Japanese investors have poured their money into South Korean stocks since April partly fueled by Japan's accommodative monetary policy, data showed Thursday. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), Japan-based investors sold more Korean stocks than they bought in the January-March period, but they purchased a net 1.57 trillion won (US$1.52 billion) worth of them from April through Thursday. The influx of Japanese funds into the local equity market in the May-August period averaged

North Korea will send Olympic gold medalists and world champions to the upcoming Asian Games to be held in South Korea, local organizers said Thursday.According to the organizing committee for the Asian Games in Incheon, west of Seoul, North Korea's list of 150 athletes, to compete in 14 of 36 sports, features reigning Olympic champs and winners of recent world championships.Om Yun-chol, the 2012 Olympic weightlifting gold medalist and the 2013 world champion in the men's under-56kg division, wi

The heirs of de facto head of Samsung Electronics Co. Lee Kun-hee, who has been hospitalized since May, faced a nearly 10 percent cut in their inheritance taxes over the past three months on a fall in the company's share prices, data showed Thursday. If Lee's shares in Samsung Electronics are transferred to his offspring -- his son Jay-yong, who is forecast to be the heir apparent, and his two daughters, Boo-jin, and Seo-hyun -- their gift taxes are estimated at 3.71 trillion won (US$3.62 billio

President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed to strike the "Islamic State" in Syria and to expand operations in Iraq, seizing command of an international coalition to destroy the jihadist army.Obama, who wants history to remember him as the president who ended a decade of foreign wars, launched a major new escalation in the Middle East, also pledging to bolster Iraqi forces and to increase military assistance to Syria's opposition.In a prime-time televised address, Obama said that IS, which has beh

Families of people allegedly snatched by North Korea on Wednesday called on the international community to push Pyongyang to release their missing loved ones."Please put pressure on the government of North Korea to release the abductees," pleaded Teruaki Masumoto, who heads the Japanese Association of the Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea."Imagine the pain of the victims who are suffering in that country,"  Masumoto, whose sister Rumiko was abducted in 1978, told a conference hosted b

A fresh round of negotiations for a three-way free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea, China and Japan ended Friday without a clear breakthrough although the South Korean side said the talks were productive."There were active discussions on the scope of market liberalization at this round of talks under a consensus between the three countries that the proposed South Korea-China-Japan FTA should be a comprehensive free trade deal for the establishment of the framework for a regional bloc,"

North Korea said Friday it would repatriate a South Korean man next week who entered the communist nation "illegally."The man with the surname of Kim was arrested by the North's authorities after having trespassed into the North via a third country, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim is a resident of Anseong, a city about 70 kilometers south of Seoul, it said without revealing his age.The KCNA did not provide details of when and where he was arrested.  It quoted Kim

A South Korean court on Friday acquitted a North Korean defector of carrying out espionage activities for the communist regime.The Seoul Central District Court delivered the not-guilty verdict to the 40-year-old defendant, only identified by his surname Hong, citing a lack of credibility in the evidence.Upon receiving the verdict, Hong was immediately released.The court said Hong was questioned by investigators led by the National Intelligence Service without a lawyer present, which is in violat

A parcel containing a knife, suspicious powder and a threatening letter has been sent to South Korea's defense chief, prompting authorities to launch a probe, the ministry said Friday.The package addressed to Defense Minister Han Min-koo contained a 32.8-centimeter kitchen knife and some 20 grams of white powder with a two-page letter, according to the ministry, noting that the suspicious powder was later found to be flour.The letter sent by the "International Peace Action Corps" reads, "Why are

South Korea and Australia have agreed to step up efforts to expedite the domestic process for the early ratification and implementation of a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.Seoul and Canberra signed the free trade deal in April, but the legislatures of both countries have yet to ratify it.The agreement came as Lee Kyung-soo, deputy minister for political affairs, held a strategic dialogue with his Australian counterpart, Gillian Bird, in Australia, the

North Korea announced a decision Friday to convene another major meeting of its parliament later this month, which may herald the introduction of an important policy or Cabinet reshuffle.The second session of the 13th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) will take place in Pyongyang on Sept. 25, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)."A relevant decision of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly was promulgated on Sept. 4," it said in a brief English-language report.It st

Former German national team player Uli Stielike has been named the new head coach of the South Korean men's football team, officials said Friday.The Korea Football Association (KFA) said the 59-year-old is signed through the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.Stielike fills the vacancy at the football coaching position here left by Hong Myung-bo, who resigned in early July after South Korea crashed out of the World Cup in Brazil with one draw and two losses.The KFA said Stielike will arrive in South

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a best-wishes message to South Korea on Thursday ahead of the ally's traditional Chuseok holiday next week."Chuseok is a time to remember the importance of family, the strength of our values, and the blessings that we are fortunate to share," Kerry said. "As Koreans come together to celebrate this harvest season, my thoughts are with you as I reflect on the warmth of your culture that I remember so fondly from my recent visit to Seoul."Kerry said the str