A mid-level presidential staffer underwent questioning by prosecutors over suspicions that he illegally accessed personal information of a child suspected of being the illegitimate son of former top prosecutor, prosecution officials said Thursday.Cho Oh-young is under suspicion of illegally accessing the information of the 11-year-old, including his name, resident registration number and home address, via a senior official at the Seocho District Office in southern Seoul in June at the request of

Social Affairs Dec. 5, 2013

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that Washington and Beijing have forged "real cooperation"in reining in North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, while expressing concerns that Beijing's new air defense zone has caused "significant apprehension" in the region. Speaking at a meeting with business leaders in Beijing, Biden also reaffirmed that the U.S. will remain a diplomatic, economic and military power in the Asia-Pacific region because Washington "has a profound stake on what hap

North Korea Dec. 5, 2013

South Korean stocks traded 0.26 percent lower late Thursday morning on losses in shipbuilders and construction firms, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 5.22 points to 1,981.58 as of 11:20 a.m.Shipbuilders traded bearish, with Hyundai Heavy Industries moving down 1.56 percent and Samsung Heavy Industries losing 1.05 percent. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering declined 2.49 percent.Builders also continued to lose ground, with Hyundai Engineering & Con

Dec. 5, 2013

A Federal Reserve survey released Wednesday found that the U.S. economy held steady during the 16-day partial government shutdown, growing moderately in most regions from October through late November.The Fed said seven of its 12 banking districts described growth as moderate. Four _ Philadelphia, Chicago, Kansas City and San Francisco _ said growth was modest. Boston said its regional economy continued to expand.Manufacturing strengthened in most districts, helped by more production of cars, tr

World Business Dec. 5, 2013

Mexican troops and federal police kept a nighttime watch on a rural field where thieves abandoned a stolen shipment of highly radioactive cobalt-60, while officials began planning the delicate task of recovering the dangerous material. Juan Eibenschutz, director general of the National Commission of Nuclear Safety and Safeguards, said late Wednesday that it could take at least two days to safely get the material into a secure container and transport it to a waste site.“It's a very delicate opera

World News Dec. 5, 2013

Giving no ground, Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden traded strong arguments Wednesday over China's contentious new air defense zone, with no indication of progress toward defusing a situation that is raising anxieties across Asia and beyond.Though Biden made clear the deep concern of the U.S. and other countries during the 5 and a half hours of talks _ themselves highly unusual for an American vice president and Chinese president _ Xi vigorously made his case, too, f

World News Dec. 5, 2013

With the planned purchase of F-35 stealth fighter jets, South Korea will gain "comprehensive"support from the largest U.S. defense firm, Lockheed Martin, in its bid to produce an indigenous fighter jet, code-named the KF-X, a senior company official said Wednesday."Lockheed has made a comprehensive offer through our offset program for the KF-X, which would be assistance through technology transfer and engineering expertise that we would place in Korea to help design and develop the KF-X airplane

Defense Dec. 5, 2013

South Korea plans to purchase 14 CH-47 Chinook helicopters from the United States, according to the Pentagon's weaponry trade arm.The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has already notified Congress of South Korea's request for the sale of the twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopters.A proposed package deal estimated at $151 million would include spare parts and logistical support under the Foreign Military Sales program, which requires congressional approval.The CH-47Ds being co

Defense Dec. 5, 2013

The South Korean economy grew at the fastest clip in more than two years in the third quarter on recovering domestic demand and an increase in facility investment, the central bank said Thursday. Korea's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, advanced 1.1 percent in the July-September period from three months earlier, unchanged from an earlier estimate, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The economy also grew at an identical pace of 1.1 percent on-quarter i

Dec. 5, 2013

South Korean stocks opened almost flat Thursday as investors remained cautious over a possible tapering of U.S. quantitative easing, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 0.35 points, or 0.02 percent, to 1,987.15 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Blue-chip shares edged up, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.28 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor rising 0.64 percent. Leading steelmaker POSCO gained 0.45 percent.Builders traded bearish, w

Dec. 5, 2013