary Clinton urge continued activism on behalf of women and girls around the world, and access to services like pregnancy and maternity care.      Advancing women's rights and opportunities, Clinton said at the event Tuesday evening -- during which she received an award -- ``remains the great

South Korean actor Gang Dong-won apologized Wednesday over revelations his great-grandfather was a member of pro-Japanese forces during Tokyo's colonial occupation of Korea.   The 36-year-old offered the apology after a screening of his crime-action film "Master" in Jeonju, 243 kilometers south of Seoul, where the Jeonju International Film Festival is under way, according to festival organizers.   Speaking to the audience, he said he did not have the opportunity to personally apologize since the

Domestic sales of Korea’s top five local automakers surpassed 40 trillion won ($35.2 billion) for the first time last year, according to industry reports Sunday. 　Local carmakers including Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, Korea GM, Renault Samsung, and SsangYong Motor posted domestic sales of roughly 41.17 trillion won last year, a 7.7 percent on-year jump compared to 2015.　Both Hyundai and Kia exceeded the 10 trillion won mark, with Hyundai’s sales standing at 19.3 trillion won, while Kia raked in 12

Hyundai Motor Company is said to be planning to roll out new electric buses early next year, according to news reports Friday. A representative of Hyundai Motor was quoted by reports saying the company’s electric bus development was underway and the company was looking to commercialize its new line in early 2018, adding that it was also scheduled to start trial operations in the second half of this year.The country’s largest automaker had introduced the country’s first electric bus, the “Elec-Ci

Hyundai Motor has named its upcoming compact sports utility vehicle the KONA, expected to be released in summer, the company said on Monday without specifying the date.　Expanding Hyundai’s family of existing SUV models, including the Sante Fe, Tucson and the Veracruz, the automaker says it is looking to increase its overall competitiveness in both the global market and Korea’s growing domestic SUV market boom. 　“KONA is a model that notifies Hyundai‘s entry into the small-sized SUV market that i

MAN Truck & Bus Korea, the local distributor of the German automaker, recently opened its new headquarters and service center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in a $10 million investment looking to expand its presence in the domestic market.　In 2016, MAN sales in Korea jumped 36 percent from the previous year, the best performance in the world truck market last year, according to the company. MAN sold 1,545 units last year, the highest number of units since the company entered the Korean market.　In

With 27 participating car brands from around the world, the 11th Seoul Motor Show opening Friday in Kintex, Goyang, is abuzz with new features, designs and technologies geared toward enhanced performance while still being eco-friendly. Here is a brief rundown of the featured automobiles by type. 　1. Hydrogen fuel-cell vehiclesHyundai FE Fuel Cell Concept　The country’s leading automaker, Hyundai Motor, introduced its Future Eco fuel-cell electric vehicle concept for the first time in Asia. The FE

BMW Group Korea unveiled the new M760Li xDrive, the fastest model in the company’s flagship 7 Series, and showcased the power of its trademark M Performance driving system at the 2017 Seoul Motor Show on Thursday. 　For the first time in Korea, the German carmaker exhibited the M760Li xDrive’s V12 M Performance twin-turbo power adder engine, which can reach speeds of up to 304 kph. Delivering up to 602 horsepower, the new luxury sedan can reach 100 kph in 3.7 seconds. 　The engine time is half a s

MAN Truck & Bus Korea, the local distributor of the German automaker, has opened its new headquarters in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in the company’s 16th year joining the market here. 　The auto manufacturer invested $10 million to build its new Korean headquarters and service center, looking to expand its local presence and its line of commercial trucks and buses in the domestic market. 　“It’s (the headquarters) not just a new building,” says Max Burger, president of MAN Truck & Bus Korea, durin