SPOTLIGHT

• North Korea

  

  (Video) What do people in Korea think about Moon-Kim summit?

  South Korean residents express hope, but with much caution, for upcoming meeting and future of peninsula

• People

  

  Kim Sa-rang injures leg in Italy, undergoes surgery

  Actress Kim Sa-rang underwent surgery after fracturing her right leg in Italy last week, her agency said Thursday.According to Leo International, the 40-year-old hurt her leg between April 18 and 19. She returned to Korea on Saturday and received surgery on Monday. Kim Sa-rang (Herald DB)An official from the agency declined to elaborate on how she got injured or how serious it was, but said it did not involve a traffic accident or her falling into a manhole.The official said that the actress was

• Social affairs

  

  Woman jumps in front of Seoul Metro train

  A woman believed to be in her 30s jumped in front of an incoming train at Oryu-dong Station at approximately 12:41 p.m. Thursday, in an apparent suicide. An engineer on the Seoul Metro Line No. 1 train involved in the accident reported to have hit the emergency brakes after seeing “someone jump into the subway tracks,” but could not avoid the fatal accident due to the short distance. Oryu-dong Station (Yonhap)Korail authorities said the accident caused approximately 20-minute delays to subway se

• Food

  

  Unexpected marine delicacies, sea pineapple and sea cucumber

  Though famous for raw fish, Korea’s seafood restaurants don’t dish out only fish sashimi. There are many more on the menu, including some that do not look mouth-watering but prove to be unexpected delicacies. Meongge (left) and haesam chopped into edible pieces. (Photo by Im Eun-byel / The Korea Herald)Meongge is one of them. It’s sea pineapple, a type of sea squirt, whose shape strongly resembles a grenade with small fiery-looking bumps. It is red and rubbery and when squeezed, the bumps squirt

LATEST NEWS

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  Foreign Policy

  Reporters hopeful, excited about historic summit

  With South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un set to meet Friday, nearly 3,000 journalists from all around the world packed the main press center set up in an exhibition hall in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. A sense of excitement was palpable among reporters here covering the event, which will be the first inter-Korean summit in 11 years, and follows a year of tension heightened by the North’s nuclear and missile provocations. And most of them were looking out for what

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  North Korea

  US-N. Korea denuclearization deal will likely endure if reached: experts

  A denuclearization deal between North Korea and the United States, if reached, could have a greater chance of surviving a future change in the US administration now than at any other time, North Korea experts here said Thursday."It is hard to imagine a more hard-line National Security Advisor than John Bolton," John Delury said in a forum held here on the eve of a historic summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (Yonhap)The Yonsei University profess

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  Industry

  GM signs conditional deal with KDB to maintain S. Korean unit

  General Motors on Thursday signed a conditional agreement with the Seoul government to help resolve the liquidity problems facing its South Korean unit, the state-run Korea Development Bank said. In the deal to be finalized early next month, GM and the KDB agreed to inject a combined 7.7 trillion won ($7.15 billion) -- 6.9 trillion won from GM and 810 billion won from the KDB -- into the cash strapped carmaker.  In this photo taken April 26, 2018, GM President Dan Ammann (L) speaks in a meeting

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  Social affairs

  Prosecutors seek prison terms for 3 ex-spy chiefs in NIS fund scandal

  Prosecutors on Thursday demanded five- to seven-year prison terms for former President Park Geun-hye's three spy chiefs for illegally providing her with money from state coffers while in office.Prosecutors from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office asked the court to sentence Nam Jae-joon and Lee Byong-ho to seven years each and Lee Byung-kee to five years in jail.The former National Intelligence Service chiefs were indicted late last year on charges of bribery and loss of state funds f

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  Industry

  Doosan Heavy Q1 net profit down 38 pct on foreign exchange loss

  Doosan Heavy Industries, South Korea's top power equipment maker, said Thursday its first-quarter profit fell 38 percent from a year earlier largely due to foreign exchange loss. Doosan Heavy Industries' power generation equipment (Doosan Heavy Industries)Net profit reached 23.1 billion won ($21.4 million) on a consolidated basis in the January-March period, compared with 37.4 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.The company said foreign exchange loss and discontin

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  North Korea

  China voices hope for successful inter-Korean summit

  China voiced its hopes on Thursday for a successful inter-Korean summit as the leaders of South and North Korea prepare for a historic meeting to negotiate denuclearization and a lasting peace. (Yonhap)"The inter-Korean summit is poised for tomorrow, and the two Koreas are briskly preparing for the talks. ... (China) hopes that the two countries will have success from the latest talks," Hua Chunying, spokeswoman at the Chinese foreign ministry said."I hope that good news will continue to flow on

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  Finance

  Historical summit highlights stocks related to inter-Korean businesses

  With drummed up expectations for a more stable Korean Peninsula upon the inter-Korean summit on Friday, stocks of South Korean firms related to cross-border businesses have seen sharp gains.The firms are associated with the inter-Korean business initiative pledged by South Korean President Moon Jae-in.  (Yonhap)Named “New Economic Map of the Korean Peninsula,” it contains plans to jointly develop areas across the peninsula, including Kumgangsan, Kaesong industrial park and the Korean Demilitariz

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  Technology

  LG spurs vehicle component biz with biggest M&A of light maker ZKW

  LG Electronics and its holding company LG Corp. announced Thursday they had acquired a 100 percent stake in Austrian automotive light maker ZKW Group for some 1.44 trillion won ($1.33 billion), spurring its vehicle component business as a new growth engine. According to the announcement, LG Electronics bought a 70 percent stake in ZKW Group for 1.108 trillion won, while LG Corp. purchased 30 percent of the Austrian firm’s shares at 433.2 billion won.The acquisition plan was confirmed at a board

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  Social affairs

  Seoul population mobility rises

  　The number of people who moved from Seoul to other regions was 421,887 last month, which is more than 22,367 who moved to Seoul (398,720), according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.　Last year, the figure was the lowest in 43 years due largely to a rise in housing prices and rapid aging.　Housing prices in Seoul rose sharply last year despite a series of measures to rein in surging prices, including tightened home mortgages.

