Moon may send friendly letter to Abe via S. Korean PM visiting Tokyo next week 2019-10-18 16:45:35 KST
News Keywords Nat'l/Politics North Korea Economy IT/Science Foreign Policy World Life/Culture Sports Weather Challenges, changes faced by S. Korean military addressed in parliamentary au... 2019-10-18 PM Lee Nak-yon to have closed-door dinner with Lotte Group chief ahead of Jap... 2019-10-18 Gov't study finds high levels of hormone-disrupting chemical in receipt paper... 2019-10-18 Former U.S. nuke envoy says N. Korea, U.S. should reach an 'interim de 2019-10-18 N. Korean teenage defectors likely to suffer from PTSD or depression: 2019-10-18 Post-Stockholm North Korea analysis 2019-10-18 S. Korea's sluggish trend of exports and investment continues with slo 2019-10-18 S. Korea, U.S. sign MOU to strengthen infrastructure finance 2019-10-18 In-depth: Global market wrap-up 2019-10-18 Anybody's finger can unlock Samsung Galaxy S10 devices using screen pr 2019-10-18 Can world agree on digital tax scheme targeting IT companies? 2019-10-18 Living in cities with high air pollution equivalent to memory loss fro 2019-10-17 South Korea earns seat on UN Human Rights Council for 5th time 2019-10-18 South Korea earns seat on UN Human Rights Council for 5th time 2019-10-18 Prime Ministers of S. Korea and Japan could meet in Tokyo on October 2 2019-10-17 Japan to dispatch self-defense forces to Strait of Hormuz: Asahi Shimb 2019-10-18 Shelling heard in Syria despite five day pause in military operations 2019-10-18 U.K., EU agree on draft Brexit deal 2019-10-18 BTS releases new song 'Make It Right' featuring U.S. singer-songwriter 2019-10-18 Seoul Silver Grass Festival is perfect way to spend cool autumn day 2019-10-18 BTS pop-up store opens in heart of Gangnam 2019-10-18 S. Korea's football body slams N. Korea over handling of inter-Korean 2019-10-18 KBO 'Subway Series' set for the first time... Kiwoom set to face Doosa 2019-10-18 LA Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-jin nominated for MLBPA Outstanding Pitcher award 2019-10-17 Bright weekend ahead with big temperature fluctuations 2019-10-18 Autumn rain in store, east coast and Jeju to see rain into Saturday 2019-10-18 Rain on Jeju and parts of east and south 2019-10-18
Issue Now S. Korea-Japan Trade Row Seoul's finance minister urges swift resolution of Japan's export restrictions on S. Korea... 2019-10-18 IMF and U.S. experts say Japan's export curbs on S. Korea could have negative effect on wo... 2019-10-18 Number of S. Korean tourists to Japan falls by 58% y/y in September 2019-10-17 Prime Ministers of S. Korea and Japan could meet in Tokyo on October 24: Tokyo Shimbun 2019-10-17 Senior diplomats of S. Korea and Japan discuss wartime forced labor and export curbs Wedne... 2019-10-17 S. Korean PM's trip to Japan could widen discussions, but too soon to tell: Blue House 2019-10-14 N. Korea & U.S. U.S. should view talks as way to resolve insecurity between nuclear powers: Choson Sinbo 2019-10-13 N. Korea-U.S. working-level talks break down as differences remain unresolved 2019-10-06 North Korea-U.S. working-level talks resume in Stockholm Saturday 2019-10-05 Trump says N. Korea wants to do something through Stockholm talks 2019-10-05 North Korea-U.S. working-level talks to resume in Stockholm Saturday 2019-10-05 N. Korea's missile test may have come from sea-based platform, not submarine: U.S. military 2019-10-04
Most Popular Senior diplomats of S. Korea and Japan discuss wartime forced labor and export curbs Wednesday Following through on their promise to meet once a month, senior diplomats of South Korea and Japan met Wednesday to discuss the issues that've recently divided them. South Korea's director-general for Asian and Pacific affairs, Kim Jung-han , met with his Japanese counterpart Shigeki Takizaki at Seoul's foreign ministry. The main talking points -- the South Korean Supreme court ruling last year calling for Japan to compensate the people it used in wartime forced labor and Tokyo's export restrictions. The South Korean side pointed out that Japan's export curbs are retaliation for that court ruling and called for the restrictions to be quickly withdrawn, while highlighting the need to continue dialogue. South Korea also brought up its concerns about radioactive waste from the 2011 Fukushima meltdown. That is regarding how Japan is considering dumping contaminated water to the sea and the bags of radioactive waste that were lost over the weekend due to Typhoon Hagibis. This working-level meeting comes a week before South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon visits Japan to attend Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony. According to Seoul's foreign ministry, talks between Prime Minister Lee and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have not been confirmed but are highly likely. Prime Minister Abe has also highlighted the need to mend ties with Seoul. Speaking at a meeting on Wednesday, Abe said it's imperative to continue dialogue with South Korea and he hopes there'll be an opportunity for ties to be rebuilt. However, the Japanese leader still put the blame on Seoul, saying South Korea is breaching trust by supposedly violating their 1965 agreement. Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News. 2019-10-17 Revamping sluggish domestic economy Korea's central bank has cut its key interest rate for the second time in three months in efforts to revitalize the nation's sluggish economy. The key rate now stands at a record-low of 1.25-percent, last seen in 2017. And many predict, the rate cut trend is likely to continue for quite some time amid the stagnant domestic and global economies. Today we go in-depth on BOK's rate cut and prospects of its effectiveness in revamping the Korean economy with Dr. Yang Jun-sok, Professor of Economics at the Catholic University of Korea. 1. Another rate cut implies Korea needs further measures that could help revitalize its domestic economy. Could you first give us an analysis of the Bank of Korea's rate cut? 2. Korea's central bank has been raising its key interest rate since mid-2016, but it seems the key rate is now on a downward trend. How do you gauge the possibility of further rate cuts? 3. The big question is, how effective a rate cut would be in revamping the Korean economy. And I hear there's a limit to a minimum interest rate that can help boost the economy. The minimum interest rate that can help revamp the economy for Korea, if I'm not mistaken, ranges from 0.75% to 1%. Can you explain to us about this minimum interest rate? 4. Sluggish investment and consumption are not the only economic challenges Korea faces. The on-going U.S.-China trade battle and the South Korea-Japan trade dispute are also weighing heavily on Korea's export-driven economy. How much effect do you expect from this month's rate cut? 5. Korea's snowballing household debt is another huge concern here in the nation. What kind of effect would this month's rate cut have on that front? 6. President Moon, for the first time this year, presided over the economy-related ministers' meeting today where he stressed the need for the government's fiscal expansion and boosting investments in construction and Social Overhead Capital developments. Do you think these could be an option? 7. What other economic policies or measures do you think Korea needs at this point? 8. The IMF has lowered Korea's growth forecast for this year to 2% while projecting a 2.2% growth for next year. How do you see this, and what's your growth forecast for Korea next year? 2019-10-17 S. Korea to 'de-regulate' to boost country's drone industry South Korea is looking to cut red tape to boost the country's drone industry. On Thursday, the land and science ministries as well as the Office for Government Policy Coordination agreed on a 'de-regulation' roadmap to create an environment where the drone industry can grow. The administration considers the drone industry one of the country's key growth engines. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon stressed that the global drone market is growing fast and therefore requires quick innovations in government regulations. The government says it will work to create spaces where drones can be flown freely, separately from airplanes and therefore with less concern about congestion. This will help operate services like drone taxi or drone deliveries. The government will also be improving some regulations to prevent drones from being used for terrorism. Related government ministries will be developing necessary radar and equipment which will be allowed for use commercially. South Korea will also expand the use of drones in public services as well -- like rescue operations, forest surveys, artificial rain and communication. Seoul expects such plans could create an economic ripple effect worth 17 billion U.S. dollars and create jobs for 170-thousand people by 2028. The government aims to commercialize drone deliveries by 2025. Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News. 2019-10-17 President Moon emphasizes need to expand government expenditure at times when global economy slows down President Moon Jae-in zeroing in on economy. Amid weaker global growth, the president said his administration is firm on keeping its expansionary fiscal policy while working to revitalize public investment to keep the economy afloat. "To overcome the fall in exports and investment caused by slowing global economic growth, the government should take the lead by increasing support for exporting firms and boosting private investment." Reiterating that Asia's fourth largest economy like many others is going through turbulence because of external factors like trade protectionism, the president said now is the time to concentrate energy on the economy and people's lives. And a greater emphasis on investments. "Businesses are sharply expanding investment in sectors like system semiconductors, display, future cars and biohealth. Venture investments have seen the largest growth. This is all good news for our economy." He announced that the government plans to invest more in the construction sector, and promised to boost public investment in social overhead capital as well. The attendees also discussed issues ranging from the recent employment data, the flexible working hour system to the government response to African swine fever. The vice finance minister has separately called on the central and the regional governments to execute all their budgets in the last quarter of the year to deal with downside economic risks. Aside from one meeting last year, this was only the second time the president has gathered all his economic policymakers since taking office in 2017. The president's message seen as a way of stressing the importance of expanding public and private investment, and showing that the president himself is on the case. Shin Se-min, Arirang News. 2019-10-17
