South Korea’s trade balance remained in the black for the third straight month in April despite minus growth in both exports and imports, a customs office report showed Tuesday.According to the report by the Korea Customs Service, South Korea’s trade surplus amounted to $2.12 billion last month, down from a favorable balance of $2.37 billion tallied in March.The monthly figure was slightly smaller than the surplus of $2.15 billion projected by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy for April earlier

South Korea’s National Pension Service, the country’s biggest investor, plans to seek approval to buy more yuan-denominated Chinese stocks after using up the initial quota of $100 million it received in March. The $316 billion pension fund plans to use that allotment by September and will pick two managers “soon” to handle the investments, Chairman Jun Kwang-woo said in an interview in Seoul on Monday. The fund also aims to expand investments to Chinese bonds and so-called alternative investment

The Seoul government is bracing for a possible halt in imports of Iranian crude oil following tightened sanctions by the European Union.The EU enacted rules in March to stop insurance coverage on all tankers carrying Iranian crude oil starting July 1 as part of sanctions on the Middle Eastern country to make it give up its nuclear program. The Korean government belatedly found out about the measure and only recently began pushing for negotiations with the EU to extend the insurance coverage.Crud

Samsung Network Services & Solutions, a Korean network systems developer, plans to hire interns by June this year.The company said in a press release on Tuesday that its five divisions including telecom networks, overseas sales and marketing and human resources will accept applicants until May 24 via its homepage.University students in their junior or senior years, or those expected to graduate in February 2014, can apply for Samsung SNS’ internship programs headed by the five divisions. Graduat

Hyundai Motor Co. announced on Tuesday that it will host an academic research forum in Tokyo on June 15 as a way to recruit outstanding Korean talent with an education received in Japan. The country’s leading automaker said that the research forum is organized to boost Hyundai Motor’s global strength. The forum is an exclusive channel to recruit applicants with degrees from Japan, the company said. “We believe that graduate and doctorate students from Japanese universities have strength in both

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) ― California’s sputtering economic recovery is putting a heavier-than-expected drag on state tax revenue, leading Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday to propose deep budget cuts across an array of government services and warn again that even more cuts are ahead if voters reject his tax-hike initiative in November. Brown’s latest budget plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1 proposes $8.3 billion in spending cuts to close a revised deficit of $15.7 billion deficit, an amou

MADRID (AP) ― Spain got caught up in the uncertainty surrounding the European single currency and the electoral stalemate in Greece Monday as it saw its borrowing costs rise and stock prices fall at alarming rates.The country’s foreign minister issued an urgent appeal Monday to the rival political parties in Athens to form a government quickly and warned that the survival of the single currency project was at stake.“The best thing Greece can do for its own survival and for the survival of Europe