The South Korean stock market has emerged as the best performer in the world over the past month on the back of strong foreign buying, data showed Tuesday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,286.02 Friday, up 7.4 percent from a month earlier and the highest rise among bourses in major advanced and emerging markets, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Center for International Finance. Japan's Nikkei 225 came next with a 7.2 percent increase over the c

South Korea's state-run cybersecurity agency said Tuesday 11 companies have been struck by the crippling ransomware "WannaCry" so far, which has been emerging as one of the biggest threats to global cybersecurity.Ransomware refers to malware that locks up files on a computer with encryption until the victims pay a certain amount of money to hackers. The latest instance of ransomware, called WannaCry, first surfaced last week, damaging some 200,000 computers in 150 countries around the globe. (Yo

Hyundai Mobis Co., an auto parts affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, said Tuesday it will open its first domestic proving ground starting in June to test auto parts and related technologies. The country's biggest auto parts maker by sales invested about 300 billion won ($268 million) in the past 2 1/2 years to build the facility, a company spokesman said.  Hyundai Mobis' proving ground in Seosan, 151 kilometers south of Seoul (Seonsan provincial government)"We have built the proving ground in Seos

The number of South Koreans with high blood pressure topped the 7.5 million mark last year, data showed Tuesday, According to the data by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, a total of 7.52 million people either visited hospitals for hypertension or received medical aid for the condition in 2016, up 6.4 percent from 7.07 million tallied in 2014. (Yonhap)Hypertension is diagnosed when blood pressure is persistently at or above the maximum 140 and minimum 90 millimeters of mercury

President Moon Jae-in is moving to hold a meeting with the floor leaders of four major political parties here, informed sources said Tuesday.The meeting, however, has not yet been set as most of the parties, including the ruling Democratic Party, were in the process of electing new floor leaders in a post-election shake-up. President Moon Jae-in (Yonhap)"Nothing has been decided," Kwun Hyuk-ki, a spokesman for the presidential office, told reporters.The meeting, if held, will be the first of its

Trade between North Korea and Russia soared more than 85 percent in the first quarter of the year on-year owing largely to Russia's export increase despite the UN trade ban against the North's nuclear and missile provocations, a US broadcaster said Tuesday. The bilateral trade recorded $31.83 million between during the January-March period, up 85.3 percent from a year before, Voice of America said, citing data from Russian federal customs authorities. (Yonhap)Russia shipped a total of $31 millio

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday, buoyed by bullish tech large caps, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 13.38 points, or 0.58 percent, to trade at 2,304.03 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics gained more than 1 percent, with chipmaker SK hynix advancing nearly 2 percent. Brokerage firms also gathered ground, led by an around 2 percent gain by Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities. On the other hand, domesti

The number of foreigners residing in South Korea has been rising at a fast clip over the past decade, with their tax payments rising more than fourfold, government data showed Tuesday.Foreign residents in the country numbered 1.89 million in 2015, 2.5 times the 747,000 recorded 10 years earlier, according to the data by the Justice Ministry. The figure accounted for 3.7 percent of South Korea's population of 51.43 million as of end-2015. This undated file photo shows a foreigner working at a Sou

Retired golf legend Pak Se-ri will soon begin her new career as a television commentator.SBS Golf, a local golf-only cable channel, said Tuesday that Pak will make her first appearance of the season on June 15 in the first round of the Kia Motors Korea Women's Open Golf Championship, a major tournament on the Korea LPGA Tour.Former LPGA Tour star Pak Se-ri smiles during a corporate event in Seoul on April 28, 2017. (Yonhap)An official with SBS Golf said Pak will handle several other KLPGA tourna

ISTANBUL -- Former South Korean short track speed skater Kim Hye-kyung has been named the head coach of the Turkish national team, officials in Istanbul said Tuesday.The Turkish Ice Skating Federation said Kim has recently signed on to take over its national team, and will start training with the athletes on June 1. In this photo captured on the website of the Turkish Ice Skating Federation, former South Korean national team short track speed skater Kim Hye-kyung (fourth from L) stands among Tur

