WASHINGTON -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un won't hesitate to use nuclear weapons against the United States if he sees signs of imminent attacks on the communist nation, a former senior North Korean diplomat said.Thae Yong-ho, who served as deputy ambassador at the North's Embassy in London before defecting to South Korea last year, made the remark in an interview with NBC Television broadcast Sunday, saying the North's leader can do "anything beyond the normal imagination." (Yonhap)"Once he s

A British candidate running to become the next director-general of the World Health Organization said Monday that health and nutrition problems facing North Korean children are a major part of his focus and he will engage with the North Korean regime to tackle them if he wins the seat."My basic view on all countries is that you have to start with a conversation with leaders and they have to trust you if they are going to work with you. If the conversation leads to trust, then after trust comes t

North Korean women's hockey players enjoyed some downtime in between their games in South Korea on Monday, taking in the sights of an East Sea beach here with geopolitical tensions on the peninsula apparently not on their minds.North Korea had a disappointing start to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women's World Championship Division II Group A in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on Sunday, falling to Australia 2-1. Members of the North Korean women's hockey team play on Gyeongpo Bea

Bereaved families of Korea's leading independence fighters against Japan launched a defamation suit on Monday against a popular history lecturer for allegedly disparaging the patriots.Seol Min-suk has claimed during his recent lecture and book on Korean history that the 33 signatories of a 1919 independence declaration, which started a nationwide uprising against the colonialists, "drank in the daytime at a hostess bar" called Taehwagwan, in Seoul.Seol Min-suk, a renowned Korean history tutor, l

South Korea's defense minister and the US Pacific Fleet commander on Monday stressed the need for a watertight security partnership between the two countries to counter North Korea's provocations. Minister Han Min-koo held talks with Adm. Scott Swift, who arrived in Seoul on the day for a three-day trip.Han pointed out that the North's nuclear and missile capabilities are continuing to make headway, with the communist nation all set to conduct another nuclear test at the leadership's choosing.So

The fifth World Journalists Conference opened in Seoul on Monday to explore the media's role in ensuring world peace amid growing threats from terrorism and regional conflicts.The event, hosted by the Journalists Association of Korea and under the banner of "Journalist Forum for World Peace," is attended by some 100 reporters from 60 countries.Participants of the 2017 World Journalists Conference post for photos during the conference's opening ceremony at the Press Center in Seoul on April 3, 20

Kia Motors Corp. posted a 11 percent on-year drop in sales last month due to sluggish demand from domestic and overseas markets, the company said Monday.The country's second-biggest carmaker by sales sold a total of 238,222 vehicles in March down from 268,306 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement."In particular, weak overseas demand for (Kia) vehicles weighed on the monthly figures," a company spokesman said. Domestic sales fell 5.7 percent to 47,621 units last month from 50,510

A group of lawmakers from the conservative Liberty Korea Party on Monday called for the launch of South Korea's own nuclear armament program in case of another North Korea nuclear test.The 24 lawmakers of the former ruling party made a joint statement, saying "nuclear weapons can only be deterred by nuclear arms," and that Seoul cannot depend wholly on economic sanctions against Pyongyang to counter its evolving military threats. This photo, taken on March 9, 2017, shows a public forum at the Na

South Korea's civil servants will be allowed to leave work several hours earlier one day per month, under the government's efforts to help them find a balance in work and rest, the Ministry of Personnel Management said Monday.The ministry said it has received government office reform plans from central government institutions and at least seven of them promised to let their employees leave work at 4 p.m. once a month, starting this month. (Yonhap)The Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Mete

Hyundai Motor Co., the country's top automaker, posted a 6.3 percent on-year decline in March sales due to low demand from emerging markets, the company said Monday.Hyundai Motor sold a total of 405,929 vehicles in March, down from 433,171 units a year earlier, the country's top carmaker said in a statement.(Yonhap)"As the company expects slowing (sales) growth in advanced markets and is not sure about an (immediate) rebound in sales in emerging markets, it will strengthen its fundamentals and a

