South Korean confectionary companies enjoyed brisk overseas sales in 2020 thanks to the high popularity of Korean pop culture and food abroad, industry sources said Tuesday. Overseas sales of industry giant Orion Corp. stood at approximately 1.5 trillion won ($1.34 billion) last year, accounting for 65.6 percent of its overall top line. Last year's figure was up from 1.3 trillion won in 2019, 1.2 trillion won in 2018 and 1.06 trillion won in 2017. China was Orion's largest overseas market, wi

WASHINGTON -- North Korea is said to have acknowledged a recent US offer to explain the outcome of its policy review on Pyongyang after earlier overtures from the administration of Joe Biden went unanswered. In response to the US offer last week, the North has reportedly said the proposal has been "well received," a different reaction from when the first dialogue offer was made. Last month, the US said it had sought to engage with the North in mid-February, but the regime remained &qu

South Korea's exports soared 81.2 percent on-year in the first 10 days of May as shipments of chips, autos and petroleum goods remained robust amid a global economic recovery, customs data showed Tuesday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $12.5 billion in the May 1-10 period, compared with $6.9 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports rose 51.5 percent on-year to $14.6 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.1 billion during the cited pe

WASHINGTON -- The source and destination of illicit weapons seized over the weekend in Arabian waters are still under investigation, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday, adding the US does not exclude North Korea from its list of potential destinations. The US Navy earlier said it has seized thousands of illicit weapons from a stateless dhow in international waters in the North Arabian Sea. John Kirby, the Department of Defense spokesman, said the seized weapons included Russian-made anti-tank mi

WASHINGTON -- South Korea is closely consulting with the United States to quickly secure COVID-19 vaccines, South Korea's ambassador to the United States said Monday, adding the United States understands the difficulty South Korea faces. Amb. Lee Soo-hyuck also expressed hope that the US will soon expand exports of vaccines by US manufacturers. "The embassy is doing its utmost by contacting the White House and the State Department to have vaccines supplied before June. (We) are hearing f

Three South Koreans who arrived from India on the third special flight tested positive for the new coronavirus, health authorities said Monday. Of 164 people brought home from the virus-ravaged country on Sunday, three tested positive, 146 tested negative, and the results for the remaining 15 have yet to be confirmed. The latest cases raised the total number of infections among evacuees from India to 14. South Korea has operated three chartered flights to bring 540 citizens home from the coun

An independent panel created to review the validity of an ongoing investigation into the Seoul prosecution chief recommended Monday that he be indicted on charges of abuse of power. The 15-member panel reached the conclusion by 8 to 4, with one abstention. Two members were unable to attend for unspecified reasons. Lee Sung-yoon, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, is being probed over allegations he exercised undue influence in 2019 to stop an inquiry into the allegedly ill

A vocal North Korean defector and activist known for flying anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the North by balloon was questioned by police on Monday over his recent claim to have sent leaflets, in the first violation of South Korea's anti-leaflet law that took effect in March. Park Sang-hak, the head of Fighters for a Free North Korea, a North Korean defectors' group, arrived at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency around 2 p.m. to be grilled as a suspect about his April 30 claim that his organizat

South Korea's stock market closed at an all-time high Monday as weaker-than-expected US jobs data quelled concerns over the rollback of easing monetary policy and other stimulus measures. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) went up 52.1 points, or 1.63 percent, to close at 3,249.3 points. The previous record closing was 3,208.99 points on April 20. Trading volume was moderate at about 996 million shares worth some 16.9 trillion won

Police said Monday they have sought an arrest warrant for a man suspected of abusing his 2-year-old adopted daughter to the point she fell unconscious with bleeding in her brain. The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency said the suspect, who is in his 30s, admitted to hitting the child with his hands on Saturday morning because she "kept whining." According to the man, the girl then fell asleep, but when she didn't wake up several hours later, he took her to a hospital near his home in Hwase

Five-term legislator and ex-South Gyeongsang Province Governor Rep. Hong Joon-pyo said Monday he will take steps to return to the main opposition party. "I think it's time to return to the (People Power) Party," Hong, currently an independent based in the southern city of Daegu, said in a press conference at the National Assembly. The lawmaker said he will soon submit an application for party membership and take other necessary steps. Last year, Hong defected from the main oppositi

South Korea strongly denounces last week's bomb attack in Afghanistan that killed at least 68 people and wounded over 160, mostly young schoolgirls, the foreign ministry said Monday. "Our government strongly denounces the attack that occurred near a school in the Afghan capital of Kabul on May 8. We also extend our deepest condolences to the victims and their bereaved families," ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said in a commentary. The car bombing came amid escalating tensions

Bond issuance in South Korea rose sharply in April from the previous month due mainly to a surge in corporate debt sales, data showed Monday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 83 trillion won ($74.1 billion) last month, up 9.3 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. April's jump represents a drastic turnaround from an on-month decline of some 720 billion won in March. Sales of corporate bonds surg

South Korea's financial regulator said Monday it will set up another fund of 1 trillion won ($896 million) to help companies seeking to restructure. The fund is aimed at helping companies start their restructuring process as the nation's economy shows signs of emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in a statement. State-run banks, including the Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea, will invest a total of 451 billion won into the

The South Korean economy is on a modest recovery track despite spiking coronavirus cases as the manufacturing sector has continued to improve on robust exports, a state-run think tank said Monday. The country's exports and facility investment logged accelerated growth amid continued improvement in external demand, according to a monthly economic assessment report by the Korea Development Institute (KDI). "As retail sales, exports, and equipment investment all improved, the manufacturing i