South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan has picked up his second victory in his world championships tune-up.Park captured the 200m freestyle title at the Sette Colli Trophy at Stadio del Nuoto in Rome on Saturday (local time), with a time of 1:46.89.Nicholas Grainger of Britain was in second place with 1:48.30, followed by another British swimmer, Duncan Scott.South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan speaks at a press conference in Seoul on June 16, 2017. (Yonhap)Park is gearing up for the FINA World Aquat

Sport utility vehicles accounted for four out of 10 new cars sold in South Korea in May, official data showed Sunday.According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association crossovers accounted for 40.28 percent or 53,206 of the 132,038 vehicles registered in the country during the one-month period. The numbers reflects both SUVs and other recreational vehicles.The rise in SUVs is noteworthy since in 2011, they made up 19 percent of all new cars hitting the streets. This number shot up to 35

Samsung Electronics Co. gained the No. 2 spot in the global wearable market in the first quarter of this year by overtaking Fitbit for the first time, on the back of the success of its Gear S3 smartwatch, data showed Sunday. According to the data compiled by Strategy Analytics, Samsung captured 12.8 percent of the global market share in terms of sales during the January-March period, overtaking Fitbit with 12.2 percent. Apple maintained its No. 1 status with a commanding 53-percent market share.

Total value of imported vehicles dropped 10.9 percent in the first five months of this year mainly due to weak demand for diesel cars, local trade data showed Sunday.According to the Korea International Trade Association, Asia's fourth-largest economy imported $3.89 billion worth of foreign passenger and commercial vehicles by the end of May. Sales of luxury German carmakers Mercedes-Benz, BMW and certain commercial vehicles increased compared to last year, but the drop in numbers for diesel car

MUJU -- The biennial world championships in taekwondo opened here on Saturday with early round action in the men's and women's lightest weight classes.T1 Arena inside Taekwondowon in Muju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul, will host the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships through Friday. The opening day of action featured preliminary rounds in the women's under-46kg and men's under-54kg.The semifinals and finals for these two classes are scheduled for Sunday.South Korean Presid

MUJU -- Two taekwondo stars from last year's Summer Olympics said Saturday they look forward to renewing their rivalry at the ongoing world championships in South Korea.Lee Dae-hoon of South Korea, the bronze medalist in the men's 68kg at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and Ahmad Abughaush of Jordan, who beat Lee in the quarterfinals en route to winning the gold medal, will be on a collision course to meet in the final at the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships. Ahmad Abughaush

MUJU -- The South Korean leader of global taekwondo said Saturday he was hopeful the two Koreas would continue to engage in exchange programs following their historic meeting here.Choue Chung-won, president of the World Taekwondo Federation, has welcomed a delegation from the North Korea-led International Taekwondo Federation to the WTF World Taekwondo Championships. A demonstration team from the ITF, made up of 12 North Koreans, will have a performance during the competition's opening ceremony

South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan has claimed an encouraging victory in a tune-up meet for next month's world championships.Park won the 400m freestyle title at the Sette Colli Trophy at Stadio del Nuoto in Rome on Friday (local time), with a time of 3:44.54.This is the fifth-best 400m freestyle time of 2017. Park also owns the fourth-fastest time in the distance this year with 3:44.38. South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan listens to a question during a press conference in Seoul on June 16, 2017.

MUJU -- Taekwondo's top athletes said Saturday they welcome new scoring rules designed to make their sport more exciting and spectator-friendly.The World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships started its seven-day run earlier in the day at Taekwondowon in Muju, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul. This is also the first world championships since the WTF adopted a series of rule changes at its General Assembly in November. Athletes and officials participating in the World Taekwondo F

A South Korean business delegation made up of top executives will travel to Washington this week as local companies take steps to respond proactively to alleviate the growing trade pressure exerted by the Donald Trump administration, a corporate lobbying group said Sunday.More than 50 business leaders from Samsung Electronics Co., Hyundai Motor and other South Korean firms are set to accompany President Moon Jae-in on his trip to US, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said. The high prof

