Police are looking into an email bomb threat targeting the Supreme Court and other locations but found no explosives so far, officials said Thursday, after a fifth such email was sent apparently from Japan. The email, which was received just past midnight, claimed that "high-powered bombs with needles" had been planted at the Japanese Embassy, the Supreme Court and city halls across the country, and would go off from 3:34 p.m. Friday to 2:07 p.m. Saturday. Police searched the locations

Social Affairs Aug. 17, 2023

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, as the Federal Reserve's minutes reaffirmed the central bank's push for continued monetary tightening to curb inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 29.08 points, or 1.15 percent, to 2,496.55 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks fell after the minutes from the Fed's July meeting showed that officials still saw a possible resurgence of inflation and the

Market Aug. 17, 2023

South Korea's finance minister said Thursday the country will make efforts to take advantage of the latest decision by Beijing to allow group tours to the country. "In response to the resumption of group tours to South Korea by China, we plan to promptly come up with measures to attract Chinese tourists by offering conveniences in terms of visas and transportation, as well as by developing various tourism programs," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said. The remark came after China&

Social Affairs Aug. 17, 2023

The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Controls on Wednesday imposed sanctions on three entities involved in illicit arms deals between North Korea and Russia, amid speculation that the countries may be seeking to bolster their illegal arms trade. OFAC imposed sanctions on Verus LLC, Defense Engineering LLP and Versor SRO, all of which are owned or led by Slovakian national Ashot Mkrtychev. Mkrtychev was designated on March 30 for "attempting to facilitate arms de

North Korea Aug. 17, 2023

South Korea's finance ministry unveiled a set of measures Thursday to pave the way for the growth of the country's artificial intelligence chip and urban air mobility industries in line with efforts to foster new growth engines. Under the plan, the country will speed up the establishment of data centers powered by homegrown AI chips and expand financial support for the development of such semiconductor products by fabless firms, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The mov

Industry Aug. 17, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to depart for the United States on Thursday to attend a trilateral summit with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on ways to enhance security cooperation in the face of North Korea's nuclear threat. The summit will be held at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland on Friday, marking the first time the three countries' leaders will meet for a stand-alone trilateral summit that's not on the sidelines of a multilat

Politics Aug. 17, 2023

The United States is seeking and will continue to seek the safe return of a US service member who crossed into North Korea last month, a White House official said Wednesday, dismissing the North's claim that the American soldier is seeking asylum in the reclusive country. John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, insisted that North Korean claims cannot be trusted. "I think anything that comes out of Pyongyang, you got to look at skeptically,"

Foreign Affairs Aug. 17, 2023

South Korea's import prices rose in July largely due to the higher price of crude oil, central bank data showed Thursday. The import price index rose 0.4 percent last month from a month earlier, following a 3.9 percent fall tallied in June, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The rise came as the cost of crude oil rose. Import prices are a major factor that determines the path of the country's overall rate of inflation. The Dubai crude price, South Korea's be

Economy Aug. 17, 2023

The upcoming trilateral summit between the leaders of South Korea, Japan and the United States will take their countries' three-way cooperation to a new level, a White House official said Wednesday. John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said the leaders will also focus on ways to institutionalize such cooperation among their countries. "This trilateral summit is all about taking affirmative steps towards improving our cooperation with each othe

Foreign Affairs Aug. 17, 2023

The Board of Audit and Inspection said Wednesday it has launched preparations to look into what went wrong in the hosting of the World Scout Jamboree, vowing to conduct a thorough inspection from the winning of the right to host the event to its closure. The quadrennial event concluded Saturday after overcoming significant challenges, including poor preparations, a heat wave and a powerful typhoon, which forced the relocation of around 40,000 participants from a campsite in Saemangeum, a reclaim

Social Affairs Aug. 16, 2023

South Korea and the United States have held an in-person meeting on cooperation in excavating the remains of troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, following a four-year hiatus caused by COVID-19, Seoul's defense ministry said Wednesday. Officials from the ministry's Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification and the Pentagon's Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency met at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Tuesday. KIA stands for killed in action, while POW and MIA are short for pr

Defense Aug. 16, 2023

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates were staging combined high-tech military drills, Seoul's Army said Wednesday, amid efforts to bolster bilateral military cooperation. The exercise is underway at the Korea Combat Training Center, a facility employing cutting-edge technologies for realistic ground drills, in Inje, 165 kilometers east of Seoul, from Aug. 7-18, according to the armed service. The drills mobilized some 2,500 troops to the facility, including a platoon of the UAE's a

Defense Aug. 16, 2023

A Thai man caught entering the women's shower room at the campground of the 2023 World Scout Jamboree in the southwestern reclaimed land area of Saemangeum has been sent to the prosecution for further investigation, police said Wednesday. The man, who participated in the jamboree event as an adult supervisor, is accused of entering the women's shower room and taking a shower on Aug. 2, according to the Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency. A female participant who heard the man singing in

Social Affairs Aug. 16, 2023

The European Chamber of Commerce in Korea said Wednesday it has appointed Stefan Ernst, a former executive of global skin care company Beiersdorf A.G., as its next president. Ernst will succeed Christoph Heider, who has led the chamber for the last 10 years, the ECCK said. Ernst will officially take office on Oct. 1. Ernst, a German, is known for his decadeslong experience in marketing and general management at global companies, including Beiersdorf and Accenture Song. Ernst spent a considerable

Industry Aug. 16, 2023

Outbound container shipping costs for major destinations, including the United States and the European Union, fell in July from a month earlier, data showed Wednesday. The average rate for a 40-foot container from South Korea to the US west coast came to 4.37 million won ($3,265) in July, down 5 percent from the previous month, the data from the Korea Customs Service showed. Rates for the US east coast fell 1.9 percent to 4.65 million won on-month in July, with those for the EU routes moving dow

Economy Aug. 16, 2023