South Korean President Moon Jae-in launched a strong warning against North Korea Thursday, saying the communist state will only get further isolation and international sanctions from its missile provocations.The remarks came hours after the North fired what appeared to be surface-to-ship cruise missiles from its east coast.The short-range missiles apparently posed no immediate threat to South Korean and US forces here, but they marked the North's fifth missile or rocket launch since the Moon Jae

South Korean stocks closed slightly higher Thursday after trading nearly flat throughout the session as investors took to the sidelines amid a series of global events, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index inched up 3.43 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,363.57. Trade volume was moderate at 402 million shares worth 8.1 trillion won ($7.21 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 441 to 366.Analysts said Seoul shares traded nearly f

South Korea's population of baptized Catholics reached about 5.6 million, the world's 43rd largest, in 2015, the local church said Thursday.According to the official statistics released by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea based on the 2017 Vatican yearbook, 5.592 million South Koreans were baptized Catholics as of the end of 2015. The figure was about 1 percent up from 5.5 million in the previous year. (Yonhap)The population rose steadily from 5.22 million in 2011 to 5.31 million in 201

KT&G Corp. said Thursday it will soon release heat-not-burn cigarettes amid the growing popularity of the smoke-free tobacco despite concerns of the emissions of toxic substances similar to those of conventional cigarettes.The largest tobacco manufacturer in South Korea will begin marketing the new product in September, a KT&G official said, noting Phillip Morris Korea began selling iQOS on May 27.  (Yonhap)"We are witnessing the growing popularity of iQOS, although it's not been so long since i

International sanctions have led to growing regional inequality in North Korea, as limited resources are concentrated in Pyongyang by markets, a report showed Thursday. The sanctions regime may have sped up the redistribution of increasingly scarce resources through the internal market system, according to the report by South Korea's Institute for National Security Strategy and Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University. (Yonhap)"There is considerable evidence that sanctions have increa

South Korean and Japanese parliamentary leaders on Thursday called for the two countries' closer cooperation against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. South Korean National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun and leaders of the Japanese Diet discussed the urgency of resolving North Korea's missile and nuclear issue, according to assembly spokesman Kim Young-soo. The meetings were held hours after the communist nation fired anti-ship cruise missiles into the East Sea. South Korea's National

South Korea urged North Korea to stop its hostile military action Thursday after the communist country shot off what appeared to be several anti-ship missiles."In the morning today, North Korea fired several suspected ground-to-ship cruise missile from near Wonsan toward the East Sea," Cho June-hyuck, spokesman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said. "(We) urge North Korea to immediately stop its aggressive military action." (Yonhap) The government is watching closely for the possibility of No

South Korea, Japan and China agreed Thursday to strengthen cooperation for environmental protection and scientific research in the Arctic, the foreign ministry said."Climate change is affecting the vulnerable Arctic ecosystems, the livelihoods of local inhabitants and indigenous communities on a global scale, while the melting of ice brings new opportunities, such as natural resources and marine fisheries, in the Arctic, as well as the opening of sea routes," the three countries said in a joint

South Korea has signed a multilateral treaty to participate in the international movement to prevent offshore tax erosion, the finance ministry here said Thursday.Ambassador Yoon Jong-won to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development inked the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting on Wednesday in Paris, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.As of Wednesday, 68 countries, including 33 OECD members, h

The South Korean economy has been on a modest recovery path thanks to brisk exports and investment despite a slight downturn in industrial output, a state-run think tank said Thursday."The Korean economy maintained a moderate improvement led by exports and investment demand, although industrial output growth moderated slightly," the Korea Development Institute said in its monthly evaluation of the country's economic conditions. Triggered by an upturn in global trade, Asia's fourth-larg

With only two games under his belt in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Samsung Lions rookie outfielder Kim Seong-yoon can already lay claim to a record, unflattering as it seems.At 163 centimeters, Kim, 18, is the shortest player in the league's 35-year history. Kia Tigers' shortstop Kim Sun-bin had been the shortest for nine years at 165 cm. Kim Seong-yoon of the Samsung Lions speaks to reporters at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul before a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game against t

South Korean stocks traded lower late Thursday morning with builders and retailers being major losers.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 9.68 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,350.46 as of 11:20 a.m.Construction shares continued to lose ground, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction falling 1.83 percent and Daewoo Engineering & Construction moving down 2.15 percent. Daelim Industrial shed 1.54 percent.Retailers also traded bearish, with top player E-Mart stepping down 2.59

South Korea's top two carmakers have won top marks from US industry tracker AutoPacific's consumer satisfaction survey, industry sources said Thursday.According to the tracker, Hyundai Motor Co.'s G90 flagship sedan received the top mark of 818 among luxury cars, beating other rivals, such as the Lincoln Continental and Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which earned 793 and 770, respectively. (Yonhap)Kia Motors Corp.'s K5, K7 and Sportage also won top awards in the mid-sized, large sedan and compact crosso

South Korea needs to export more services and consumer goods than intermediary products to China to keep up with the Beijing government's drive to boost domestic consumption, a report said Thursday.Intermediary goods accounted for 78.1 percent of South Korea's total exports to China in 2014, according to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance. The report feared any failure by South Korea to shift to consumer goods and services will eventually undermine the country's outbound sh

Kia Motors Corp.'s Stinger sports sedan has generated a strong response in South Korea since its launch last month, with initial orders exceeding 2,700 units. Kia, the country's second-biggest carmaker by sales after Hyundai Motor Co., has added the Stinger to its lineup to enhance its brand image and compete with high-performance models, such as the Audi A4 and BMW3 series, in global markets. "Given the strong response, we expect the Stinger to boost sales amid growing interest among consumers

SEONGNAM -- Shin Tae-yong, who coached South Korea at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, doesn't drink coffee these days because he just can't sleep well even without caffeine.South Korea were eliminated in the round of 16 at the U-20 World Cup at home after losing to Portugal 3-1 on May 30. Shin, who took over the U-20 side in December, still can't get the defeat out of his head.South Korea's under-20 national football team head coach Shin Tae-yong gives orders to the players during the FIFA U-20 World C

Air Busan, a South Korean budget carrier, on Thursday launched a new route connecting the country's southern city of Daegu to Tokyo, apparently in a bid to cope with the falling number of passengers from China.The daily passenger service will depart from Daegu at 8:40 a.m. every morning and arrive at Narita International Airport at 10:40 a.m. (Yonhap)Air Busan also expanded the number of flights connecting Daegu and Sapporo to five times a week from the previous three. The route connecting to Os

Five South Korean firms received government approval to carry out their voluntary corporate restructuring through fast-track legal and administrative procedures, the industry ministry said Thursday.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said a government panel chose five companies, including LG Siltron Inc., which manufactures wafers for semiconductors; ITC Co., a cable supplier; and Shin Pung Textile Co. to endorse their proposed restructuring efforts to boost competitiveness. (Yonhap)With

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Thursday as investors took a wait-and-see stance on global events, including the upcoming policy meeting of the European Central Bank.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 1.18 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,358.96 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares were among the winners, with Samsung Electronics rising 0.31 percent and LG Electronics advancing 0.94 percent. LG Display moved up 2.68 percent.Builders traded lower, with Hyundai Engi

The head coach of the reigning South Korean professional football champions will lead the All-Star squad in mid-season festivities, the league office said Thursday.The K League, operator of the national pro competitions, said Hwang Sun-hong, bench boss for FC Seoul, will coach the K League All-Stars against the Vietnamese national team in their match at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi on July 29. In this file photo taken on May 10, 2017, FC Seoul head coach Hwang Sun-hong awaits the start of t