The liberal Democratic Party will hold its third primary election in the southern port city of Busan on Friday, three days before it will name its candidate for the upcoming presidential election.Voting will commence at 2 p.m., involving several thousand party members from the port city, located some 450 kilometers south of Seoul, and North and South Gyeongsang provinces. The three presidential contenders of the liberal Democratic Party wave to their supporters and party members at a party prima

The conservative Liberty Korea Party will pick its presidential nominee Friday for the May 9 election largely seen more favorable to the liberal bloc in the wake of a corruption scandal involving ousted President Park Geun-hye.The former ruling party will select its flag-bearer during a national convention in Seoul based on a vote by full-time party members and the opinion poll, with each weighted 50 percent. The presidential hopefuls of the conservative Liberty Korea Party (from L to R) -- Rep.

The prosecution is expected to speed up a corruption probe into ousted President Park Geun-hye's former aide and major conglomerates after she was arrested early Friday. The former leader was put into a detention center on charges of bribery, abuse of power, coercion and leaking government secrets, after a marathon hearing the previous day.Former President Park Geun-hye leaves the Seoul Central District Court in the capital on March 30, 2017, after a hearing on a warrant to arrest her. The court

WASHINGTON -- Activity at North Korea's nuclear test site has significantly decreased, a move that could mean either test preparations are complete or Pyongyang had pretended a test was on the way, a website monitoring the North said Thursday.According to 38 North, commercial satellite imagery of the North's Punggye-ri nuclear test site shows "considerably less" activity on Wednesday, compared with a day earlier when up to 100 people were seen gathered at the site while the pumping of water out

Malaysia released the body of the slain half brother of North Korea's leader to the North, ending a diplomatic row between the two countries over Kim Jong-nam's death."Malaysia agreed to facilitate the transfer of the body to the family of the deceased in North Korea," according to a joint statement between North Korea and Malaysia carried by the Korean Central News Agency. Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late leader Kim Jong-il (Yonhap)The deceased refers to Kim Jong-nam, who was killed last mo

The South Korean stock market operator said Friday it has exported its advanced IT system for stock trading to Malaysia and seven other countries over the past decade, earning more than 80 billion won ($71.6 million).Starting with the establishment of a bond trading system in Malaysia in 2007, the Korea Exchange has exported 14 IT systems related to the stock market to the eight countries, mostly in Southeast Asia.(Yonhap)In 2011, the KRX set up a joint stock exchange in Laos in partnership with

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Friday, buoyed by strong blue chip steelmakers and automobiles, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Indexticked up 0.78 point, or 0.04 percent, to trade at 2,165.42 in the first 15 minutes of trading. POSCO, the country's leading steelmaker, jumped nearly 2 percent, after it released a better-than-expected earnings guidance for the first quarter Thursday. No. 1 automaker Hyundai Motor was also up almost 1 percent, with its auto part

Ousted leader Park Geun-hye, arrested early Friday, faces charges of bribery, coercion, abuse of power and the leak of state secrets in 13 cases, according to court officials. If convicted, she could face life in prison. After a grueling nine-hour hearing, Judge Kang Boo-young acknowledged the need for her arrest, saying there is probable cause to charge her and a concern of evidence being destroyed. Former President Park Geun-hye's hair (R) not coiffed as she leaves the Seoul Central District P

US President Donald Trump will hold the first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Florida resort next week, the White House announced Thursday."The two leaders will discuss global, regional, and bilateral issues of mutual concern," the White House said in a brief statement announcing Xi's visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort on April 6-7.Trump and first lady Melania Trump will host dinner for Xi and Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan on April 6, it said. US President Donald Trump (Yonhap)

Artificial intelligence, for the past few decades, used to be a staple of science fiction films in which a future was depicted as being full of robots that are as smart as humans. In "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 2001, a robotic boy even dreams of becoming "real" so he can gain the love of his human parents.Now, AI and cybernetics are moving beyond the realm of fiction and are penetrating deeper into our everyday lives. Without realizing it, AI has

South Korea's industrial output jumped at the fastest pace in nearly four years in February, government data showed Friday.Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries moved up 6.6 percent last month from a year earlier, marking the highest on-year gain since January 2013, when it posted a 9 percent rise, according to the data by Statistics Korea.(Yonhap)From a month earlier, however, the figure fell 3.4 percent on a sharp drop in chips and cars, backtracking from a 2.

