South Korea's top diplomat said Tuesday that the US is dealing with the case of an American who passed away after a 17-month-long detention in North Korea as a "humanitarian matter," explaining that Washington hasn't changed its policy towards Pyongyang over the incident."The US too is dealing with the incident as a humanitarian matter and its my understanding that it isn't a North Korea policy change (by Washington)," Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told reporters at the National Assembly after

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. The won fell against the dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 13.73 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,355.50. On Tuesday (local time), the Dow Jones industrial average moved down 0.29 percent to end at 21,467.14, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also declined 0.82 percent to 6,188.03.Analysts expected the addition of China blue-chip stocks to MSCI's emerging markets index from next year

South Korea's parliament failed Tuesday to convene its committee sessions to arrange confirmation hearings for three minister nominees amid a political standoff over President Moon Jae-in's personnel choices.The main opposition Liberty Korea Party and its splinter Bareun Party boycotted the sessions for the second day, causing delays in the confirmation procedures for Moon's picks for the education, defense and unification ministers. The main building of the National Assembly in on June 19, 2017

A group of South Korean scientists said Tuesday they have discovered a novel way to get the human body to attack terminal and metastatic cancer growths, opening up new treatment opportunities for patients. All humans have a subset of immune cells called natural killer cells that have the ability to select and attack tumor growths. However, such NK cells do not properly function in terminal and metastatic cancer patients because antigens called MHC class I, which can help the body's defensive sys

An opposition lawmaker involved in an alleged biased opinion poll during the latest presidential election was cleared of illegal electioneering Tuesday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office acquitted Rep. Yeom Dong-yeol of the conservative Liberty Korea Party, citing a lack of evidence.  Yeom Dong-yeol, secretary-general of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, makes a speech at an event in the National Assembly on June 12, 2017. (Yonhap)In April, the National Election Commission fi

Nearly half of South Korean workers pay no income tax, a report said Tuesday, amid heated debates on a tax hike to secure funds for President Moon Jae-in's job creation pledges.Some 46.5 percent of 17 million wage earners in the country were exempted from paying income tax in 2015, according to the report by the state-run Korea Institute of Public Finance.The number has jumped from 32.2 percent in 2013 as the government changed its income tax deduction programs in 2014, which gave higher deducti

South Korea's new Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha plans to have a telephone conversation with US counterpart Rex Tillerson and express consolation over the death of an American student who was recently released from detention in North Korea, Seoul officials said Tuesday. "Currently, South Korea is adjusting with the US the schedule for a telephone conversation between Minister Kang and Secretary of State Tillerson," foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said in a press briefing.  South Korea

JEJU -- Geological experts from South Korea, China and Japan agreed Tuesday to conduct joint research on major faults of the counties to better estimate earthquake risks.  The agreement came during a meeting of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, the Geological Survey of Japan and the China Geological Survey on South Korea's largest island of Jeju. The Trilateral GeoSummit meeting brought together 80 experts and officials from the three Northeast Asian countries. Geological

The new vice unification minister on Tuesday reiterated South Korea's dual-track policy of pressure and dialogue toward North Korea.Chun Hae-sung made the remark at a time when North Korea has yet to respond to Seoul's offer that it would come to dialogue if Pyongyang suspends provocative acts."We will sternly respond to North Korea's provocations and fully implement international sanctions," Chun told reporters. "But we are also taking steps (toward engagement) cautiously as it is not desirable

BEIJING -- Senior officials from Seoul and Beijing agreed on Tuesday to have frequent and close communications on the controversial deployment of a US missile defense system in South Korea, Seoul's foreign ministry said. The agreement was reached during a high-level strategic dialogue in Beijing between Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam and his Chinese counterpart Zhang Yesui, according to the ministry."The two sides exchanged their views on the THAAD deployment issue and shared the need to mai

