North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has presided over the second-day session of a key party plenary to discuss rural development measures, Pyongyang's state media reported Wednesday amid its drive to tackle nagging economic woes. During the meeting held Tuesday, Kim "set forth medium- and long-term development strategies and major tasks for attaining the grand goal of rural development in line with the realistic conditions and the requirement of the times," according to the North's offici

The end of a year invites reflection on the events and trends that have shaped it. In 2021, they include the COVID-19 pandemic, recently reinvigorated by the omicron variant; the steady march of climate change, which has intensified pressure to reach net-zero emissions; and geopolitical tensions, especially the great-power rivalry between the US and China. On all of these fronts, 2021 was a year of deterioration.　 As difficult as 2020 was, it concluded with grounds for hope. Effective COVID-19

Unlike any other, the year 2021 was an especially turbulent one worldwide. In fact, together with 2020 it was one of the worst years in memory due to the continuing surge of COVID-19. To make matters worse, variants of the coronavirus, namely delta and omicron, spread rapidly, devastating the slowly recuperating world. Some suffered the loss of family members or a job. Others had to endure the shutdown of a business or bankruptcy. People expected the pandemic would end in 2021. To our disappoi

2 in 5 company heads to be women in Korea in coming years

Samsung C&T said it has signed a deal to build an undersea high-voltage direct current network that connects the United Arab Emirates’ offshore oil production facilities and Abu Dhabi’s land power network. Samsung C&T said it would form a consortium with Belgian construction company Jan De Nul for the engineering, procurement and construction project worth 3.5 trillion won ($3 billion). Samsung C&T’s portion of the project amounts to 2.7 trillion won. This brin