Boy band EXO's repackaged edition of its hit album "The War" conquered Apple iTunes album charts in over 30 countries, according to its agency Wednesday.EXO's "The War: The Power of Music," released on Tuesday, climbed to the No. 1 spot on 33 iTunes album charts, including in Spain, Japan, Indonesia, Russia and Hong Kong as of Wednesday, S.M. Entertainment said. Other nations included Finland, Denmark, Poland, Mexico and Malaysia.The album also made it to the top 10 on the iTunes charts in U.S.,

South Korea said Wednesday that it is closely monitoring possible radiation traces from North Korea's latest nuclear test, as a post-test tremor occurred due to a collapse in an underground tunnel at the test site.Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon told lawmakers Tuesday that North Koreans living near the Punggye-ri nuclear site could have been exposed to radiation after the detonation. Baik Tae-hyun, spokesman at South Korea`s unification ministry. (Yonhap)"We are watching the situation close

South Korean stocks traded lower late Wednesday morning on overnight losses from Wall Street coupled with the rising concern over North Korean provocations.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 6.99 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,319.63 as of 11:20 a.m.Carmakers lost ground, with Hyundai Motor Co. falling 2.17 percent and its sister Kia Motors moving down 3.81 percent. Hyundai Mobis, the country's largest car parts producer, shed 2.1 percent. No. 1 mobile carrier SK Telecom bac

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Wednesday that South Korea will continue to work hard to end gender discrimination against women, calling the so-called glass ceiling a "useless barrier" impeding the advancement of human society.Speaking at an international conference of female financial specialists, Lee pointed out the big strides that South Korea has made to help expand women's participation in all sectors of the society despite the ancient Confucian perception regarding women as inferior to me

Heavy machinery and power equipment conglomerate Doosan Group said Wednesday that it is planning to enter the so-called collaborative robot market soon with a plan to start selling such robots next year.Doosan set up a robot-developing unit in 2015, which recently showcased four collaborative robot models. (Yonhap)Rather than replacing human laborers, collaborative robots are commonly used to help people with their work.The company said it plans to produce such collaborative robots this year and

South Korea's environment ministry is reviewing ways to talk with US forces about soil and water contamination on their army bases here, but to an extent that it won't affect the alliance of the two countries, its vice minister has said. "(The ministry) has a particular concern over the contamination and purification process at US army bases and we're seriously considering ways to discuss the issue with our ally for a solution," Vice Environment Minister Ahn Byung-ok said at a press briefing on

A group of former lawmakers Wednesday joined a growing chorus of calls for the Moon Jae-in government to seek the redeployment of US tactical nuclear arms to counter North Korea's escalating threats.The Parliamentarians' Society of the Republic of Korea made the demand, stressing that Pyongyang's repeated nuclear tests have reaffirmed that dialogue is not an effective method to address the decades-old nuclear standoff.Since the North's sixth and most powerful nuclear test to date Sunday, calls h

South Korea's two state-run policy banks -- Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea -- bounced back into the black in the first-half of this year with their loan-loss provisions falling as the restructuring of the shipbuilding industry nears an end.In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, KDB said it posted a net profit of 1.27 trillion won ($1.12 billion) for the January-June period, compared to a loss of 289.6 billion won a year earlier. The Export-Import Bank of Korea said

North Korean diplomats stationed at the United Nations in New York had a scuffle recently with North Korean defectors who were staging an anti-Pyongyang rally in front of their mission, a US broadcaster reported Wednesday.On Monday, Ma Young-ae, head of the London-based International North Korea's Association for Human Rights and Democracy, and some other INKAHRD members picketed before the North Korean Representative to the UN condemning the North's latest nuclear test and the Kim Jong-un regim

People will have to pay upwards of 50 percent in additional charges when they go to hospitals or drug stores during the Chuseok holiday starting late this month, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Wednesday.The government designated Oct. 2 as a one-off holiday to bridge the weekend to make it possible for workers to take 10 consecutive days off.The higher rates are applicable beginning on the Sept. 30 weekend and run through the three-day Chuseok holiday and Oct. 6, designated as an alterna

The United States assured South Korea and Japan on Wednesday of full extended deterrence, based on both its conventional and nuclear arsenal, against North Korea.The US reaffirmed its "ironclad" security commitment for the key regional allies in a working-level video conference on the North's latest nuclear test, according to South Korea's defense ministry."In particular, the US stressed that its extended deterrence commitment will be guaranteed through all categories of military capabilities in

The floor leader of the minor opposition People's Party called on President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday to reshape his security and foreign policies, pointing to North Korea's escalating threats and perceived friction with the United States and China.During his parliamentary speech, Kim Dong-cheol also demanded the "complete" replacement of Moon's security staff, which critics argue lacks expertise in military strategies and tactics.Pyongyang's sixth and most powerful nuclear test to date Sunday ha

Defense chiefs of Seoul and Washington agreed on Tuesday to strengthen the regular deployment of US strategic military assets in response to North Korea's latest nuclear test.The South Korean defense ministry said Defense Minister Song Young-moo and US Defense Secretary James Mattis reached the agreement during their phone conversation Tuesday evening."The two defense chiefs agreed to strengthen the regular deployment of US strategic assets and joint military exercises on and around the Korean P

North Korea said Tuesday it will "respond with our own mode of counteroffensive" to any fresh sanctions that may be put in place following Pyongyang's latest nuclear test.In a Q&A session with the state-run Korean Central News Agency, the North Korean foreign ministry spokesman blasted the United States for leading international efforts to adopt a fresh sanctions resolution.Last Sunday, North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. Pyongyang claimed it was a successful test of

TASHKENT -- Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min said Tuesday South Korea will come up with a better attack at the FIFA World Cup next year, after the team struggled to muster much offense en route to qualifying for the tournament.Son was part of the national team that clinched a spot at the 2018 FIFA World Cup after earning a scoreless draw with Uzbekistan here. The Taeguk Warriors finished second in Group A with 15 points, two points ahead of Syria and Uzbekistan to win the last automatic qualifi