Senior diplomats of South Korea and Germany have agreed to work closely to ensure a "united and firm" response against growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun shared the commitment with Thomas Bagger, the state secretary of Germany's Federal Foreign Office, during their bilateral talks in Berlin on Monday, the South Korean ministry said in a release. Kim is on a two-nation sw

Defense Dec. 3, 2024

South Korea's consumer prices increased at less than the central bank's 2 percent target for the third consecutive month in November, data showed Tuesday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 1.5 percent from a year earlier last month, following a 1.3 percent on-year increase in October, according to the data from Statistics Korea. September saw a 1.6 percent on-year increase. South Korea's consumer inflation has stayed below 3 percent since April and fell below the inf

Economy Dec. 3, 2024

A delegation of North Korean weather agency officials has left for Russia, the North's state media reported Tuesday, as Pyongyang and Moscow have been expanding cooperation in various fields. The delegation, led by Kim Jae-hyok, director of the State Hydro-Meteorological Administration, departed Pyongyang on Monday, the Korean Central News Agency said, without disclosing other details. The delegation plans to visit Moscow, St. Petersburg and Vladivostok as part of efforts to implement an ag

North Korea Dec. 3, 2024

South Korea's trade ministry said Tuesday it has settled 62 cases of non-tariff barriers this year, helping businesses maintain $9 billion worth of exports. The World Trade Organization members maintained 4,149 technical barriers to trade (TBT) as of November, up from 4,068 tallied in 2023, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy. TBTs, which include consumer safety standards and energy and environmental requirements, are often used as non-tariff restrictio

Economy Dec. 3, 2024

North Korea has decided to convene a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea late this month, state media reported Tuesday, amid anticipation as to what message the North will send toward US President-elect Donald Trump. The WPK's politburo decided Monday to hold the 11th plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the WPK in late December, according to the Korean Central News Agency. It did not specify the date for the meeting. The meeting will be held to "revie

North Korea Dec. 3, 2024

The United States on Monday announced a new semiconductor export control package against China, including curbs on high-end chips for artificial intelligence that are likely to affect the South Korean industry. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security unveiled the package on the Federal Register, including restrictions on exports of high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. Two South Korean firms -- Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix -- and Micron Technology lead the global HBM

Foreign Affairs Dec. 3, 2024

Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday, tracking gains in US tech stocks after Washington announced a new semiconductor export control package targeting China. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shot up 29.74 points, or 1.21 percent, to 2,484.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.97 percent, and the S&P increased 0.24 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.29 percent. Seoul shares gained ground as the latest US exp

Market Dec. 3, 2024

Unionized workers of South Korea's top steelmaker POSCO held a ceremony Monday to demonstrate their intention to launch their first-ever strike, officials said. Last week, 72.25 percent of its 7,934 members voted for a walkout, as management has refused to accept the union's demand of an 8.3 percent hike in basic wage and other incentives. If the union goes ahead with the collective action, it will be the first such move since the company's foundation in 1968. "We still have

Industry Dec. 2, 2024

LG CNS Co., an information technology (IT) service provider, on Monday received preliminary approval for a stock market debut with its listing likely to take place during the first half. LG CNS, a unit of South Korea's No. 4 conglomerate LG Group, had sought for an initial public offering in 2022 but dashed its market debut plan amid the coronavirus pandemic. Established in 1987, LG CNS, 49.95 percent owned by LG affiliates, is the only unlisted major IT service company in Asia's fourt

Industry Dec. 2, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged Monday to introduce measures to ease the burden on small merchants from delivery app commission fees, as part of efforts to boost sluggish domestic consumption. Yoon vowed to implement measures during a public policy discussion session to support small merchants by addressing business challenges, such as high delivery fees, no-shows and malicious online reviews. He said the government has allocated a record 59 trillion won $42 billion) in next year's budget t

Politics Dec. 2, 2024

The presidential artificial intelligence (AI) committee plans to devise a national strategy within the first three months of next year to make South Korea one of the world's top three leaders in the AI industry, the science ministry said Monday. The committee held its first workshop earlier in the day to kick off its preparations to devise the national AI strategy aimed at fostering the country's competitiveness in the field, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The government

Technology Dec. 2, 2024

South Korea will tighten security regulations for drones, undersea cables and offshore wind power plants to mitigate security and supply chain risks to major infrastructure, the presidential office said Monday. Wang Yun-jong, third deputy national security adviser, led an intragovernmental meeting with 13 agencies to discuss potential security threats to key infrastructure and draw up integrated responses. "Reliance on foreign imports for key drone components could lead to supply chain risk

Foreign Affairs Dec. 2, 2024

Around 60,000 non-regular school workers will go on strike this week to demand better pay and working conditions, their union said Monday. Union representatives said at a press conference that the workers, who are mostly involved in providing school meals and childcare, will stage a one-day strike Friday after negotiations with the education ministry and local education offices failed to produce an agreement despite multiple rounds of talks since June. The union said non-regular workers number 1

Social Affairs Dec. 2, 2024

Seoul shares ended lower Monday, bucking gains on Wall Street on extended tech losses. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 1.43 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 2,454.48. The main index ended in the negative territory after opening sharply higher, jumping 23.63 points, or nearly 1 percent, in the first 15 minutes of trading on U.S. gains. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.42 percent to 44,910.65 points, an

Market Dec. 2, 2024

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik on Monday urged the ruling and opposition parties to reach an agreement on the 2025 budget bill by next Tuesday, while postponing putting forward the downsized budget bill. "After much consideration, we have decided not to present the budget bill at today's plenary session," Woo said during a press briefing. "I sternly urge the two parties to pass the budget by Dec. 10, the final day of the regular session," he added. Tensions had been e

Politics Dec. 2, 2024