South Korean stocks started slightly higher on Monday with gains in utility and telecom stocks, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.77 point, or 0.04 percent, to 2,002.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Utility and telecom shares led the overall market rise with SK Telecom rising 1.54 percent.But tech and other major market cap shares remained in negative terrain. Top market cap Samsung Electronics lost 0.93 percent.The local currency was trading at

South Korea's industrial output remained unchanged on-month in November, as declines in mining and manufacturing offset growth in other areas, a government report showed Monday.According to Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries stayed flat last month compared with a month earlier. This followed a revised 2.1 percent gain tallied for October, which was a turnaround from the previous month's 2.3 percent fall.Production in the service sector inche

North Korea on Sunday celebrated leader Kim Jong-un's ascension to power two years ago and swore allegiance to him, state media reported, in the latest in a series of events staged to show that the young leader is firmly in charge after the execution of his uncle.Kim took over as supreme commander of North Korea's armed forces on Dec. 30, 2011, shortly after his late father Kim Jong-il died. This year's anniversary came just weeks after Kim executed his powerful uncle Jang Song-thaek, prompting

Creditors of the ailing Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co. may end their financial support to the builder that has been suffering from cash shortages amid a property market slowdown, sources said Sunday.The main creditor, Woori Bank, plans to ask other creditors whether they will continue their debt-rescheduling program for Ssangyong E&C, according to officials.If 75 percent of creditors do not approve a proposal for continued liquidity supply, including a debt-to-equity swap, the workout

South Korea's state-run trade bank said Sunday that the country's exports are likely to grow around 10 percent in the first quarter of next year from a year earlier helped by the recovery of the global economy.The Export-Import Bank of Korea said its leading index for the country's exports came in at 135.7 for the January-March period, up 2.8 percent from the previous year.Given that the leading index rose for the fifth straight quarter, Korea's exports are likely to grow around 10 percent in th

A cargo ship collided with a chemical-laden tanker off South Korea's southeast coast early Sunday, causing the tanker to catch fire, but all 91 crew members on the two vessels were rescued safely, coast guard officials said.The 55,000-ton freighter Gravity Highway was on a test-run when it collided with Maritime Maisie, a tanker carrying 29,337 tons of inflammable chemicals, in waters about 9.2 nautical miles off the southeastern port city of Busan around 2:15 a.m., officials said.The impact cau

The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) rejected a tentative agreement on how to reform the intelligence agency, saying he cannot accept a deal that lacks a complete ban on spy agents from visiting government agencies for intelligence-gathering.Kim Han-gil called for a renegotiation to include the ban, saying it was part of a set of principles the DP and the ruling Saenuri Party established before launching negotiations on reforming the National Intelligence Service (NIS).Kim als

A city in southern China has dismissed most members of its legislature after they were found to have taken millions of dollars in bribes in a massive election fraud, a Communist Party-run newspaper reported Saturday.The scandal implicated 518 lawmakers in the city of Hengyang's 529-member legislature, said the Hunan Daily, a newspaper run by the Hunan provincial Communist Party committee.The Hengyang People's Congress had convened earlier this year to pick 76 delegates to represent the city in t

중국 남부 후난(湖南)성 헝양(衡陽)시의 성급 인민대표대회(인대) 대표 선출 과정에서 대규모 '돈선거'가 치러진 것으로 드러나 500명 이상이 무더기 해임되는 사태가 벌어졌다.후난성 인민대표대회는 28일(현지시간) 성급 인민대표로 선출되기 위해 총 1억1천만 위안(191억원)에 이르는 뇌물을 뿌린 56명의 자격을 박탈했다고 밝혔다.또 이들로부터 돈을 받은 것으로 드러난 헝양시 인대 대표 518명 가운데 512명의 사직서를 수리했다고 전했다. 나머지 6명은 이미 사퇴한 상태다.헝양시 당국은 또 뇌물을 받지는 않았으나 심각한 직무 태만을 저지른 혐의로 시급 인민대표 3명을 추가 해임했다고 현지 당 기관지가 전했다.지방의회 격인 헝양시 인민대표대회는 올해 초 성급 인대에서 시를 대표할 76명을 선출했으며 당시 527명이 출석했다.당국은 당시 선거에서 매표 행위가 이뤄졌다는 신고를 올해 2월부터 접수하기 시작했으며 특별반을 꾸려 조사에 나섰다.후난성 당국은 특히 최근 낙마한 퉁밍첸(童名謙)

Syria is "unlikely" to meet a December 31 deadline to move its most dangerous chemical arms out of the country, the United Nations acknowledged for the first time Saturday.The UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said "important progress" has been made on eliminating Syria's banned weapons, but called on President Bashar al-Assad's government to "intensify efforts" to meet internationally set deadlines.The year-end deadline was the first key milestone under a UN

시리아가 연내에 핵심 화학무기를 국외로 옮기기로 한 마감시한을 지키지 못할 것으로 보인다.유엔과 화학무기금지기구(OPCW)는 28일(현지시간) 공동성명에서 "시리아의 핵심 화학무기를 국외로 옮기기 위한 준비를 계속하고 있지만, 현 단계에서는 12월 31일 이전 화학무기 운반이 어려울 것으로 보인다"고 밝혔다.이에 따라 내년 중반까지 시리아의 화학무기를 모두 폐기하려는 계획은 첫 단계부터 차질이 빚어지게 됐다.미국과 러시아의 주도로 채택된 유엔 결의안은 시리아의 핵심 화학무기를 연내 해외로 옮긴 데 이어 위험성이 덜한 화학무기도 내년 2월 5일까지 이송하는 것으로 돼 있다.화학무기는 일단 시리아의 지중해 항구도시 라타키아로 옮겨진 뒤 미국 해군이 제공한 컨테이너함에 실려 공해상에서 폐기되는 절차를 밟을 예정이다.핵심 화학무기의 해외 운송이 차질을 빚은 것은 시리아 내전 상황과 수송 문제, 기상 악화 때문이라고 유엔과 OPCW는 설명했다.유엔과 OPCW는 "시리아 정부가 석 달 전 화학