North Korea said Thursday that no one can deter Pyongyang from bolstering its nuclear force, claiming that the United States' talk of its intent not to seek a regime change in the North is a sheer deceptive scheme.Rex Tillerson, the top US diplomat, said last week that Washington wants North Korea to trust its promise of no hostility and to not conduct any more nuclear or missile tests before Washington can consider opening talks with the communist nation. (Yonhap)The Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Co

The number of subscribers to the fifth-generation network  services may reach 400 million by 2022, a report showed Thursday, a development that can change the landscape of the global telecommunication industry.According to the report released by industry tracker Ovum, the 5G network services are anticipated to hit the market in 2019, and gradually expand around the globe to reach 45 countries and 120 mobile carriers by end-2021.(Yonhap)The 5G network technology allows data transmission speed tha

Seven foreign carmakers have been ordered to recall more than 40,000 vehicles in South Korea for faulty parts, the transport ministry said Thursday. This is the latest in a series of recall orders issued by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport against both domestic and foreign carmakers.  (Yonhap)The carmakers plan to recall 28 different models totaling 40,222 units. These include Toyota Motor Corp.'s Sienna van and its luxury brand Lexus EX350 sedan, Ford Motor Co.'s Focus sedan a

INCHEON -- President Moon Jae-in's nominee for the country's top diplomat said Thursday that humanitarian aid to the North should be provided regardless of political considerations.Kang Kyung-wha, recently tapped to lead the foreign ministry, still emphasized that it is necessary to seek "more powerful" sanctions against North Korea in case the regime carries out additional provocations."It is a universal value to provide humanitarian aid to where human beings are suffering. It is also the princ

A key figure in a political corruption scandal that led to the ousting of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday dropped the appeal of her extradition case from Denmark to Seoul.Danish prosecutors confirmed on Twitter that Chung Yoo-ra will be extradited to South Korea after she dropped her appeal to the High Court of Western Denmark pertaining to her lower court ruling of extradition to Seoul.(Yonhap)Chung is accused of receiving inappropriate academic and financial favors bas

South Korean shares extended their winning streak to a fourth day to end at a fresh record high Wednesday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 5.66 points, or 0.24 percent, to reach an all-time high of 2,317.34. Trade volume was slim at 380.45 million shares worth 5.35 trillion won ($4.8 billion), with advancers outnumbering losers 483 to 323.Institutions bought a net 75.1

Tottenham Hotspur players said Wednesday they were excited to see how popular their teammate Son Heung-min is in his homeland as they met with South Korean fans.Kyle Walker, Kevin Wimmer and Ben Davies arrived in South Korea with Son on Tuesday for fan events organized by Tottenham's main sponsor AIA. In Seoul, they had a football clinic with patients from Seoul Rehabilitation Center for Cerebral Palsied, before meeting with students at Paiwha Girls' High School to promote football.Son Heung-min

South Korea's health ministry said Wednesday it will suspend providing benefits for nine variations of two drug types manufactured by the local unit of Novartis after the Swiss pharmaceutical giant was found to have been engaged in illegal kickbacks.For six months starting in August, local customers will have to pay the full price of the nine Novartis items, including dementia drug Exelon, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said. The ministry provides a subsidy for prescription drugs to lower pa

Samsung Electronics Co. is the 10th most valuable brand in the world, up one notch from last year, with its archrival Apple Inc. standing at the top of the list, US-based business magazine Forbes said on Wednesday.Samsung's brand value was estimated at $38.2 billion this year. Apple maintained No. 1 in terms of brand value with an estimate of $170 billion, up 10 percent, the magazine said. (Yonhap)Google came in second at $101.8 billion, followed by Microsoft with $87 billion, Facebook with $73.

