Lotte Duty Free, South Korea's top duty-free operator, is considering withdrawing from Incheon International Airport, a company source said Monday, as the local duty-free industry is struggling to cope with the impact of a diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of a US missile defense system here.Lotte's possible decision to pull out of the main gateway to South Korea, west of Seoul, is feared to spark a domino effect as other operators demand the airport operator cut rent

South Korea's finance minister pledged Monday to take immediate measures to stabilize the market, if the need arises, amid escalating tensions after North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test."The North Korean issue is spreading across the world," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said at a meeting with Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol and Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku. "It may not only have a short-term impact on the financial and foreign exchange markets,

The number of nonregular workers at South Korea's public institutions rose in the second quarter from three months ago despite the government's push to cut them, with over half of them posting gains, government data showed Monday. According to the government portal All Public Information in One, temporary employees at 355 public organizations stood at 39,681 as of the end of June, up 1,765 from the first quarter.Of the total, 180 institutions, or 50.7, hired more nonregulars during the three-mon

Global tech giants are set to release flagship smartphones equipped with high-end cameras in the second half, industry watchers said Monday, with the technological focus switching to dual lenses instead of megapixels.Industry watchers said key giants are set to release smartphones with dual-lens cameras, helping users take quality photos.Samsung Electronics Co. showcased the Galaxy Note 8 last month, which marked its first flagship to introduce a dual-lens camera on the back. The Galaxy Note 8 h

Top diplomats of South Korea and Britain have discussed countermeasures against North Korea's sixth nuclear test, the foreign ministry here said Monday. In a telephone conversation held Sunday night, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha asked her British counterpart Boris Johnson to lend "active support" of efforts to intensify sanctions and pressure on the North "to the maximum level" so as to make it change its behavior, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)Johnson strongly condemned the North's late

The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States agreed on Sunday to push for the most powerful sanctions on North Korea during their phone discussion following its sixth nuclear test, Seoul's foreign ministry here said.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had 25-minute talks to discuss countermeasures after North Korea earlier in the day conducted what it called a successful test of a hydrogen bomb that can be mounted onto an intercontinental ballistic m

South Korea's financial regulator said Monday it has begun monitoring markets around the clock and will swiftly act if necessary, after North Korea spiked tensions by conducting its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. Zhin Woong-seob, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, held a meeting earlier in the day to review contingency measures. "It is difficult to predict the situation on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea went ahead with a nuclear test, despite intense sanctions by the

US President Donald Trump threatened Sunday to cut off all trade with countries doing business with North Korea, an apparent warning to China following Pyongyang's sixth and most powerful nuclear test to date.Trump tweeted the message ahead of a meeting with his national security team on what the North claimed to be an H-bomb explosion earlier in the day."The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea," he said.

South Korea's military said Monday it conducted a combined live-fire exercise in response to North Korea's sixth nuclear test a day earlier.The training aimed at improving the capability of striking the North's Pyunggye-ri nuclear test site involved the Hyunmoo ballistic missile system and F-15K fighter jets.In the drill, the Army's Hyunmoo-2A surface-to-surface missile and the F-15K's SLAM-ER precision-guided air-to-ground rocket accurately hit a designated target in the East Sea, according to

South Korea strongly condemned North Korea's latest nuclear test Sunday, vowing to push for fresh and the most powerful sanctions by the UN Security Council (UNSC) to completely isolate the communist state."President Moon Jae-in said the country will never allow North Korea to continue advancing its nuclear and missile technologies," Moon's key security adviser Chung Eui-yong said at a press briefing on the outcome of the National Security Council (NSC) meeting held earlier in the day.The South

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called a National Security Council meeting Sunday on the news that an artificial earthquake has been detected in North Korea's nuclear test site. Earlier in the day, the South Korean weather agency said it has detected a magnitude 5.7 quake around Punggye-ri in the northwestern part of North Korea. "Chances are there that North Korea carried out a nuclear test," Abe told reporters upon arrival at his office to convene the NSC meeting.  (NHK)"The North's nuclear

Seoul recorded 33 days of extreme heat waves this summer, which is eight fewer days than last year, the city government said Sunday. Thirty-three heat wave warnings and alerts were issued due to sweltering heat this summer, with the number of tropical nights calculated at 19 days, it said, adding that the highest daily temperature was 35.4 C on July 25.  (Yonhap)The number of patients due to scorching heat was 106, down 64 on-year, it said, adding that no deaths were reported. The city set up 74

South Korea's corporate watchdog on Sunday designated 57 large companies, including top Internet portal operator Naver Corp., that are obliged to disclose their corporate information to boost transparency.The Fair Trade Commission said businesses with assets of 5 trillion won ($4.45 billion) or more and their 1,980 affiliates will be added to its new watch list for mandatory filings. In April last year, the number was 53 big businesses with 1,670 affiliates. (Yonhap)Naver surpassed the 5 trillio

South Korea's top financial regulator said Sunday it will step up monitoring and carry out probes into money laundering, unauthorized financing and other illicit transactions of digital currencies. Joining Japan, China and other Asian nations in trying to regulate crypto-currencies, the Financial Services Commission  warned that the recent transaction volume and volatility of digital currencies are "excessive." The move by the FSC comes as the price of a bitcoin, the best-known di

The United States is considering a rotational deployment of its stealth jets to South Korea in response to North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats, government sources said Sunday.South Korea and the US are discussing the dispatch of F-22 and F-35B fighter jets on a rotational basis as part of efforts to boost extended deterrence against the North's threats, they said.The allies are known to be discussing the deployment of US strategic assets on a quarterly basis at US air base in Osan