The number of foreigners other than Chinese visiting South Korea grew in the first seven months of this year following the government's efforts to diversify its tourist portfolio in the face of a sharp drop in the number of Chinese visitors, the country's tourism promotion agency said Tuesday.According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of visitors from Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Iran grew 29.2 percent, 26.8 percent and 25.6 percent on-year, respectively, in the January-July period.  "Th

YouTube's recent move to shut down the state-run North Korean propaganda channel, Uriminzokkiri, for violating the "community guidelines" was made as the violation could subsequently lead to the breach of the American law, a US broadcaster reported Tuesday, citing its spokesman. The violation repeatedly took place, and the shutdown was made based on the US law, the spokesman was cited as saying by Radio Free Asia. But the spokesman did not explain in detail which American law the channel infring

Medical facilities and other child facilities must conduct tuberculosis screenings on all their new workers within one month of employment, the health ministry said Tuesday, a move aimed at preventing the spread of the contagious disease.Under a revised ordinance on relevant laws that came into effect, newly hired people at hospitals, healthcare facilities, as well as schools, kindergartens and other sorts of childcare facilities must take TB tests, including those for the inactive variant, the

North Korea's oil prices and exchange rates have shown no changes despite its nuclear and missile tests and the international community's sanctions, a US broadcaster reported Tuesday, citing a western diplomat stationed in Pyongyang.There has been no noticeable changes in overall oil prices in Pyongyang before and after the North's nuclear test on Sept. 3, Voice of America quoted the diplomat as saying in an email.  This file photo shows a worker at a gas station in Pyongyang. (Yonhap)Gasoline a

South Korean stocks traded lower late Tuesday morning as institutions and foreigners offloaded large-cap tech stocks in an apparent move to lock in profits, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 4.09 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,414.12 as of 11:20 a.m.Most large caps traded mixed, with tech shares in negative terrain.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics lost 0.57 percent, and SK hynix, a major chipmaker, was down 0.5 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,130.5 w

SK Chemicals Co., a South Korean pharmaceutical and chemical goods manufacturer, and multinational drug firm GlaxoSmithKline Plc. are awaiting final approval of their respective herpes zoster vaccines, market watchers said Tuesday.Approval is forecast to shake up the market in a big way, setting up a showdown with the US pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co's Zostavax, they said.Zostavax is the only vaccine currently approved for use to treat shingles, which typically shows up as a painful rash that

Spain has decided to expel North Korea's ambassador in protest over the communist nation's continued nuclear and missile provocations, becoming the first confirmed European country to do so, foreign news reports said Tuesday.According to multiple wire reports, Spain's foreign minister asked North Korean ambassador Kim Hyok-chol on Monday to leave the European country by the end of this month."Today the Ambassador of North Korea in Spain has been declared persona non grata," Spain's foreign minis

Japan's Emperor Akihito will visit a shrine related to an ancient Korean kingdom this week, the website of the shrine showed Tuesday.The emperor and Empress Michiko will visit the Koma Shrine, located in the city of Hidaka near Tokyo, on Wednesday morning, according to the website. This undated file photo shows the Koma Shrine in Japan. (Yonhap)This will mark the first time for a Japanese emperor to visit the shrine.The shrine was founded in 716 by an emissary from Goguryeo (37B.C.–A.D.668), an

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday it has issued a "stern warning" to Defense Minister Song Young-moo for his "inappropriate and uncoordinated" remarks regarding President Moon Jae-in's dispute-prone security adviser.During a parliamentary session Monday, Song said it is "deplorable" that Moon Chung-in, the adviser, is making controversial remarks as a scholar, which are deemed unfit for a presidential security adviser.The adviser has courted controversies for his "personal" idea

South Korea sent a delegation to Oman and Saudi Arabia to boost local companies' chances in the emerging infrastructure markets in the Middle East and strengthen economic ties, the land ministry said Tuesday.Son Byeong-seok, Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, accompanied a business delegation made up of officials from both the public and private sectors to meet key infrastructure ministers in the resource-rich countries from Tuesday to Friday. In Oman, Son will meet with the mi

The chief of South Korea's top airline appeared before police investigators Tuesday to face questioning over his alleged misappropriation of company funds for a home renovation.Cho Yang-ho, chairman of both Hanjin Group and Korean Air Lines Co., showed up at the National Police Agency in Seoul as a criminal suspect facing possible charges of breach of trust.He refused to take any questions from reporters, only saying that he will "fully cooperate with the investigation."  Cho, 68, is suspected o

South Korea's exports grew at the fastest pace among the world's top 10 exporters, data by the World Trade Organization showed Tuesday, thanks to brisk sales of semiconductors and petrochemical products. Outbound shipments amounted to $328 billion in the first seven months of this year, making South Korea the world's sixth-largest exporter, up 16.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the WTO's monthly merchandise trade data.Overseas sales by China, the world's No. 1 exporter, showed a 8.3

The South Korean government will announce a new duty-free license plan later this month as part of efforts to revamp the scandal-hit sector, the finance minister said Tuesday."A task force team will map out the plan from the offset," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in a meeting at Incheon International Airport with leaders from local duty-free shop operators including Lotte Duty Free and Shilla Duty Free. "I know that the public wants the government to come up with a more transparent and fai

The Cabinet approved a measure Tuesday that would allow male soldiers, in addition to their female counterparts, to take an hour off every day for child care if they have very young children.Under the current law, only female soldiers are allowed to use the daily child care time if they have babies younger than 12 months old. But the Cabinet approved an enforcement ordinance giving the benefit to male soldiers too. (Yonhap)In addition, the measure also calls for giving both male and female soldi

South Korean midfielder Kim Young-wook is set to sign with United Arab Emirates football club Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, officials from his current club said Tuesday. K League Classic team Jeonnam Dragons said they're pushing for Kim's move to Al Ahli, and the player will soon fly to Dubai for a medical. The Arabian Gulf League, the UAE's top league, started its new season last weekend, and the player registration deadline is the second week of October.  In this file photo taken Feb. 23, 2017, Jeonna