South Korea plans to stage an annual military exercise on and around its easternmost islets of Dokdo this week to beef up the country's defense capabilities, sources said Monday. The drill, named the East Sea Territory Protection Exercise, is scheduled to take place Tuesday, and will involve the Navy, the Air Force and the Coast Guard, according to the government and military sources. The Marine Corps will not join this year's program, as no landing drill will take place, the sources said, add

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products rose around 30 percent last month, data showed Monday, thanks to strong demand for semiconductors, displays and mobile phones amid signs of a global economic recovery from the pandemic-induced slump. Outbound shipments of ICT products were tallied at $17.73 billion in May, up 27.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The latest figure marked the second-largest amou

SK Inc.'s European bio subsidiary Yposkesi has begun the construction of its second drugmaking plant in France to ramp up its manufacturing capacity, the holding firm of South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate SK Group said Monday. In March, SK acquired a 70 percent stake in Yposkesi, a France-based Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) specializing in cell and gene therapies, to expand its presence in the burgeoning biologic CMO market. The latest deal is SK Inc.'s third acqui

Yun Kang-hyeon, a career diplomat known for his expertise on bilateral, multilateral, political and economic affairs, was appointed as new South Korean ambassador to Iran, the foreign ministry said Monday. While serving as the deputy minister for economic affairs from 2017-2020, Yun was in charge of the negotiations with Tehran over Iranian funds frozen at South Korean banks due to US sanctions. Yun had until recently served as ambassador for international relations in the central province of

A 2.5 magnitude natural earthquake has struck North Korea's northeastern region, South Korea's state weather agency said Monday. The quake occurred about 40 kilometers northwest of Kilju, North Hamkyong Province, at 11:57 p.m. Sunday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Kilju is where North Korea's nuclear testing site is located. The epicenter was at a latitude of 41.29 degrees north and a longitude of 129.13 degrees east at a depth of 15 km. The KMA said the quake occ

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. said Monday that its COVID-19 antibody treatment has sharply reduced recovery time and the chance of a severe case. Celltrion announced top-line results from a global phase three clinical study of Rekirona, a pivotal part of the study to obtain more comprehensive safety and efficacy results. Rekirona won the South Korean drug safety agency's conditional approval in February, becoming the first locally made treatment for COVID-19. Rekirona is a

President Moon Jae-in has shared his thoughts on meeting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in person for the first time at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Britain, describing the experience as "precious" in terms of potentially improving the two nations' frayed bilateral relationship. On Saturday, Moon "exchanged greetings" with Suga just before the start of an expanded session of the G-7 summit at Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate in Cornwall, Britain, according to Cheo

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) said Monday that it has signed a 1.9 trillion won ($ 1.7 billion) deal to build a hull of an offshore facility. The deal is part of a total 2.6 trillion won project to construct a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO), which was placed by Brazilian state-owned oil firm Petrobras, DSME said in an emailed statement. The deal was jointly won by Italy's oilfield services company Saipem, DSME said. The FPSO will be delive

South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases rose by the smallest amount in more than two months due to fewer tests over the weekend as the country is preparing for eased virus restrictions starting next month amid an accelerating vaccination drive. The country reported 399 more COVID-19 cases, including 360 local infections, raising the total caseload to 148,273, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Monday's figure was sharply down from 452 cases on Sunday and 565 on Saturda

Nearly 16,000 people have used "flights to nowhere" offered by South Korean airlines since the sightseeing flights were introduced late last year, the customs office said Monday. The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said 15,983 passengers used a total of 152 international flights designed for the purpose of the air journey, not the destination, between December 2020 and May 2021. Passengers using the flights have bought duty-free products worth 22.8 billion won ($20 million) over the past

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, said Monday it will suspend its US plant for three weeks due to lack of semiconductors and routine maintenance. Hyundai Motor will halt the Alabama plant for one week from June 14 on a chip shortage and two weeks from June 16 to July 11 for the plant's maintenance work, a company spokesman said by phone. In recent weeks, chip parts shortages continue to affect production of carmakers and other manufacturers in the United States and

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday as investors await the upcoming US Federal Reserve meeting. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) edged down 1.53 points, or 0.05 percent, to reach 3,247.79 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Kospi got off to a muted start as investors are holding onto their cash, seeking more hints about when the world's largest economy will start tapering its asset-buying policy. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics retr

The Group of Seven nations on Sunday issued a joint statement calling for the complete denuclearization of North Korea, while welcoming the commitment of Washington under President Joe Biden to engage with Pyongyang through diplomacy. In a joint communique adopted at this year’s G-7 summit in the southwestern British county of Cornwall, the countries called for the complete denuclearization of North Korea and urged Pyongyang to give up its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missil

The leaders of South Korea and France on Sunday shared hopes to strengthen bilateral cooperation in cutting-edge technology industries, such as semiconductors and electric vehicles, Cheong Wa Dae said. President Moon Jae-in met with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in the southwestern British county of Cornwall. During the 45 minute “pull aside” meeting, the two leaders shared their countries' measures against the coronavirus pa

South Korean President Moon Jae-in had separate talks here Sunday with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the host of a Group of Seven summit. They noted that the two countries are maintaining close political and economic cooperation even after the so-called Brexit, Moon’s office said. They agreed to keep working together in various sectors, including trade and investment, as the bilateral free trade agreement took effect as of Jan. 1, it added. The two shared the view that the equit