Cargo processed at South Korean seaports rose slightly in the first two months of the year from a year earlier amid a steady increase in exports, government data showed Friday.Cargo handled at the country's seaports came to 252.25 million tons in the January-February period, up 3.7 percent from 242.31 million tons tallied a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.(Yonhap)Non-container cargo rose 3.7 percent on-year to 181.37 million tons over the two-month per

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- As important as home track advantage is in Olympic bobsleigh competitions, the South Korean tandem of Won Yun-jong and Seo Young-woo said Thursday they'll try to win a medal next year on their own merit.Won, the pilot, and Seo, his brakeman, represent a strong medal hope for host South Korea at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. South Korean bobsleigh pilot Won Yun-jong (C) speaks at a press conference alongside his coach Lee Yong (L) and brakeman Seo Young-woo at

A total of 29 newborns have been infected with rotavirus at an obstetrics clinic in Seoul, health authorities said Thursday.The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the infants from the clinic in western Seoul were confirmed to have been infected with the virus, which causes diarrhea.(Yonhap)The KCDC said it has conducted an investigation into the 119 newborns from the hospital and confirmed the 24 cases. Another five newborns were from the same postnatal care center as the infe

The National Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution urging China to stop its economic retaliation over the deployment of a US missile defense system in South Korea.The resolution expresses concern and regret over the suspension of South Korean businesses in China and the apparent ban on Chinese tour packages to South Korea. The National Assembly holds a plenary session at the parliamentary building in Seoul on March 30, 2017. (Yonhap)It passed during a plenary session with approval from 188 o

South Korea will host a global cybersecurity conference involving Asian and European countries next week where North Korea's hacking threats will be part of the agenda, the foreign ministry said Thursday.The Europe-Asia cybersecurity conference will kick off on Tuesday for a two-day run in Seoul, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Chong-ghee will open the conference with his opening speech, the ministry said.(Yonhap)It will be the first global cybersecurity conferenc

Russia and China have recently adopted punitive measures affecting North Korea's aviation industry in a bid to mount pressure on the regime following its series of military provocations, the foreign ministry here said Thursday."Last May, the European Union banned North Korean airplanes or airplanes that depart from North Korea from landing on the territory of or flying in the airspace of the EU member countries," Cho June-hyuck, spokesman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a press brief

South Korea will award an order of merit to a US lawmaker for his contribution to improving the Seoul-Washington alliance and cooperation on North Korea's nuclear stalemate and other Korea issues, the foreign ministry said Thursday.Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, will be granted the order, according to the ministry.  South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck (Yonhap)"In particular, we made the decision to appreciate his efforts to pass the f

South Korea's foreign ministry on Thursday lauded a US Congress legislation calling for tougher sanctions on North Korea and Washington's resolution urging China to halt retaliations against Seoul over a missile defense system deployment plan.On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee passed a set of bipartisan measures, including legislation calling for harsher sanctions on Pyongyang and relisting the regime as a state sponsor of terrorism. The Ministry of Foreign

South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Thursday, as institutional investors opted to cash in profits from the recent rally amid a lack of fresh momentum in the market, analysts said. The local currency fell against the US dollar. After starting up some 0.3 percent at the opening bell, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index soon turned lower, closing down 2.34 points, or 0.11 percent at 2,164.64.Trading volume was moderate at 633.5 million shares worth 4.31 trillion won ($3.84 billion