The United States plans to send an aircraft carrier to waters near the Korean Peninsula next month for a joint training with South Korea's Navy, the defense ministry said Monday. In a report to the National Assembly, the ministry said the allies will hold the exercise in October involving "the US aircraft carrier strike group." It did not reveal the name of the carrier. South Korea and the US ...

The operator of Incheon International Airport is likely to snub calls from Lotte Duty Free, the country's top duty-free operator, to adjust its rental fees, industry sources said Monday, amid the ongoing diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of a US missile system here. Last week, Lotte officially requested Incheon International Airport Corp. adjust the lease fee to reflec...

Major South Korean manufacturers of semiconductors and displays plan to invest a combined 51.9 trillion won ($45.8 billion) in the domestic market by 2024 to help stimulate the local economy and create jobs, the government said Monday. Senior executives from major manufacturers announced their investment plans during a meeting with Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Paik Woon-gyu, in which t...

South Korean institutional investors have loaded up on tech stocks during a recent correction period in the local stock market, in contrast to foreigners' massive selling, data showed Monday. Local institutions' top pick was largest-cap Samsung Electronics Co. between July 24 and Friday, with their net buying of the tech giant reaching 1.35 trillion won ($1.19 billion), according to the data fro...

South Korea's top two chipmakers -- Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. -- are set to see their combined annual sales exceed 100 trillion won ($88.3 billion) this year on the back of an industry boom, industry sources said Monday. The outlook came as Samsung and SK hynix, which posted sound earnings for the first and second quarters, have been showing robust performances on higher chip pri...

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating continued to drop last week, a poll showed Monday, amid recent provocations from North Korea that have caused serious security concerns here. In a poll conducted by Realmeter, 67.1 percent of 2,524 voters surveyed said they approved of the way the president managed state affairs, down 2 percentage points from a week earlier. The weekly poll was conducted ...

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, as investors scooped up large-cap tech shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 9.39 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,395.46 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics gained 1.03 percent, and SK hynix was 2.85 percent up. LG Chem, South Korea's top chemicals firm, advanced 0.37 percent, and AmorePacific, th...

South Korea's top 100 listed companies have seen their average operating margin lose steam over the past three years amid a slowdown in overall business conditions, a market tracker said Monday. The average operating margin of the leading firms stood at 5.48 percent for the 2014-2016 period, lower than the comparable figure of 5.8 percent from 2007-16, according to Chaebul.com. The figure refer...

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday the world should brace itself for all possibilities, including military options, in a bid to discourage North Korea from its pursuit of nuclear and missile programs. "We must be ready to confront any consequences and any eventualities, including military options. to address this. Otherwise North Korea would be emboldened," he said in a keynote ...

SEOUL/WASHINGTON -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump agreed to more thoroughly implement UN sanctions against North Korea during telephone talks Sunday. The leaders also called on the North to refrain from any more provocations, warning they will only lead to its isolation and eventual collapse, according to Park Soo-hyun, spokesman for South Korea's presidential ...

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France -- South Korean contenders' charge fell short at the LPGA Tour's final major championship of the season here on Sunday. Kim Sei-young was the top finisher from the South Korean contingent at the weather-shortened Evian Championship at par-71 Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, where she tied for sixth at seven-under 206. Kim ended two strokes out of the pla...

President Moon Jae-in was set to embark on a five-day trip to New York on Monday to attend the UN General Assembly and hold talks with other leaders on how to rein in North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile provocations. His trip follows North Korea's sixth nuclear test on Sept. 3 and a series of missile firings. The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said earlier Moon will hold a luncheon an...

WASHINGTON -- The United States will seek a peaceful solution to the North Korean nuclear issue until it becomes necessary to use military force, Washington's top diplomat said Sunday. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the US has been carrying out a "peaceful pressure campaign" to compel North Korea to come to the negotiating table over its nuclear and ballistic missile program. But if the ...

A group of South Korean opposition lawmakers said Sunday the U.S. government responded negatively to their request to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula during their visit to Washington. The legislators of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party returned Saturday from their four-day trip to meet State Department officials, Congress members and influential scholars. In a p...

President Moon Jae-in on Sunday urged parliament to pass a confirmation motion for his Supreme Court chief nominee which is pending amid controversy over his political views. In a statement issued a week before the incumbent's term ends, the president called for lawmakers' cooperation to prevent an unprecedented vacancy in the nation's top justice posts. Opposition parties have delayed a vote o...