South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Friday following fresh concerns over the global economic slowdown, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 20.91 points, or 1.08 percent, to 1,921.63 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Large-cap exporters led the decline, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics slumping 1.17 percent and leading automaker Hyundai Moto

Aug. 24, 2012

A nuclear reactor in South Korea's southeastern region shut itself down after its reactor operation system gave a warning signal, the state-run plant operator said Thursday. The Reactor-1 in Uljin Nuclear Power Plant, automatically stopped operating its nuclear reactor and turbine generator as of 6:41 p.m., according to the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. It froze itself on the warning signal and

Social Affairs Aug. 24, 2012

The United States on Thursday called on South Korea and Japan to resolve differences through dialogue as tensions took a farcical turn, with a new row between the two nations over correspondence."Both of these countries are strong, important, valued allies of the United States. It's obviously not comfortable for us when they have a dispute between them," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nulan

International Aug. 24, 2012

Google set out Wednesday to take users of its free online mapping service on an Arctic adventure with help from an Inuit community in the Canadian tundra.Prime Minister Stephen Harper joined the effort as the Internet titan's Street View team arrived in the hamlet of Cambridge Bay in the Northwest Passage for one of its most remote projects to date."The goal of this project is to share with a glob

Technology Aug. 23, 2012

A New Zealand man who assaulted his wife with an ostrich egg after her pet pig ran amok has been jailed for six months, it was reported Thursday.Phillip Russell lost his temper when he discovered the pig had damaged his power saw, verbally abusing his wife, spitting at her then grabbing an ostrich egg from the kitchen table and hurling it at her, Fairfax Media reported.It said Russell, 46, had rep

World News Aug. 23, 2012

South Korea has recognized damages from the country's bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) for the first time since the trade deal went into effect last year, the government said Thursday.The decision came at a meeting on Wednesday, in which the National Trade Commission accepted a claim from a local pork processing company that it suffered damages from the growing mar

Aug. 23, 2012

Adherents of a religious sect in western Mexico are physically blocking school teachers from entering their walled community, setting up one of the most high-profile confrontations between religious and civil authorities in Mexico since the 1930s.  Local officials in the western state of Michoacan said Wednesday it may be time to call in a large-scale police operation to enforce the right to schoo

Culture Aug. 23, 2012

Japanese prime minister Yoshihiko Noda has told top opposition politicians he plans to call a general election in early November, Kyodo news agency reported Thursday.The agency cited senior lawmakers from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) as its source, but did not immediately give further details.Noda was forced to promise the opposition an early general election to gain their support

World News Aug. 23, 2012

A man attacked his former colleagues and passers-by with a knife on a busy street in Seoul Wednesday, leaving four wounded, police said.The 30-year-old man identified only as Kim wielded a knife on a street in Seoul's main financial district of Yeouido around 7:16 p.m., wounding four people, they said."Two of the four are Kim's former colleagues and two others are among the passers-by," a police o

Social Affairs Aug. 23, 2012

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Thursday led by losses in techs and shipbuilders, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 5.83 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,929.36 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics retreated 1.03 percent and leading shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 0.82 percent.The local currency was trading

Aug. 23, 2012

Direct financing by South Korean companies rose 9.5 percent on-month in July, led by an increase in initial public offerings (IPO) and corporate bond issuances, the financial regulator said Thursday. Local companies raised 11.9 trillion won ($10.5 billion) last month by issuing stocks and bonds, compared with 10.8 trillion won a month earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

Aug. 23, 2012

South Korean footballer Ki Sung-yueng has agreed "in principle" to join Swansea City in the English Premier League, a team official said early Thursday, Korean time.In an interview with Scotland STV, Swansea City Chairman Huw Jenkins said Ki is expected to travel to Wales, where the club is based, to finalize the deal "in the next 48 hours.""We're very excited of the prospect of signing Ki who wil

Soccer Aug. 23, 2012

South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan dismissed a proposal by Japan on Tuesday to jointly refer the issue of Dokdo to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), saying the proposal is "not worth consideration." Kim made the remarks at a parliamentary session hours after the Japanese government decided to make a formal proposal to South Korea by Tuesday by sending a diplomatic document through

International Aug. 21, 2012