South Korean stocks rallied 2.62 percent Friday as cheering remarks by the European Central Bank (ECB) chief offered investors a sense of reassurance against the persistent eurozone crisis, analysts said. The local currency gathered ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 46.69 points to close at 1,805.92. Trading volume was moderate at 393.4 mil

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Friday, as the eurozone central bank chief's pledge to save the euro boosted investor confidence, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 27.57 points, or 1.55 percent to 1,810.04 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with top-cap Samsung Electronics rising nearly 2 percent and le

Japan's Yuki Otsu (L) celebrates with his team mates Maya Yoshida (partially hidden) and Hiroki Sakai (4) after scoring against Spain in their men's Group D football match at the London 2012 Olympic Games in Hampden Park, Glasgow. (Yonhap News)GLASGOW, Scotland _ Japan produced a major shock in men’s Olympic football on Thursday, beating medal favorites Spain 1-0.Japan forward Yuki Otsu broke away

LONDON -- London's seven-year itch is about to end.The 2012 London Summer Olympics will officially kick off with a grand opening ceremony Friday night here, as the 80,000 capacity crowd is expected at the Olympic Stadium for an event that could last into early Saturday.London, selected as the host city seven years ago, will be home to some 16,000 athletes from 205 countries until Aug. 12. They wil

(London Olympic Joint Press Corps)LONDON -- Make no mistake: South Korea's biggest shooting star is Jin Jong-oh, with one Olympic gold and two silver medals, in addition to a slew of other international titles in pistol events.Jin is expected to pick up more medals at the London Olympics.Meanwhile, his teammates in rifle events said they're also due for an Olympic gold.South Korea has sent three r

(London Olympics Joint Press Corps)LONDON -- South Korean archers begin their quest to add to the country's 16 Olympic gold medals on Friday, the opening day of the London Olympics.Im Dong-hyun, Oh Jin-hyek and Kim Bub-min will enter the men's ranking round, followed by the women's trio of Ki Bo-bae, Lee Sung-jin and Choi Hyun-joo. Scores in the rankings rounds will determine seeds for individual

South Korean stocks closed 0.74 percent higher Thursday as investors hunted for bargains following a recent plunge, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 13.16 points to 1,782.47. Trading volume was moderate at 398.9 million shares worth 3.63 trillion won ($3.16 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 502 to 3

North Korea’s former military chief Ri Yong-ho (Yonhap News)North Korea’s former military chief Ri Yong-ho was dismissed earlier this month because of his “uncooperative attitude” towards leader Kim Jong-un’s drive to tighten his grip on the North’s military, a South Korean lawmaker said Thursday, citing information provided by the South’s spy agency.North Korea announced Ri’s dismissal last week

N.K. leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju attending to a building dedication ceremony (Yonhap News)The U.S. government extended good wishes Wednesday to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un upon reports that he is married, but put more emphasis on the well-being of the communist nation’s people, straddled with hunger and human rights violations.“Well, we’ve obviously seen the reports. We would alw

South Korean stocks turned lower after a strong start on Thursday as poor U.S. corporate earnings raised concerns over a global economic downturn, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 2.24 points, or 0.13 percent, to trade at 1,767.07 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market heavyweights traded mixed, with top-cap Samsung Electronics rising 0.35 percent and f

This mobile phone photo provided by James Crossan, shows a mistakenly displayed South Korean flag on a jumbo screen instead of North Korea's, before a women's soccer match which prompted the North Koreans to refuse to take the field for nearly an hour on Wednesday in Glasgow, Scotland. (AP-Yonhap News)GLASGOW, Scotland _ London Olympic organizers mistakenly displayed the South Korean flag on a jum

Roger Federer (Yonhap News)LONDON - Wimbledon champion Roger Federer and Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka were named as top seeds for the Olympic tennis event on Wednesday.World number one Federer returns to the All England Club where he secured a seventh Wimbledon title this month and where he'll hope to add Olympic singles gold to the doubles he won with Swiss compatriot Stanislas Wawrin

(Yonhap News)BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom - Usain Bolt has been declared fully fit to defend his three Olympic titles, with the Jamaican team doctor insisting that the sprint king's performance is "on track".Bolt has struggled with leg and back problems in recent weeks while world champion compatriot Yohan Blake beat him in the 100m and 200m at the Jamaican Olympic trials.But team doctor Winston Daw

(Yonhap News)LONDON - Michael Phelps will put the final gloss on a glittering Olympic career at the London Games, but he's not the only star set to shine when competition begins Saturday at the Aquatics Centre.Phelps's unprecedented eight gold medals at the Beijing Games led the United States to a 31-medal haul in 2008, including 12 golds from the 32 events, nine silver and 10 bronze.Phelps won't

CARDIFF, Wales _ Gold-medal favorites United States, Japan and Brazil won their matches on the first day of women's football on Wednesday, but all the talk was about an embarrassing mistake by organizers who displayed the South Korean flag instead of the North Korean one before a game in Glasgow.The two-time defending Olympic champion Americans beat France 4-2, World Cup winner Japan got past Cana

LONDON -- Archery seems to be a fairly straightforward sport: see target, hit target. Score more points than your opponent, and you're declared the winner.But when it comes to team competitions, the story gets a bit more complicated.Each nation sends three archers to team events. They each fire per end, an equivalent of a set, for six arrows per team in each end. They compete in four ends for 24 a

LONDON -- Yang Hak-seon, the slightly built artistic gymnast with a specialty in vault, is carrying the weight of the nation on his tiny shoulders these days.South Korea hasn't won an Olympic gold in gymnastics, and Yang, generously listed at 160 centimeters, is being seen as the one athlete who can end the drought at this year's Olympic Games here.High hopes are well warranted. Yang is the reigni

LONDON -- A women's football contest at the London Olympics between North Korea and Colombia was delayed by about an hour Wednesday after organizers mistakenly displayed the South Korean national flag on the scoreboard.North Korean players refused to take the field after the flag row took place during player introductions at Hampden Park in Glasgow. Organizers apologized for the mishap."Today, ahe

LONDON -- South Korea on Wednesday reaffirmed its goal at the upcoming London Olympics as the athletes entered their village in a boisterous ceremony.The country has set out to win at least 10 gold medals for its third consecutive top-10 finish in the medal table. South Korea is represented by 245 athletes in 22 sports in London, where the Olympics will kick off Friday. For the ceremony, some 50 a

LONDON -- South Korea and North Korea will face each other in the opening round of men's table tennis team competition at the upcoming London Olympics.The Koreas were pitted against each other at a drawing Wednesday. The games start Friday and their first-round match is set for Aug. 3.The team competition was adopted for the first time at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but North Korea didn't take part