An expo for South Korean products will be held in the United Arab Emirates next year as both nations seek to step up business and economic cooperation, the finance ministry said Friday.The “Made In Korea 2012” expo will be the first of its kind to be held in the Middle East region for Korean products. It will be held in Abu Dhabi in May, according to the ministry.The expo will be sponsored by commerce and tourism agencies of the UAE, the ministry said. The organizers seek to attract around 300 K

South Korean households’ monthly income grew 6.5 percent on-year in the third quarter thanks to improving employment conditions, a government report showed Friday. According to the report by Statistics Korea, households’ monthly income averaged 3.89 million won ($3,413) in the July-September period. Inflation-adjusted household income also rose 1.6 percent from a year earlier.The disposable income of households grew 6.3 percent on-year to a monthly average of 3.15 million won, the report said.“H

Limkwang Engineering & Construction’s application for court receivership Thursday sent jitters across similar-sized builders in a liquidity crisis due to excessive project financing amid a prolonged property market slump.A reduction in public construction orders and the inability to redeem project financing loans have pushed scores of construction companies to the verge of bankruptcy.Pressed by surety obligations on project financing loans and a lack of new orders, Limkwang, ranked 40th in the c

South Korean stocks closed 2 percent lower on Friday as rising borrowing costs in Spain fueled fears that the eurozone debt crisis is spreading, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 37.5 points to close at 1,839.17. Trading volume was moderate at 328 million shares worth 4.71 trillion won ($4.14 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 631 to 206.“Jitters about the eurozone debt turmoil battered investor sentime

Amazon, which began shipping a tablet computer this week, may be eyeing the smartphone market.Citigroup said in a research note published on Thursday that it believes the Seattle-based online retail giant plans to launch a smartphone next year."Based on our supply chain channel checks in Asia led by

For more than half a century, geologists have wrangled over the origins of an astonishing range of mountains found beneath ice up to three kilometers (two miles) thick in East Antarctica.Named after the Soviet geophysicist who detected them in 1958 during the first International Polar Year explorati

A man claiming to be a former candidate for the post of governor of the US state of Arizona has been found homeless and lovelorn in the west of Ukraine, aid workers said on Thursday.The man, aged 53, carries the passport of Cary Dolego who in 2010 was a minor candidate for the governor of Arizona, s

A missing U.S. military rifle was found Thursday near a local air base, where President Lee Myung-bak departed aboard a presidential jet on the same day for Indonesia to attend a regional summit, an official said Friday.The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) official said a civilian found the M4 rifle on Thur

The United States is not considering a revision of the legal guidelines on the status of its 28,000 troops in South Korea, the nominee to become a top U.S.defense official said Thursday, despite a renewed call for it in South Korea.Mark W. Lippert, nominee for assistant secretary of defense fo Asian