North Korea has recently moved two additional missile launchers believed to be for Scud missiles to its east coast, a military source familiar with the matter said Sunday, in yet another sign of preparations for a missile launch at a volatile time on the Korean Peninsula.According to intelligence authorities, the North in early April moved two mid-range Musudan missiles to Wonsan, and placed seven mobile missile transporter-erector-launchers (TEL) in Wonsan and South Hamgyeong Province at its ea

North Korea April 21, 2013

The FBI zeroed in on two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing and shared surveillance-camera images of them with the world Thursday in hopes the public will help hunt them down.The somewhat blurry but still detailed photos and video depict one young man in a dark cap and another in a white cap worn backward, both wearing backpacks and one walking behind the other on the sidewalk near the finish line as marathoners run by.After break in the investigation, the Boston area remained on edge overn

World News April 19, 2013

Top South Korean and U.S. military officers reiterated Thursday that the allies would respond firmly to any North Korean provocations in accordance with their recently signed contingency plan.During their 37th Military Committee Meeting, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Jung Seung-jo and his U.S. counterpart Gen. Martin Dempsey also reaffirmed that preparations for the transfer of wartime operational control slated for 2015 were “on track.”They agreed to refine the specifics on the fu

Defense April 19, 2013

Police concluded Thursday that two national spy agents illegally intervened in the last presidential election by posting comments critical of the opposition party on the Internet closely before the poll.Police have looked into suspicions that a female employee of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) tried to influence the Dec. 19, 2012 presidential election on behalf of the agency by writing more than 120 online posts about politically sensitive issues under multiple IDs months before the pol

Social Affairs April 18, 2013

President Park Geun-hye plans to appoint an unpopular nominee as maritime minister Wednesday, a move that will spark opposition protests at a time when she needs its cooperation on an extra budget proposal and other matters.Nominee Yoon Jin-sook, an oceanographer, will be formally appointed as minister of oceans and fisheries, along with three other minister-level candidates, the presidential office said. The others are Choi Mun-kee as science minister, Chae Dong-wook as prosecutor-general and L

Politics April 17, 2013

정부가 경기 회복과 민생 안정을 위해 추가경정 예산안 17조3천억 원과 기금 지출 증액 2조원 등 모두 19조3천억 원을 투입한다.앞서 공기업 투자 1조원을 늘린 것을 포함하면 총 20조원이 넘는다.다만, 이 중에는 세금과 세외 수입의 부족을 메우는 세입 경정 12조원이 들어있는 만큼 순수한 세출 확대는 기금 증액을 포함해 7조3천억 원이다.이번 추경으로 공공부문 4천개를 포함해 연간 4만개의 일자리를 창출하는 효과가 생길 것으로 정부는 기대했다.정부는 16일 이런 내용의 추가경정예산안을 국무회의에서 의결, 18일 국회에 제출한다.당초 추경안은 성장률 하향 조정에 따른 국세 수입 감소분 6조원과 산업•기업 은행 지분매각 지연에 따른 세외수입 감소분 6조원 등 세입에서 총 12조원을 메우기로 했다. 세출 확대는 5조3천억 원이었다. 여기에 더해 기금 지출에서 국회 의결 없이 증액이 가능한 2조원을 추가 투입키로 했다.올해 예산의 총수입은 애초 372조6천억 원에서 360조8천억 원으로

한국어판 April 16, 2013

South Korea's presidential office plans to hold a meeting with security-related ministries and agencies next month, officials said Tuesday, as the country prepares for possible provocations by North Korea.National security chief Kim Jang-soo will preside over the meeting, which will be attended by vice ministers and their counterparts from the Prime Minister's Office, the defense ministry, the security and public administration ministry and the National Police Agency, among others, the officials

North Korea April 16, 2013

The defense ministry said Tuesday it will submit a 217.4 billion won ($194.3 million) supplementary budget to the parliament for approval to increase spending on weapons on the frontlines and shelters on border islands to better counter North Korean threats amid high tensions.The Cabinet approved an extra budget worth 17.3 trillion won for this year in a bid to revitalize the economy faced with gloomy market conditions at home and abroad. The budget is the largest since 2009 when the nation unve

April 16, 2013

South Korea on Tuesday drew up an extra budget worth 17.3 trillion won ($15.4 billion) for this year in a bid to revitalize its economy faced with gloomy market conditions at home and abroad.The budget plan, which was endorsed by a Cabinet meeting, is the largest since 2009 when the nation unveiled 28.4 trillion won in additional spending in the wake of the global financial crisis.The proposal for the latest extra budget, which will come on top of a 342 trillion won annual budget for 2013, will

April 16, 2013

한국의 최대 무역상대국 중의 하나인 미국이 낮은  성장률 전망치를 내보이며 국내 경제가 4% 성장률로 회복하는데 어려움이 있을 것으로 보인다.블룸버그통신이 입수한 국제통화기금(IMF)는 ‘세계경제전망’ 보고서 초안에 따르면 IMF는 미국의 올해 경제 성장률 전망치를 기존의 2.0%에서 1.7%로 하향조정했다. 다음주에 발표될 이 보고서는 미국의 자동 예산 삭감(시퀘스터)이 발동됨에 따라 소비가 위축될 수 있어 경제 성장률을 낮췄다고 설명했다. IMF는 올해 세계 경제 성장률도 1월의 전망치(3.5%)보다 다소 낮춰 3.4%로 수정 했다.  이 보고서는 아울러 "일본을 포함한 몇몇 국가의 양적 완화 정책이 다른 국가에 피해를 줄 수 있다는 우려는 과장된 것"이라며 "중기적 관점에서 주요국 통화의 기초여건에는 큰 변화가 없다"고 판단했다.미국이 2012년 경제 성장률인 2.2%에서 0.4% 낮은 1.8%로 조정함에 따라 한국은행도 올해 초 2.8%로 잡았던 성장률을 2.6%로 하향조정했

한국어판 April 12, 2013