The North Korean authorities are compelling ethnic Chinese with Chinese nationality living in the North to pledge their allegiance to the family of leader Kim Jong-un, a US broadcaster said Friday.A source in North Hamgyong Province told the Radio Free Asia that ethnic Chinese residents in the North are pressured to pay allegiance to the Kim family just like North Koreans do. "Most ethnic Chinese regret that they came to North Korea and wish to return to China," the source was quoted as saying.C

US Defense Secretary James Mattis on Friday reiterated Washington's security commitment to Seoul and vowed to overwhelmingly respond to any use of nuclear weapons by North Korea."America's commitments to defending our allies and to upholding our extended deterrence guarantees remain ironclad: any attack on the United States, or our allies, will be defeated, and any use of nuclear weapons would be met with a response that would be effective and overwhelming," Mattis told reporters. Mattis made th

A Seoul court on Friday backed special prosecutors' ongoing investigation into allegations the Park Geun-hye administration created a blacklist of liberal artists to ban them from state support.The Seoul High Court dismissed a complaint that former residential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon filed on Tuesday accusing the independent counsel team of overstepping their authority by investigating a case that was not in their mandate.The special prosecutors' investigation centers on allegations that Par

Liberal provincial governor An Hee-jung and Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn soared in a presidential opinion poll after former UN chief Ban Ki-moon abruptly dropped out of the race, data showed Friday. According to a Gallup Korea poll, Moon Jae-in, former head of the main opposition Democratic Party, remained as the most favored potential candidate with 32 percent. The survey also indicated supporters of Ban are turning to South Chungcheong Gov. An and Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang. 

An international art festival to celebrate the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics will open in the eastern city of Gangneung next week as South Korea is looking for ways to make the global sports event rich with culture and art.The 2018 Winter Olympics will take place mainly in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, from Feb. 9 -25, but some of the events will also be held in the neighboring city of Gangneung and Jeongseon county, all in Gangwon Province. The PyeongChang Biennale 2017

Online shopping in South Korea reached a fresh record high in December on the back of a steady upbeat trend of buying goods through computers and mobile phones, government data showed Friday.Total online transactions reached a record 6.2 trillion won ($5.4 billion) in December, up 15.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. (Yonhap)It marked the highest monthly amount of online purchases, breaking the earlier record of 6.1 trillion won set in the previou

KT Corp., a South Korean telecom company, will showcase virtual reality luge at this month's annual technology fair in Spain, an industry source said Friday. The event appeared to be aimed at drumming up a marketing campaign for KT's technology ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, in which luge is a sport.  (Yonhap)With a virtual reality headset, the device allows visitors to enjoy the sport of luge.KT also plans to introduce virtual reality contents on K-pop during the Mobile World Co

Kakao Corp., an internet company that operates the country's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Friday it will provide its map tools to local game developers from the first half of this year to help them produce a megahit like Pokemon Go.The move was disclosed by Namkoong Whon, the company's chief game officer, through Facebook.   Namkoong Whon, chief game officer at Kakao Corp. (Yonhap file photo)Kakao "will provide the software development kit so that the developers can use Kakao Map to more

The government is facing criticism for losing control of major policies amid a political maelstrom stemming from the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye over a corruption scandal in December, analysts said Friday.As if defying a government vow to rein in inflation, businesses are scrambling to jack up product prices. Also, the government has irked small merchants and self-employed people by requiring them to stick to stricter rules on the safety of electric appliances and daily goods. People

South Korea's top court on Friday upheld a lower court's decision to exonerate four former railway union leaders from charges of obstruction of business in connection with the 2013 railway strike against the privatization of railway services.The defendants, including Kim Myung-hwan, former chief of the Korean Railway Workers' Union, were indicted and detained in February 2014 on charges of disrupting railway operations by leading an illegal strike for 23 days in December 2013. (Yonhap)The bone o

From a drunk son of a business tycoon spitting on and swearing at flight attendants, to an apartment resident beating an old janitor and well-heeled clients assaulting department store clerks, a series of physical abuses committed by the privileged left South Korea in shock over the past year.Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Friday pledged to push for "comprehensive pan-government" measures to protect the socially disadvantaged, accusing such abuse by the powerful and rich of

South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party on Friday proposed the formation of a consultative body among potential presidential contenders to revise the Constitution before the upcoming presidential election."The constitutional revision is the biggest reform that can be conducted by the political circle for now," floor leader Rep. Chung Woo-taik said during the extra session at the National Assembly."If all presidential hopefuls from both ruling and opposition parties have a patriotic mind for the count

All taxi drivers in South Korea may be required to have regular checkups to ensure they are physically and mentally fit to drive once they reach 65 years of age, the government said Friday.Under a proposed government revision to the public transportation law, all taxi drivers aged between 65 and 69 years will be required to undergo a medical checkup every three years.Those aged 70 years or more will be required to prove their physical health every year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and T

A growing number of South Koreans are seeking help from the state financial watchdog for damages caused by loan sharks amid a prolonged economic slump, official data showed Friday.A total of 2,306 relevant cases were reported to the Financial Supervisory Service last year, up 89 percent from a year earlier. The FSS operates a call center for damages due to illicit private finance.A composite photo of bank lending and leaflets on private loans. (Yonhap)Unregistered loan sharks usually target cash

South Korea is moving to require active use of full body scanners at its major international airports, the government said Friday, despite opposition from human rights activists that has effectively limited the use of the device over the past six years.The government first introduced full body scanners in 2010, but their use have been strictly limited due to the strong opposition from human rights groups that claim they infringe on people's privacy by rendering graphic images of their body.Only

South Korea's antitrust watchdog will make public a set of data on price comparison regarding price-fixing cases to help customers take legal action, government officials said Friday.The information contains data on prices before and after suspected companies engage in price collusion collected by the Fair Trade Commission, according to the officials. (Yonhap)Customers who seek compensation from the price-rigging practices can submit the price comparison data as powerful evidence to the court, t

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sacked the chief of the country's spy agency on suspected abuse of power after the ruling party conducted surveillance on the ministry, sources said Friday.Kim Won-hong, 72, was dismissed from the head of the Ministry of State Security after the party's audit late last year found his agency had abused its authority, according to the sources familiar with North Korean affairs.His military rank may have been demoted to lieutenant general from full general, they

US Defense Secretary James Mattis sees his ongoing visit to South Korea as a "listening trip" aimed at having a chance to learn what its allies think and say on key issues of mutual concerns, a diplomatic source said Friday.Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, arrived in South Korea on Thursday for a two-day stay. This is his first overseas trip since taking office, and he plans to leave for Japan after completing his itinerary here. "We heard that he told his aides and Korean counterparts th

Gold-related funds here have regained momentum in recent weeks, returning over 6 percent, as the US dollar has weakened after a months-long rally, data showed Friday.Those funds posted an average of 6.41 percent gains in January, reversing a three-month loss of 4.96 percent, according to the Korea Exchange and financial information provider FnGuide. Gold bars in storage. (Yonhap)Gold prices soared 4.5 percent on-month to $1,200.50 an ounce at the end of January, they said. The prices jumped to $

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that none other than North Korea needs to worry about the planned deployment of the US THAAD missile defense system in South Korea.Mattis, who arrived in Seoul on his first overseas trip since taking office, made the remark to reporters traveling together with him on the plane, stressing THAAD is a defensive system, according to a transcript provided by the Pentagon."There's only one reason that we even have this under discussion right now, and that is North