The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) will decide this week on whether to adopt a new way of naming seas that is expected to affect a long-running dispute between South Korea and Japan over what to call the East Sea. In its virtual general assembly to be held from Monday through Wednesday, the IHO will announce whether it will revise the "S-23," an IHO standard for world map production that marked the body of water between South Korea and Japan as the Sea of Japan, not the

Rebuilding multilateralism and overcoming protectionism have been some of the most urgent tasks facing South Korea, which is heavily reliant on exports for its economy, amid the growing trade row between the United States and China along with an unprecedented pandemic. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), signed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his counterparts on Sunday, will help South Korea further boost its outbound shipments. The China-initiated deal will be of

South Korea signed what will be the world's largest free trade agreement on Sunday after concluding related talks during a virtual summit of President Moon Jae-in and leaders of 14 partner countries. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) involves 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and their combined gross domestic product accounts for a third of the world's total. "We note that

South Korea will begin the construction of an airport on Ulleung Island later this month, with an aim to open the country's second island airport in 2025, the transport ministry said Sunday. The government will inject 665.1 billion won ($597 million) to build the Ulleung airport with a 1,200 meter-long runway and a passenger terminal. Flight services on 50-seat airplanes will be offered at the airport, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. "The travel ti

Three ruling party lawmakers, including the chairman of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, left for Washington on Sunday for meetings with US congressional leaders and experts in the wake of Joe Biden's election as US president. The three members of the Democratic Party's task force on Korean Peninsula issues -- Reps. Song Young-gil, Kim Han-jung and Yun Kun-young -- plan to meet with Brad Sherman (D-CA), a member of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Asia, and Rep. Thomas Suoz

WASHINGTON -- The United States was able to push through "robust" sanctions against North Korea by the UN Security Council in 2009 thanks to its improved relations with other countries, former US President Barack Obama said. In a new memoir, "A Promised Land," the former US president also said that his 2009 speech in Prague calling for a world free of nuclear weapons was partly aimed at urging efforts to prevent Iran and North Korea from further advancing their nuclear progr

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's biggest smartphone maker, saw its domestic market share exceed 70 percent for the first time in the third quarter on new products, a market research firm said Sunday. For the three months that ended in September, Samsung Electronics produced 3.4 million smartphones to account for 72.3 percent of the local smartphone markets, according to data from Strategy Analytics, Inc. New products such as the Galaxy Note 20 smartphone and the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Galaxy

NEW YORK -- The US House of Representatives plans to vote this week on a resolution calling for further strengthening the alliance with South Korea, congressional sources said Saturday, as the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take over. The resolution, which was first introduced by Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-NY) in January and passed unanimously through the House Foreign Affairs Committee in March, has been introduced to a House session set for Wednesday morning, the

충북 보은군의 자랑인 속리산의 초입 3만㎡ 부지에는 '정이품송공원'이 조성돼 있다. 2018년 11월 개장 당시 '훈민정음마당'이라고 이름 붙였던 보은군은 신미대사를 한글 창제의 주역으로 묘사했다는 역사 왜곡 논란이 일자 올해 2월 지금의 명칭으로 바꿨다. 신미대사는 출가해 입적할 때까지 속리산 복천암에 기거한 것으로 전해진다. 보은군은 신미대사가 한글 창제에 기여했다는 설화 내용을 지우는 보수공사를 했지만, 이 공원에는 '훈민정음 고향 보은'이라고 쓰인 비석이 남아 있다. 아이러니하게도 비석 받침석에는 영문 표기가 포함된 '참 좋아you 보은'이라는 문구가 새겨져 있다. 보은군의 브랜드 슬로건이다. 이향래 전 군수 재직 당시인 2008년 12월 만들어진 '좋아you 보은'에 정상혁 군수가 '참' 한 자를 추가한 것이다. 그러나 훈민정음 관련 비석에 굳이 영문 표기가 포함된 슬로건을 새겨야 했느냐는 지적이 있다. 최근 보은군 홈페이지 자유게시판에는 "'훈민정음

