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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

US sticks to dialogue with NK

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press conference at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., Friday. / Xinhua-YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe United States has reaffirmed its determination to continue holding dialogue with North Korea under the precondition that the regime moves first with steps for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday (local time).The ranking U.S. diplomat also said that President Donald Trump's promise of a brighter future for the North was “very, very real,” but this can be realized only after the regime takes more verifiable measures for complete denuclearization.“It has to follow the verified denuclearization of North Korea,” Pompeo said in a local media interview.“And getting that sequencing right and getting it laid out in a way that each of the parties can agree to and take down the tension level along the North and South Korean border, it matters to the people of Japan and South Korea, our important partners, and it matters to the whole world.”The remar

Mar 19, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
US sticks to dialogue with NK
  • Moon may send special envoy to North Korea next month
  • US intelligence chief in Seoul to discuss North Korea: source

Moon orders thorough probe into Jang Ja-yeon, K-pop scandals

President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting with Cabinet members at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in on Monday ordered a thorough investigation into a snowballing drug and sex scandal allegedly involving a former member of famous K-pop band BIGBANG.He also instructed officials to scrutinize allegations that a former vice justice minister received sexual service in exchange for a business favor in 2013 and the 2009 suicide of a late rookie actress Jang Ja-yeon."The current leadership of the prosecution and police should stake the fate of their organizations with responsibility on uncovering the truth and becoming a law enforcement agency that can reveal its own shameful acts so as to regain trust," Moon was quoted as saying by presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom."I am stressing that if we cannot fix it, we cannot call this society a just one," Moon added.The drug and sex scandal, involving Seungri of BIGBANG, shook the nation as he faces allegations that he arranged sexual services for potential investors from abroad at local nightclubs. He was a public relations

Mar 18, 2019
Moon orders thorough probe into Jang Ja-yeon, K-pop scandals
  • YG founder accused of 'lax control' of Seungri
  • Son Heung-min 'unfriends' scandal-hit Jung Joon-young
  • Police seek arrest warrant for Jung Joon-young over secret sex videos

LKP rejects electoral reform proposal

Liberty Korea Party (LKP) Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn, third from right, LKP floor leader Rep. Na Kyung-won, third from left, and LKP members hold placards to protest putting bills ― including the electoral reform proposal agreed by four other political parties ― on the fast track, at the National Assembly, Monday. / Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-hanBy Park Ji-wonThe main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) vowed an all-out struggle against the other parties, Monday, to block their attempt to redraw electoral precincts and increase the number of proportional representatives.The response came after the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and three other parties announced a draft proposal for electoral reform following months of negotiations, which the LKP had boycotted. They agreed to fast-track a reform bill to ensure that the next general elections slated for April 2020 will take place under the new rules.Senior LKP members criticized the DPK and other minor parties' move to fast-track the reform bill, calling it a “coup” in legislation to extend the current “left-le

Mar 18, 2019By Park Ji-won
LKP rejects electoral reform proposal

S. Korea preparing for inter-Korean projects 'within framework of sanctions'

By Lee Min-hyungUnification Minister Cho Myoung-gyonSouth Korea is preparing to resume the now-stalled inter-Korean economic projects within the framework of the existing international sanctions against North Korea, the unification ministry said Monday.In a policy briefing to the National Assembly, the Ministry of Unification said it would keep building an environment where the two Koreas can proceed with the joint projects, such as the early resumption of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and tourism to Mount Geumgang.The announcement came amid growing uncertainty in denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang. The inter-Korean economic cooperation cannot be made possible without a lifting of sanctions on Pyongyang, so it is crucial for the regime to sign a deal with the U.S. in their ongoing nuclear negotiations.But with the recent summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ending in failure, North Korea is showing signs of going back to its previous hostile stance by threatening to resume nuclear armament.Despite the lingering security

Mar 18, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
S. Korea preparing for inter-Korean projects 'within framework of sanctions'
  • US asked to reconsider 'all-or-nothing' approach
  • US, North Korea trying to get 'sequencing' right in nuclear talks: Pompeo

US asked to reconsider 'all-or-nothing' approach

This combination of images shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and President Donald Trump during their Feb. 28 meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam. AP-YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulSouth Korea will ask the United States to reconsider its “all-or-nothing” or “big deal” approach toward denuclearizing North Korea, according to Cheong Wa Dae officials, Monday.They said the South will help North Korea and the U.S. find common ground for a “good enough deal.”In Hanoi, U.S. President Donald Trump said he understands “why no deal is better than a bad deal, which I agree in principle,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity. “But the all-or-nothing strategy needs to be reconsidered. In order to see meaningful progress in the denuclearization talks, there should be first trust-building measures, which I will call an early harvest.”The official said it is time to pursue “something more manageable” as some workable deals could revive the momentum for stalled denuclearization talks.“Despite the failure of the Hanoi