Police will ban anti-American protesters from surrounding the US Embassy in downtown Seoul during their rally planned this weekend against a US-led deployment of an anti-missile system, a local civic group said Tuesday.The group said it has been asked by police not to stage any protest rally against the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense deployment in the rear of the US government building.  A group of protesters urge the government to withdraw the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Ar

Opposition parties on Tuesday voiced concerns over President Moon Jae-in's pursuit of a policy shift away from nuclear energy, noting the need for public consensus and thorough preparations for the change.The main opposition Liberty Korea Party, People's Party and Bareun Party agreed to the idea of moving towards non-nuclear, clean and renewable energy, but warned that any half-baked policy could lead to a hefty rise in electricity bills and a potential energy shortage. Rep. Lee Hyun-jae, the po

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to showcase its Galaxy Note 8 phablet in New York in August, industry sources said Tuesday, which is set to compete with the next flagship by Apple Inc.According to the sources, the South Korean tech giant is currently considering unveiling its large mobile device in the third or fourth week of August.(Yonhap)While the company earlier planned to introduce the new phablet at the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin held in September, industry watchers said the

South Korea's current account surplus dropped slightly in 2016 from a year earlier due mainly to decreased exports, data by the central bank showed Tuesday.The current account surplus came to $98.68 billion in 2016, compared with $105.94 billion a year earlier, according to preliminary estimates released by the Bank of Korea.By country, South Korea's current account surplus with the United States fell to $31.15 billion in 2016 from $33.03 billion a year earlier. The 2016 figure marked the lowest

North Korea has not responded to South Korea's demand to check the safety of its six nationals detained in the North, a government officials said Tuesday.The government has sought to grasp the security of the detained South Koreans through cooperation with European countries which have diplomatic ties with Pyongyang and international organizations, but Pyongyang has not responded to Seoul's call, according to the Ministry of Unification. (Yonhap)"The first thing that the government will do after

A Seoul court will decide as early as late Tuesday whether to issue an arrest warrant for the daughter of former President Park Geun-hye's longtime friend at the center of a massive corruption scandal that removed Park from office.The Seoul Central District Court said it began a hearing on Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of Choi Soon-sil, to decide on the issuance of a writ in relation to her suspected involvement in an influence-peddling scandal for which her mother and Park are standing trial.Chung

UIJEONGBU -- A top US military commander in South Korea said he can't overemphasize the need for more combined exercises between the two countries, citing the seriousness of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction threats."I am never satisfied. I want to do more training." said Maj. Gen. Theodore D. Martin, the commanding general of the 2nd Infantry Division. "I want all training to be combined just like we got a saying, 'Train like you fight.' We want to get to very high-level live-fire exerc

Two US long-range strategic bombers will train with South Korea's fighter jets over the peninsula later Tuesday as part of a regular combined exercise, defense officials said."Our Air Force plans to hold a joint drill with two B-1Bs in the sky of the Korean Peninsula today," Lt. Col. Kim Sung-duk, a public relations officer of the South Korean Air Force, told reporters.The B-1B Lancers are scheduled to fly over Korea for a few hours along with two F-15K fighter jets, he added.(Yonhap)He pointed

South Korean President Moon Jae-in deplored North Korea's human rights violations Tuesday, expressing condolences to the family of a US student who died following 17 months of captivity in the communist North."President Moon Jae-in expressed regrets after hearing the news of (Otto) Warmbier's death, and the president plans to send his condolences and consolation to his family and relatives," Park Soo-hyun, spokesman for the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, told a press briefing.Park Soo-hyun,

South Korea's premature birthrate has nearly doubled in the past 16 years, a survey showed Tuesday, with a growing number of women getting married late and experiencing difficulties having babies.The rate of premature delivery within less than 37 weeks of pregnancy rose to 6.44 percent between 2013 and 2014 from 3.31 percent between 1997 and 1998, according to the research of 2.1 million birth registrations filed with Statistics Korea done by professor Im Dal-oh of Kongju National University and