North Korea has been reinforcing its cyberwarfare capabilities and its number of professional hackers is estimated to have reached about 7,700, according to a report issued Friday in Seoul. North Korea currently has 1,700 well-trained troops belonging to seven hacking organizations under the ruling Workers’ Party and the Korean People’s Army, it said.In addition, the North is believed to be operating about 10 cyberwarfare support organizations, which employ in total about 6,000 professional hack

  

Norway has trumped Denmark as the world’s happiest country, according to the World Happiness Report 2017 by the United Nations, which calls on nations to build social trust and equality to improve the wellbeing of their citizens.Nordic nations ranked the most contented. The remaining countries in the top 10 were Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden. Meanwhile, South Korea ranked 56th. At the bottom were South Sudan, Liberia, Guinea, T

South Korea’s total birthrate -- the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime -- stood at 1.25 in 2016, according to the CIA World Factbook.South Korea ranked No. 220 out of 224 countries by birthrate. South Korea‘s total birthrate is also the lowest among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group of 35 mostly rich nations.Hong Kong ranked No. 221, with its birthrate standing at 1.19, followed by Taiwan at 1.12, Macau at 0.94 and Singapore with 0.82. In c

  

Overseas tuition fees spent by South Koreans fell 6 percent last year from a year earlier, due to the won‘s weakness and the slowing economy, the central bank said Friday. In 2016, tuition fees for South Koreans studying overseas declined to $3.52 billion from $3.74 billion a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea.The US dollar rose to an average of 1,160.5 won in 2016 from 1,131.49 won a year earlier, according to BOK data.

Singapore tops the ranks in Asia as the city with the best quality of living, well ahead of Tokyo and Hong Kong because of its efficient infrastructure.The city-state gained one spot from last year and came in at No. 25 on a global ranking of 231 cities by consulting firm, Mercer.In Asia, Tokyo was at 47 and Seoul at 76, with both declining slightly in the index.Singapore was top of the list on quality of city infrastructure, which includes supply of electricity, drinking water and phone service

More than 1 in 4 deaths in children under 5 are linked to polluted environments, according to a recent report from the World Health Organization.Each year, environmental risks such as indoor and outdoor pollution, secondhand smoke, unsafe water and poor sanitation kill around 1.7 million children between the ages of 1 month and 5 years, the reports found.Harmful exposure can start in the mother‘s womb, increasing the risk of premature birth, which can lead to lifelong health problems.When childr

Sales of cigarettes in South Korea fell for three straight months in February, following the government’s push to imprint health warning graphics on packages, government data showed Monday.Some 240 million packs of cigarettes were sold last month, down 14 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.The monthly sales have been on a decline since November last year, when 290 million packs were sold.The ministry attributed the sales drop to a

South Korea’s small and mid-sized businesses in some industries are heavily dependent on China for their exports, and are continuing to suffer from Beijing’s trade retaliation for Seoul’s hosting of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system.Exports by small businesses to China reached $22.5 billion last year, up 1.9 percent from the previous year, according to the Korea Customs Service and the Small and Medium Business Administration.While industries exporting parts and materials to

Park Geun-hye became South Korea’s first president removed by impeachment in a historic Constitutional Court ruling Friday.The conservative leader has not only lost her title as president, the impeachment also deprives her of privileges normally provided to a sitting or former president. According to the Law on Privileges for Former Heads of State, as an impeached president, Park is no longer entitled to a presidential pension, free medical care or state support for commemorative projects. The d

Switzerland is the best country in the world based on its attitude towards education, democracy, business and quality of life, according to a poll.Canada came second in the annual “best country” survey external link of 60 nations released by US News & World Report, along with Y&R’s BAV Consulting and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.Britain was ranked third overall, followed by Germany and Japan. The United States came seventh. South Korea ranked 23rd. Serbia is the lowest ov

South Koreans’ purchases of printed books hit a record low in 2016, official data showed Saturday, in another sign they are reading fewer books due to factors such as falling income, the growing use of mobile devices to read and more time spent on social media. Households with two or more members spent an average of 15,335 won ($13.25) per month on printed books in 2016, according to Statistics Korea. It represents a 7.7 percent drop from 16,623 won in 2015.A survey by the Culture Ministry showe

North Korea maintains diplomatic ties with 161 countries in the world, but it may soon lose one - Malaysia.Ever since Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of the North’s leader, died on Feb. 13 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in an apparent assassination, the relationship between the two Asian countries has deteriorated to an extent that some say the termination of their four-decade diplomatic ties is likely. On Feb. 24, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he would “reconsid