WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump's former chief strategist undermined his boss by saying there is no military solution to the nuclear standoff with North Korea, a Republican lawmaker has said.Steve Bannon, a key architect of Trump's presidential campaign, left the White House on Friday.In an interview that aired Sunday on New York's AM 970, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said Bannon had become a part of the reason the White House "has just not been functioning." This AP file photo shows Steve Ban

South Korea's producer prices rose slightly in July from a month earlier due to an increase in the prices of services and agricultural products, central bank data showed Monday.The producer price index -- a barometer of future consumer inflation -- reached 101.84 in July, up 0.1 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The BOK attributed the slight hike to a rise in the prices of services and agricultural products as well as a slowed decline in the p

South Korean companies listed on the country's main bourse saw their financial soundness improve in the first quarter of the year on stalled growth in debt, data showed Monday.The debt-to-equity ratio of 590 companies came to 111.6 percent at the end of June, down from 115.1 percent from the end of December, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Listed Companies Association.A key measure of financial health and stability, the ratio is calculated by dividing a company's total

South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Monday that it has imposed a combined 43 billion won ($37.8 million) in fines on nine global auto shipping companies for bid rigging and price fixing.The Fair Trade Commission said the nine car carriers allegedly colluded to participate in auctions arranged by carmakers, including General Motors Co., Renault Samsung Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., between 2002 and 2012.The nine companies are Japan's Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Kawa

President Moon Jae-in warned North Korea on Monday not to use joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States as a pretext for provocations, saying the maneuvers are purely defensive.Moon made the remark during a Cabinet meeting as the allies kicked off the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise that the communist nation has long denounced as a rehearsal for an invasion of the northern country."The Ulchi exercise is a defensive drill conducted annually. We have no intention at

Samsung and two other leading family-controlled conglomerates in South Korea accounted for a big chunk of listed firms' first-half earnings, data showed Monday, pointing to a growing concentration of corporate income in a few titans.According to the data by the Korea Exchange, 29 listed units of Samsung, LG and SK groups posted a combined net income of 35.61 trillion won ($31.2 billion) in the January-June period, up a whopping 90.3 percent from the same period a year earlier.The amount took up

South Korean shares extended losses late Monday morning as foreigners dumped more local stocks on profit-taking. The won traded higher against the dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 4.02 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,354.35 as of 11:20 a.m.Foreigners sold a net 42 billion won ($37 million) worth of stocks. Institutions also offloaded 26 billion won worth of shares, to weigh down the main index. A strong rally in the KOSPI index is not expected this week as investor

The South Korean and US militaries on Monday started their first major combined training since North Korea's test-firing of two long-range missiles and threat to shoot ballistic missiles toward Guam.The Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise will run through next Thursday, focusing on a "tailored joint deterrence strategy" based on the Operational Plan 5015 of the Combined Forces Command, officials said.In an unusual gesture, three top US military commanders -- Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris,

Credit loans extended by the nation's five major banks jumped in the first 15 days of August, official data showed Monday, due apparently to government measures that tightened mortgage lending rules. South Korea tightened rules for home mortgages from Aug. 2 to rein in rapidly growing household debt and curb property speculation. As of last Wednesday, the outstanding balance of credit loans by the five retail banks, including KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank, stood at 93.1 trillion won ($81.8 bi

South Korean veteran Choi Kyoung-ju will retain his PGA Tour status for next season thanks to a special exemption category, his agency said Monday.Choi, better known on the tour as K.J. Choi, ranked 177th on the 2016-2017 season FedEx Cup points standings after last weekend's Wyndham Championship and failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs open to the top 125.Those ranked inside the top 125 earn full-time status for the following season, while those ranked from 126th to 150th have condition

South Korea's exports jumped more than 11 percent in the first 20 days of this month from a year earlier on brisk overseas sales of semiconductors and petroleum products, customs data showed Monday.Total outbound shipments reached $25.1 billion from Aug. 1-20, up 11.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service.Exports of computer chips surged 42.4 percent on-year and those of petroleum products and passenger cars soared 41.8 percent and 21

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday tracking with foreigners turning net sellers on profit taking. The won rose against the dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 2.40 points, or 0.10 percent, to 2,355.97 in the first 15 minutes of trading.This week, investors are expected to take a wait-and-see attitude ahead of two major events that could affect the markets.  They are the annual economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the Ulchi-Freedom Guardi

The loan delinquency ratio of K-Bank, South Korea's first Internet-only bank, has stayed at a record low due to its innovative method of credit assessment, the financial regulator said Monday. K-Bank, which was launched in April with paid-in capital of 250 billion won ($219.7 million), has attracted about 440,000 customers and made loans worth 635.4 billion won as of Aug. 14, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.People in their 30s and 40s accounted for 80.4 percent of customers who to

Relatives of the victims of a massacre in Japan more than 90 years ago will launch an association next week to urge Seoul and Tokyo to shed light on an incident of Koreans killed in the turmoil after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and compensation be offered to them, a Korean-Japanese filmmaker said Monday.Oh Choong-kong, who has produced documentaries on the massacre, said the bereaved families are scheduled to hold a ceremony at the state-run National Memorial Museum of Forced Mobilization un

The ruling party chief on Monday renewed calls for North Korea to return to dialogue, saying the reduced number of American troops in the ongoing South Korea-US military exercise should be construed as Washington's desire for talks.Earlier in the day, the allies began the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise set to run through Aug. 31 with the participation of some 17,500 US service members, down from 25,000 last year. Pyongyang has criticized it as a "rehearsal for an invasion.""I hope that r