South Korean stocks traded higher late Monday morning, hitting their highest level in more than a month, as they tracked gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index increased 23.61 points, or 0.99 percent, to 2,409.68 as of 11:20 a.m., after soaring to as high as 2,410.58 at one point. On Friday, US stocks closed at fresh record highs, with the S&P 500 inching up to su...

North Korea may conduct another nuclear or missile test going forward as it aims to advance its defense capabilities through nuclear armament, Seoul's defense ministry said Monday. In a parliamentary session, the ministry presented its analysis to lawmakers based on its assessment of the North's statement released in the wake of its latest missile launch on Friday. "North Korea flaunted having ...

South Korean women in their 20s and 30s had sex less in 2014 compared with a decade ago, a survey showed Monday, amid high youth unemployment that has led to late marriage and less dating. South Korea's overall unemployment rate stood at 3.8 percent in June, up 0.2 percentage point from the same month last year. The unemployment rate for young people aged between 15 and 29 was much higher at 10....

HANOI -- The Vietnamese government has expelled a North Korean official put on the UN Security Council's sanctions list over its nuclear and missile development, diplomatic sources said Monday. Vietnam requested Kim Dong-ho, chief of the North's Tanchon Commercial Bank's branch, to leave the country and he returned home in mid-July, the sources said. Kim is one of 14 North Koreans designated as...

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it opened a smart school for Syrian children at a refugee camp in Jordan to provide them with IT device-based education. The South Korean tech giant said it launched the smart school at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, which provides learning opportunities to Syrians aged between five and 24 through smartphones, tablet PCs and electronic displays. "The Zaa...

The head of the nation's top financial regulator said Monday he will put more emphasis on helping the government to create jobs and offer financial incentives for startups. In a report to the National Assembly, Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said the FSC will eliminate entry barriers for financial firms to make inroads into new businesses. Job creation is one of th...

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 ...