2014년 브라질월드컵에 도전하는 한국 축구가 벨기에, 알제리, 러시아와 운명의 맞대결을 펼친다.한국은 7일 새벽 브라질의 코스타 두 사우이페에서 열린 국제축구연맹(FIFA) 브라질월드컵 조 추첨에서 유럽의 벨기에와 러시아, 아프리카의 알제리와 함께 조별리그의 가장 마지막 H조에 배정됐다.물론 각 대륙을 대표하는 국가들이 모인 월드컵에서 16강 진출은 어느 조에서나 어렵지만 브라질이나 스페인, 독일, 이탈리아 등 강력한 우승 후보를 피한 것만으로도 큰 행운이 따라준 조 편성이다.한국은 6월 18일 쿠이아바에서 러시아와 조별리그 1차전을 치른다. 이어 23일 포르투 알레그레에서 알제리와 2차전, 27일 상파울루에서 벨기에와 마지막 3차전을 치른다. 경기가 열리는 도시별로 이동거리가 멀지 않다는 것도 만족스러운 결과다.<관련 영문기사>S. Korea paired with Belgium, Algeria, Russia in 2014South Korea on Friday was paired

한국어판 Dec. 7, 2013

South Korea on Friday was paired with Belgium, Algeria and Russia in the group stage at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.At a draw held here in the Brazilian resort town, South Korea ended up in Group H with the two European qualifiers and one African representative.   South Korea, making its eighth consecutive World Cup appearance, is currently 54th in the FIFA rankings, the lowest among the four in the group.    Belgium is the highest-ranked nation in Group H at No. 11, followed by Russia at

Soccer Dec. 7, 2013

South Korean technicians tasked with inspecting potential sites in North Korea for wireless tagging system to facilitate cross-border movements of people and materials to and from the joint factory park returned home, the Seoul government said Monday.The six-member team returned to the South across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two countries after spending the day checking prospective sites that can be used to set up the radio frequency identification tag (RFID) system.Seoul's

North Korea Dec. 2, 2013

KB Financial Group made its bid Monday to buy two affiliates of Woori Finance Holdings Co., as the government moves a step closer to privatizing the state-run banking group, officials said.The second-largest South Korean banking firm submitted its bid to take over Woori F&I Co., the debt investment unit, and auto insurance arm Woori Financial Co., according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and bank officials familiar with the matter.Four other financial companies, including local broke

Dec. 2, 2013

South Korea stunned Switzerland with a 2-1 victory in their football friendly match here on Friday, erasing an earlier deficit in the spirited second half.At Seoul World Cup Stadium, Bolton Wanderers winger Lee Chung-yong headed in the go-ahead goal in the 86th minute, as the 56th-ranked hosts upset the world No. 7.   South Korea's record under head coach Hong Myung-bo improved to three wins, three losses and three draws.It was the first clash between the two countries since Switzerland defeated

Soccer Nov. 15, 2013

Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, at the end of his rare visit to North Korea late last month, encouraged the North to let its people "live free" andemulate Mongolia's model of transformation, saying, "No tyranny lasts forever," according to a transcript of Elbegdorj's speech on Friday.   Elbegdorj gave the speech at the Kim Il Sung University on Oct. 31 or before wrapping up his four-day visit to North Korea, the Mongolian leader's office said in the transcript. It marked the first vis

North Korea Nov. 15, 2013

China will loosen its decades-old one-child policy by allowing two children for families with one parent who was an only child and will abolish a much-criticized labor camp system, its ruling Communist Party said Friday.The changes were part of a key policy document released by the official Xinhua News Agency following a four-day meeting of party leaders through Tuesday in Beijing. The document also seeks to map out China's economic policy for coming years.The labor camp _ or ``re-education thro

World News Nov. 15, 2013

A special United Nations panel on North Korea's human rights abuses has been seeking to determine whether the communist country's massive violation constitutes crimes against humanity, a U.N. special rapporteur on the issue said Friday."We have a clear picture of what is happening there. It is the almost-complete denial of the human rights in the country," said Marzuki Darusman in a press conference held in downtown Seoul."The commission has been documenting a wide range of rights violations and

North Korea Nov. 15, 2013

The six South Koreans who were recently returned home from North Korea were found to have entered the communist country illegally via China, public safety authorities here said Sunday.Last Friday, North Korea handed over the six men along with the body of a South Korean woman at the neutral border village of Panmunjom.The men were immediately taken into the custody of South Korean authorities for questioning on how they entered the North and details of their stay there.According to the authoriti

North Korea Oct. 27, 2013

Authors of seven high school history textbooks, which have been accused of ideological bias along with a right-wing textbook, said Sunday they won't comply with education ministry orders to revise their texts.Education Minister Seo Nam-soo said last week that the ministry will conduct an in-depth review of the eight recently licensed textbooks and order them to make revisions if necessary, after one of them, published by Kyohak Publishing Co., sparked ire for containing a conservative bias.The m

Social Affairs Sept. 15, 2013

North Korea charged on Friday that any attempt by Seoul to link its leftist lawmaker with Pyongyang would be an "unpardonable provocation" and an insult to Pyongyang's efforts to improve cross-border relations.Lee Seok-ki, a legislator of South Korea's minor opposition Unified Progressive Party, and three other members of the so-called Revolutionary Organization were arrested on suspicions of conspiring to overthrow the government. The country's spy agency, the National Intelligence Service (NIS

North Korea Sept. 6, 2013

It's time to make Google, Apple and other multinational companies pay more taxes. That's the message from President Barack Obama and the leaders of the world's leading economies at a summit ending Friday.The head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development told The Associated Press that the leaders have signed up to an ambitious new taxes plan at the Group of 20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.The new rules, unveiled by the OECD and debated by G-20 finance ministers in July, wo

World Business Sept. 6, 2013

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Friday she hopes Japan will face up to history and work toward moving relations with Seoul in a "future-oriented manner," as she met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.Park made the remark when the German leader asked Park about relations between Seoul and Tokyo. The discussion arose during a bilateral summit held on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of 20 major economies in Russia's port city of Saint Petersburg, senior presidential foreign affai

Foreign Affairs Sept. 6, 2013