K-pop super group BTS delivered a performance of "Dynamite," its latest smash-hit single, on the popular US talent competition show "America's Got Talent." The seven-member band presented a prerecorded live performance of "Dynamite" on the weekly TV program, now in its 15th season, aired Monday (US time) on American television network NBC. The performance held against the backdrop of a vacant late-night amusement park was taped at Everland, South Korea's largest

Prices for server DRAM chips are expected to further decline in the fourth quarter of the year, a report showed Thursday, boding ill for South Korean chipmakers amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Market researcher TrendForce recently revised its server DRAM prices forecast for the last three months of 2020, saying that server manufacturers still hold a relatively high inventory of the product, while the industry is dealing with an oversupply issue. It originally predicted a 10-15 percent

'환각 질주'로 부산 해운대에서 7중 추돌 사고를 낸 포르쉐 운전자에 대한 사전 구속영장이 청구됐다. 17일 부산경찰청에 따르면 전날 밤 검찰이 포르쉐 운전자 A씨에 대한 사전구속 영장을 부산지법 동부지원에 청구했다. 경찰 한 관계자는 "아직 영장실질심사 일정은 정해지지 않았다"고 설명했다. A씨에게는 일명 '윤창호법'으로 불리는 특정범죄 가중처벌 등에 관한 법률 제5조의11(위험운전 치상), 같은 법 도주치상, 도로교통법 위반, 마약류관리에 관한 법률 위반 혐의 등이 적용됐다. 흔히 음주 운전자를 강하게 처벌하는 것으로 알려진 일명 '윤창호법'은 약물의 영향으로 사고를 낸 운전자에게도 적용된다. A씨 외에도 동승자 B씨에게도 '윤창호법'의 방조죄가 적용될 가능성이 나온다. 경찰 한 관계자는 "사회적 관심이 큰 만큼 잘못된 부분에 대해서는 엄정히 조사할 것"이라고 밝혔다. (연합뉴스)

KT Corp., a major South Korean mobile carrier, said Thursday it has signed an agreement with Kakao Corp.'s telecom unit Stage Five to develop an artificial intelligence-powered companion robot targeting children and the elderly. Under the agreement, also signed by Taiwan-based Nuwa Robotics Corp. and the nongovernmental organization Ashoka Korea, the companies aim to release the companion robot in the first half of next year. KT said the robot will feature basic movement, such as nodding its

South Korea will hold a ceremony this week to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Philippines' participation in the Korean War, the veterans affairs ministry said Thursday. The Southeast Asian country sent around 7,420 ground troops to help defend South Korea during the 1950-53 conflict, with the first batch arriving at a port in the southern city of Busan on Sept. 19, 1950, according to government data. It was the third country in the world to send troops after the United States and Brit

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Thursday it has suspended two of its domestic plants as at least eight workers have been confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus. Kia halted the operations of two plants in Gwangmyeong, just south of Seoul, from late Wednesday and sent all of the 6,000 plant workers home, a company spokesman said over the phone. "As of 3:30 p.m., nine assembly line workers were confirmed to have been infected with the virus," he sai

South Korean small drug firm Bioneer Corp. said Thursday it has won approval from the local drug safety watchdog to conduct a clinical trial of multi-diagnostic kits that can detect both the novel coronavirus and seasonal influenza. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has given the green light to the two kits that can simultaneously check for the COVID-19 virus and both type A and B influenza infection, it said. As autumn is approaching, local pharmaceutical companies have joined the race to

South Korea and China on Thursday began to operate irregular flights to allow Korean residents in China who returned here due to the coronavirus outbreak to go back, the transport ministry said. Korean Air Lines Co. and Xiamen Airlines will offer a total of seven flights from Incheon, west of Seoul, to Qingdao, Zhengzhou and Xiamen from Thursday until Oct. 15, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. All passengers are required to submit the results of a coronavirus te

SEJONG -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Thursday asked the National Assembly to approve a fourth supplementary budget by early next week, in order to give emergency handouts to small merchants ahead of the Chuseok holiday season. The ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition People Power Party reached an agreement earlier this week to vote on the fourth extra budget bill this coming Tuesday. That day is a potential deadline for the government to provide relief handouts to small mercha