The leaders of South Korea and the United States are expected to face a tough task of coordinating what appears to be their differences in dealing with North Korea when they meet in Washington this week, experts said Sunday. North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats are seen to top the agenda for the summit between Presidents Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump to be held on Thursday and Friday (US time).Moon proclaimed the dual-track approach of denuclearizing North Korea and pursuing dialogue

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is set to meet his US counterpart Donald Trump this week with the meeting expected to set the tone for the future of the alliance amid escalating North Korean threats and growing geopolitical uncertainties. The new South Korean president will hold the two-day talks in Washington on Thursday and Friday (US time). He will head for the United States on Wednesday for his first-ever summit with a foreign leader.  This composite image shows South Korean President Moo

The deepening controversy over the now suspended deployment of an advanced US missile defense system in South Korea will likely be one of the major issues to be discussed between their leaders when they meet in Washington later this month, experts said Sunday.South Korean President Moon Jae-in is to meet with his US counterpart Donald Trump on Thursday and Friday (local time) in their first face-to-face talk since they both took office. (Yonhap)The summit takes place amid growing worries that th

South Korea extended condolences over deaths from a deadly landslide in China's Mao County which buried more than 120 people on Saturday.The landslide stemming from a mountain swooped on and buried the casualties in a village in Mao County of Sichuan province early Saturday morning. Some of them were reportedly found dead."The government expresses deep consolation and condolences to the Chinese government and people over the casualties and property damage caused by the landslide in Mao County, S

Thousands of South Koreans staged a protest rally in central Seoul on Saturday demanding the withdrawal of the deployment of an American high-tech anti-missile defense system as President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart Donald Trump are set to meet in Washington D.C. next week."The deployment of THAAD, which is unnecessary for the defense of the Korean Peninsula, should be pulled back," the protesters said in a rally held in Seoul Plaza at the heart of Seoul. The rally's organizer put the num

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Saturday invited North Korea to the Winter Olympic Games to be held in the country early next year, while welcoming a North Korean delegation to the World Taekwondo Championships."I believe in the strength of sports that has been establishing peace. I am glad to see the first sports exchange of the South and the North under the new (South Korean) government take place at this event," Moon said in his congratulatory speech marking the opening of the event hos

South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae expressed dismay Saturday over what it called "false" reports by a Japanese newspaper that suggested a possible crack in the South Korea-US alliance.The rare rejection by Cheong Wa Dae came after Japan's Asahi Shimbun reported that the US has urged South Korea to allow complete deployment of the THAAD US missile defense system here before the year's end. Yoon Young-chan, chief presidential press secretary, speaks during a press briefing at the pres

Nearly 80 percent of South Koreans support a resumption of long-suspended inter-Korean dialogue, a survey by a presidential advisory panel showed Thursday, indicating strong backing for the policy line of new President Moon Jae-in.In the survey by the National Unification Advisory Council, 76.9 percent of respondents said South Korea should restore dialogue channels with North Korea as part of efforts to play a leading role in the resolution of the North Korean nuclear problem. Of the rest, 22 p

South Korea's parliament on Thursday passed a resolution calling for the reunions of families separated across the inter-Korean border in time for Liberation Day in August.The reunions of families, mostly divided since the 1950-53 Korean War, have not been held since October 2015 amid heightened tensions caused by Pyongyang's unceasing provocations, including two nuclear tests last year. Lawmakers attend a parliamentary plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 22, 2017. (Yonhap)

South Korea said Thursday it has completed a yearslong project to acquire the depot maintenance capability for the nation's advanced FA-50 light combat fighter jet.It will enable the military to save around 450 billion won ($390 million) in costs for the operation and maintenance of the fleet over the next 30 years, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. A FA-50 light combat jet conducts a bombing exercise in this photo provided by the Defense Acquisition Program Administra