North Korea's black economy, which is believed to have grown as a market force in recent years, helped the isolated country weather international sanctions last year, according to a researcher at South Korea's state-run think tank on Sunday.North Korea, which has been under layers of interna

Feb. 51893 -- The royal authorities of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) decide to establish the nation's first naval academy on Ganghwa Island, west of Seoul. Faced with growing pressure from foreign countries' military vessels that frequently appeared around the peninsula, the authorities pla

The special counsel investigating an influence-peddling scandal centered on President Park Geun-hye is seeking to have a face-to-face interrogation with her this week. It will be the first-ever prosecution enquiry of a sitting South Korean president if it is carried out as planned, officials said Su

People in South Korea took to the streets in central Seoul on Saturday calling for President Park Geun-hye's immediate resignation over an influence-peddling scandal involving her longtime friend. This massive rally marked the 14th candlelight vigil that has been held almost every weekend since

United States Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has proposed maintaining around-the-clock communication with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo in a bid to tighten the countries' alliance further against North Korea, a military source said Sunday."Secretary Mattis suggested to Minister Han (t

North Korea has unilaterally sold rice cookers produced in the now-defunct inter-Korean industrial zone in Kaesong, a U.S. media outlet reported Saturday. A source in China told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that North Koreans took several hundred electronic rice cookers from Kaesong in mid-D

Former U.N. Chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday renounced his Presidential ambitions in a surprise decision likely to strengthen the frontrunner position of the current opposition Presidential hopeful and frustrate those yearning for change in feud-laden politics. "I will give up my pure aspirat

SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Yonhap) -- One out of every 10 imports in the Chinese markets came from South Korea last year, data showed Tuesday, in the latest sign of deepening economic ties between the two neighbors.China imported South Korean goods worth US$158.9 billion last year, the Korea International Trad

Special prosecutors announced Monday that they would seek another arrest warrant against Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of President Park Geun-hye and a primary suspect in a high-profile corruption scandal, after she had refused to undergo questioning over bribery allegations.Choi rejected the question

BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korean officials turned out in force for the Lunar New Year reception at the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang last week, diplomatic sources in Beijing said Monday.According to insiders that cited the homepage of China's Embassy in North Korea, some 70 senior offici

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea looks set to launch a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) instead of a long-range one as it still has to master the related technologies, military officials said Monday. "There are no signs of an imminent test firing of an interc

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon can hold public office in South Korea, as long as his work does not put the international organization or its member states "at a disadvantage," a local report said Monday.The report by the National Assembly Research Service (NAR

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is employing land-based sensors along its border with China to detect people trying to flee the country, sources in Seoul said Monday.Insiders familiar with the reclusive country told Yonhap News Agency that the North's national security agency has set up u

SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn will have a phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday (Washington time), a news agency reported. Citing the White House statement, Reuters reported President Trump "will

SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order barring refugees from entering the country also extends to North Koreans fleeing from one of the most repressive regimes in the world, a U.S. media agency said Sunday.The Voice of America said North Korean refugees are not

EUMSEONG, South Korea, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is seen as a strong contender in South Korea's presidential race, on Saturday touted national unity as his policy objective in response to calls to clarify his political stance. Ban made the

By Chang Jae-soonWASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump should take extra caution not to arouse anti-American grievances in South Korea at a time when the Asian ally undergoes a leadership change, a former senior U.S. diplomat said. Christopher Hill, former assistant sec

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- Fresh satellite imagery shows that North Korea has apparently restarted its plutonium-producing nuclear reactor, a U.S. website monitoring the communist nation said Friday."Imagery from January 22 shows a water plume (most probably warm) originating from the cooling

SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's special prosecutors said Saturday that they will send documents requested by Danish authorities concerning the daughter of a woman at the center of a snowballing corruption scandal as soon as possible to speed up her repatriation. Chung Yoo-ra, th

SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited police officers and firefighters on Friday, in line with his latest efforts to hint at his presidential ambitions. "The top role of the country is to secure the safety, lives, and assets of the people," Ban