The South Korean economy is on a modest recovery track, but its upward momentum may lose steam due to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, a state-run think tank said Wednesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is on a recovery track amid solid exports, but it also faces high economic uncertainty from the fast spread of the more contagious delta COVID-19 variant and spiking virus cases, according to a monthly economic assessment report by the Korea Development Institute (KDI). "Due to the surge i

North Korea appears to have begun a "tug of war" with the United States over its policy on Pyongyang while focusing on strengthening internal unity and economic development, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The assessment was made during a meeting of top military commanders, including Defense Minister Suh Wook and Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Won In-choul, which was meant to check the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and discuss the policy direction for the

President Moon Jae-in instructed the government Wednesday to step up efforts to speedily trace COVID-19 infections amid a sharp hike in confirmed cases. He called for the establishment of more temporary testing centers in areas with many residents or visitors and swift mobilization of military personnel, police officers and civil servants to that end, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. The president ordered "preemptive" steps to expand testing on people related t

The combined amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges made to Asia's No. 4 economy shot up 71.5 percent on-year in the first half of 2021, data showed Wednesday, amid growing hopes of a post-pandemic economic recovery. Foreigners pledged to make a combined investment of $13 billion over the January-June period, compared with $76.6 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The investment that arrived here rose 57.3 percent over the period t

The South Korean Olympic baseball team will hold its first practice on July 20 in the nation's capital, nine days before launching its gold medal defense. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Wednesday the training schedule for the national team ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. The KBO's pro league will go on an Olympic break from July 19 to Aug. 9, and the Olympic team, comprised entirely of KBO stars, will gather at a Seoul hotel on July 19. The first practice will be July 20 at Goche

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Wednesday the country plans to expand child care services in a bid to encourage more women to continue to work amid the chronically low birthrate. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the plan is aimed at better tackling the country's demographic challenges from the low birthrate and rapid aging. "A decline in labor supply, a jump in welfare costs for senior citizens and regional imbalances will have significant economic and social impacts on the c

A total of 700,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine by Pfizer Inc. under an exchange deal with Israel arrived in South Korea on Wednesday. The expiring COVID-19 vaccines, enough for 350,000 people, arrived at Incheon International Airport, the country's main gateway, earlier in the day. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the country will return the same number of Pfizer vaccine doses from a future order to Israel later, possibly between September and November. The COV

Dozens of newly enlisted soldiers at an Army boot camp have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Wednesday, amid fears of a fourth wave of infections across the country. After one conscript at the Korea Army Training Center in the central city of Nonsan was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19, 35 others who had contact with him were also found to be infected, according to the ministry. Virus tests are under way on 400 others to confirm any additional cases. The

Palme d'Or and Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho has opened this year's Cannes Film Festival, celebrating the return of world cinema in theaters in about two years. "I declare (the opening of the 74th festival)," the South Korean auteur said in Korean during the opening ceremony held at the Grand Theatre Lumiere on Tuesday (local time). Along with him, American director-actress Jodie Foster, Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar and Cannes jury president Spike Lee made the same statements in Fre

Genesis, the independent luxury brand of Hyundai Motor Co., said Wednesday it launched the electrified G80 midsize sedan in South Korea, debuting its first electric model. The luxury electric sedan looks similar to the G80, but an electric socket in the front grille gives it a distinct identity as an EV. The G80 EV packs an 87.2 kilowatt-hour battery and can travel up to 427 kilometers on a single charge, Genesis said. The sedan, only available with all-wheel drive, is capable of producing

They have been friends for 14 years and have won world junior titles together. And finally, South Korean badminton stars Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan will team up in the women's doubles at the Olympics this summer in Tokyo. Lee and Shin each competed at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics with different, older doubles partners. Lee and Chang Ye-na were knocked out of the quarterfinals, but Shin and Jung Kyung-eun grabbed bronze. Lee and Shin won the women's doubles titles at the world junior ch

South Korea's daily new virus cases spiked by the most since late December on Wednesday, fanning fears of a fourth wave of outbreaks over the summer. Health authorities decided to extend current distancing curbs in the greater Seoul area for one week but warned of further tougher measures unless the current situation is brought under control. The country reported 1,212 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,168 local infections, raising the total caseload to 162,753, the Korea Disease Control and Pr

South Korea on Wednesday recorded over 1,200 new daily COVID-19 cases, marking the second-highest tally since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country and raising concerns of the potential emergence of a fourth pandemic wave, the government announced. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum during a daily interagency meeting on the nation's coronavirus response. Kim also said that the government's current distancing rules will be extended for an additional week. Wednesday's

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday as a surge in new coronavirus cases weighed down investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 14.92 points, or 0.45 percent, to trade at 3,290.29 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. South Korean stocks got off to a weak start after health authorities said the daily virus caseload topped 1,200 to reach a record high for this year. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics, which earlier estimated better-than-expecte

Defense Minister Suh Wook said Wednesday he feels "terribly ashamed and regret" over recent sexual harassment allegations raised against a one-star general despite the military's ongoing efforts to root out sex crimes following the suicide of an Air Force abuse victim. The defense chief made the remark during a biannual meeting with top commanders to discuss the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and other defense issues, vowing to hand down a stern punishment to the accused b

Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday expected market estimate-beating second-quarter earnings as its semiconductor business apparently offset a tepid performance from its mobile business. In its earnings guidance, the South Korean tech giant estimated its operating profit at 12.5 trillion won ($11 billion) for the April-June period, up 53.4 percent from a year ago. Its second-quarter operating income estimate beat the market consensus of 11.2 trillion won in a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the fi

Supergroup BTS rewrote its chart record on Wednesday as its upbeat summer number "Butter" retained the top spot on Billboard's main singles chart for the sixth consecutive week. ""Butter" is officially No. 1 on this week's #Hot100 chart for a sixth consecutive week," Billboard said Tuesday (US time) on its Twitter account. "'Butter' drew 11 million US streams and sold 153,600 downloads, cassette and vinyl combined (up 20 percent) in the week ending July 1. It

South Korea's current account surplus sharply widened in May as exports maintained strong growth and companies received dividends from overseas affiliates, central bank data showed Wednesday. The current account surplus reached $10.97 billion in May, widening from a surplus of $1.91 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. Since the country logged a deficit of $3.33 billion in April last year, the large

WASHINGTON -- Sung Kim, Special US representative for North Korea, held phone talks with his Chinese counterpart on Tuesday, the State Department said. The call between Kim and China's Liu Xiaoming apparently marks the first of its kind since Kim was named the special envoy in May. "I can confirm that a call took place," a department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency without elaborating. Department spokesman Ned Price later highlighted an important role China can play in addressi

PAJU -- When it comes to competing at international tournaments, South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in doesn't speak in general terms -- about doing his best and letting the result take care of itself, or things of that nature. When the 20-year-old puts on the national team jersey, he only wants to win the biggest prize available. For the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, that means bringing home the gold medal. "It's not just me; I believe everyone who enters a tournament as big as the Olympics wil