Five-time World Cup champion Brazil will bring most of its top guns to an upcoming football friendly against South Korea.FC Barcelona forward Neymar will headline the 23-man roster for the world No. 8 Brazil, which will visit Seoul World Cup Stadium on Oct. 12 for its fifth meeting against South Korea. Brazil has won three of the four previous matches between the teams.At a news conference, head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said he was looking forward to having Neymar's services up front."It is int

Soccer Sept. 27, 2013

South Korea's national debt has been growing sharply over the past decades, data showed Friday, raising concerns that such ballooning debt could weigh on its fiscal health going forward. According to the data by the finance ministry, the country's national debt is projected to expand from 480.3 trillion won this year to 515.2 trillion won ($478.4 billion) next year. The debt projected for 2014 represents an 8.5-fold rise from 60.3 trillion won tallied in 1997. The country's national debt increas

Sept. 27, 2013

South Korean stocks opened almost flat Friday as the prolonged deadlock in the U.S. debt-ceiling debate weighed down on investor sentiment, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged up 2.68 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,010.00 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Logistics traded higher, with Hyundai Glovis adding 1.52 percent and Hyundai Merchant Marine moving up 0.84 percent. Top air carrier Korean Air gained 1.16 percent.Blue-chip shares lost ground, with marke

Sept. 27, 2013

The United States government said Thursday that nine Japanese auto-parts companies and two executives have pleaded guilty to price-fixing and will pay more than $740 million in fines.The parties, in separate conspiracies, fixed the prices of more than 30 different products sold to US car manufacturers and installed in cars sold in the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice said in a statement.The products include seatbelts, radiators, windshield wipers, air conditioning systems,

World Business Sept. 27, 2013

The United States and China on Thursday agreed to keep up a tough sanctions regime on North Korea amid warnings that the reclusive nation is still managing to pursue its nuclear program, a U.S. official said."Sanctions efforts in general were explicitly discussed" in talks between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the senior State Department official said."Notwithstanding any sweet sounding comments that foreign diplomats may think they've heard from the Nor

North Korea Sept. 27, 2013

Defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States will meet next week in Seoul to discuss security issues on the Korean Peninsula and boost bilateral military ties as part of their annual dialogue, the government here said Friday. South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and his American counterpart Chuck Hagel will have the annual Security Consultative Meeting on Wednesday to discuss rising threats posed by North Korea and whether to delay the planned transfer of wartime operational control

Defense Sept. 27, 2013

South Korea and the United States remain apart over how much Seoul will contribute financially to the presence of American troops on the peninsula, South Korea's top negotiator said Thursday."There are still big differences in the positions of the two sides," Hwang Joon-kook, special ambassador for the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), told reporters after two-day talks here with his U.S. counterpart, Eric John.The allies are currently focusing not only on Seoul's appropriate share itself for th

Defense Sept. 27, 2013

South Korea's current account surplus narrowed in August from the previous month on smaller trade gains, but it logged a surplus for the 19th straight month, the central bank said Friday. The current account surplus reached $5.74 billion in August, down from $6.77 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.The surplus narrowed in August from the previous month, but Korea has maintained a current account surp

Sept. 27, 2013

The U.S. and its European allies said Thursday they were pleased by a new tone and a significant shift in attitude from Iran in talks aimed at resolving the impasse over the country's disputed nuclear activities. Iran said it was eager to dispel suspicions that it is trying to develop a nuclear weapon and to get punishing international sanctions lifted as fast as possible.Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who also had an unexpected one-on-one meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Joh

World News Sept. 27, 2013

The five permanent members of the deeply divided U.N. Security Council reached agreement Thursday on a resolution to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, British and U.S. diplomats said, and the full council was set to discuss it Thursday night.The agreement represents a major breakthrough in addressing the 2 1/2-year conflict, which has killed more than 100,000 people. Divisions among the permanent members have paralyzed council action on Syria since the conflict began.U.N. diplomats sai

World News Sept. 27, 2013

한국 사회 내의 음주형태가 변하며 주류 소비형태 역시 변화를 보이고 있다.과거에는 폭탄주 등을 즐기며 취하기 위한 “폭음문화”가 성행했다면, 최근에는 술자리 자체를 즐기는 문화로 변하면서 도수가 약한 술이 점점 인기를 끌고 있는 것이다.이러한 움직임은 여러 방면에서 찾아볼 수 있다. ‘독주’의 대명사처럼 알려진 위스키 시장이 축소되는 반면 맥주나 전통주 판매는 조금씩 늘고 있는 것이다. 관세청에 따르면 올 상반기 맥주 수입액은 3951만 달러로 지난해 같은 기간(3259만 달러)보다 21% 늘었다. 또한 한국주류산업회에 따르면 알코올 소비 자체가 2011년 기준으로 1인당 9.18 리터로 전년도 9.2 리터에 비해 소폭 하락했음에도 막걸리 등 전통주 소비는 늘어났다고 한다.반면 올 상반기 위스키 출고량은 91만 6745상자로 전년 동기 (106만 344상자)에 비해 13.5% 줄어들었다. 또한 지난해 위스키 수입량 역시 총 1800만 리터로 그 전해에 비해 14% 감소했다.물론 위스

한국어판 Sept. 26, 2013

A Seoul appellate court on Thursday commuted a former police chief's 10 month prison term imposed after he was convicted of making defamatory remarks against late President Roh Moo-hyun.The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Cho Hyun-oh, who served as the commissioner of the National Police Agency from 2010 to 2012 under the former Lee Myung-bak administration, to eight months in jail."The defendant should be held liable for spreading false information without any evidence backing up his arg

Social Affairs Sept. 26, 2013

A South Korean F-5 fighter jet crashed into a mountain in the central part of the country Thursday, but the pilot ejected safely just before impact, the Korean Air Force said.The one-seater F-5E took off from an air base in Cheongju, about 137 kilometers south of Seoul, at around 10:48 a.m. for a training exercise, but it crashed into a mountain near Jeungpyeong shortly before noon, the Air Force said in a release. The 32-year-old Air Force captain, only identified by his surname Lee, ejected fr

Defense Sept. 26, 2013