The North Korean currency has recently gained 20 percent against the Chinese yuan, a rare development blamed on rumors of the North’s counterfeiting, a source familiar with the issue said Friday.The North Korean won was traded at 1,000 won to 1 Chinese yuan a week ago, but 1 yuan is now worth only 800 won in the country’s major northeastern city of Chongjin.The source said, on condition of anonymity, that the demand for foreign currencies has surged on rumors a week ago that a lot of North Korea

A ruling party lawmaker is seeking to disqualify overseas Koreans connected to anti-state organizations from voting in the general elections next year by limiting passport issuance.Rep. Chung Mi-kyung of the ruling Grand National Party submitted Friday the revision bill of the current Passport Act to the parliamentary secretariat, officials said.According to the bill, the government would refuse passport applications of overseas ethnic Koreans involved in anti-state groups as stated in the Natio

With 100 days remaining before it hosts a global nuclear summit, South Korea is putting the final touches on preparations for the 50-nation Nuclear Security Summit, key organizers said Friday, promising to make the event a success.The Seoul nuclear summit will take place on March 26 and 27, attended by top leaders from about 50 countries, including the United States, Russia, China, Japan, Britain and France. The summit, which will be the second such meeting following one in the United States in

The chairman of SK Group will be summoned next week for interrogation over allegations that he embezzled a massive amount of company funds in collusion with his younger brother, prosecutors said Friday. Prosecutors have given notice to Chairman Chey Tae-won to appear at the prosecutors’ office in southern Seoul around 9:30 a.m. on Monday for questioning, they said.Chey had initially been scheduled to undergo interrogation last week, but prosecutors postponed the summons so they could better prep

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The United States will not rush to make a decision on either food aid for North Korea or further high-level talks, officials said Thursday amid expectations of progress in efforts to start full-scale nuclear negotiations.Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, started discussions Wednesday in Beijing with North Korean officials over the possibility of food aid, which Washington formally describes as “nutritional assistance.”The North is repre

South Korea will work to boost its food exports by more than 30 percent to $10 billion as part of its policy goals for next year, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Friday.The move comes as the country is expected to implement its free trade agreement with the United States in early 2012, which, the ministry earlier said, could lead to a reduction of 12.67 trillion won ($10.9 billion) in production by the country‘s agricultural, farming and fisheries industries.“The b

Losses incurred due to embezzlement and malpractice by KOSDAQ-listed company officials jumped 44.6 percent this year, data showed Friday, raising investment concerns on South Korea’s secondary stock market.Losses amounting to 407.2 billion won ($352.9 million) were estimated to have been incurred through 24 cases of misconduct such as embezzlement and corporate negligence in 2011, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service, South Korea’s financial watchdog.The tally includes embe

South Korea on Friday resumed operation of a nuclear reactor recently shut down due to problems detected in its electric generator, plant operators said.The reactor at Gori Nuclear Power Plant in Ulsan, 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was expected to reach its full output early Saturday, following its resumption of operation at 5:50 a.m. Friday, according to the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.The state-run nuclear plant operator had to shut down the reactor with a capacity of 950,000 kilowatt

Household loans offered by South Korean depository institutions posted the highest growth in 11 months in October on home loans, the central bank said Friday, complicating the government’s efforts to curb private sector debt.Household lending handled by local banks and non-bank institutions totaled 634.3 trillion won ($548 billion) as of the end of October, up 5.7 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The October data marked the largest monthly expansion since a 6.

Kia Motors grabs highest China market share in 6 yearsKicker: Kia‘s Morning named best city car in FranceKia Motors Corp. captured its highest share of the Chinese market in six years in November, gaining momentum in the world’s most populous market, company officials said Friday, Kia posted a China market share of 4.1 percent last month, the largest since October 2005 when it reached 4.7 percent.Kia achieved record China sales of 45,768 units last month with the newly launched mid-sized sedan

KMI and IST fail to pass, clouding outlook over new impetus to wireless sectorThe Korea Communications Commission said on Friday it would not issue wireless carrier licenses to Internet Space Time and its rival Korea Mobile Internet. Both IST and KMI failed to secure 70 points or higher in the screening process, dimming their hopes to become the country’s fourth mobile carrier. Currently, the domestic market is dominated by SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus. The KCC held a judging committee meeting ea

South Korean stocks closed 1.15 percent higher on Friday as stronger U.S. jobs data eased concerns about the recovery of the world’s largest economy, analysts said.The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI rose 20.85 points to 1,839.96, breaking the third straight session of falls. Trading volume was moderate at 483.5 million shares worth 4.3 trillion won ($3.7 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 492 to 342.“Better-than-expected data on U.S. job markets gave some sol