South Korea's money supply continued to grow in March, as loans to households and firms increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. The country's M2 stood at 3,313.1 trillion won ($2.9 trillion) as of end-March, up 1.2 percent from a month earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year earlier, M2 jumped 11 percent, the BOK said. A key economic indicator closely monitored by authorities, M2 is a measure of the money supply that co

South Korea's customs office said Thursday it has seized around 1.79 million trafficked cigarette packs worth 7.2 billion won ($6.3 million) and arrested 41 smugglers and local distributors. The Korea Customs Service said the number of smuggled cigarettes more than doubled from about 754,000 packs a year earlier as it carried out a sweeping crackdown on tobacco trafficking in the first quarter. In particular, the number of cigarettes smuggled from China reached 890,000 packs, the largest-ever

South Korean power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Thursday that it has signed a deal with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) to cooperate on hydrogen-related business. Under the deal, Doosan Heavy and nuclear power plant operator KHNP will develop technologies to produce and store hydrogen by using small- and mid-sized nuclear reactors and water power systems. Doosan Heavy also said its fuel cell manufacturing affiliate Doosan Fuel Cell Co., which has

SK Innovation Co., South Korea's refinery-to-battery company, said Thursday it continued to suffer losses in the first quarter despite its strong earnings from its petrochemical business as it reflected hefty settlement costs for a battery suit with its bigger rival LG Energy Solution Ltd. SK Innovation booked a net loss of 368.1 billion won ($325.3 million) in the January-March period, narrowing from 1.5 trillion won of loss from the pandemic-driven slump a year earlier. Its operating profit

South Korea plans to take measures to stabilize the financial market if needed, as it has been suffering increased volatility on fears that the Federal Reserve may hike a key rate sooner than expected on inflation woes, a senior government official said Thursday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said there is no need for market players to sensitively react to US inflation data as its consumer prices are judged to have temporarily risen amid an economic recovery and a low base effect. &

In a vintage performance backed up by late run support, Toronto Blue Jays' ace Ryu Hyun-jin has picked up his third win of the season. Ryu threw seven strong innings against the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta on Wednesday (local time), allowing just a run on five hits while striking out six in a 4-1 victory. Ryu improved to 3-2 and lowered his ERA from 3.31 to 2.95. His 94 pitches were one shy of his season high. Ryu is the only Blue Jays starter to go at least seven innings this year, and he has

Outgoing US Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Robert Abrams said Thursday that a "rock solid" combined defense posture between South Korea and the United States is the "single greatest deterrent" against any potential adversaries, including North Korea.     Abrams made the remark at a farewell event in Seoul, saying the US will continue to work with its allies "to address the threats posed by North Korea through diplomacy and credible deterrence.&q

Two Marines and two Army soldiers have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday. The Marines were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 upon arrival in South Korea after completing their overseas education programs, according to the ministry. One soldier in the border town of Cheorwon also tested positive following his recent vacation and an Army officer in the border city of Paju was believed to have been infected after coming into close contact with a civil

South Korea is expected to take part in an annual US-led multinational air force exercise for the first time in three years next month, with Japan also set to participate, officials said Thursday. The Red Flag-Alaska 21-2 exercise is scheduled to take place in Alaska from June 10-25 involving around 1,500 service members and 100 aircraft, according to the US Seventh Air Force. In addition to the US troops, the South Korean Air Force and the Japanese self-defense air force are scheduled to part

South Korea is to experience early summer-like weather this week, with temperatures in Seoul and most other parts of the country soaring to the season's highest of around 30 C, the state weather agency said Thursday. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said the daytime highs in most regions of the country are to rise about 4 to 7 C above the past 30-year average of 15 C to 27 C on Thursday and Friday. In particular, the mercury is to surge up to 30 C in the capital area and many part

K-pop boy band Enhypen has topped Japan's key monthly music chart with its latest album after ranking No. 1 on the weekly and daily album charts, its management agency said Thursday. The group's second EP, "Border: Carnival," sat atop Oricon's monthly album chart for April, which was released Wednesday, according to Belift Lab. Previously, the EP ranked No. 1 on the Japanese music tracker's daily album chart on April 30, four days after its release. It also stayed atop Oricon's week

North Korea's official newspaper called Thursday for efforts to prevent capitalistic culture from seeping into the country, warning that otherwise, the country could fall "like a damp wall" The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the North's ruling Worker's Party, made the appeal, saying that attempts to establish socialism in other countries failed due to the "invasion of capitalistic lifestyle." "History teaches us a crucial lesson that a country can become vulnerable and eve

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rebounded to over 700 Thursday as the country's vaccination campaign nearly stalled over tight vaccine supply amid spreading variant cases. The country reported 715 more COVID-19 cases, including 692 local infections, raising the total caseload to 129,633, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Thursday's daily caseload jumped from 635 cases Wednesday, 511 Tuesday, 463 Monday and 564 Sunday, and marks the highest since April 28 wh

South Korea's intelligence chief has met Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and called for efforts to improve relations between the two countries strained over a string of historical issues, a diplomatic source said Thursday. Park Jie-won, the head of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), paid a courtesy call on Suga on Wednesday as he was visiting Tokyo to attend a trilateral meeting with his Japanese and US counterparts. At the meeting, Park said that relations between the Asian neig

WANJU -- A 2.0 magnitude earthquake struck South Korea's southwestern region Thursday morning, with no damage reported, the weather agency said. The quake occurred about 15 kilometers east of Wanju, a county in southwestern North Jeolla Province, at around 6:05 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The epicenter was at 35.89 degrees north latitude and 127.33 degrees east longitude at a depth of 10 kilometers. The quake was recorded at up to Level 3 on the seismic