Marriage, not child rearing, is the leading cause of South Korean women quitting their jobs, a survey released by an association of the country's largest conglomerates said Sunday.According to the findings by the Federation of Korean Industries based on a poll of 5,887 women nationwide in 2010, the likelihood of a woman giving up work after getting married was 37.8 percent higher than those who remained single.Among women in their 20s, their chances of leaving work after marriage shot up 58.2 pe

South Korea beat Japan to become the biggest player in the Chinese import market last year on the back of growing demand for Korean-made machinery and electronics parts, data showed Sunday.According to the Korea International Trade Association, the share of Korean-made products rose to 9.24 percent in 2013 from 9.17 percent a year ago in the Chinese import market, taking the No. 1 spot for the first time.Japan's market share fell to 8.19 percent from 9.78 percent during the same period, the KITA

A four-member North Korean delegation arrived in China on Saturday for talks with Japan on possible repatriation of the remains of Japanese nationals who died in the communist country during World War II.The talks, the first of their kind since August 2012, are scheduled to open on Monday in Shenyang, a major city in northeastern China. North Korean officials said the talks are scheduled to continue for three days."The talks will last three days and the agenda is the issue of the remains of Japa

Korean victims of the Japanese military's sexual enslavement during World War II could be asked to repeat their testimonies, a Japanese news report quoted a ranking Japanese lawmaker as saying Saturday, a remark that could be seen as another sign of Tokyo's unrepentant attitude over its wartime atrocities.Shigeru Ishiba, the secretary general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, made the remark in a meeting with reporters following revelations that the Japanese government will set up a te

Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations asked an emergency session of the Security Council on Saturday “to do everything possible now” to stop Russian “aggression” as Russian troops took over the strategic Crimea region. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call to “urgently engage in direct dialogue with the authorities” in Kiev. Calling the situation in Ukraine “as dangerous as it is destabilizing,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power t

South Korean makers of electric-powered vehicle batteries are tapping China for promising opportunities in the country combating serious air pollution problems.The EV market in China, the world's biggest auto market, is expected to grow to be the largest in the world by 2020, as its government has been pouring efforts into cleaning up its notoriously bad air.The Chinese government has found part of the answer to the pollution problem in EVs.China's Finance Ministry said on Feb. 8 that it will ex

The number of babies born in South Korea dropped for the first time in four years in 2013, a report showed Thursday, deepening worries for a country whose already low birthrate undermines its growth potential.According to the report by Statistics Korea, 436,600 babies were born last year, down 48,000 or 9.9 percent from a year earlier.The number marked the lowest since 2005 when 435,031 babies were born. It also represented the first time that childbirths have declined on a year-on-year basis si

South Korea plans to propose that the rival Koreas hold Red Cross talks to discuss further reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, an official said Thursday.The two Koreas wrapped up the first temporary family reunions since late 2010 at a North Korean mountain resort on Tuesday as part of their recent deal meant to improve their soured relations.Under the deal, the two Koreas agreed to hold Red Cross talks after staging the reunions to resolve humanitarian issues."We think abo

South Korea's health agency said Thursday it will review a fitness feature on the latest smartphone by Samsung Electronics Co. to decide whether to designate the device as a medical equipment.Samsung's Galaxy S5 smartphone, introduced Monday, is the first in the industry to come with a built-in heart rate sensor. It can also  be connected to smartwatches to monitor heart rate during exercises.South Korean law stipulates that medical devices, defined as equipment used to diagnose, treat or preven

K-pop group 2NE1 released its long-anticipated second full-length album Thursday, nabbing the top spot on numerous music charts in a matter of hours.Soon after its release on online music services at midnight, "Comeback Home," the main track on the album "Crush," topped real-time charts of 10 services, including Melon, Mnet, Olleh Music, Naver Music, Daum Music and Bugs.Another major piece, "Gotta Be You," came next on those charts while most of the remaining tracks also placed high."Crush" has

South Korean President Park Geun-hye will meet the United Arab Emirates' crown prince of Abu Dhabi Thursday for talks on expanding bilateral cooperation in energy, defense and other areas of mutual interest, her office said.Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who arrived in Seoul Wednesday for a three-day visit, is the highest-ranking Middle Eastern official to visit South Korea since the launch of the Park government last February, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said in a p