South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin on Tuesday expressed his reservations about taking over wartime operational control (OPCON) in 2015 from the United States as scheduled, citing growing North Korean threats. Kim made the remark while briefing lawmakers on last week's bilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel in Seoul, which was dominated by discussions of the politically sensitive issue in South Korea, as the two Koreas are still technically at war. "North Korea is di

Defense Oct. 8, 2013

항공기 탑승을 두려워하는 사람은 많지만 기차를 두려워서 못 타는 경우는 적다. 그러나 최근 대구 역에서 일어난 3중 열차 추돌 사고를 포함한 연속된 경미한 사고들로 인해 국민들은 국내에서 가장 선호도가 높은 여행수단 중 하나인 기차의 안전성에 대해 의심의 눈초리를 보내고 있다.감사원에 따르면 2011년 KTX 고속철도와 관련된 사고만 130여건이 발생했다 감사원은 책임의 상당 부분을 코레일에 돌렸다. 현대로템에서 제조한 KTX-산천 기차에 결함이 있다는 것을 알면서도 이를 구매했다는 이유 때문이다.대구 사고와 관련해 국토교통부와 경찰 관계자들은 사고의 원인을 “인적 과실”라고 결론 내렸다. 국토교통부는 사건 조사 결과를 10월 중에 공개 할 예정이다. 본지가 코레일에 대구 열차사건에 관해 문의했을 때 진행중인 조사를 언급하며 사건이나 전반적인 안전절차에 대한 공식답변을 거부했다.한편 코레일의 안전기준을 지난해 3개월간 조사한 비영리 인증검사기관인 로이드 레지스터사(Lloyd’s Re

한국어판 Oct. 8, 2013

The first batch of players named to South Korean men's national football team reported to their training camp on Tuesday as they prepared to host five-time World Cup champion Brazil.South Korea, ranked 58th, will host the world No. 8 Brazil at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on Saturday. Players from leagues in Europe, China and Japan were the first to join the camp set up at the National Football Center here in Paju, north of Seoul. They will later be joined by players based in the domestic K

Soccer Oct. 8, 2013

South Korean stocks traded 0.45 percent lower late Tuesday morning amid the prolonged concerns over the extended United States government shutdown, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 9.04 points to 1,985.38 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares traded lower, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.77 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix decreasing 0.76 percent. Local handset maker LG Electronics shed 1.61 percent.Builders also traded bearish, with Dae

Oct. 8, 2013

Government liabilities, including the debt that will highly likely arise in the future, exceeded 900 trillion won ($840.3 billion) last year, data showed Tuesday.According to the data recently submitted by the finance ministry to Rep. Kim Tae-ho of the ruling Saenuri Party, government liabilities stood at 902.1 trillion won as of end-2012. The number is higher than the 773.5 trillion won tallied a year earlier. The 2012 figure represents 70.9 percent of the country's gross domestic product.The l

Oct. 8, 2013

Samsung Electronics Co, the world's top maker of smartphones, memory chips and flat-panel TVs, and two other South Korean companies were named among the world's top 100 global innovators, a study showed Tuesday.The two other companies were LG Electronics Inc., the world's third-largest smartphone maker, and LS Industrial Systems Co., a leading South Korean manufacturer of electric components, according to the annual study by Thomson Reuters.It marked the third consecutive year that Samsung Elect

Technology Oct. 8, 2013

Alex Rodriguez's lawsuit claiming Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bud Selig went on a “witch hunt” to force him from the sport has been moved from state to federal court.Major League Baseball filed a notice of removal Monday, saying claims by the New York Yankees third baseman are governed by federal law.The lawsuit, originally filed Thursday in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, was assigned to U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield, who joined the bench in December, and U.S. Magistrat

Baseball Oct. 8, 2013

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday amid the rising concerns that the United States government is moving closer to the possibility of the first-ever default on its debt, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 8.57 points, or 0.43 percent, to 1,985.85 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares lost ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.35 percent and top steelmaker POSCO losing 0.32 percent. Leading auto parts mak

Oct. 8, 2013

Argentina's president will undergo surgery Tuesday to remove blood between her brain and skull that has been causing new and worrying symptoms, her physicians said.The president's doctors said they had ordered President Cristina Fernandez on Saturday to rest for a month after discovering the subdural hematoma _ a clot inside her skull pressuring her brain and causing headaches. In some patients, such blood clots reabsorb by themselves over time. But the situation became more urgent after Fernand

People Oct. 8, 2013

The Supreme Court of the Maldives on Monday annulled the results of the first round of voting in the country's presidential election, agreeing with a losing candidate's claim that the election was flawed.Four judges of a seven-member panel decided that some 5,600 votes cast in the Sept. 7 first round were tainted, making it unclear which candidates qualified for a runoff. The court ordered revoting to be completed by Nov. 3.Former President Mohamed Nasheed led the vote with more than 45 percent

World News Oct. 8, 2013

A planned naval drill involving South Korea, the United States and Japan in waters off the Korean Peninsula's southern coast has been delayed as a typhoon is fast approaching, bringing high waves and strong gusts, military officials in Seoul said Tuesday. The trilateral drill was scheduled to take place from Tuesday to Thursday to carry out maritime maneuvering, and search and rescue operations as part of routine training that involves the American aircraft carrier the USS George Washington, and

Defense Oct. 8, 2013