US, NK testing each other with strategic patience: expert

Washington’s point man on North Korea, Sung Kim, said Monday that he will visit Seoul later this week to discuss ways to bring Pyongyang back to the dialogue, and that declaring an official end to the Korean War will be part of the agenda.  Kim, the US special representative on North Korea, revealed his plans after talks with South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, in Washington on Monday, ahead of a three-way meeting Tuesday with their Japanese counterpart, Takehiro F

LG Chem said Tuesday it has developed a new type of plastic that is as durable as aluminum but 50 percent lighter, with plans to apply the raw material for frames of solar panels and auto components. According to South Korea’s leading chemical company, the new materia -- LUPOY EU5201 -- is designed to withstand long-term exposure to sunlight and exhibits strong resistance to heat and erosion. The material is also able to maintain its original color despite sunlight, as it is resistant to

South Korea will construct an autnomous ship able to carry 300 people by 2022 and operate it in coastal waters off Ulsan to conduct feasibility tests on key technologies. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the 45 billion-won ($38.1 million) project aims to gain a track record for the 2,800-ton ship and verify core technologies to be mounted on it, such as carbon emission reduction and engine optimization technologies. At the same time, the Industry Ministry will establis

19% growth seen on-year in capital’s home prices

Virtual reality and augmented reality videos alongside designs on streets, walls and human bodies will be eligible to be registered as intellectual property in South Korea from Thursday, the nation’s IP office said Tuesday. According to the Korean Intellectual Patent Office, the newly revised law would protect digitally produced designs with various purposes including communication, medical and security. Previously, such designs were able to be filed as IP when they formed part of items.

Ecological economist Lester R. Brown in his book “Plan B 3.0” suggested six grand strategies for overcoming the global climate and ecological crises, one of which is to restore lost forests around the world. Forests originally covered around 60 to 70 percent of land (13 billion hectares). However, the proportion of forests has been reduced to around 31 percent (4 billion hectares) due to the desertification, deforestation, conversion of forest, and expansion of agricultural and past

Despite a court ruling in favor of a soldier who was forcibly discharged after she received gender reassignment surgery, the military is still cautious about crafting a transgender policy because it is not ready to deal with the issue, military officials said Tuesday. In January 2020, Byun Hee-soo, who was the country’s first openly transgender soldier, was dismissed from the Army, which found her mentally and physical unfit to serve after she had her male genitals removed. Byun filed a l

South Korean steelmaker Posco has succeeded in locally producing special steel pipes for hydrogen transportation and will supply them for the first time to the city of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, the company said Tuesday. Until now, South Korea has relied on imported, small-caliber seamless steel pipes with a width about 15 centimeters for hydrogen transportation. Bigger pipes, as wide as 20 centimeters, are needed to carry the big volume of hydrogen transfer needed in the hydrogen test bed ci

Hyundai Glovis, the logistics arm of Hyundai Motor Group, is joining hands with Air Products & Chemicals, a US-based industrial gas manufacturer, to speed up the development of a liquefied hydrogen supply chain, the company said Tuesday. Hyundai Glovis CEO Kim Jung-hoon signed the supply chain agreement during a videoconference with Air Products & Chemicals Asia President Wilbur Mok as well as Korea unit CEO Kim Kyo-young. “We expect a great synergy from the partnership, a

The director of Netflix’s “My Name,” Kim Jin-min, was surprised to hear about the growing popularity of the mystery crime series. “While I expected some questions and comments, I was surprised that the viewers interpreted my work in very creative ways, speculating on the reasons for a character’s behavior. One way or the other, all of these are a way of showing interest in the series. For that, I would like to thank all the ‘My Name’ fans,” the di

The National Security Council expressed "deep regret" Tuesday over North Korea's launch of a short-range ballistic missile and urged Pyongyang to return to dialogue. The council met shortly after the North fired the missile toward the East Sea, according to Cheong Wa Dae. "The council members expressed deep regret that North Korea's launch occurred while active consultations are under way with the United States, China, Japan, Russia and other major countries to advance the Korea

Proportion of sexual misdemeanors infringing teachers’ rights exceed 10% for 1st time in 2020

The first snow of the season fell on a portion of Mount Seorak in the northeast of the country Tuesday, 15 days earlier than last year, park authorities said. Flakes began falling at about 10 a.m. around Jungcheong Shelter, 1,676 meters above sea level, according to the Seoraksan National Park Office. The temperature was 0.4 C and the wind speed was 0.6 meters per second at that time. Snowfall was too light to accumulate, officials said. The season's first snow event occurred 15 days earlier

South and North Korea held their regular phone call via the liaison hotline Tuesday morning, but Pyongyang gave no prior notice of its latest missile launch, an official at Seoul's unification ministry said. In its latest show of force, the North fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea from near Sinpo, where it is known to be developing a new submarine capable of launching ballistic missiles, according to South Korea's military. "The liaison call occurred as normal this morning. (Nort