Senior White House officials were set to hold talks with their South Korean counterparts in Seoul on Tuesday on a possible summit between their leaders and ways to deal with communist North Korea.The US delegation, led by National Security Council director for East Asia Matt Pottinger, was scheduled to meet with Chung Eui-yong, a former ambassador to Geneva who leads a foreign affairs and security advisory group for South Korean President Moon Jae-in.National Security Council director for East A

WASHINGTON -- A US senator called Monday for stronger sanctions on North Korea as well as Chinese firms assisting with Pyongyang's nuclear missile programs after the communist nation successfully test-fired a new missile over the weekend.Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) said that the missile test "appears to be one of its most advanced yet and proves that a policy of maximum pressure that fully enforces all sanctions against the regime is the only way to bring (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un to his se

WASHINGTON -- The US THAAD missile defense battery recently installed in South Korea is now capable of intercepting North Korean missiles, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday, amid heightened tensions in the wake of Pyongyang's latest missile test."This system has the ability to defeat North Korean missiles and clearly ... North Korean missiles are a threat to the region and very destabilizing," Capt. Jeff Davis said during a briefing at the Foreign Press Center. (Yonhap)"We recently completed the

NEW YORK -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday condemned North Korea's latest missile launch and urged Pyongyang to move toward denuclearization."The secretary-general condemns the launch of another ballistic missile by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (Yonhap)"This action is in violation of Security Council resolutions and a threat to peace and security in the region. The secretary-g

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump's "disruptive" approach to North Korea could prove to be good for resolving the problem that has defied conventional solutions for decades, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said."The disruptive nature, the tough talk on North Korea, the military deployments, sending the missile defense system to South Korea, I think these are all good things to have done. And I think he's gotten China's attention to a degree that his predecessors have not, that this i

WASHINGTON -- The United States urged North Korea to stop destabilizing actions and rhetoric and called for tighter sanctions on Pyongyang after the communist nation successfully carried out a new missile test and threatened that the US mainland is within its striking range.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made the threat after overseeing Sunday's test of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, saying the "US should not to disregard or misjudge the reality that its mainland and Pacific operat

The only North Korean restaurant in Malaysia has recently closed in the wake of the shocking murder of the leader's brother in March and toughened international sanctions over its weapons programs, sources said Monday. The North has withdrawn its workers from the restaurant located in Kuala Lumpur and the closure has to do with a drop in customers and revenue, the sources told Yonhap News Agency. It is one of around 10 North Korean restaurants in Southeast Asia, which are known as sources of har

The defense ministers of South Korea and Japan agreed Monday to stay firmly united against North Korea's missile threats.Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his Japanese counterpart Tomomi Inada reaffirmed the commitment in their 20-minute phone talks, a day after the communist neighbor's ballistic missile test.Defense Minister Han Min-koo (Yonhap)The North claimed it was successful, reminding the world of the seriousness of its weapons of mass destruction program.The ministers exchanged views on t

North Korea's latest intermediate-range ballistic missile test will likely limit the maneuvering room of President Moon Jae-in seeking dialogue with Pyongyang, instead setting the stage for Washington to employ tougher sanctions, experts said Monday.North Korea said that it successfully fired a new ground-to-ground missile, called the Hwasong-12, on Sunday which can carry a "large-size heavy nuclear warhead," claiming that the US mainland is within its striking range.The provocation came just fo

PAJU -- FC Barcelona's two South Korean prospects said Monday they want to stay in the FIFA U-20 World Cup a long time to impress football fans. Lee Seung-woo and Paik Seung-ho are two of the 21 players who are selected for South Korea's squad for the U-20 World Cup, which will be staged in six local cities from Saturday. The young Taeguk Warriors are in Group A with Guinea, Argentina and England. In the U-20 World Cup, 24 teams have been divided into six groups of four and the top two teams fro