The cause of death for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother has yet to be determined though there is no evidence of a heart attack or puncture wounds, foreign media reports showed Tuesday.Various specimens had been sent to experts who can shed light on Kim Jong-nam's death, the Associated Press reported, citing what Noor Hisham Abdullah, the Malaysian director general of health, told reporters. Noor Hisham Abdullah, the Malaysian director general of health (Yonhap)Kim Jong-nam, the eld

Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the Bareun Party said Tuesday two of the four North Korean suspects linked to the alleged murder of Kim Jong-un's half brother were suicidal assassins.Citing a source who earlier served in the General Reconnaissance Bureau, Pyongyang's top spy agency, the lawmaker said two of the four suspects who fled Malaysia after the incident were killers who would have sacrificed themselves if the need arose for the mission.Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the Bareun Party (Yonhap)Kim Jong-nam, the

US software giant Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday that it will strengthen cloud computing services in South Korea by capitalizing on its "data center regions" in the country.Earlier, Microsoft opened two data center regions in Seoul and the southern port city of Busan for its open cloud computing platform called Azure. The term, data center region, refers to a large complex of facilities that serve as a given geographic location, considered a core technology of Microsoft's cloud computing service A

The Korean Open Doctors Society, a non-governmental organization in Seoul, and KB Kookmin Bank have launched a joint psychological counseling and therapy program for children from low-income families. The charity organization said its psychological experts will visit some 20 children's community centers across the country in the four-month program that started Monday. A staffer from the Korean Open Doctors Society leads a psychological play therapy program at a local children's community center

Dimitris Psillakis, president & CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea, has been elected as the new chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea in its regular meeting earlier this week, the chamber announced Tuesday.Psillakis moved to Seoul in 2015 to lead Mercedes-Benz Korea after serving in a managing director position at Mercedes-Benz Brazil. Before that, he also built up his career in sales and marketing at Mercedes-Benz Greece. (Yonhap)The ECCK has some 330 member firms.Meanwhile, James Kim,

The penetration rate of personal computers in South Korea fell to its lowest level in 15 years as more people use smartphones and tablet computers, data showed Tuesday. The nation's penetration rate of personal computers was 75.3 percent last year, marking the lowest rate since 2001, according to the data by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, and the Korea Internet & Security Agency.  (Yonhap)Personal computer penetration had been on a steady rise until 2012, when the rate stood a

Domestic sci-fi crime thriller "Lucid Dream" is the story of a single father who visits his and others' lucid dreams to find clues to track down the kidnapper of his little boy who was spirited away three years ago.For those unfamiliar with the meaning of the title, lucid dreaming is an elusive state in which you consciously know you are dreaming. Unlike a regular dream where there is no control over what you experience, a lucid dream offers you the possibility to control your surroundings.On to

Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un instructed officials to kill his half brother, accusing the country of an unforgivable and inhumane criminal act. Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was allegedly assassinated by two women under directions from North Korean agents in Malaysia last week. He had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of the reclusive North. (Yonhap)In a report submitted to the Nation

Rep. Ahn Sang-soo, a lawmaker of the Liberty Korea Party, on Tuesday announced his presidential ambitions, the fourth member of the troubled ruling party to make a bid for the presidency."I would like to become a president that creates jobs for the people who wish to work," Ahn said as he made clear his aim to run in the primary race to win the party's nomination. Rep. Ahn Sang-soo, a lawmaker of the Liberty Korea Party (Yonhap)Ahn said he will create around 10 cities throughout the country and

A Seoul court held a hearing Tuesday to decide whether to issue a warrant to arrest a former senior presidential secretary in relation to an influence-peddling scandal that led to President Park Geun-hye's impeachment in December.Woo Byung-woo, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs from 2015 to 2016, appeared at the Seoul Central District Court to attend the hearing.  Woo Byung-woo, a former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, arrives at the special prosecutors' office in

