Ilsung Corp., a local manufacturer of equipment for oil refining and petrochemicals, said on Friday that as of last week, it was on track to get back on its feet.　The company said that on Feb.7, the court issued an approval for its self-restructuring plans, which involved lay-offs and other efforts to trim down and stay more efficient.  　The move came less than a year since Ilsung first entered into court receivership in April of 2012. 　Ilsung, which had been recording sales of an annual 200 bi

The U.S. military in South Korea said Friday it will again be unable this year to normalize tours of its troops here where more troops will be accompanied by their family members.The U.S. military has been trying since 2008 to increase the number of troops on "normal" or family-accompanied tours to about half of its 28,500 soldiers stationed in South Korea by 2020, but it has been unable to begin the process largely due to lack of funds.The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said in a statement that its c

President-elect Park Geun-hye could name more members of her transition committee this weekend, her spokesman said Saturday.On Thursday, Park named former Constitutional Court chief Kim Yong-joon to lead her transition team and appointed several other people to serve in senior positions within the committee.She made her first appointments as president-elect on Monday by naming her chief of staff, senior spokesman and two other spokespeople."President-elect Park still has to make her final decisi

South Korea's stock market will likely remain choppy with no clear direction next week amid mounting concerns over corporate earnings in the fourth quarter of this year, analysts said Saturday.Earnings estimates are expected to come down for the fourth-quarter, Park Jung-sup, an analyst at Daishin Securities.FnGuide Inc., a financial information provider, has said 114 major listed companies are forecast to report a combined operating profit of 30.4 trillion won (US$28 billion) for the October-De

With South Korea set to join the United Nations Security Council in four days, the country could soon take a more active role in getting the international body to punish North Korea for its recent long-range rocket launch, diplomatic sources said Friday.Starting Jan. 1, South Korea will serve as a non-permanent member of the 15-nation council for two years. The council is the U.N.'s top decision-making body, tasked with maintaining world peace.Following North Korea's Dec. 12 rocket launch, Seoul

An Indian woman who was gang-raped and beaten on a bus in New Delhi died Saturday at a Singapore hospital, after her ordeal galvanized Indians to demand greater protection for women from sexual violence that impacts thousands of them every day. IIndian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was aware of the emotions the attack has generated and it was up to all Indians to ensure that the young woman's death will not have been in vain.The victim "passed away peacefully'' with her family and offici

North Korea appears to be ready to conduct a nuclear test in as little as two weeks once a political decision is made to move forward, a U.S. think tank said Friday in an assessment based on satellite imagery."Satellite photos as recent as December 13 show that Pyongyang is determined to maintain a state of readiness at the area of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, where a third test is expected even in the dead of winter," the U.S.-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced Interna

South Korea could seek international arbitration in case North Korea disposes of seized South Korean assets at a scenic mountain resort in the isolated country, a research arm of the legislature said Thursday.The two Koreas have been at odds over the assets at Mount Kumgang, the site of stalled joint tour programs that had served as a key cash cow for the North.South Korea could follow in the foot

Heavy rains have battered North Korea, according to state media and an international relief agency Thursday, as more rain is expected in the coming days amid fears of severe damage and casualties in the impoverished communist nation.The most affected areas are the southern and eastern parts of North Korea. Nearly 100 millimeters of rain poured down in the southern province of Haeju in just three h

The toll from this week's record rainfall has risen to 53 deaths and 14 people missing in landslides and flooding across South Korea, the country's disaster management agency said Thursday.A series of mudslides that hit southern parts of Seoul on Wednesday left 16 dead, another person missing and 20 others injured, while 13 people were killed and four were injured when a landslide engulfed a lodgi

National Tax Service launches regular investigation on Samsung flagshipSamsung Electronics, which had been putting off a regular tax investigation for almost half a year, is now in the midst of the probe launched by the local tax authorities. About 30 officials of the National Tax Service were dispatched to Samsung Group’s flagship unit earlier this week, according to government and industry sourc