China’s recently released population census confirms the persistence of the country’s alarming excess of males relative to the global norm. This numerical imbalance from birth onward has several significant economic implications – and not only for China. Because women live longer than men on average, most countries’ populations have more females than males. In the United States, for example, there were 96 males per 100 females in 2020. China, by contrast, has 105 males f

Samsung Biologics is working to expedite preparations to start churning out “hundreds of millions” of doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in early second half, the company said Sunday. At its sterile drug manufacturing facility in Songdo, Incheon, which is one of the largest in the world, the South Korean pharmaceutical will handle the fill and finish process of the production of mRNA-1273, Moderna’s messenger-RNA based COVID-19 jab. The firm signed a contract with Mo

South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited a plant construction site of SK Innovation Co., the country‘s leading battery maker, in the United States on Saturday. “This plant symbolizes friendship and high-tech cooperation between South Korea and the United States,” Moon said in a speech at the factory in the state of Georgia. “South Korean firms are best partners in the battery field. Cooperation in the sector offers a good opportunity for the US and South Korea to devel

ATLANTA/SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited a plant construction site of SK Innovation Co., the country's leading battery maker, in the United States on Saturday. The facility in the state of Georgia is regarded as symbolizing close partnerships between the two countries in the electric vehicle (EV) battery sector. The company is investing around 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion) in the construction project, with trial production under way starting in March. "This plant symbo

ATLANTA/SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in left the United States on Saturday following a four-day trip for summit talks with US President Joe Biden. Earlier in the day, he flew to Atlanta from Washington, D.C. to make a brief visit to a Georgia plant construction site of SK Innovation Co., a South Korea-based battery maker. It marked Moon's first overseas travel since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he is returning home with "better-than-expected" results fro

South Korean President Moon Jae-in's summit meetings with US President Joe Biden in Washington on Friday presented contrasting appearances from those held about a month ago between the leaders of the United States and Japan, officials said. The most noteworthy differences were the length of the summit meetings and the lunch menu. Moon and Biden held 171 minutes of one-on-one, small group and expanded summit meetings, about 20 minutes longer than the April 16 meetings between the US president a

South Korea and the United States announced said Friday they will broaden cooperation in the nuclear energy sector to penetrate deeper into overseas markets. "We commit to develop cooperation in overseas nuclear markets, including joint participation in nuclear power plant projects, while ensuring the highest standards of international nuclear safety, security and nonproliferation are maintained," the two countries said in a joint statement. The statement came in line with the summit

The following is the full text of a joint statement by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden released by the White House at the end of their bilateral summit in Washington on Friday. US-ROK Leaders' Joint Statement Over seventy years ago, the alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea was forged on the battlefield, as we stood shoulder-to-shoulder in war. Bonded in common sacrifice, our partnership has helped to keep the peace in the decades since, al

President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden agreed at their summit Friday to pursue a global COVID-19 vaccine partnership while reaffirming their commitment to dialogue with a recalcitrant North Korea. The leaders held their first in-person meeting in Washington four months after Biden took office as the pandemic rages on and Pyongyang shows no interest in resuming talks with either Seoul or Washington. Speaking in a joint press conference at the White House following their talks, Biden p

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced a joint decision Friday with the United States to terminate guidelines that have long restricted Seoul's development of missiles. He was speaking right after the summit with President Joe Biden at the White House. "I am pleased to announce the termination of the missile guidelines," Moon told reporters, with Biden standing next to him. Moon described it as a "symbolic and substantive" measure demonstrating th

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- US President Joe Biden said Friday his country will provide full COVID-19 vaccinations for all 550,000 South Korean troops and enter a partnership with Seoul on global vaccine supply. Biden made the announcement at a joint press conference with President Moon Jae-in at the White House following their summit talks. "There are 550,000 Korean soldiers, sailors, airmen who work in close contact with the American forces in Korea," the US president said. "We'll pr

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his American counterpart, Joe Biden, agreed Friday on the importance of a stronger alliance between the nations, in their first-ever summit at the White House. Moon said he and Biden has confirmed a "joint commitment" to the strengthening of the alliance and peace on the Korean Peninsula. He was speaking at the outset of an expanded summit session following one-one-one talks and a follow-up meeting joined by a few key aides.

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- Four major South Korean companies, including Samsung and SK, on Friday announced plans to invest $39.4 billion in the United States, ahead of President Moon Jae-in's summit with US President Joe Biden in Washington. During a business roundtable attended by Moon, Samsung Electronics announced plans to invest $17 billion in a new foundry plant. LG Energy Solution and SK innovation, which make batteries, said they plan to invest some $14 billion in separate and joint projects

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended a White House Medal of Honor ceremony Friday to honor a Korean War veteran. Moon was invited by President Joe Biden to the event held in advance of their first summit talks. Biden presented Ralph Puckett Jr., a 94-year-old retired Army colonel, with the Medal of Honor, the most prestigious military distinction, for his acts of "conspicuous gallantry" during the 1950-53 Korean War. Biden's decision to honor him in perso