삼성전자가 세계에서 최초로 55•65인치 커브드(곡면) UHD(초고해상도) TV를 출시했다. 삼성전자는 유럽 최대 가전 전시회 IFA(Internationale Funkausstellung) 2013 개막 하루 전인 5일(현지시간) 독일 베를린 만국박람회(Messe Berlin)에서 진행한 사전 부스 투어에서 이 제품을 깜짝 공개했다. 곡면 OLED(유기발광다이오드) TV는 올해 1월 미국 라스베이거스에서 열린 국제소비자가전전시회(CES•Consumer Electronics Show)에서 선보인 이후 세계 곳곳에 출시됐으나 곡면 UHD TV가 공개된 것은 이번이 처음이다.성일경 삼성전자 제품전략실 상무는 곡면 UHD TV를 소개한 뒤 "OLED는 휘어지는 특성이 있어 곡면 제품을 만들기가 수월한 편이지만 LED는 상대적으로 구부리기가 더 어렵다"고 설명했다.이 제품의 가격은 곡면 OLED TV보다 저렴하겠지만, 현재 판매되고 있는 UHD TV나 LED TV보다는 비쌀 것으로 성 상무

South Korea and China have reached an agreement on the modality or basic guidelines for their negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), the Seoul government said Friday.The agreement came at the end of three-day talks that ended Thursday in Beijing, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy."At this week's meeting, the two sides reached an agreement on the modality for the FTA, concluding the first stage negotiations for the Korea-China FTA that began in May last year

South Korean President Park Geun-hye called Thursday for closer macroeconomic coordination among the world's top economies, urging advanced countries to be more careful when changing their monetary policies.Park made the appeal during the opening session of the summit of the Group of 20 major economies in Russia's second-largest city, saying economies around the world are interlinked so much that it is difficult for any one of them to grow alone."In a situation like this where global economies m

The U.S. government said Thursday it was contemplating whether to accept China's invitation to an informal multilateral meeting that would set the stage for a rare meeting with the North Koreans.China recently suggested a mid-September gathering with the U.S., the two Koreas, Japan and Russia attended by their senior officials and academics. China proposed Sept. 18 as a candidate date for the event, intended to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program.

President Barack Obama is using his last day in Europe to renew his quest for foreign support for a U.S. military strike in Syria. But three days after he left Washington, it's unclear whether the global coalition the president has been seeking is any closer to becoming a reality.China's a firm no. The European Union is skeptical about whether any military action can be effective. Even Pope Francis weighed in, urging leaders gathered here to abandon what he called a “futile mission.”Still, Obama

Andy Murray's first attempt to defend a Grand Slam title ended on Thursday as he bowed out quickly, if not quietly, in the U.S. Open quarterfinals, losing 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to Stanislas Wawrinka.Two months on from his drought-breaking victory for British men at Wimbledon, the Scot was no match for the Swiss in a surprisingly one-sided encounter.Wawrinka's semifinal opponent will be top seed Novak Djokovic, who overcame a third-set wobble with an authoritative final frame to beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-3,

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday due to gains on Wall Street in the previous trading session amid improved industry data, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 2.75 points, or 0.14 percent, to 1,954.40 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor rising 1.64 percent and top steelmaker POSCO rising 0.46 percent. Leading auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis advanced 0.18 percent.U.S. stocks

South Korea expanded its import ban on Japan's fisheries products to include all fisheries products from the radiation-hit Fukushima and seven other adjacent prefectures, the government said Friday.The move comes as a widespread radiation scare in South Korea is leading to a sharp drop in the consumption of fisheries products."The measure comes as our people's concerns are growing over the fact that hundreds of tons of radiation contaminated water are leaked daily from the site of Japan's nuclea

European Central Bank head Mario Draghi says the eurozone's economic recovery remains fragile and has a long way to go before the bank raises interest rates from their current record low. The ECB Thursday kept its main interest rate unchanged at the record low of 0.5 percent. Recent figures show the 17 European Union member countries that use the euro are only slowly recovering from an 18-month recession. Draghi told reporters Thursday after the monthly meeting of the ECB's governing council tha

South and North Korea are at odds over lodging arrangements for families planning to visit the Mount Kumgang resort during the upcoming family reunions event, the government said Thursday.The reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War was agreed upon at talks held on Aug. 23, with 100 people from each side to meet long-lost relatives on Sept. 25-30. The gathering marks the first time in nearly three years that people will be able to meet loved ones they have not seen in six decades

South Korea continues to see its recovery momentum remain "subdued" but the latest indicators are pointing to a "moderate" improvement down the road, a state-run think tank said Thursday."Korea's economy remained subdued, but indicators are increasing turning positive, signaling a moderate improvement," the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in its monthly report analyzing the latest economic trend. The report is based on major indicators recently unveiled by the government including corpora