The private sector created the least jobs in seven years last year amid businesses shying away from recruiting employees due to a protracted slumping economy, government data showed Monday.The number of employees rose 242,000 in the private sector last year from the previous year, Statistics Korea data said. Job opportunities in large corporates such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG (Yonhap)The figure is the smallest since 2009 when the comparable number was minus 264,000.Private sector employees surg

More than 80 middle and high schools have applied to use controversial state-authored history textbooks as supplementary materials in the new academic year, the education ministry said Monday.The textbooks will be distributed to 33 middle schools, 49 high schools and one specialized school this month to be used as supplementary or reference material in and outside of the classroom, according to the ministry. The government also plans to send the texts to 28 state schools and 22 Korean schools ov

A former ranking Malaysian diplomat has asserted that his country should shut down its embassy in Pyongyang as a countermeasure against North Korea's alleged assassination of Kim Jong-nam, a half brother of the North's leader Kim Jong-un, a US broadcaster reported Monday.The Pyongyang-based Malaysian mission which is virtually of no use should be surely closed as a strong message to the North that the acts it is now conducting can never be accepted, Dennis Ignatius was quoted as saying in a phon

Nearly eight out of every 10 South Korean businesses in Japan expect their annual sales to increase this year, a survey showed Monday, signaling a possible turnaround from five consecutive years of drop in the country's overall exports to Japan.In the survey conducted by the Korea International Trade Association, 76 percent of 80 South Korean firms operating in Japan said they expect their sales to rise this year from a year earlier. Containers waiting for shipment at a South Korean seaport. (Yo

South Korea hastened coordination with the United States and Japan on Monday after the North fired four missiles toward the East Sea. Kim Kwan-jin, chief of South Korea's National Security Office, held a phone conversation with H.R. McMaster, Washington's national security adviser, to discuss a joint response to the North's latest provocation. (Yonhap)The top presidential security advisers agreed to enhance cooperation between the two allies to toughen sanctions and pressure on North Korea, Seou

The US Strategic Command confirmed North Korea's missile launch, but did not give any assessment on the missile's type, including whether it involved an intercontinental ballistic missile."US Strategic Command systems detected and tracked what we assess was a North Korean missile launch at 4:34 p.m. CST (7:34 a.m. Korean time)," the command said in a statement. "The North American Aerospace Defense Command determined the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America." (Y

South Korea is likely to intensify its push for the diplomatic isolation of North Korea by seeking suspension of its memberships at such global bodies as the UN, as condemnation grows over its continued missile provocations, government sources and experts said Monday.Earlier in the day, the North fired several ballistic missiles into the East Sea in an apparent protest against joint military drills ongoing between South Korea and the US This came after the North test-fired an intermediate-range

South Korea strongly condemned the North's latest missile provocation on Monday, calling it a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a grave threat both to the peninsula and the world. North Korea fired off several ballistic missiles toward the East Sea from near its northwestern Dongchang-ri missile site earlier in the day. They flew about 1,000 kilometers before falling in Japan's exclusive economic zone.The latest launch is timed with the ongoing joint military drills between

South Korea's unification ministry on Monday strongly condemned North Korea for launching four ballistic missiles, saying that the move constitutes a blatant violation of relevant UN Security Council's resolutions.North Korea fired off the ballistic missiles toward the East Sea from near its northwestern Dongchang-ri missile site earlier in the day. They flew about 1,000 kilometers before landing in Japan's exclusive economic zone. The Ministry of Unification said that the government strongly co

North Korea reiterated its will to continuously beef up its nuclear power Monday, when it test-fired several ballistic missiles into the East Sea in an apparent tit-for-tat against the ongoing annual South Korea-US joint military drills. "It's our unchanged will and stance to try all means available to strengthen our self-defensive military power based on nuclear power unless the United States abandons its anti-North Korea policy," the Rodong Sinmun, a daily of the North's ruling Workers' Party,