Renault Samsung Motors Corp. said Monday its March sales rose 4.3 percent on-year on robust demand for its midsize QM6 sport utility vehicle.Renault Samsung Motors sold a total of 25,281 vehicles last month, up from 24,237 units a year earlier, the carmaker said in a statement.  Renault Samsung Motor's flagship SM6 sedan (Yonhap file photo)The QM6 SUV was the biggest contributor to the solid monthly sales results. Exports of the flagship SUV soared to 4,382 autos last month from 1,335 a month ea

South Korea's football governing body said Monday the men's national team head coach Uli Stielike will remain at the helm despite an uninspiring World Cup qualifying performance last month. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said its technical committee decided to keep Stielike as the national team boss after discussing his status in a meeting at the National Football Center in Paju, north of Seoul. The technical committee, led by KFA Vice President Lee Yong-soo, reserves the right to hire and

South Korean stocks finished slightly higher Monday helped by gains in information-technology stocks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.28 points, or 0.34 percent, to hit 2,167.51. Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities, said investors' buying of Samsung Electronics Co. and chipmaker SK hynix Inc. drove up the main index."Improved first quarter earnings estimates in information-technology companies, such as Samsung El

The prosecution said Monday they were considering relocating a key suspect in a corruption scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye to a different detention center to keep the two from ever encountering each other in prison.The prosecutors said they may remove Choi Soon-sil from the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just south of Seoul, and put her in a different facility located in western Seoul. Former President Park Geun-hye is taken to a detention house in Uiwang on Friday morning. (

Overall sales by SsangYong Motor Co., the smallest carmaker in the country, remained little changed in March compared with a year earlier, backed by steady demand for its SUVs, the company said Monday. SsangYong Motor sold a total of 12,992 vehicles last month, compared with 13,010 units a year earlier, the carmaker said in a statement.  SsangYong Motor's Tivoli compact SUV (Yonhap file photo)Domestic sales rose 1.8 percent on-year to 9,229 units in March, while exports fell 4.5 percent to 3,763

GM Korea Co. said Monday it posted a double-digit on-year drop in sales last month due to lower demand for small cars and its flagship models.  In March, the company's domestic sales plunged 12.4 percent year-on-year to 14,778 vehicles from 16,868. Exports were also down 8.2 percent to 36,072 from 39,276, GM Korea said in a statement.  GM's Impala upper midsize sedan (GM Korea)The South Korean unit of General Motors Co. also didn't report robust sales results for the first quarter ending March 3

The ratio of South Korea's exports of sophisticated goods has increased steadily in the past decade, although Asia's fourth-largest economy still trails behind major industrial economies, data showed Monday.South Korea's index of sophisticated exports, measuring the level of high value added shipments abroad, soared gradually to 231.7 in 2015 from 218.0 in 2005, according to data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association.(Yonhap)The comparable figures for 2015 were 285 for Germany, 2

South Korean actress Shim Eun-kyung signed a management deal with a Japanese company, her Korean agency said Monday.Management AND said she inked the deal with Humanite Co., expecting the Japanese company to help the actress expand her career in Japan, as well as in other countries.  This undated photo provided by Management AND shows South Korean actress Shim Eun-kyung. (Yonhap)"We believe the good connection Humanite has established will serve as a stepping stone for Shim to enter other market

The combined net profit of South Korea's listed companies rose last year, while their revenues were roughly flat, data showed Monday. The data indicated that listed firms reported profits mainly on the back of job cuts and other cost-cutting measures last year, hit by sluggish domestic consumption and weaker exports.(Yonhap)According to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Listed Companies Association, the total revenue of 533 listed firms, which closed their books in December last year,

Autonomous cars are forecast to become popular in the South Korean auto market in 2028, five years after they do so in the United States, according to analysts Monday.According to the industry analysts in a book published by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, self-driving cars will gain popularity down the road to account for 12 percent of newly sold cars in those years.(Naver Corp.)The outlook is based on a survey on nearly 6,000 experts in the industry who predicted that 24 rela