North Korea said Thursday it will take the "toughest reaction" to any US military action in response to the US defense chief's latest pledge to deploy more strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula to ensure its security commitment. The North's warning came as US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Seoul earlier this week for talks with his South Korean counterpart and said there would be more...

DAEJEON -- An appellate court on Wednesday ruled against a Buddhist temple in a civil suit it filed to claim a 14th century statue taken away to Japan centuries ago, and stolen and brought back to South Korea a decade ago. The 50.5-centimeter-tall Buddhist statue from the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) was one of the two bronze statues Korean thieves stole from Kannon Temple in Tsushima, Nagasaki Pre...

South Korea is looking to test-launch a new "high-power" ballistic missile in the near future, an informed source said Wednesday, in a move to bolster deterrence against evolving North Korean military threats. The country has been working on the development of the missile, known as Hyunmoo-5, as a core asset of its deterrence capabilities. Earlier in the day, speculation emerged that the state-...

BEIJING-- China resumed mandatory COVID-19 tests for arrivals from South Korea only Wednesday, in its latest tit-for-tat response over Seoul's strengthened antivirus curbs against travelers from the neighboring nation. In a notice sent Tuesday to airlines operating between the two neighbors, Chinese aviation authorities said all passengers on board direct flights from South Korea to China will r...

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases rose to over 20,000 on Wednesday as the government eased indoor mask-wearing restrictions in an effort to fully restore pre-pandemic normalcy amid a recent overall downward trend. The country reported 20,420 new cases, including 28 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,197,066, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The daily co...

The South Korean national Olympic body said Wednesday it will seek further clarification from the top Asian sports organization, in light of the latter's decision to allow Russia to compete in the continent's largest multisport event. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee plans to send a formal letter to the Olympic Council of Asia this week demanding answers on how the continental body will oper...

South Korean shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Wednesday it has won a 609.7 billion-won ($495 million) order to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers for an Oceanian shipper. Samsung Heavy said in a regulatory filing that it will deliver the vessels to the undisclosed shipping company by mid-January 2027. So far this year, Samsung Heavy has clinched orders worth some $2 billio...

Posco Chemical Co., a South Korean manufacturer of industrial materials, said Wednesday it has begun construction of its second factory for synthetic graphite anode materials in the country's southeast. Posco Chemical broke ground on the plant at its key manufacturing complex in Pohang, 272 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Tuesday, the company said in a release. The construction is part of a p...

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said Wednesday that South Korea recorded a trade deficit last month due to higher energy imports, but its trade performance is anticipated to gradually improve down the road on the back of China's reopening. The remark came after the export-reliant economy suffered the largest-ever monthly trade deficit in January, with outbound shipments logging an on-year decline...

South Korea's exports logged an on-year decline for the fourth consecutive month in January on weak global demand for semiconductors and other items amid an economic slowdown, the industry ministry said Wednesday. The country also suffered the largest ever monthly trade deficit on high energy prices last month, deepening concerns over the country's economic growth momentum. Outbound shipments f...

SK hynix Inc. said Wednesday it swung to a deficit in the fourth quarter due to the global chip market's slowdown amid weak demand and oversupply. The world's second-largest memory chip maker logged an operating loss of 1.7 trillion won ($1.37 billion) for the three months ending in December, compared with a profit of 4.21 trillion won a year ago. It was the South Korean chipmaker's first quart...

The basic taxi fare in Seoul rose by 1,000 won ($0.8) to 4,800 won on Wednesday, marking the first hike in nearly four years. The Seoul metropolitan government raised the base rate for midsized sedan cabs operating in the capital city starting 4 a.m. The last hike was carried out in February 2019. The distance covered in the basic fare was shortened to 1.6 kilometers from the previous 2 km, and...

The government announced a set of measures Wednesday to help the country's vulnerable people to cope with a spike in heating and energy bills. The move came amid a mounting public outcry over higher heating bills caused by a global surge in gas and energy prices. The measures, among other things, call for doubling the value of energy vouchers for vulnerable people and the amount of heating bill...

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and Japan held a meeting Tuesday to discuss cooperation in dealing with North Korea's missile and nuclear threats, the Seoul foreign ministry said. Kim Gunn, the ministry's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, met with his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, at the South Korean foreign ministry in Seoul and exchanged ...

Seoul shares ended lower Tuesday, tracking falls on Wall Street, as investors stay cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate decision this week. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 25.39 points, or 1.04 percent, to close at 2,425.08 points. The Kospi ended in negative territory for a second straight session after reporting gains in t...