South Korea plans to propose bilateral nuclear talks with North Korea, separately from the upcoming high-level defense talks, to determine whether Pyongyang is serious about giving up its nuclear programs, Seoul's foreign minister said Friday.After a series of calls for unconditional talks, North Korea offered Thursday to hold high-level defense talks with Seoul to discuss its November shelling of

LG Display Co., the world's No. 2 supplier of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, is likely to report a loss for the fourth quarter, industry sources said Tuesday, as a fine of 215 million euros (US$285 million) by the European Union (EU) takes a toll on its bottom line.According to the sources, the penalty will be reflected in the company's earnings for the October-December period, which are sla

South Korea will temporarily allow local dairy farms to increase milk production to counter shortfalls caused by the culling of dairy cows due to the recent foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak, the farm ministry said Tuesday.The move calls for production quotas to be raised by 5 percent for the next two years to help boost supply and preempt price hikes that can exacerbate inflationary concerns

South Korea confirmed an additional case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the country's central region on Tuesday, though nationwide vaccinations and quarantine efforts are having some effect on containing the disease.The additional case at a pig farm in Yesan, 134 kilometers south of Seoul, brings the total number of confirmed FMD outbreaks to 121, since animals started showing symptoms in late

The Army is pushing ahead with a plan to allow master sergeants to lead squads, small military units currently led by second lieutenants, a military source said Friday, amid a growing shortage of entry-level officers."The Army is working to appoint master sergeants as heads of squads as part of its reform measures," the source said on condition of anonymity. "From as early as next year, master ser