(Yonhap) -- North Korea is believed to be gearing up for a nuclear test, an intelligence official said Sunday, a move certain to fuel the already high tensions over its planned long-range rocket launch.   Satellite images show the communist nation digging a new tunnel underground in the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in the country's northeast, where it conducted two previous nuclear tests, first in

North Korea April 9, 2012

The Cabinet has passed a new ordinance on war preparation to allow the military to mobilize some reservists and civilian vehicles in case of localized provocations, officials said Thursday.This move comes as South Korea is striving to reform its armed forces and bolster defense capabilities in the wake of North Korean provocations including the sinking of the corvette Cheonan and the artillery att

Defense July 14, 2011

An Army private first class died in an apparent suicide last Thursday, officials said Wednesday. The 21-year-old PFC, surnamed Lee, was transported to a nearby hospital right after he was found to have hanged himself at an Army regiment-level unit last Monday. He died on Thursday. Investigators are not ruling out the possibility of him opting to take his own life due to mental or physical abuses b

Defense July 13, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak awarded South Korea's highest order of national security merit to the outgoing chief of U.S. forces in Korea and the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff at a ceremony Wednesday, participants said.   Gen. Walter Sharp and Adm. Michael Mullen were given the Tong-Il Medal of the Order of National Security Merit for their contributions to the defense of South Korea, part

Politics July 13, 2011

North Korea is supposed to have discharged water from a dam near the border with the South on Wednesday without advance notification, the state water agency said.The water level on the Pilseung Bridge near the border reached 5.8 meters as of 8:25 p.m. and is increasing by 25 centimeters every hour, officials at the Korea Water Resources Corp. said.The bridge near the Imjin River, which flows from

North Korea July 13, 2011

(Yonhap) -- South Korea's food safety watchdog said Wednesday that two imported Taiwanese food products have been found to contain a potentially health-threatening environmental hormone.   The products, manufactured by Taiwanese firms Yungshin Pharm and Tosaka International, were taken off shelves immediately for containing DEHP, according to the Korea Food and Drug Administration.   The KFDA, how

Social Affairs June 8, 2011

　The Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation is investigating some 570 employees at a special purpose company of the distressed Busan savings bank group to find out whether they are responsible for its financial troubles, officials said Wednesday.　It has also discovered some 4,000 real estate properties owned by the employees and plans to seize them should they be found to have committed any wrongdoin

Social Affairs June 8, 2011

South Korea denied a Japanese news report Saturday that it has agreed to hold next week's summit with Japan and China at Japan's tsunami-hit area of Fukushima where a nuclear crisis is continuing despite months of efforts to curb it. In a message to reporters, Seoul's foreign ministry said the Kyodo news agency report is wrong and that the government is still considering whether to agree to Japan'

Foreign Affairs May 14, 2011

 (AP) The operator of Japan's tsunami-wrecked nuclear power plant said a contract worker in his 60s died Saturday after collapsing at the facility's waste disposal building, adding that his body showed no signs of dangerous levels of radioactivity.   The man was carrying equipment at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant when he collapsed. He died later in hospital, said Tokyo Electric Power Co. sp

World News May 14, 2011

 The government is reportedly considering choosing Daejeon as the site for the envisioned international science-business belt, which many other provincial governments have strenuously sought to have for their regional interests. Chiefs of provincial governments angrily responded to the reports that Daejeon is the most likely candidate site, saying that the government evaluation process was not fai

Politics May 14, 2011

WASHINGTON, May 13 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. trade panel Friday ruled in favor of Whirlpool Corp. in its antidumping petitions against South Korean rivals Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics for their alleged sale of refrigerators in the U.S. at a discount.   The U.S. International Trade Commission said in a statement that it "today determined that there is a reasonable indication that a U.S. industry

World Business May 14, 2011

 WASHINGTON, May 13 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. point man on North Korea will travel to South Korea next week to discuss North Korea's nuclear ambitions and other issues of mutual concern, the State Department said Friday.   "Special Representative for North Korea Policy Ambassador Stephen Bosworth will travel to the Republic of Korea May 16-18," the department said in a statement. "He will meet with sen

Foreign Affairs May 14, 2011

The number of North Korean defectors coming to South Korea topped the 21,000 mark in April in the five months since November last year, government officials said Saturday. According to the Unification Ministry, the number of North Koreans defecting to South Korea came to 21,165 as of April 17.The number of North Korean defectors in South Korea breached the 20,000 mark for the first time in Novembe

Social Affairs May 14, 2011