North Korea said Tuesday that its latest attempt to launch a new rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite ended in failure due to the midair explosion of the rocket during the first-stage flight this week. The vice general director of the North's National Aerospace Technology Administration said the rocket carrying the satellite, the Malligyong-1-1, exploded after it lifted off from the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground on the country's northwest coast on Monday, according to

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday due to losses in tech shares, with investors also waiting for more hints on the future course of US key rates. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 4.82 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,718.17 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top tech giant Samsung Electronics lost 0.26 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gained 0.99 percent. Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution dropped 0.96 percent, and Samsung SDI fell 1.57 percent. Naver, which

The South Korean foreign ministry said Tuesday it revamped its units to bolster regional strategies and intelligence gathering, while downsizing the bureau handling North Korean nuclear issues, in a major shakeup amid the deadlock in nuclear talks with Pyongyang. In March, the ministry announced the reorganization plan centering on downsizing the bureau in charge of North Korean issues and revamping other units, citing the changing diplomatic and geopolitical landscape. Under the new structure,

South Korean business leaders, including Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong, will meet with the President of the United Arab Emirates in Seoul to explore cooperation in various economic and technological sectors, industry sources said Monday. According to the sources, Lee, along with Euisun Chung of Hyundai Motor Group and Chey Tae-won of SK Group, will have tea with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan somewhere in Seoul on Tuesday. Other business leaders, including Hanwha Grou

North Korea denounced South Korea on Monday for stating its commitment to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a joint declaration with Japan and China following their trilateral summit, casting it as a "mockery" of the region and the international community. The North's foreign ministry issued the statement hours after President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang held the trilateral summit in Seoul and reaffirmed their commitm

JINCHEON -- With the Paris Olympics two months away, the South Korean national fencing team said Monday its goal is to bring home multiple gold medals. South Korea has won at least one fencing gold medal at every Olympics since 2012, with one gold, one silver and three bronze medals in Tokyo three years ago. That lone gold came from the men's team sabre event, with Gu Bon-gil, Oh Sang-uk, Kim Jung-hwan and Kim Jun-ho coming through for South Korea's third straight Olympic gold in that

South Korean stocks jumped over 1 percent Monday to snap their four-day losing streak on bargain hunting amid dashed hopes for an early rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved up 35.59 points, or 1.32 percent, to close at 2,722.99. Trade volume was moderate at 546 million shares worth 15.6 trillion won ($11.4 billion), with losers slightly outpacing gainers 442 to 422. Foreigners sold a net 140 billion

South Korea's health ministry said Monday it plans to continue efforts to resolve the ongoing discord with doctors following the finalization of the university admission plan, which includes the controversial medical school quota hike, last week. The remark came after the Korean Council for University Education, an association of university presidents, approved an increase in next year's medical school admission quota last week despite strong protests from trainee doctors, finalizing t

South Korea is expected to maintain growth in exports for May amid robust performances in chips and automobiles, the trade minister said Monday. The remark came after exports expanded 13.8 percent year-on-year to $56.2 billion in April, the seventh consecutive monthly gain, driven by strong demand for semiconductors and vehicles. "Exports have been expanding across most regions, including the United States, China and the ASEAN bloc," Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo said during a governmen

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday as investors hunted for bargains after four consecutive sessions of losses through Friday amid dashed hopes for an early rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 11.09 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,698.69 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Chemical shares opened higher, with cosmetics giant AmorePacific rising 0.49 percent and SK Innovation adding 0.88 percent. Financial firms gained ground as well, with KB F

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discussed a recent row surrounding Naver Corp.'s Line app in their talks Sunday and agreed to closely communicate to prevent it from hampering bilateral ties, a senior presidential official said. The feud surrounds Japan's LY Corp., the operator of the popular Line messaging app in Japan, which is a 50-50 joint venture between South Korea's top portal Naver and Japan's SoftBank Corp. The Japanese government has

North Korea has notified Japan of a plan to launch a space rocket carrying a satellite between Monday and midnight of June 3, Kyodo News reported, citing Japan's coast guard. The notice on the eight-day window came as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are set to hold a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Monday, where evolving North Korean threats are likely to figure prominently. It designated three areas where debris will f

Leaders of South Korea, China and Japan were set to meet in Seoul on Monday for their first trilateral summit in over four years amid rising tension over North Korea's impending spy satellite launch. President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang will sit down for a trilateral summit, the ninth such meeting and the first since December 2019, following a hiatus due to COVID-19 and historical disputes among the Asian neighbors. The leaders are expe

Leaders of South Korea, China and Japan are set to meet on Sunday and Monday in Seoul for summit meetings, resuming their trilateral dialogue for the first time since 2019. President Yoon Suk Yeol will have back-to-back bilateral talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the presidential office later in the day and hold a trilateral session with the two leaders on Monday. It marks the first three-way summit among the Asian countries since December 2019, aft

Six South Korean nationals have been safely evacuated from New Caledonia amid recent riots in the country, the foreign ministry said Sunday. The ministry said six individuals left the French Pacific territory via airplane with assistance from the French government. "The South Korean government will continue to ensure the safety of its nationals in New Caledonia," the ministry said. New Caledonia is currently experiencing severe political unrest due to conflicts between pro-French suppo

The government plans to introduce measures to support medical schools as they prepare for an increased number of freshmen starting next year, medical sources said Sunday, amid concerns that the hike could compromise the quality of education. The government plans to announce comprehensive measures to assist universities based on their specific needs within the first half of the year, according to the sources. Last week, the Korean Council for University Education, an association of university pre

The two-lead single album "How Sweet" by popular girl group NewJeans sold over 800,000 on its release day, Hanteo Chart, a local market tracker, said Saturday. The album, dropped Friday, marks the girl group's first release in 10 months. The album carries the title track "How Sweet" and the prereleased song "Bubble Gum," along with instrumental versions of both songs. "How Sweet" was described as a bouncy hip-hop style song based on Miami bass, allowi

"Lost!," a new song by RM, the leader of K-pop superband BTS, has debuted atop iTunes Top Songs charts in 73 countries around the world, his agency said Saturday. The title song of his second solo album, titled "Right Place, Wrong Person," topped the iTunes charts in Italy, France, Japan and Mexico. On Friday, RM dropped his first solo album since "Indigo," his first official solo album, in December 2022. Including the main track, "Lost!," the album has a

South Korea has completed development of the homegrown Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile (L-SAM) system, the state arms procurement agency said Saturday, marking a major step in efforts to bolster the military's air defense capabilities. The L-SAM, which is designed to shoot down incoming targets at altitudes of 50-60 kilometers, was recently assessed as combat-suitable as it met the military's technical requirements, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

WASHINGTON -- US officials are bracing for North Korea to potentially take its "most provocative" military action in a decade ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election, possibly at the urging of Russian President Vladimir Putin, NBC News reported Friday. Citing six senior US officials, the broadcaster also said that the United States has contingency plans to respond in the event of Pyongyang taking aggressive action in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, or shelling South