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  Social affairs

  Mine blast leaves 3 dead, 3 others injured

  An explosion at an iron mine in a northeastern provincial town has killed three workers and injured three others, causing chaos in the search for victims buried under tons of rubble.The accident happened at around 3:55 p.m., when blasting work was under way in a commercial mine run by a local iron ore producer in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province, about 150 kilometers east of Seoul.  (Yonhap)Authorities earlier announced that 14 workers were buried under rock presumed to weigh at least 20-30 tons, but

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Don’t waste Korea summit

  Hope is again rising on the Korean Peninsula. On Friday, South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un are to hold a summit in the Demilitarized Zone that has divided the two states for 65 years. The meeting raises the prospect that this pointless and anachronistic conflict can finally be brought to an end, or at the very least, the tensions now threatening global security and world financial markets can be reduced.　But it‘s important to remember that we’ve been here

• Columnists

  

  North Korea’s secret weapon: A huge electromagnetic storm

  The diplomatic circuit is awash in optimism as the proposed summit between North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump draws near. Indeed, Trump is right to go to the table with the North Koreans and negotiate for full denuclearization.Still, given the long history of North Korea’s double-dealing, outright lying, and surreptitious construction of weapons of mass destruction, the likelihood of Kim actually surrendering his nuclear weapons is extremely low, no matter what he says

THE INVESTOR

• Economy

  

  [BIG REUNION] Cryptocurrency, North Korea’s new cash cow

  The world’s most reclusive nation was no exception to the cryptocurrency fever that swept across the globe last year. Ordinary North Korean citizens may not be familiar with terms like Bitcoin or Ethereum. But for a select few, digital coins have become a darling in the cash-strapped country as a financial lifeline, especially after UN-led sanctions hit its economy badly. The exact amount of coins that North Korea has on hand is hard to track. But earlier in March, a former Nation

• Economy

  

  [BIG REUNION] Inter-Korean summit to kick off at 9:30 a.m. Friday

  President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet at the Military Demarcation Line in Panmunjeom at 9:30 a.m. on April 27, Moon’s chief of staff Im Jong-seok said on April 26. 　　According to Im, Kim will cross the Military Demarcation Line between the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission offices, where he will be greeted by Moon. 　　“The two leaders will meet at the MDL, and walk to the venue of the welcoming ceremony, escorted by our (South Korean) traditional

• Samsung

  

  [BIG REUNION] North Koreans’ love affair with Samsung Galaxy smartphones

  ‘South Korean electronic devices are most coveted by NK elite’

• Economy

  

  [BIG REUNION] Five reasons why Kaesong Industrial Zone will survive

  The upcoming inter-Korean summit has created much hype and anticipation for how relations between the two will end up. There is talk of declaring the end of the Korean War and possibly, even reunification. But one thing that isn’t on the table is the reopening of the Kaesong Industrial Zone, one of the most significant inter-Korean economic activities so far. Those who were forced to leave their factories and offices definitely have mixed feelings.  Kaesong Industrial Zone“The res

K-POP HERALD

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  BTS to perform new track at Billboard Awards

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  ‘Mistresses’ to show anxieties of women

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  Wanna One wanna be boyfriend

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Economy

  

  Procurement sector should expand abroad: PPS administrator

• Diplomatic Circuit

  

  ‘Korea wise to embrace ASEAN’s unity-in-diversity mentality’

• Culture

  

  Artists duo fascinated by nomadism of island

• Industry

  

  Kayak targets Korea’s travel market with one-stop solution

PHOTO NEWS

• Fashion

  

  Graffiti on fashion

  Fashion laden with a youthful culture of graffiti was showcased at the second Seoul 365 Fashion Show on Wednesday at Seoullo 7017, Jung-gu. The Seoul 365 Fashion Show links Korean fashion with Seoul City’s iconic locations where foot traffic can give more exposure to the fashion show. This show’s dominating concept was graffiti, a form of art that often represents youth culture and spirit. Graffiti-inspired apparels by designer man.G were put up on stage accompanied on the sides by colorful draw

VIDEO

• Food

  

  Naengmyeon, Korean cold noodles

• Culture

  

  Take a break with ‘Space-out Competition’

• Food

  

  Future food source evokes nostalgia for old days

• Food

  

  Diversity of Korean seaweed rice roll ‘gimbap’

FEATURES

• Social affairs

  

  Seoul City Wall: Where modern meets the ancient

  One of the world’s longest and oldest city walls seeks UNESCO recognition

• Technology

  

  Lunch with Kakao’s new CEO Yeo Min-soo

  Powering ‘token economies’ with blockchain, and more

• North Korea

  

  Denuclearization involves more than two Koreas: Blue House

  North Korea’s advanced missile and nuclear technologies make the issue of denuclearization at Friday’s inter-Korean summit fundamentally different from earlier agreements, a top Cheong Wa Dae official said Thursday.Speaking at the inter-Korean summit press center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, President Moon Jae-in’s chief of staff Im Jong-seok said that while denuclearization is central to Friday’s summit, the level of agreement possible remains unclear. Im Jong-seok, South Koera`s presidential

• Social affairs

  

  Real change on campus elusive despite #MeToo movement

  Students notice only superficial differences in behavior and attitude after sexual misconduct scandals