양적 완화를 축소하겠다는 미 연방준비제도이사회의 발언의 여파로 서울의 주가 역시 다음 주중에 계속해서 하락세를 기록할 것이라고 분석가들은 내다봤다.21일에 코스피 지수는 전 주 대비 3.52% 하락한 1822.83으로 장을 마쳤다. 이러한 하락세는 미 연방공개시장위원회가 경기가 향상됨에 따라 연방 은행이 채권 구입을 늦출 것 같다고 주초에 말한 것에 따른 결과였다.연방준비제도이사회 버냉키 의장은 이사회가 경기 부양 정책을 서서히 줄이다가 내년 중반 즈음에 완전히 종료할 수도 있다고 말한 바 있다.경기 부양 정책의 감소에 따라서 달러가 강세를 보일 것으로 전망되자 외국인 투자자들이 주식을 처분하는 움직임을 보였다고 전문가들은 전했다.아울러 한국 주식 시장에서 유동성 부족이 우려됨에 따라서 코스피 지수가 계속해서 하락세를 보일 것이라고도 말했다.자동차나 하이테크 기업처럼 아직 경쟁력을 지닌 회사의 주식을 구매하는 것이 현명할 것이라고 KDB 대우증권의 한치환 연구원은 조언했다.금주에는

South Korean stocks are expected to continue trade bearish next week as the United States Federal Reserve's remark to cut quantitative easing will dent investors' sentiment, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed down 66.41 points, or 3.52 percent, to 1,822.83 on Friday from the previous week.The KOSPI lost ground due mainly to the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held this week which had an adverse impact on investors' sentiment as

NEW YORK/BEIJING -- North Korea's top envoy to the United Nations said Friday that high-level talks with South Korea can be resumed only when Seoul drops its preconditions for the rank of Pyongyang's top delegate."We have intent on responding to any dialogue whether on a bilateral or multilateral level," Amb. Sin Son-ho told Yonhap News Agency after a rare news conference in New York about his country's position dealing mainly about relations with the United States.He said the ball is on the Sou

SARAJEVO (AFP) -- The nephew of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, whose family lives in virtual exile, has graduated from an international high school in the southern Bosnian town of Mostar, a school official said Tuesday.Kim Han-Sol, who called his uncle a "dictator" in an interview that aired on Finnish TV in 2012, is the son of the North Korean leader's half-brother Kim Jong-Nam, who fell out of favour with his father Kim Jong-Il following a botched 2001 attempt to enter Japan with a fake pass

TOKYO -- A Japanese mayor who caused a storm with his comments on wartime "comfort women" survived a censure motion filed by local politicians on Thursday.Council members in the western city of Osaka rejected the motion against mayor Toru Hashimoto, who is also joint leader of the national Japan Restoration Party, city officials said.Hashimoto prompted outrage at home and abroad by suggesting that battle-stressed soldiers during World War II needed the services of up to 200,000 sex slaves from K

North Korea on Wednesday virtually turned down a South Korean proposal for talks to return raw materials and finished products from a suspended inter-Korean industrial complex to South Korea, criticizing the proposal as a "crafty ploy" to evade domestic criticism over the complex's halt and mislead public opinion. "Availing ourselves of this opportunity, we (North Korea) remind the south Korean authorities once again that the prospect of the Gaeseong complex and the future orientation of the nor

The U.S. government called Wednesday for North Korea to release an American citizen jailed there, saying Washington's top priority is to secure the safety of its nationals."We urge the DPRK (North Korea) authorities to grant Mr. Bae amnesty and immediate release," Patrick Ventrell, deputy spokesman for the State Department, told reporters. "There is no greater priority for us than the welfare and safety of our U.S. citizens abroad."The 44-year-old Korean-American man, Kenneth Bae, was arrested i

AUCKLAND -- South Korea and New Zealand have signed an agreement to recognize the validity of driver's licenses issued by each other, the South Korean Embassy here said Wednesday.Under the agreement, South Koreans visiting or residing in New Zealand will be able to drive cars in the Oceanic country with their Korean licenses without additional training or tests, but only if the licenses are two years old or older, the embassy said.The agreement will be effective from July 1, it added.(Yonhap New

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae removed a disgraced former spokesman at the center of a sexual abuse scandal from the government payroll, an official said Wednesday.Yoon Chang-jung was sacked last week as a spokesman for President Park Geun-hye following allegations that he sexually abused a young intern working as his secretary during a trip to Washington as a member of Park's entourage.Still, he had technically remained a government official until his removal from the payroll.Government

GENEVA -- The head of South Korea's weather agency was elected as a member of the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Executive Council at a Council meeting in Geneva on Wednesday, allowing  South Korea to retain the two-year post for the second time in a row, WMO officials said.Lee Il-soo, head of Korea Meteorogical Administration (KMA), became a new Council member following his Korean predecessor Cho Seok-joon, who joined the Council consisting of 37 heads of national meteorological agen

President Park Geun-hye said Wednesday she will swiftly take follow-up steps as soon as the United States completes an investigation into allegations that her now-fired spokesman sexually abused a young woman during his visit to Washington last week.Park made the remarks during a meeting with dozens of political editors of newspapers and broadcasters, saying it is regrettable such an unsavory incident happened near the end of her trip, the first overseas visit since taking office in February."As

MOSCOW (AFP) -- A website used by Russia's North Caucasus rebels denied Sunday any link to the deadly Boston Marathon bombings that have been blamed on two ethnic-Chechen suspects."The command of the Vilayat Dagestan mujahedeen... declares that the Caucasus fighters are not waging any military activities against the United States of America," the Kavkacenter.com website said."We are only fighting Russia, which is not only responsible for the occupation of the Caucasus, but also for monstrous cri

An annual summit between South Korea, China and Japan is unlikely to take place in May, a senior official said Wednesday, amid claims that Beijing has been noncommittal about Seoul's proposal to hold the meeting next month.The three countries have held a cooperation summit every year, and it is South Korea's turn to host this year's session. But the sides have yet to reach agreement on when to meet due reportedly to China's reluctance over a territorial dispute with Japan over a group of islands