SEOUL– South Korea’s exports rose 6.1 percent in 2022 from a year earlier to reach an all-time high, but it suffered the largest ever trade deficit on high global energy prices, the industry ministry said Sunday. The country is forecast to see a 4.5 percent fall in exports in 2023 on a global economic … Read more
SEOUL– South Korea will invest 6.7 trillion won (US$5.3 billion) in science research in 2023 as the country seeks to secure key future technologies as new growth engines, the science ministry said Sunday. The Ministry of Science and ICT said the earmarked amount marked a 3.9 percent increase from 2021. Out of the … Read more
SEOUL– Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Rhee Chang-yong on Sunday underlined the need for the central bank to place a focus on price stability in executing its monetary policy this year. “As inflation, which is most important to people’s livelihoods, is expected to stay over the midterm target range, we will continue our monetary … Read more
SEOUL– South Korea has confirmed a new case of avian influenza at a duck farm in a southern region, local officials said Sunday. The highly pathogenic avian influenza strain of H5N1 was found at the farm located in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, according to the officials. The new case brought the total bird … Read more
SEOUL– South Korea’s new COVID-19 cases fell for the fifth straight day on Sunday, but the number of critically ill patients rose to the highest in about eight months as the government is bracing for a wintertime surge and a spike in imported cases from China. The country confirmed 57,527 new coronavirus infections, including … Read more
SHENYANG/SEOUL– North Korea has distributed 2023 calendars, including one with photos of a massive military parade, to its citizens and others in China in an apparent move to highlight its military might. Yonhap News Agency obtained five North Korean calendars in China, which are apparently meant for propaganda purposes, as Pyongyang has recently been … Read more
SEOUL/TOKYO– South Korea and Japan are considering sharing radar information on North Korean missile launches in real time, a Japanese newspaper reported Sunday, as Pyongyang stepped up missile launches in recent months. Connecting parts of the two countries’ radar systems via the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is under consideration to share such information, the Yomiuri … Read more
SEOUL– North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stressed the need to “exponentially” increase the number of the country’s nuclear arsenal and develop a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in the new year, Pyongyang’s state media reported Sunday. He delivered the message during a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) that ended … Read more