North Korean state media on Thursday highlighted party officials' efforts to help with recovery efforts in eastern regions hit by recent back-to-back typhoons. The Korean Central News Agency said that members of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party and their families "sincerely" aided the people in the typhoon-hit areas in the North and South Hamgyong provinces. Trains and buses loaded with necessities, food and reconstruction materials arrived in the regions, and they were

South Korea reported an uptick in daily new infections of the novel coronavirus Thursday due to sporadic cluster outbreaks and untraceable cases. The country added 153 more COVID-19 cases, including 145 local infections, raising the total caseload to 22,657, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure marks a sharp rise from 113 cases reported Wednesday, 106 cases Tuesday and 109 cases Monday. It is the highest daily tally since Friday, when the country ide

South Korean retail investors have poured nearly 100 trillion won ($85.2 billion) into domestic and overseas stocks this year amid ample liquidity and low interest rates, data showed Thursday. Individual investors' net buying of shares traded on the country's main KOSPI and secondary KOSDAQ markets came to 55.9 trillion won as of Wednesday this year, according to the data from the Korea Exchange. Investor deposits at brokerage houses for stock investment stood at 56.7 trillion won as of Tuesd

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on Wednesday reiterated the need to build a collective security alliance in the Indo-Pacific region, insisting his country must focus more on multilateral cooperation than one-on-one alliances. Speaking in a seminar organized by US think tank RAND Corporation, the US defense chief said the country's bilateral alliances with countries in the Indo-Pacific, including South Korea, provide a valuable, cost-free asset to deter conflict with China or R

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, taking a cue from overnight losses on Wall Street that stemmed from tech valuation concerns. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 11.69 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,424.23 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Despite the US Federal Reserve's signal to keep the near-zero rate till 2023, the local stock market remained bearish. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 1.25 percent to 11,050.47 points on Wednesday (New York time). The S&P 50

North Korea is continuing to develop its missile capabilities, defense minister nominee Gen. Suh Wook said Wednesday, vowing to sternly respond to any provocations.  Suh made the remark in an opening speech during a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly amid speculation that the North could showcase a new strategic weapon at the 75th founding anniversary of its ruling party on Oct. 10.  "North Korea is focusing on preparations for the 75th party founding anniversary e

South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent a letter congratulating new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday, in which he made clear that Seoul is ready to hold dialogue with Tokyo anytime.  Moon is looking forward to a positive response from Suga, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok.   In the letter, Moon suggested that they make joint efforts for the development of relations between the neighboring countries, Kang added.  The president is &q

South Korea's government will play a greater role in helping multicultural households overcome various difficulties caused by the coronavirus outbreak, a Cabinet minister said at a forum on multiculturalism Wednesday. Minister of Gender Equality and Family Lee Jung-ok made the promise in her address delivered at the 2020 Multiculturalism Forum hosted by Yonhap News Agency, the nation's key newswire, at its headquarters in central Seoul. "As the COVID-19 outbreak has been prolonged, more

South Korean President Moon Jae-in had a meeting with former British Prime Minister Theresa May at Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday and expressed hope for the two nations to continue forward-looking bilateral cooperation. He noted that Britain is a "core partner" that shares basic and universal values with South Korea, having dispatched many troops to help it fight against North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War. This year, in particular, marks the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of th

A South Korean civic group working for the rights of elderly victims of wartime sexual slavery on Wednesday urged Japan's newly elected Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to officially apologize over the issue. "The road to peace and mutual prosperity of South Korea and Japan can be paved when (the Japanese government) confronts the comfort women issue with sincerity," Lee Na-young, the head of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Jap

A North Korean propaganda outlet on Wednesday blasted South Korea over a plan to increase its national defense budget for next year, saying "those enjoying fire would end up being killed by the fire." South Korea's defense ministry recently asked for 52.9 trillion won ($62.2 billion) in its budget plan for 2021, a 5.5 percent hike from its spending for this year. "(The South Korean government) is pouring more taxpayers' money in building up its armed forces and playing fire of