INCHEON -- A fishing boat capsized in waters near a northwestern border island Saturday, leaving three crew members missing, the Coast Guard said. The 12-ton vessel was overturned in waters 43 kilometers from the border island of Soyeonpyeong at 6:07 p.m., the authorities said. The cause of the capsizing was not immediately known. Three crew members, including the 63-year-old captain, went missing, while two others were rescued. One of the rescued remains unconscious, officials said. Prime Mi

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea's biggest auto parts maker, said Sunday it has hired an ex-Valeo sales expert as it strives to ride out an extended coronavirus pandemic. Hyundai Mobis appointed Axel J. Maschka as executive vice president in charge of the company's global sales division. He will directly report to Chief Executive Officer Park Chung-kook from Monday, the company said in a statement. It is the first time for the company to name a non-Korean executive in the significant sales divi

South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended a virtual summit with the leaders of Japan and China as well as 10 Southeast Asian countries Saturday and stressed the need for closer partnerships for health care and economic growth. "As the COVID-19 situation is being prolonged, there's an increasing number of problems that we have to resolve together," Moon said, delivering his opening remarks at the annual ASEAN Plus Three Summit. ASEAN stands of the Association of South East Asian Nati

General Motors Co. said Saturday it has decided to recall electric vehicles equipped with batteries made by South Korean producer LG Chem Ltd. due to safety concerns. The recall covers the Bolt EV produced from 2017 to 2019, installed with LG Chem‘s batteries made from Ochang, 120 kilometers south of Seoul. The measure came amid concerns that the batteries could cause fires when fully charged. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched investigations into three f

South Korea’s new coronavirus cases exceeded 200 for the first time in 73 days Saturday amid lingering cluster infections across the nation, with health authorities considering raising the social distancing scheme by a notch in the five-tier system. The country added 205 more COVID-19 cases, including 166 local infections, raising the total caseload to 28,338, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The number of new infections stayed in triple digits for the seve

Four players and one staff member on the South Korean men’s national football team have tested positive for the novel coronavirus while in Austria to play friendly matches. The Korea Football Association said Saturday that forward Lee Dong-jun, midfielders Kwon Chang-hoon and Hwang In-beom, goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo, and an unidentified staffer tested positive for COVID-19 after undergoing polymerase chain reaction test at 5 p.m. Thursday in Austria. The team has been staying in Vienna si

South Korea‘s finance minister highlighted the need to promote free trade under multilateral regimes, while expressing support for assistance to debt-ridden developing economies during a G-20 meeting, his ministry said Saturday. “We need to revitalize global trade through multilateral trade systems,” Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said during the Extraordinary G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting held virtually on Friday. “Trade regulations ca

WASHINGTON -- US tech giant Microsoft has detected cyberattacks from three foreign entities, including two from North Korea, against companies and research institutes working to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, a company official said Friday, urging government action to protect such facilities. “In recent months, we‘ve detected cyberattacks from three nation-state actors targeting seven prominent companies directly involved in researching vaccines and treatments for COVID-19,” Tom

The ruling party chairman expressed hope Friday that a 2018 deal signed between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump will be retained under the incoming US administration under President-elect Joe Biden.  "I wish that South Korea and the US will work together to reactivate the Korean Peninsula peace process," Rep. Lee Nak-yon, the chairman of Democratic Party, said during a top party council meeting.  "The starting point for that will be the re

A group of South Korean lawmakers met Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday amid growing expectations for improvement in ties between the two nations frayed over historical and trade issues. Seven members of the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union, who arrived in Tokyo for a three-day visit on Thursday, paid a courtesy call on the new Japanese leader. It marked the first time for Suga to meet South Korean lawmakers since he took office as prime minister in September. South Korea an

The vice defense ministers of South Korea and Greece held a meeting Friday and agreed to enhance bilateral defense cooperation, Seoul's defense ministry said. Greece's vice defense chief, Alkiviadis Stefanis, is in South Korea at the invitation of Seoul's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA) to mark the 70th anniversary of the 1950-53 Korean War. During the talks held in Seoul, Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min and Stefanis "vowed to make efforts to beef up defense cooperatio