Last-ditch talks between Argentina and the US hedge funds it has branded "vultures" failed to reach agreement Wednesday, effectively pushing the country into default.Ratings agency Standard and Poor's had already placed Argentina in "selective default" when Economy Minister Axel Kicillof emerged from the New York talks to confirm that no deal had been reached.This left it inevitable that Latin America's third largest economy would be unable to meet its repayment obligations by midnight, placing

North Korea will likely resume its signature dance and gymnastics performance in 2015 after skipping it this year due to renovation work at the annual event's venue in Pyongyang, according to a related tour operator."Our Korean partners have confirmed that there will be no Arirang Mass Games in 2014," Koryo Tours, headquartered in Beijing, said on its website viewed on Thursday. The operator specializes in tour programs in the reclusive communist nation.The May Day Stadium is under "substantial

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top maker of smartphones, said Thursday its second-quarter net profit fell 19.5 percent from a year earlier as its mainstay handset business suffered from rising competition in the global market.Net income came to 6.25 trillion won (US$6.1 billion) in the April-June period, compared with 7.77 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales fell 8.89 percent on-year to 52.35 trillion won in the second quarter. Its operating profit ca

The chief of Hyundai Group, the parent firm of inter-Korean tour operator Hyundai Asan Corp., has requested government permission to visit North Korea next week to mark the anniversary of the death of her husband, who used to run the cross-border travel business, company officials said Wednesday.Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun and about 20 executives and employees of Hyundai Asan hope to inspect the company's properties at Mount Kumgang, a scenic resort on North Korea's east coast, on the occasion of

South Korea on Wednesday imposed a travel ban on Libya again as spiraling violence in the African country has raised security concerns.Seoul's foreign ministry said it decided to raise its travel alert for Libya by one notch to the highest level, citing grave concerns for security in the country. The move will be effective for six months.Since mid-July, South Korea, which has a four-tier travel advisory system, has strongly recommended that local companies withdraw their staff or reduce the numb

Voters took to polling stations on Wednesday in the largest-ever parliamentary by-elections, critical for political parties to gain the upper hand for the rest of the 19th National Assembly. 　As of 6 p.m., 28.8 percent of the voters, including those who took part in the July 25-26 early voting, had cast their ballots. The two-day early voting period saw a record-breaking 7.98 percent of voters cast their ballots. The figures for strategically important Dongjak-B of Seoul and South Jeolla Provinc

Prosecutors continued their investigation Wednesday into the driver of the sunken ferry Sewol's owner over suspicions of helping his employer evade a massive manhunt.Yang Hoe-jeong, 55, the chauffeur of Yoo Byung-eun, turned himself in to the prosecution a day earlier. The surrender came a week after Yoo, a billionaire who owned the Sewol ferry, was confirmed dead.The Incheon District Prosecutors' Office said Yang underwent questioning for the second day mainly over whether he provided a hiding

The International Monetary Fund(IMF) urged South Korea to refrain from stepping into the foreign exchange market in its report released Tuesday, saying the appreciation of the country's currency is caused by its large trade surplus and excessive foreign reserves. In an external sector report based on the policies of 2013 and the first half of 2014, the IMF said, "In some countries (China, Korea), FX (foreign exchange) purchases for non-spot market interventions were deployed in the context of re

The government will inject about 26 trillion won (US$25.3 billion) in the forms of fiscal measures and policy financing during the remainder of this year to help the slowing economic recovery, the finance minister said Wednesday."In order to carry out diverse policy measures in a speedy manner, we plan to inject about 26 trillion won by strengthening fiscal measures and policy financing," Choi Kyung-hwan told a meeting with other policymakers. This is a follow-up on the government's economy mana

SM Entertainment’s new girl group Red Velvet will make their first appearance on TV on Aug. 1.The four-member group will launch their official debut with an onstage performance of their song “Happiness” on the KBS-2TV music show “Music Bank.” Red Velvet is the agency’s first launch since idol group f(x) five years ago. The new group consists of Seulgi, Irene and Wendy, all from SM’s predebut team “SM Rookies,” and a new member Joy, who has also trained under the agency.  Red Velvet will drop its