The South Korean government will pay nearly 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in subsidies to rice farmers this year as compensation for falling prices, the agriculture ministry said Tuesday.Under the law designed to protect the local rice industry, the government gives rice farmers the difference between the target price of rice and the actual market price. (Yonhap)For 2017, the target price was 188,000 won for an 80-kilogram sack of rice, with the market price remaining at 129,915 won.The Minist

More than half of South Korean companies have plans to hire older, experienced workers this year, partly for their expertise but also for their ability to interact and lead others with less experience, a survey showed Tuesday.In a recent survey conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries, 54.7 percent of 1,026 small and medium-sized firms polled said they had plans to hire new employees aged 40 years or older. Dozens of job seekers fill out job applications at a job fair for older, experien

Several high-priced foreign goods are extremely popular among South Koreans though they are almost unknown to consumers in the producing countries, industry sources said Tuesday.One of them is a tableware set made by Portuguese kitchenware maker Cutipol. South Korean housewives are smitten with the set that includes a spoon, fork, knife and chopsticks with a price tag of 80,000 won ($69.80). The camphore cutting block (Yonhap)It has emerged as a must-buy item among newly-wed couples in South Kor

Sales of Samsung Electronics Co.'s premium Notebook 9 line of laptop computers have surpassed 100,000 units so far this year, industry data showed Tuesday. Samsung unveiled the new version of premium laptop computers in December last year, featuring enhanced connectivity and longer battery life.  Samsung Electronics Co.'s Notebook 9 (Yonhap file photo)During the first 50 days of this year, cumulative sales of the laptop computers in South Korea exceeded 100,000 units, according to the data. Sams

Land owned by Chinese individuals and companies in South Korea has increased by more than five-fold over the past five years, a report showed on Tuesday.The amount of land owned by Chinese entities here came to 16.9 million square meters last year, marking a 486-percent hike from 3.7 million square meters tallied in 2011, according to the report compiled by KB Financial Group. (Yonhap)The increase in land ownership by Chinese entities is in sharp contrast with a 49-percent rise in total foreign

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was seen smiling while visiting a catfish farm, Pyongyang's state media said Tuesday, in what appears to be an inspection carried out following the death of his half brother.The North's leader inspected the Samchon Catfish Farm, praising its capacity to breed more than 3,000 tons of the fish annually, according to the Korean Central News Agency. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) inspects a catfish farm with a smile, according to this photo carried by the Rodong

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a potential presidential candidate from the minor People's Party, said Tuesday that allocating more budget cannot fundamentally create more jobs, claiming the government should focus on industrial policies.Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party (Yonhap)"Some politicians are talking about creating a certain amount of jobs, but such remarks are misguiding," Ahn said, apparently targeting Moon Jae-in, former head of the main opposition Democratic Party who has been leading pol

North Korea appears to be keeping most of its joint industrial park with South Korea intact, informed sources said Tuesday, over a year after Seoul pulled all its companies out of the complex in retaliation for Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests.No South Korean has been at the joint industrial complex in Kaesong, North Korea, since all 124 South Korean firms then operating there pulled out on Feb. 10, 2016. This file photo, taken on Feb. 10, 2017, shows an aerial view of the now closed joint

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un might have ordered the murder of his half brother due to his "paranoia" as he could not stand any possible challenge to his rule, a high-profile defector said Tuesday.Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat, told local TV channel YTN that if North Korea is confirmed to have killed Kim Jong-nam, it would be the result of the leader's long-harbored hatred against his elder brother as a potential rival. This photo taken on Feb. 9, 2017, shows Thae Yong-ho, a for

Samsung Group's de facto leader, Lee Jae-yong, is likely to skip a board meeting of EXOR, the top investor in Fiat Chrysler, in April as he was arrested over an alleged role in the presidential influence-peddling scandal, a group official said Tuesday. Lee, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., has served as one of the outside directors of EXOR, the holding company of Italy's Agnelli family, since May 2012.EXOR is scheduled to hold its annual meeting of board members on April 5.  (Yonhap