South Koreans' overseas card spending jumped 80 percent on-year in the second quarter as many nations eased lockdown rules following the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Monday. The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, totaled $3.37 billion in the April-June period, compared with $1.87 billion for the same period last year, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Compared with three months earlier, overseas card sp

South Korea's science ministry said Monday the country's first lunar exploration mission is on track for launch in August next year after it strengthened ties with the United States earlier this year in space exploration. South Korea aims to conduct a yearlong mission to observe the moon through an orbiting spacecraft, with hopes of securing technologies for future space exploration missions. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it has completed rigging a high-precision camera, developed by th

The United States on Sunday stressed the "urgent need for dialogue and diplomacy" with North Korea after the UN nuclear watchdog reported that Pyongyang appears to have restarted its plutonium-producing nuclear reactor. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a report to its board of governors that the five megawatt reactor at the North's Yongbyon nuclear complex has shown indications it has been in operation since July. "We are aware of this report. We are closely

The United States will not take part in the upcoming combined naval exercise between the South Korean Navy and a British aircraft carrier strike group, the defense ministry in Seoul said Monday. The joint training for humanitarian and disaster relief missions is scheduled to be held in waters off the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday, with the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, which is visiting South Korea as part of its seven-month world tour, taking part. Some local media reported that the US

North Korea slammed South Korea and the United States over their recent summertime joint military drill, vowing to strengthen "war deterrence" strong enough to counter and remove any external threats. The North's foreign ministry issued the criticism in a statement Sunday as Seoul and Washington concluded the combined military exercise last Thursday, which was held in a scaled-back manner due to the coronavirus situation and peace efforts involving North Korea. "The exercise of

South Korea said Monday it has launched a new round of negotiations to clinch a free trade agreement with Mercosur, South America's leading trading bloc, as it aims to further expand its export portfolio. Asia's fourth-largest economy and Mercosur began a five-day virtual meeting that will run through Friday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Mercosur -- made up of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay -- accounts for around 70 percent of the population in South Ameri

South Korea said Monday it will begin providing emergency relief funds to people in the bottom 88 percent income bracket next week in the latest move to help them cope with the fallout from the pandemic. The government will begin to provide up to 250,000 won ($215) per recipient on Sept. 6 as part of an 11 trillion-won cash handout program, according to the interior and finance ministries. The money must be spent by end-December. In July, the country drew up an extra budget of 34.9 trillion wo

A man, who had cut off his monitoring ankle bracelet and took off, turned himself in to police and said he killed two women, police said. Songpa Police Station arrested the 56-year-old man, surnamed Kang, on Sunday for ripping off the electronic device and allegedly murdering two -- one before he ran off and the other while he was on the run. The man turned himself over to police at around 8 a.m. Sunday, reportedly saying he feared being arrested soon for his crimes. Police had been chasing h

South Korea's wine imports hit a fresh high in 2020 as more people enjoyed drinking at home and alone due to the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Asia's fourth-largest economy imported $330 million worth of wine last year, up 27.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service. It was an all-time high, and wine imports exceeded those of beer, which sank 19.2 percent on-year to $227 million. The customs office said wine imports soared last year as peop

Almost 70 percent of South Koreans support the government's plan to grant long-term stay visas to hundreds of Afghan civilians who fled their homeland to be sheltered here from the Taliban, a poll showed Monday. According to the poll of 500 people aged 18 and above conducted by Realmeter on Friday, a combined 68.7 percent of the respondents said they approve of the plan to issue long-term visas to Afghan evacuees who arrived here last week, allowing them to get jobs here. Among those who sup

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 1,500 on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend, with the country planning to offer booster shots to those who have been fully vaccinated in the fourth quarter to cope with the variant strains. The country added 1,487 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,426 local infections, raising the total caseload to 250,051, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Monday's tally marked a drop from 1,793 on Saturday and 1,6

South Korea will increase its spending on chips, bio-health and next-generation vehicles by 43 percent next year as the country seeks to nurture new industries, the country's finance minister said Monday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government will earmark 6.3 trillion won ($5.4 billion) to support the three key industries in its 2022 budget proposal. The country has set the non-memory chip, bio-health and next-generation vehicle sectors as the "BIG 3" industries where it s

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday as investors are relieved by the US Federal Reserve's cautious stance about withdrawing its ultra-easing monetary policy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 16.7 points, or 0.53 percent, to trade at 3,150.6 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Kospi advanced, following Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's Friday address that the Fed could begin tapering its asset purchases this year, but that the move should be made separatel

South Korean firms are suffering from the triple whammy of rising raw material costs, a coronavirus resurgence and an interest rate hike, a poll showed Monday. The survey of 310 large and smaller companies, taken by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), showed that 81.6 percent of the respondents to the poll, in which multiple choices were possible, cited an increase in raw material prices as their top concern. The resurgence of COVID-19 infections came next with 80.6 percent, fol

The UN nuclear watchdog has detected "deeply troubling" indications that a key nuclear reactor at North Korea's main Yongbyon complex has been in operation since July, including the release of cooling water, an annual report showed Monday. Submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors on Friday, the report covered new developments of the five megawatt reactor, from which the North obtained spent fuel rods to extract plutonium -- a fissile material used for a