South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment rose for July mainly due to growing demand for semiconductors and electronic parts, central bank data showed Friday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local manufacturers came to 99 for July, up from 97 for June, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' outlook on business conditions in the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. A modest recovery in exports and

WASHINGTON -- The United States remains committed to the South Korea-US alliance, 71 years after the start of the Korean War, a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday, calling the alliance the "linchpin of peace" for the region and the world. Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby made the remarks as the allies mark the 71st anniversary of the start of the 1950-53 Korean War on Friday. "Tomorrow marks 71 years since the start of the Korean War. For the past 71 years our commitment

The number of urban households in South Korea that moved to provinces to take up farming rose last year, data showed Thursday, as more people searched for new job opportunities outside cities. The number of return-to-farm households came to 12,489 in 2020, up 9.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. By age group, those in their 50s accounted for the largest portion of 35 percent among those movi

The number of drunk driving accidents in Seoul sharply dropped two years into enforcing stronger DUI laws, police data showed Thursday. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, 931 DUI accidents have been reported in the capital from December last year to June, down 41.2 percent from 1,583 from December 2017 to June 2018. The number of deaths in such accidents also dropped by 33.3 percent to eight over the same period. In late 2018, the National Assembly revised DUI-related laws, in

Dialogue and cooperation are the best way to ensure stable and peaceful control of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, a unification ministry official said Thursday, after North Korea said that it is not interested in resuming talks with the United States. On Wednesday night, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon issued a statement, saying that his country is not considering "even the possibility of any contact with the US" A day earlier, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean

A key administrative process to relocate the US embassy building in Seoul was approved by city officials Thursday, opening the door for the beginning of the construction project that will close the embassy's half-century-old presence in the heart of the South Korean capital. The Seoul metropolitan government's city planning and construction committee approved the district units plan of the US embassy's new site in Yongsan-dong of Seoul's central Yongsan Ward. The current embassy building is lo

Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl will declare his presidential bid next week, officially launching a political career three months after he stepped down from public office, according to his spokesperson Thursday.  Yoon will appear in front of the public in an event at 1 p.m. on Tuesday at the memorial hall for Yun Bong-gil, a national independence fighter, in southern Seoul, according to the spokesperson. He is set to announce his widely anticipated presidential bid there. "I wi

President Moon Jae-in has reaffirmed his commitment to doing his best during the remainder of his tenure to reinvigorate the Korea peace process, according to the TIME magazine. Speaking in a recent interview, posted on its website, Moon said, "The peace we have right now is a very fragile one; it can be shaken at any time." "I know that I don't have much time myself," he added in the story headlined "South Korean President Moon Jae-in Makes One Last Attempt to Heal Hi

South Korea plans to invest 50 billion won ($44 million) in a fund specializing in animation investment as part of efforts to boost the industry, the culture ministry said Thursday. The investment is part of a five-year plan aimed at increasing the local animation industry's revenue to 1 trillion won by 2025 from 640.5 billion won in 2019, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The ministry also aims to increase exports from $190 million to $360 million and expand the number

WASHINGTON -- The US International Trade Commission (ITC) on Wednesday decided to approve anti-dumping tariffs on car tires imported from South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The final decision comes about a month after the US Department of Commerce said it will impose anti-dumping tariffs of between 14.72 percent and 27.05 percent on passenger vehicle and light truck tires from the four countries. The ITC said it has determined "that a US industry is materially injured by reason of

WASHINGTON -- The United States continues to remain open to diplomacy with North Korea, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday, hours after the North said it is not considering any dialogue with the US The spokesperson also reiterated US hopes that the North will respond positively to US overtures. "We are aware of these reports," the spokesperson said of a statement from North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon that Pyongyang is not considering even the possibility of any c

WASHINGTON -- The United States will continue to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula by reducing threats from North Korea through diplomacy, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday, amid a US overture to the North for dialogue. The defense secretary also said his country will continue to remain focused on North Korea despite more pacing threats from others such as China. "Leading with diplomacy, the United States will continue to work to mitigate North Korea's destabilizing an

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is ready to conduct its first post-pandemic rate hike "within this year" amid the economy's robust recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said Thursday. Lee has hinted that the BOK could exit from pandemic-era monetary easing if an economic recovery remains solid, but it is the first time that he mentioned the timing of a rate hike. "There is the need to orderly normalize monetary policy within this year," Lee told reporters. Lee a

Nearly 90 percent of service members aged under 30 have received their first doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine since the vaccination campaign for younger soldiers began earlier this month, the defense ministry said Thursday. A total of 365,277 troops in their 20s, or 88.1 percent of the age group, had been vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to the ministry. The defense ministry began their inoculation campaign in March and has been implementing it in phases. Soldiers aged 30 and older w

South Korea's leading carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. emerged as the top auto seller in Vietnam in the first five months of this year, outpacing its Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp., industry data showed Thursday. Hyundai Motor sold 24,420 units in the Southeast Asian nation in the January-May period, edging out Toyota's 24,112 units, according to the data from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA). Hyundai's smaller affiliate Kia Corp. sold 23,440 units in Vietnam over the sam