DAEGU, Sept. 7 (Yonhap) -- A fishing boat carrying three North Koreans aboard was found drifting in waters near South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo on Sunday, police said.The boat was spotted moving toward Dokdo from about 1.5 kilometers southeast of the islets at around 8:50 a.m., the police said.The three North Koreans said they followed the light from a lighthouse after their boat's power system broke down, according to the police.The North Koreans and the boat were taken to a nearby Co

Social Affairs Sept. 7, 2014

WASHINGTON, Sept 07, 2014 (AFP) -- An American doctor who caught the Ebola virus while working in a Liberian maternity ward is showing signs of improvement, relatives said.Rick Sacra, 51, arrived at the Nebraska Medical Center early Friday, becoming the third U.S. healthcare worker to be evacuated from West Africa amid the largest Ebola outbreak in history.More than 2,000 people have died from the contagious virus in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria since the beginning of the year, acco

World News Sept. 7, 2014

MARIUPOL, Ukraine, Sept 07, 2014 (AFP) - Gunfire and heavy shelling rocked a key frontline city in eastern Ukraine overnight, raising fears Sunday that a tenuous truce between government and rebel forces had already collapsed.Numerous explosions rattled the night sky and thick smoke was visible on the horizon of Mariupol, a strategic government-held port city on the Azov Sea in the southeast of the country. Residents spoke of their panic as the fighting erupted, with gunfire and shelling that da

World News Sept. 7, 2014

BERLIN, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- The key architect of North Korea's nuclear diplomacy called Saturday (local time) for the implementation of past inter-Korean deals as the first step toward improving bilateral ties.The remarks by Kang Sok-ju, the secretary handling international relations within North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, come as the two Koreas' ties have been strained over Pyongyang's short-range missile launches and the South's annual military drills with the United States.Kang, who broke

North Korea Sept. 7, 2014

SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Yonhap) -- More than 60,000 South Koreans who applied to meet their separated family members in North Korea appear to have died before getting the chance to hold a reunion, government data showed Sunday.As of Aug. 31, 60,312 of the 129,575 people who applied for family reunions, or 46.5 percent, were dead, according to data from the Ministry of Unification, which handles inter-Korean affairs.Most of those who died are unlikely to have met their relatives in the North, as only 3,0

Social Affairs Sept. 7, 2014

걸그룹 레이디스코드의 멤버 권리세가 끝내 의식을 회복하지 못하고 사망했다. 7일 오전 소속사 폴라리스엔터테인먼트 측은 보도자료를 통해 “레이디스 코드의 멤버 리세(본명 권리세)가 향년 23세의 나이로, 7일 오전 10시10분경 하늘나라로 떠났다”고 밝혔다.소속사에 따르면 리세는 지난 3일 사고 이후 장시간에 걸쳐 의료수술과 치료를 받았으며, 사망 당시 부모님과 소속사 직원들이 곁을 지켰다고 한다.뒤이어 "故 은비에 이어 다시 한 번 안타까운 소식을 전해드리게 돼 죄송한 마음과 비통한 마음을 금치 못하고 있습니다. 많은 분들께서 두 멤버의 명복을 빌어주시기 바라며, 가장 슬픔에 잠겨있을 다른 멤버들을 위해서도 많은 기도 부탁드립니다"라고 당부했다.고인의 빈소는 아직 정해지지 않았다.리세를 포함한 레이디스코드 멤버들은 지난 3일, 대구 일정을 마치고 서울로 돌아오던 새벽 1시30분경에 경기 용인시 기흥구 신갈동 영동고속도로 인천방향 신갈분기점 부근에서 타고 있던 승합차가 교통사고에 휘말

한국어판 Sept. 7, 2014

WASHINGTON, Sept 06, 2014 (AFP) - President Barack Obama’s top White House national security aide lands in Beijing on Sunday, signaling that ties with China remain a priority despite turmoil and tensions tearing at US foreign policy.National Security Advisor Susan Rice is expected to meet President Xi Jinping and other senior Chinese officials in talks which come two weeks after Washington accused a Chinese fighter jet of buzzing one of its spy planes.The talks will likely focus on key areas of

World News Sept. 7, 2014

Flamboyant Japanese wrestler-turned-politician Kanji "Antonio" Inoki kicked off his brand of sports diplomacy in North Korea Saturday ahead of an unusual two-day event featuring martial artists from around the world.Inoki, 71, an opposition member of Japan's upper house with a penchant for red scarves, has travelled to the reclusive state with a host of international fighters in an attempt to use sport to thaw relations between Tokyo and Pyongyang.He met with North Korea's ceremonial head of sta

North Korea Aug. 30, 2014

Prime Minister David Cameron pledged Friday to plug gaps in Britain’s armory to combat terror, describing the extremist threat posed by the Islamic State group as being more dangerous than even that of al-Qaida.Cameron’s remarks came just moments after authorities raised Britain’s terror threat level to severe, the second-highest level. The decision was related to developments in Iraq and Syria, but there was no information to suggest an attack was imminent.“What we are facing in Iraq now with I

World News Aug. 30, 2014

China warned against foreign meddling in Hong Kong’s politics Saturday ahead of an expected announcement to recommend highly contentious restrictions on the first direct elections for the leader of the Chinese-controlled financial hub.An article in the ruling Communist Party’s flagship newspaper People’s Daily said that some in the former British colony were colluding with outside forces to interfere in Hong Kong’s governance.“Not only are they undermining Hong Kong’s stability and development,

World News Aug. 30, 2014

The South Korean government said Saturday it welcomes the U.N. Security Council’s adoption of a statement calling for a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Yemen.As a member of the group Friends of Yemen, South Korea supports stability, peaceful political transition, and the smooth implementation of economic reform, Seoul’s foreign ministry said in a statement.The group was formed in 2010 to assist the efforts of Yemen authorities to ensure stability, prosperity and peace. Nineteen member state

Foreign Affairs Aug. 30, 2014