North Korea has deployed tanks and other weapons around its leader Kim Jong-il’s residences in Pyongyang to fortify them against a possible revolt spurred by the ongoing antigovernment protests in the Middle East, a Seoul source said Sunday. During a closed-door meeting with lawmakers Friday, a senior official of the National Intelligence Service confirmed reports of such activity, according to ...

The application process for the F-2 spouse visa will have stricter rules from Monday, the Ministry of Justice said Sunday. The latest revision to the immigration law came after several cases of abuse and fraud in international marriages. In July last year, a 20-year-old Vietnamese bride was murdered by her Korean husband, just eight days after arriving in Korea. Her husband had a history of men...

LG Electronics, the world’s second-largest TV manufacturer, has installed a liquid-crystal display production line at its flat-screen plant in China targeting a rapidly expanding Chinese middle class, the company said Sunday. The new facility in Shenyang, the capital of northeastern Liaoning province, began operation recently to produce about 65,000 LCD televisions per month. “It follows our st...

Major companies are devising plans to support their suppliers in line with a government-led campaign for “shared growth” between large and small firms. A range of companies are coming up with plans to help their smaller partners with financing, research and materials procurement despite a recent feud with the government over the profit sharing scheme. The push on big businesses to extend their ...

Noble Corp., which has ordered construction of two of the industry’s most expensive drilling rigs this year, will buy a third ultra-deepwater vessel as contractors take advantage of higher crude prices and low shipyard costs. The rig, which will be able to drill in water as deep as 12,000 feet (3,700 meters), will cost $615 million, the Geneva- based drilling contractor said. Noble ordered all t...

Korean families’ spending on food rose to a record high last year due to surging prices of agricultural goods, government data showed Sunday. According to Statistics Korea, households’ average monthly expenditure on food came in at 602,604 won per month ($539) last year. Last year was the first time that the figure, which includes expenditure on groceries, beverages and eating out, rose above t...