Mar 18, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul
US asked to reconsider 'all-or-nothing' approach
  • S. Korea preparing for inter-Korean projects 'within framework of sanctions'
  • US, North Korea trying to get 'sequencing' right in nuclear talks: Pompeo

Shinhan launches first AI finance company

gettyimagesbankBy Kim Bo-eunShinhan Financial Group has launched Shinhan AI, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based investment consulting company, the group said, Monday.It is the first time for a local financial group to set up an AI-specialized company as a subsidiary.Shinhan AI completed registration as a corporate body in January, and the group is "currently in the process of registering the company as an investment consulting business", according to a group official, Monday.The move is in line with group chairman Cho Yong-byoung's efforts to reinvent the group as a digital leader by utilizing AI as an innovation tool to enhance bank, securities and insurance businesses.The new entity is set to begin services in June, after the registration process is completed, the official said.Shinhan AI aims to offer proposals for investment portfolios. It is set to utilize its AI solution "Neo", a platform incorporating IBM's computer system Watson and specialized for market forecasting and investment consulting.It will seek to perform assisting tasks in private banking as well as offer asset

Mar 18, 2019By Kim Bo-eun
Shinhan launches first AI finance company

44.9%: Moon's approval rating falls to new low

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating dropped to a record low last week, a poll showed Monday, apparently on the recent collapse of negotiations between the United States and North Korea on ending the North's nuclear ambitions.In the survey conducted by Realmeter, 44.9 percent of those surveyed said they approved of Moon's job as president, down 1.4 percentage points from a week earlier.The reading marked the lowest since Moon took office in May 2017. The latest survey was conducted Monday through Friday on 2,517 adults throughout the nation.The local pollster partly contributed the drop to the reports of the possible resumption of nuclear and missile activities by North Korea."The possible work to repair North Korea's missile launch site following the breakdown of the second North Korea-U.S. summit and the North's announcement of a possible end to the denuclearization negotiations appear to have most affected (the president's) job approval rating," it said.U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held their second summit in Hanoi late last month, but the mee

Mar 18, 2019
44.9%: Moon's approval rating falls to new low

UN looks into S. Korea's 'unreported' petroleum shipment to N. Korea

Seen above is the inter-Korean liaison office in Gaeseong, North Korea. / Yonhap By Lee Min-hyungThe United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has taken issue with South Korea's failure to notify the council of the country's shipments of petroleum products to North Korea last year for the establishment of the inter-Korean liaison office there.According to an annual report by the United Nations Panel of Experts, Tuesday, all United Nations member countries should report to the UNSC any shipments of refined petroleum products to the North, but the South did not send the notification.This was in contrast to the South Korean government's earlier stance that the case had nothing to do with any violation of international sanctions on the North, as the shipment was aimed at the special purpose of building the office and the U.S. also understood the intention.But the panel expressed different views on the issue, saying that any member states should notify “any transfer of refined petroleum products to the North.”“The panel notes that the specific language of paragraph 5 o

Mar 17, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
UN looks into S. Korea's 'unreported' petroleum shipment to N. Korea

N. Korean leader underlines 'independent growth' after Hanoi summit

By Lee Min-hyungNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-unNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has underlined the need for his country's “independent” economic growth following his failed summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.“There is nothing to be done if you only wait for somebody to give you a hand,” Pyongyang's state-controlled Rodong Sinmun quoted Kim as saying, Saturday.It is a serious political agenda and a matter of life or death for the North to choose between independent growth and dependence on foreign influence, the propaganda newspaper said.The regime also stressed that it would tackle tough economic sanctions from international society by revitalizing the economy through competition among provinces.“Putting provinces into competition with others is a very effective and powerful way to achieve overall prosperity across the regime,” it said.The remark came at a critical time when North Korea is showing signs of returning to the past by threatening to resume its nuclear armament in the wake of the recent breakdown of the second Washington-Pyongyang s

Mar 17, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
N. Korean leader underlines 'independent growth' after Hanoi summit
  • Moon advised to play role as 'facilitator' in denuke talks

Foreigners skeptical of 3rd finance center plan

The North Jeolla provincial government's blueprint for a third finance center in the city of Jeonju / Korea Times fileBy Kim Bo-eunThe government is currently reviewing the viability of a third finance center in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, but foreign individuals in the sector here are skeptical.The plan is among President Moon Jae-in's election pledges, to develop and invigorate provincial areas.However, the plan has come under criticism, as the country's first and second finance centers in Seoul and Busan are considered to lack competitiveness.Meanwhile, the North Jeolla provincial government has already started planning for the 250 billion won ($220 million) project, but no businesses have applied to relocate to Jeonju. The provincial government has been contacting businesses, requesting them to make the move. The local government will have to use its own budget to create the center if no businesses end up relocating. The only finance-related state-run institution in Jeonju is the National Pension Service.Regarding the plan to create a third finance center, James Rooney, vice c

Mar 17, 2019By Kim Bo-eun
Foreigners skeptical of 3rd finance center plan
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