A special parliamentary committee on Northeast Asian history said Friday it plans to adopt a resolution next week to denounce Japan for reviewing its 1993 key statement admitting to its wartime sexual enslavement of women.At a closed-door meeting, members of the committee agreed that Japan's review of the Kono statement was seen as being aimed at undermining the credibility of its own apology.A panel of experts appointed by the Japanese government said last Friday that Seoul and Tokyo officials

Politics June 27, 2014

Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin apologized Friday over last week's shooting spree by an enlisted soldier who killed five of his comrades, and vowed to come up with fundamental preventive measures."I sincerely apologize to the people and the bereaved families for such a regretful incident in the eastern front-line general outpost that killed five and wounded seven," Kim said in a statement to the public.Expressing deep condolences to the fallen soldiers, the defense chief said he will "strive to he

Defense June 27, 2014

North Korea said Friday that it has successfully launched a newly developed tactical guided missile, threatening high-precision attacks on those who challenge Pyongyang's sovereignty.The report carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) came a day after the communist country test-fired three short-range projectiles into the East Sea on Thursday.North Korea did not disclose when the reported test-firing took place, but it mostly likely refers to Thursday's firing.North Kore

North Korea June 27, 2014

A trilateral committee of government, labor and management representatives agreed Friday to raise the country's minimum hourly wage by about 7.1 percent to 5,580 won (US$5.50) per hour for next year, officials said.The Minimum Wage Council reached the deal after an intensive overnight discussion on compromise plans, marking the first time in six years that a minimum wage has been set within a legal deadline.The hourly wage translates to 44,640 won a day for those who work eight hours a day and 1

Politics June 27, 2014

A special parliamentary committee plans to begin its investigation into a deadly ferry disaster later this month by receiving reports from related government departments, a committee official said Friday.The committee will be briefed by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Coast Guard on Thursday and Friday, the first step of the parliamentary probe, said Rep. Kim Hyun-mi, a key opposition member of the committee.Kim, a lawmaker of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy,

Social Affairs June 20, 2014

The South Korean Navy carried out a firing exercise off the country's east coast Friday to strengthen its capability against a possible invasion by North Korean submarines, officers here said.Flatly rejecting Japan's call a day earlier to cancel the drill, the Navy held the one-day exercise in the East Sea, some 50 kilometers away from the country's eastern port of Jukbyeon, North Gyeongsang Province, as scheduled.On Wednesday, Tokyo urged Seoul to cancel the exercise, claiming that the venue in

Defense June 20, 2014

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be further alienated from his neighbors if Tokyo undermines the credibility of its 1993 apology over wartime sexual enslavement of women during World War II, China's state-run media warned Friday. The China Daily made the comments in its editorial hours before the Japanese government was set to announce the results of its "review" on the 1993 statement issued by then-Japanese cabinet secretary Yohei Kono that acknowledged its forced recruitment of women in

Foreign Affairs June 20, 2014

No progress was made in an underwater search for those still missing in April's deadly ferry sinking for the 12th straight day on Friday, officials said.Navy, Coast Guard and civilian divers took shifts to search the submerged hull to find 12 people, including six high school students, still unaccounted for more than two months after the boat sank off the country's southwestern coast, according to officials of the government crisis center.The officials said the divers combed the front of the thi

Social Affairs June 20, 2014