A 75-year-old Australian missionary has been detained in North Korea for allegedly distributing religious material, a report said on Wednesday.John Short was arrested by Pyongyang's public security bureau on Sunday, his wife told the Adelaide Advertiser. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs said they were aware of the case. (AFP)

World Feb. 19, 2014

Sales of cars made by Hyundai Motor Co. lost ground in the European Union in January, while numbers for its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. increased, official data showed Wednesday.According to data released by the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA), South Korea's largest carmaker sold 30,047 units in the first month of this year, down 5.9 percent from 31,918 vehicles sold in January 2013.The loss, coupled with the 5.5 percent increase in overall sales among the 27 membe

Film Feb. 19, 2014

Creditors have decided to provide additional liquidity to the shipbuilding unit of ailing STX Group in a move to help it overcome a cash crunch, officials said Wednesday.The main creditor, Korea Development Bank, said that more than75 percent of other creditors approved the rescue measures including 1.8 trillion won ($1.69 billion) in liquidity supply for STX Offshore & Shipbuilding.The rescue measures also include a debt-to-equity swap worth around 1.3 trillion won, they said. The total cash of

Film Feb. 19, 2014

South Korea's biggest confectioner Lotte Confectionery Co. said Wednesday that it plans to build its second plant in India by July next year.Lotte will spend 66 billion won ($61.8 million) to build the plant in the northern Haryana province, which will produce Choco Pies worth 38 billion won a year. Choco Pies, chocolate-covered, marshmallow-filled snack cakes, are one of the company's flagship products. In 2010, Lotte built its first Indian plant in Chennai, a city on the country's southeastern

Film Feb. 19, 2014

South Korea will push to develop sophisticated cyberwarfare tools that could wreak havoc on North Korea's nuclear facilities as part of its plans to beef up offensive capabilities, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The ministry reported a long-term plan for cyberpolicy to the parliamentary defense committee, at a time when calls have risen to reform the Cyber Warfare Command, which has been dogged by allegations of an online smear campaign in the 2012 presidential election. The military vowed

Latest News Feb. 19, 2014

South Korea's No. 2 tech giant LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it has clinched a deal with U.S. entertainment company Warner Bros. to carry 3D movies on its smart TV lineup.LG said Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. will supply 30 movies in 3D to "3D World," a content market launched for LG's smart TV models.The blockbusters will include "Gravity," "Man of Steel" and "Pacific Rim," and the service will be provided in seven countries including the United States, Britain, Germany, Russia and South

Film Feb. 19, 2014

The government will deal sternly with a militant umbrella union's general strike planned for next week, the labor minister said Wednesday, labeling it "illegal."The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) has said all of its members will go on strike Tuesday, timed with the first anniversary of the incumbent government, demanding it stop oppressing workers and attempting to privatize public companies."The government will sternly deal with the illegal strike with no justifiable purpose," Phan

Latest News Feb. 19, 2014

More than 100 South Koreans will gather at a resort on the country's east coast on Wednesday as part of preparations for their first reunions with their North Korean relatives since the 1950-53 Korean War, officials said.The move comes days after the rival Koreas held rare high-level talks and agreed to hold the reunions at Mount Kumgang, a scenic resort on the North's east coast, from Feb. 20-25.The upcoming reunions, the first since late 2010, come amid lingering tensions over South Korea's up

North Korea Feb. 19, 2014

The White House said Tuesday it has strongly and consistently condemned North Korea's human rights violations, which were highlighted by a new U.N. panel report.   "We are extremely vocal and critical about the appalling conduct of the North Korean regime," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said at a press briefing.   He was asked about the presidential office's view on a Commission of Inquiry (COI) report about human rights situations in the secretive communist nation.   After a year of in

North Korea Feb. 19, 2014