South Korea's household credit increased at a faster rate in October due to rising loans from savings banks and credit unions despite the government's efforts to curb household debts, financial data showed Sunday. Outstanding household credit extended by all financial institutions, including commercial banks, savings banks, and insurance and securities firms, rose by 6 trillion won ($4.35 billion) from a month earlier in October, accelerating from a 5.2 trillion-won increase in Septemb

North Korea's foreign minister, currently visiting Russia for talks, said the strategic value of her country's relations with Russia holds greater importance in the severe international political landscape, the country's state media reported Saturday. Choe Son-hui made the remarks during her speech at a ceremony unveiling a plaque honoring North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's first official visit to the former Soviet Union, held at Moscow's Yaroslavl Railway Station the pr

BLACKPINK's Rose has reached No. 2 on the British Official Singles Top 100 chart with "APT.," her collaboration single with American pop star Bruno Mars, setting a new record as the highest-charting female K-pop artist. The single debuted at No. 4 and climbed two spots to come just behind U.S. singer-songwriter Gigi Perez's "Sailor Song," which currently holds the No. 1 position, according to the chart released Friday (British time). With the achievement, Rose has b

Over 300 millimeters of rain has pummeled the southern island of Jeju over two days this week, marking the heaviest November downpour in 101 years for the region, the weather agency said Saturday. Rainfall ranging from 150 mm to 347 mm has drenched Jeju from Friday to early Saturday morning, including 333 mm in the northern mountainous regions, according to the Jeju branch of the Korea Meteorological Administration. On Friday alone, the island's northern regions received 238.4 mm of rain, m

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, on Saturday condemned the United Nations for criticizing the country's recent test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), reaffirming Pyongyang's stance to retain nuclear weapons development. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday denounced North Korea's launch of a Hwasong-19 ICBM as a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Worke

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Canada have called for the withdrawal of North Korean troops dispatched to aid Russia in its war against Ukraine, labeling the deployment "a grave escalation" of tension that threatens security in both Europe and the Indo-Pacific region. The call was made in a joint statement adopted during a "two plus two" meeting of the two countries' foreign and defense ministers in Ottawa on Friday (Canada time), Seoul's foreign minist

National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik said Friday that South Korea is "not considering the dispatch of troops to Ukraine at all," amid reports of North Korea's imminent participation in the war to support Russia. Shin made the remark during a parliamentary audit when lawmakers asked him about the possibility of South Korea sending troops to Ukraine. The adviser, however, noted that he believes the deployment of a South Korean team of observers and analysts to Ukraine is essential

North Korean Foreign Minister Choi Son-hui said Friday the current situation on the Korean Peninsula requires Pyongyang to make efforts to bolster its readiness against nuclear retaliation, noting that the reclusive regime will not change its nuclear policy. Choe made the remark during her meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, according to a report by Sputnik, which came amid North Korean troops' possible participation in Russia's war with Ukraine. Choe was quoted as saying by the

South Korean stocks fell for the third consecutive session Friday, led by tech share losses. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) lost 13.79 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 2,542.36, extending its losing streak from Wednesday. Trading volume was light at 315.1 million shares worth 7.8 trillion won (US$5.66 billion), with decliners beating gainers 599 to 288. Foreigners and institutions dumped a net 38.8 billion won and 188.4

The government said Friday it will designate three cities as the nation's first hydrogen-specialized complexes and support their growth into hydrogen industry hubs. The designation comes after the three cities -- Donghae and Samcheok of Gangwon Province and Pohang of North Gyeongsang Province -- passed preliminary feasibility surveys to carry out hydrogen cluster projects, the government said following a meeting of the government-led Hydrogen Economy Committee. The Donghae-Samcheok project

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Friday as Wall Street experienced a sharp drop on weaker-than-expected earnings from tech heavyweights. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 0.24 point, or 6.06 percent, to 2,550.09 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, U.S. stocks finished sharply lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.9 percent and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.8 percent after a disappointing outlook from Meta Platforms and Microsoft. In Se

South Korea's exports extended on-year gains to the 13th straight month in October, data showed Friday, on the back of the robust performance of semiconductors. Outbound shipments rose 4.6 percent on-year to $57.5 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports added 1.7 percent on-year to $54.3 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $1.62 billion. South Korea has been maintaining a trade surplus for 17 consecutive months. Exports

North Korea said Friday it successfully test-fired the new Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) the previous day, with its leader Kim Jong-un saying the country has secured an "irreversible" status of developing delivery means of nuclear weapons. Guided by Kim, North Korea carried out a "crucial" missile test that set milestones in "perpetuating the absolute superiority" of the country's armed forces, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

As many as 8,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia's western front-line Kursk region and are expected to enter into combat "in the coming days," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday, warning that they would become "legitimate" military targets. Blinken made the remarks during a press conference after he, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun held their "two-plus-two&q

The presidential office said Thursday that a South Korean nuclear power plant project in the Czech Republic will proceed as planned despite a temporary hold placed by the Czech antitrust body. On Wednesday, news reports said the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition had imposed the hold in response to appeals filed by U.S. nuclear energy firm Westinghouse Electric Co. and French energy company Electricite de France. The news came as a South Korean consortium, led by Korea Hydro &