North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed deep condolences over the death of a ruling Workers'Party official, the North's state media reported Monday, just days after the execution of his once-powerful uncle.Kim "paid silent tribute" to Kim Kuk-thae, a member of the political bureau of the party's central committee who died of acute heart failure on Friday at the age of 89, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.Kim also expressed profound condolences and warm consolatio

North Korea Dec. 16, 2013

The head of Tong Yang Group was called in by prosecutors Monday over suspicions that the financially troubled group fraudulently issued commercial papers, inflicting heavy losses on retail investors.Hyun Jae-hyun appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul around 9:40 a.m. to undergo questioning.The 64-year-old chairman is accused of issuing some 160 billion won ($150 million) worth of asset-backed commercial papers, a type of short-term debt, in July and Septemb

Social Affairs Dec. 16, 2013

South Korean stocks turned higher Monday after a weak start amid fear of an early U.S. stimulus cut that is likely to keep investors cautious about their bets this week, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.25 points, or 0.11 percent, to 1,965.16 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The session began 0.12 percent lower at the opening bell. Blue-chip tech and public firms gained, with chip giant SK hynix climbing 1.2 percent and state-run electricity provid

Dec. 16, 2013

Germany’s new government will feature the country’s first female defense minister and the return of a respected former foreign minister, while Chancellor Angela Merkel’s influential finance chief will stay on as she starts her third term.Merkel’s new “grand coalition” government of right and left is to take office Tuesday _ nearly three months after her conservatives won elections, but fell short of a parliamentary majority and saw their previous pro-business coalition partners lose their seats.

World News Dec. 16, 2013

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry unleashed a harsh criticism Sunday of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for his "ruthless and reckless" leadership.Kerry was responding to reports that North Korea executed Jang Song-thaek, the once-powerful uncle of its supreme leader Kim, last week."It really reminded me of a video that we saw of Saddam Hussein doing the same thing, having people plucked out of an audience, and people sitting there sweating, and nobody daring to move or do anything," Kerry said

North Korea Dec. 16, 2013

South Korea may still be able to join ongoing negotiations for a regional trade pact known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), although it may have come to the table just a little too late, perhaps a bit intentionally, according to officials Monday. It wasn’t until Nov. 29, nearly three years after the 12-nation TPP negotiations were launched in 2010, that South Korea has sought to join the negotiations.Last week, Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler said it would be "very di

Dec. 16, 2013

Known on the one hand for his starring role in “Lawrence of Arabia,” leading tribesmen in daring attacks across the desert wastes, and on the other for his headlong charges into drunken debauchery, Peter O’Toole was one of the most magnetic, charismatic and fun figures in British acting.O’Toole, who died Saturday at age 81 at the private Wellington Hospital in London after a long bout of illness, was nominated a record eight times for an Academy Award without taking home a single statue. He was

People Dec. 16, 2013

Chile’s once and future leader Michelle Bachelet easily won Sunday’s presidential runoff, returning center-left parties to power by promising profound social changes in response to years of street protests. Bachelet won 62 percent of the vote, the most decisive victory in eight decades of Chilean elections. The center-right’s Evelyn Matthei promptly congratulated her rival, saying: “I hope she does very well. No one who loves Chile can wish otherwise.” Bachelet needs the momentum of her resoundi

World News Dec. 16, 2013

In light of the little-expected purge and execution of North Korea’s former No. 2 Jang Song-thaek, some are saying that Jang’s arrogance may have led to his downfall.North Korea, as it sentenced Kim Jong-un’s uncle to death, said that Jang acted in an insolent fashion when Kim was formerly announced as Kim Jong-il’s heir in September 2010. It said that Jang “halfheartedly” clapped his hands for his nephew while the rest of the high-ranking officials erupted in thunderous applause.Several photogr

North Korea Dec. 13, 2013

Following North Korea's execution of its young leader's once powerful uncle, South Korea's defense chief on Friday pledged to maintain high military vigilance to deter potential provocations by the unpredictable communist regime.The latest move comes after Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency reported that Jang Song-thaek, considered as North Korea's No. 2, was executed on Thursday for treason charges, just four days after he was stripped off all of his posts. "We will heighten readiness again

North Korea Dec. 13, 2013