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Monday condemned North Korea for staging another missile provocation earlier in the day, saying the act is a "grave provocation" against the international community."We strongly denounce the move as it can be considered a challenge and a grave provocation to the international community,"Hwang said during a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Security Council held at the presidential office. Acting President and Prime Minister Hwa

Netflix announced Monday it has partnered with South Korean screenwriter Kim Eun-hee and director Kim Seong-hun to produce its second original Korean TV series titled "Kingdom."The historical period drama is set in Korea's medieval Joseon period where a crown prince is sent on a suicide mission to investigate a mysterious outbreak, according to Netflix.  (Netflix)Kim Eun-hee, whose work "Signal" was one of the most critically acclaimed TV shows in 2016, has worked on the eight-episode "Kingdom,"

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party on Monday said it will look into allegations that the nation's spy agency conducted illegal surveillance on the Constitutional Court, which is currently reviewing the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.The move came after a local broadcaster alleged that the National Intelligence Service has been collecting information on the Constitutional Court. Rep. Woo Sang-ho, the floor leader of the Democratic Party (Yonhap)"If it is true, it is a criminal

South Korea's opposition parties on Monday denounced North Korea for staging another missile provocation earlier in the day, warning such a move will further isolate the communist regime.The parties voiced concern over escalating tension in Northeast Asia, especially as the latest launch came after Pyongyang allegedly murdered its leader's half brother in Malaysia last month. South Korean soldiers walk past a TV broadcasting North Korea's launch of several ballistic missiles into the East Sea at

The elderly in South Korea are increasingly turning to savings banks or smaller private lenders despite relatively high interest rates, data showed Monday.Outstanding loans extended by local savings banks to people aged 60 or older totaled 218.2 billion won ($188 million) at the end of last year, up 41.32 percent from a year earlier, according to Rep. Min Byung-doo of the Democratic Party. A borrower at a South Korean savings bank. (Yonhap)It marks almost a four-fold increase from 59 billion won

The Kia Soul continued to remained one of the best-selling cars made by South Korea's No. 2 automaker in overseas markets last year, despite its dwindling popularity at home, industry data showed Monday.In 2016, 168,159 units of the car were shipped overseas, more than 70 times higher than 2,359 units sold here, according to the data released earlier from Kia Motors Corp. The Kia Soul EV crossover (Kia Motors)The Soul is a crossover multipurpose vehicle, and is better known as a box car. The car

South Korean banks reported a sharp drop in their net income last year, hit by massive loan loss spending to handle troubles in the shipbuilding industry, data showed Monday.Their combined net profits came to 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion) in the year, down 31.8 percent from 2015, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.A bank worker taking care of a customer. (Yonhap)Specialized banks, including such state policy lenders as the Korea Development Bank  and the Export-Import Bank of Korea,

South Korea's ruling Liberty Korea Party on Monday condemned North Korea for firing missiles into the East Sea earlier in the day."North Korea's provocation cannot be justified under any circumstances," Rep. Kim Sung-won, a spokesman of the party, said in a statement. "The international community will again realize that Kim Jong-un's regime is incorrigible for staging another missile launch, even after its envoy to Malaysia was expelled after the killing of Kim Jong-nam," he added.The logo of So

Moon Jae-in, former head of the Democratic Party, posted a record high approval rating among presidential hopefuls, data showed Monday, while Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn narrowed gap with the front-runner.According to the poll conducted by Realmeter, Moon posted an approval rating of 36.4 percent last week, up 2.9 percentage points from a week earlier. The survey was conducted on 2,025 South Koreans last week with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Mo

The reported US cyber strikes that disrupted a series of North Korean missile tests shows the United States is "on the cutting edge" of such technology, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Sunday.The New York Times has reported that the administration of former President Barack Obama used cyber attacks, such as remotely manipulating data inside the North's missile systems, starting three years ago to disrupt test launches so as to delay the North's development of an intercontinental balli