North Korea claimed Saturday that its nuclear weapons development is an "inevitable self-defensive option" in response to what it called the United States' nuclear threats. The communist country has long argued that it must defend itself with nuclear weapons in the face of a possible U.S.-led invasion, citing the annual South Korea-U.S. military exercises that are currently under way. Seoul and Washington insist the drills are purely defensive in nature."The DPRK's access to nuclear weapons is n

North Korea April 16, 2016

China will double the size of a memorial hall dedicated to a revered Korean independence fighter by the end of 2018, a Chinese news report said Saturday. The hall honoring Ahn Jung-geun opened at Harbin station in the northeastern Chinese city of the same name in January 2014. Ahn is a historic figure who assassinated the Korean Peninsula's first Japanese governor-general, Hirobumi Ito, at the station in October 1909.Harbin municipal authorities and railway authorities plan to expand the hall wh

Social Affairs April 16, 2016

The U.N. Security Council on Friday condemned North Korea's failed missile launch, saying it represents "a clear violation" of a series of U.N. resolutions banning the communist nation from any ballistic activity."The members of the Security Council strongly condemned the firing of a ballistic missile by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on April 15," the council said in a press statement."Although the DPRK's ballistic missile launch was a failure, this attempt constituted a clear

North Korea April 16, 2016

South Korea on Saturday marked the second anniversary of a deadly ferry disaster with official and cultural events designed to pay tribute to the victims and raise awareness of public safety issues.Exactly two years ago, the 6,825-ton ferry Sewol sank off South Korea's southwestern coast, leaving more than 300 people dead or missing, many of them high school students on a field trip. The tragedy left a deep scar in South Korean society and politics as many argued that more lives could have been

Social Affairs April 16, 2016

No South Korean casualties have so far been reported in the series of deadly earthquakes that struck Japan this week, an official said Saturday. A 7.3-magnitude temblor hit Kumamoto Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu at around 1:25 a.m. Saturday, less than two days after a 6.5-magnitude quake struck the same region, leaving a total of 18 people dead and more than 1,800 injured, according to Japanese authorities."So far, we haven't received reports of any harm to South Koreans," Park Ki-

World News April 16, 2016

Recent satellite imagery shows strong indications that North Korea has already begun or is set to start reprocessing spent nuclear fuel to harvest plutonium for nuclear weapons, the website 38 North said.The April 11 imagery showed a loaded railroad flatcar at the Radiochemical Laboratory reprocessing plant, a key signature that was observed only on a few rare occasions in the early 2000s when Pyongyang reprocessed nuclear fuel to extract plutonium, 38 North said.The flatcar is loaded with what

North Korea April 16, 2016

A massive magma storage region seems to exist beneath Mount Paektu along the border between North Korea and China, an international study showed.It may be related to volcanic unrest observed on the enigmatic volcano in the early 2000s, according to the results of a research project published in the Science Advances journal.The reclusive North conducted a rare joint research with western scientists on the seismic activity of the 2,750-meter-high mountain. The North Korean, British and American sc

Social Affairs April 16, 2016

North Korea on Thursday reiterated its stance that its nuclear capability is the outcome of what it claims is nuclear blackmail from Washington, and threatened to launch a nuclear attack on the U.S. mainland.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang's official news outlet, said the U.S.'s call for a "world without nuclear weapons" is a prelude to a nuclear war against the communist state."The 4th Nuclear Security Summit held in the U.S. was an extremely deceptive and provocative farce aim

North Korea April 7, 2016

The government has rejected calls to disclose information on the possible deployment of an advanced missile defense system to South Korea, a civic group said Thursday.The Ministry of National Defense dismissed the information disclosure request filed by the Lawyers for a Democratic Society last month, the group said.It had asked the ministry to open the terms of reference it signed with its U.S. counterpart and clarify whether the agreement was a treaty, according to the association.In the after

Defense April 7, 2016

South Korea has moved one spot up to rank No. 56 in the world, the latest FIFA ranking announced on Thursday showed.The April rankings of FIFA showed that the South Korea men's football team is ranked third best in Asia, just one notch above their archrival Japan.Iran was the top-ranked country in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) at No. 42 followed by Australia, which moved up from No. 67 to 50.Saudi Arabia was the fifth-highest-ranked Asian country at No. 60, followed by Uzbekistan (No. 6

Soccer April 7, 2016