North Korea on Wednesday slammed the United States for its ongoing nuclear command training exercise, calling it a nuclear war drill targeting the entire world. Global Thunder, led by the US Strategic Command, is an annual command military exercise that provides training opportunities, with a specific focus on nuclear readiness. The exercise, which kicked off on Nov. 1, involves a number of countries, including South Korea. In a commentary posted on its website, the North's foreign ministry s

The US Forces Korea on Wednesday started inoculating children in its affiliated community with a pediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at three of its bases, its officials said. The vaccination program for children aged 5 to 11 started at the medical facilities in Camp Humphreys and Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, and Camp Walker in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of the capital, the USFK said. The vaccination came after the US Food and Drug Administration authorized the

Property technology startups, companies that provide digital services in the real estate industry, are enjoying the spotlight due to the digital transformation sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, but challenges lie ahead, experts said Wednesday. “Before COVID-19, the real estate industry was one of the most hesitant to implement innovative digital technology. That was largely because clients needed to visit and see the interior work for themselves before making any investment decisions,&rd

DataStreams said Wednesday its CEO won a bronze tower order of industrial service merit from the government for the company’s technological prowess in big data solutions. Founded 20 years ago, DataStreams is a leader of the local big data solution market and is taking steps to get listed in Kosdaq. In addition to the order of merit won by CEO Lee Young-sang, the company’s big data platform named TeraONE won a tech award from the minister of trade, industry and energy. By Kim So-hy

For director Yeon Sang-ho, 43, producing new Netflix series “Hellbound” felt like creating his own playground. “When I was creating ‘Hellbound’ as a web comic, I was expecting to reproduce the series as a video. The project shows different sides of humans in a desperate situation surrounded by extreme social chaos. I want to keep presenting my views about humanity via ‘Hellbound.’ I will continue to play around by creating unique characters and stories

LG Innotek said Wednesday one of its senior officials won a presidential commendation at the 2021 Korea Tech Show for developing innovative technology and products. Lee Kwang-tae, head of LG Innotek’s package substrate production division, received the award for contributing toward enhancing the competitiveness of Korea’s semiconductor substrate industry. Lee joined LG Electronics in 1999 and has worked on substrate development and production technology. Since 2008, he has led the

Naver, the No.1 portal operator and internet firm in South Korea, announced Wednesday it has nominated Choi Soo-yeon as new chief executive officer. Choi, born in 1981, would mark the youngest leader of the company so far. The appointment of Choi is interpreted as the tech firm’s intention to overhaul its corporate culture and accelerate business growth in the global market. A Seoul National University graduate with an engineering degree, Choi joined Naver as an entry-level employee

South Korea will spend 20 billion won ($16.9 million) next year to nurture local industries for materials, parts and equipment for chips, future cars, bio products and nanotechnologies, officials said Wednesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, unveiling a road map to identify and strengthen the weakest link in the country’s industrial value chain, said if all goes as planned, the country will see a drastic decline in imports of essential parts and equipment in backbone industries. &ldqu

South Korean pharmaceutical firm Yuhan said Wednesday that the company’s nonalcoholic steatohepatitis treatment candidate YH25724 will go through a phase 1 clinical trial in Europe. The test will involve some 80 healthy overweight adults to test safety, tolerability and pharmacodynamics of the NASH drug candidate. Yuhan expects that the study to be completed by June next year. With the commencement of the trial, the Korean firm will receive a milestone payment of $10 million from Bo

Data on Celltrion COVID-19 drug’s effectiveness against delta not available yet

A time capsule that global K-pop phenomenon BTS presented to President Moon Jae-in on Sept. 19 during an event marking Youth Day held at Cheong Wa Dae is now on display at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History. The box is displayed in the permanent exhibition hall located on the fifth floor of the museum. The box measures 40 centimeters in length, 30 centimeters in width and 26 centimeters in depth, according to the museum. The box is purple -- a color associated with the band and