Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
Samsung Electronics has suspended production of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones after numerous reports of battery fires, South Korean media reported Monday. The news comes as the smartphone maker faces major new setbacks following the global recall of 2.5 million phones announced in early September due to faulty batteries. After the recall, reports continued to roll in of dangerous fires involving replacement phones, including a Southwest Airlines flight that evacuated after smoke began pouring out of a replaced phone. On Sunday, some U.S. wireless carriers said they would no longer exchange Note 7 phones with the “safe” replacements offered by Samsung after battery fires continued to be reported despite the new batteries. The Yonhap News Agency cited an unnamed source as saying Samsung’s decision to halt production of the phones was done in cooperation with Chinese and U.S. authorities. Samsung has not yet commented on the report.