BAUCHI, Nigeria (AP) -- One of the teenagers who escaped from Islamic extremists who abducted more than 300 schoolgirls said Sunday the kidnapping was “too terrifying for words,” and she is scared to go back to school.  Science student Sarah Lawan, 19, told the Associated Press that more of the girls could have escaped but that they were frightened by their captors' threats to shoot them. Lawan spoke in the Hausa language in a phone interview from Chibok, her home and the site of the mass abduct

World News May 11, 2014

German Ambassador to South Korea Rolf Mafael presented two Korean professors with awards in Seoul on Thursday for their efforts in developing cooperation in scientific research and academic scholarship, and for facilitating the study of German language here in South Korea.Shin Yoo-chul, director of the Law Research Institute at Chungnam National University in Daejeon, and Kim Yoon-su, who served as president of Chonnam National University from  2008 to 2012, were each awarded an Order of Merit o

Foreign Affairs April 14, 2014

President Park Geun-hye on Friday proposed the establishment of inter-Korean cooperative offices and pledged to expand humanitarian, financial and infrastructure support for the North as part of measures to lay the foundation for an eventual reunification. In an address in the former East German city of Dresden, she laid out a three-point agenda to “break down the barriers” across the border.Just as citizens of the two Germanys were allowed to visit each other before unification, the two Koreas

Foreign Affairs March 28, 2014

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo hinted during a site inspection trip to Europe this week that the auto giant would be shifting its focus from product quality to design.“We have been pouring all our resources into elevating driving performance. Now is the time for us to seek a new leap in car design,” he said. “Hyundai and Kia also have to nurture their own design identity, respectively.”Following his business trip to the group’s production facilities in Slovakia and the Czech Republi

Industry March 6, 2014

North Korea test-fired four short-range missiles into the sea Thursday, Seoul's defense ministry said, in an apparent show of force to coincide with South Korea-US joint military exercises.A ministry spokesman told AFP the missiles, with an estimated range of 200 kilometers, were fired off the east coast of North Korea."Our military will maintain tight vigilance in preparation for additional launches or any military provocation from the North," the spokesman said.North Korea carries out short-ra

North Korea Feb. 27, 2014

(AP) -- Emerging from a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday that U.S.-China relations depend on trust and a positive notion of each other's motives. Neither leader made public mention of a major clash over disputed airspace that's pitted China against the U.S. and its Asian allies.Appearing somber and subdued, Biden said the relationship between the two major powers will significantly affect the course of the 21st century. If the U.S. and China

World News Dec. 4, 2013

HANOI, ST. PETERSBURG -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye kicked off her schedule in Vietnam Sunday by attending a joint fashion show and a meeting with business leaders of South Korea and Vietnam to discuss wider cooperation and investment on the second day of her state visit. Park arrived in Vietnam on Saturday for a five-day stay that she plans to use as the starting point for her “sales diplomacy” drive. The highlight of the trip is a summit with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang on M

National Sept. 8, 2013

Everyone has a favorite cartoon character from childhood that occupies a special place in their memories. Until 2000, characters that reminded many Koreans of their childhood were not Korean creations. Most were Japanese or American, from the classic Tom and Jerry and Thomas and Friends to Pokemon and Digimon. Amid the swarm of foreign characters, the Korean character Dooly was rare in remaining popular since its debut in 1983 through a televised animation series on KBS. But for those who spent

Culture Aug. 23, 2013

The two Koreas agreed Friday to hold reunions of separated families at the North’s Mount Geumgangsan resort in late September in the latest sign of easing tensions on the peninsula.During a meeting at the border village of Panmunjeom, Red Cross officials agreed that 100 people from each side would meet their loved ones from Sept. 25-30 in the program that had been suspended for nearly three years.The two sides will also arrange a video meeting among 40 families from each side from Oct. 22-23 and

North Korea Aug. 23, 2013