Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. inked an initial agreement with a Laotian partner to win infrastructure projects in the Southeast Asian country, the builder said Friday. On Thursday in Vientiane, Daewoo Engineering signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Petroleum Trading Lao Public Co. (PTL) to build hydroelectric power generation facilities in the Mekong River, sea ports and special economic zones, the company said in a statement.   In this photo taken on June 15, 2017, and provi

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating notched up again this week, reflecting steadfast support for the new liberal leader, a poll showed Friday. According to a poll by Gallup Korea, 83 percent of Koreans held a positive view of his performance as the country's leader, up 1 percentage point from the previous survey last week. Only 10 percent disapproved while 7 percent did not answer. The poll was conducted on 1,003 adults from Tuesday to Thursday, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 pe

South Korea's unification minister-nominee said Friday that he agreed that a freeze on North Korea's nuclear programs would be a precondition for opening inter-Korean talks.Cho Myoung-gyon made the remark after President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that South Korea is willing to hold unconditional dialogue with the North if Pyongyang does not make additional nuclear and missile tests. This photo taken on June 14, 2017, shows Cho Myoung-gyon, the nominee for South Korea's unification minister speak

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min underwent surgery on his broken right forearm Friday, officials here said. The 24-year-old South Korean went under the knife to treat a fractured forearm at a Seoul hospital, an official with the Korea Football Association (KFA) said. He sustained the injury during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Qatar at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Tuesday. The surgery, which took about an hour, was successfully completed, and the foot

A North Korean envoy has been appealing for larger humanitarian assistance from United Nations aid bodies on the margins of a multilateral conference in New York, a news report said Friday.North Korean human rights ambassador Ri Hung-sik attended a meeting of parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the UN headquarters from Tuesday to Thursday.According to the Washington-based Radio Free Asia (RFA), it is unusual for North Korea to dispatch a delegation to a regula

A recent drone infiltration, presumably by North Korea, appeared aimed at gathering intelligence on the deployment angle of a US missile defense system rolled out in South Korea, a lawmaker said Friday.Lee Cheol-woo of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, who chairs the parliament's intelligence committee, made the remarks a day after he was briefed by the National Intelligence Service on the latest drone incursion. This photo, taken on May 17, 2017, shows Rep. Lee Cheol-woo of the main oppo

Megabox has decided not to show internationally acclaimed South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's Netflix film "Okja" following the country's two other major cinema chains, movie industry sources said Friday."We reached the conclusion after much discussion that it's hard to accept a plan to simultaneously release the movie on Netflix and in movie theaters," a Megabox official said. "We informed Next Entertainment World of our final position," it said, referring to the movie's local distributor. (NE

A man diagnosed with a mental illness died after police shot him with a stun gun while attempting to take him to a mental hospital, police said Friday.Police in the southeastern city of Hamyang said that the 43-year-old man's mother called them at 6:19 p.m. on Thursday seeking help with her son, who was resisting being taken to a mental hospital and wielded a shovel and a sickle in a rampage at their house.After arriving at the scene, one of five police officers shot a Taser at him during the co

Lotte Duty Free, South Korea's top duty-free operator, said it opened an outlet in central Bangkok on Friday, making its first foray into the key Southeast Asian market.The shop, located inside entertainment and retail complex Show DC, is only partially operational at the moment, with the grand opening planned for later this year, the company said. (Yonhap)The launch of the Thai duty-free shop underscores Lotte's push to expand its overseas foothold. Lotte is the third-largest duty-free operator

South Korea's won currency is likely to remain steady for the time being, despite US Federal Reserve's move to tighten its monetary policy, analysts here said Friday. The won has risen 6.9 percent against the US dollar so far this year, and the local currency market showed a muted reaction after the Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points as expected. The won's strength was mainly due to the US dollar's steady decline over uncertainties surrounding US President Donald Trump's fiscal policy.

South Korean football star Son Heung-min will undergo surgery on his broken right forearm on Friday, his English Premier League (EPL) club said.Tottenham Hotspur announced on their website that the 24-year-old South Korean will go under the knife to treat a fractured forearm. He sustained the injury during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Qatar at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Tuesday. The exact location and time for his surgery have not been revealed, but sources here said

The association of South Korean firms that operated factories at the now-shuttered joint industrial park in North Korea are undecided on whether to apply for a visit to the reclusive country this month, a source said Friday.Last month, the group said it wanted to visit the Kaesong complex which was shut down in February 2016 amid rising tensions in the Korean Peninsula. The previous Park Geun-hye administration ordered a total of 124 South Korean companies operating at the Kaesong Industrial Com

South Korean baseball slugger Choi Jeong is no longer afraid of swinging with two strikes, which in turn has put him on a torrid home run pace this season.The SK Wyverns third baseman went deep in back-to-back at-bats against the Hanwha Eagles on Thursday to take the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) lead with 22 home runs.This was the Wyverns' 64th game of the 144-game season, and Choi's 58th appearance.Choi Jeong (Yonhap)Choi, who tied for the league lead last year with 40, is on pace for 52 h