Chey Tae-won, the head of South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate SK, departed for Beijing on Wednesday, with the aim of meeting government and business leaders to help the group normalize operations in the world's second-largest economy.The trip comes as SK and other South Korean companies are facing difficulties operating in China due to diplomatic tensions between the Northeast Asian neighbors over the deployment of the US missile defense system here. SK Group head Chey Tae-won speaks to reporters a

A senior executive at Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday that the Samsung DeX, a desktop extension and other features for its high-end smartphone, the Galaxy S8, will play key roles in providing users with experiences beyond the boundaries of handsets.First showcased with the Galaxy S8 smartphone, the Samsung DeX, or Desktop Extension, allows users to utilize smartphones like a personal computer by connecting it to a monitor. (Yonhap)Samsung also unveiled Bixby, a voice support program power

The main corporate sponsor of an LPGA major championship announced Wednesday it will hold an open tryout for South Korean players this summer, with the winner earning an opportunity to compete with the best in women's golf.Evian, the French water brand and the title sponsor of the Evian Championship, said the two preliminary stroke-play rounds of the Evian Challenge will take place at 360°Country Club in Yeoju, some 100 kilometers south of Seoul, on June 26 and again on July 31. (Yonhap)The top

South Korea's small and medium-sized enterprises  rank near the bottom in their ability to recognize entrepreneurial opportunities and worry too much about failing, a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Wednesday.The report, "Small, Medium, Strong Trends in SME Performance and Business Conditions," looks at the policies of the 34 member states to identify those that stimulate SMEs and entrepreneurship. (Yonhap)SMEs account for 60 percent of total employment

South Korea and other major IT countries gathered in Tokyo on Wednesday to discuss the fifth-generation network ecosystem at an international event, Seoul's ICT ministry said.The Global 5G event, the third of its kind, brought together nearly 500 people from the five countries -- South Korea, Japan, the United States, China and the EU -- representing the government, academia and tech industry, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.  (Yonhap)The two-day event offers partic

The ratio of South Korea's short-term foreign debt to its foreign reserves hit the highest level in more than a year in the first quarter on increased foreign investment in local bonds, data showed Wednesday.The country's short-term external debt -- with a maturity of one year or less -- totaled $115.4 billion as of the end of March, up $10.2 billion from three months earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea. The end-March figure accounted for 28.4 percent of the country's total exter

NC Dinos' right-hander Lim Chang-min has been the steadiest closer in South Korean baseball this year, but don't bother asking him how he's getting it done.In 21 appearances, Lim has 14 saves to lead the Korea Baseball Organization. The 31-year-old also boasts a 1.17 ERA, second only to Kim Jae-yoon of the KT Wiz, who has yet to give up an earned run in 12 2/3 innings. In this file photo taken on March 31, 2017, Lim Chang-min (R), closer for the NC Dinos, high-fives his catcher Kim Tae-gun after

South Korean shares traded higher late Wednesday morning, set to close at a fresh record high, as individual buyers scooped up market heavyweights amid upward momentum, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 4.52 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,316.26 as of 11:20 a.m.Large caps on the Seoul bourse were largely mixed.Market behemoth Samsung Electronics remained unchanged after opening higher as investors tried to cash in recent gains. Its smaller rival LG Electronics, m

The government will release its egg and poultry stock early next month to stabilize prices soaring again, the agriculture ministry said Wednesday.Depending on price moves, up to 5 million eggs will be released for two weeks at a price 30 percent lower than the market, according to officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. For poultry meat, the government will put in 2,100 tons from May 31, an amount equal to one to two days of domestic consumption. The meat will be sold 5

LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it plans to officially launch its own mobile payment tool in South Korea next month that is comparable to Samsung Electronics Co.'s Samsung Pay.During the World IT Show 2017 exhibition currently under way in Seoul, the South Korean tech giant showcased LG Pay, which adopted the Wireless Magnetic Communication technology. Samsung Pay is equipped with the Magnetic Secure Transmission technology. (Yonhap)Both payment tools allow people to make payments by touching

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.28 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,321.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading.On Tuesday, US stocks rose to post a four-day winning streak.The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.21 percent, to 20,937.91 and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.08 percent, to 6,138.71.  Large caps on the Seoul bourse were mostly bullish, with tech and medical sha