South Korea's industrial output grew at the fastest pace in four years and nine months in June, raising expectations that the economic recovery might be gaining some momentum, a government report showed Wednesday. According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries expanded 2.9 percent last month from May following a revised 2.8 percent fall tallied a month earlier. This marked the fastest on-month output growth since September 200

Overseas travel spending soared to a record high in June as South Koreans continued to flock to foreign destinations despite a prolonged slump in domestic demand, central bank data showed Wednesday.Overseas travel spending totaled US$1.7 billion in June, growing 23.3 percent from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The figure does not cover traveling for study purposes.The latest data, which is part of the current account, comes only two months after overseas travel spending set

North Korea plans to send a six-member media team to the South Korean city of Incheon next month for the coverage of the Asian Games, a news report said Wednesday.Last week, Pyongyang sent a letter to the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) requesting cooperation on its plan, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA), a Washington-based network."North Korea requested a letter of invitation (for its reporters) and a schedule (for games)," the RFA quoted an ABU official as saying. The ABU is headquarte

Three North Korean MiG-19 fighters have crashed this year, leading to the suspension of flight drills involving the aircraft, South Korea's military sources said Wednesday.The supersonic MiG-19 aircraft is a Soviet second-generation fighter developed in 1953. Some 400 MiG variants are still in service in the communist North, accounting for about half of its fighters."At least three of the MiG-19s crashed during training missions -- one earlier this year, the others last month and earlier this mo

South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. saw its market share in the smartphone industry plunge in the second quarter from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, dented by the rise of Chinese players vying with low-end models.Samsung took up 25.2 percent of the global smartphone market in the April-June period, down 7.1 percentage points from the 32.3 percent posted last year, the data compiled by market researcher IDC Corp. showed. It shipped a combined 74.3 million units of smartphones

South Korea is pushing to ease or lift the current daily limit imposed on stock price movements as part of efforts to stimulate the country's stock market, a local media report said Wednesday.According to the daily JoongAng Ilbo, who cited sources from financial authorities, the government is pushing to phase out the 15 percent daily limit in stock price fluctuations. It said the government could announce its position later this month or in August in a meeting chaired by President Park Geun-hye.

Organica, a Korean premium organic whole food company, unveiled a three-day detox program with juice made with superfoods on Tuesday as part of its efforts to lead the nationwide juice cleanse trend.The three-day juice cleanse program, called the “Just Juice 3-day Super Cleanse,” enriched nutrients and flavors by high-pressure processing methods and adding superfoods such as spirulina, turmeric, chlorella and chia seeds to its product lineup. The so-called superfoods are a loosely defined collec

The captain of a Coast Guard patrol boat was arrested on Tuesday to face questioning over the maritime police's botched initial response to April's ferry sinking that claimed more than 300 lives, prosecutors said.The chief of the Mokpo Coast Guard's patrol boat, called the 123, has come under fire for failing to move swiftly to save more lives even though it was the first ship that arrived at the scene after the Sewol ferry sank in waters off the southwestern island of Jindo on April 16. The cap

Leeteuk, a conscripted member of the K-pop boy band Super Junior, was discharged from military service on Tuesday.The 31-year-old singer, whose real name is Park Jeong-su, served for 21 months in an Army unit in Inje, 165 kilometers northeast of Seoul.All able-bodied men should serve roughly two years in the South Korean military, which is still technically at war with North Korea. His fans flocked to the front gate of the military unit in the early morning to see him, but Leeteuk only briefly g

Popular K-pop group Girls' Generation on Tuesday topped Japan's Oricon weekly albums chart with its first compilation album released there, the group's management agency said. The girl group placed first on Oricon's weekly albums chart with "The Best," the compilation album composed of 18 of the group's hit songs, S.M. Entertainment said. It marks the third time for the band to top the chart following its first full-length album "Girls' Generation" (2011) and the third full-length album