North Korea on Saturday renewed its call for an early resumption of dialogue between the divided Koreas, proposing to hold such talks at least within a month.The North earlier proposed "unconditional and early" resumption of talks between the two Koreas to defuse tension that arose after the North's sinking of a South Korean warship in March and then its bombing of a populated South Korean island

North Korea Jan. 8, 2011

North Korea's Twitter account was apparently hacked with a string of messages derogatory of leader Kim Jong-il and his heir Kim Jong-un on Saturday, the birthday of the hereditary successor.The five most recent tweets posted in the morning accused the Kims of exploiting their people to enjoy sumptuous lives, and develop nuclear arms and missiles. One tweet called for an uprising to slay the Kims "

North Korea Jan. 8, 2011

A senior U.S. official will travel to China early next week to discuss North Korea and other agenda items with Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to Washington scheduled for later this month, the State Department said Friday."Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt M. Campbell will travel to Beijing, China January 9-11, 2011," the department said in a statement. "Assista

North Korea Jan. 8, 2011

Lee Kyung-joon is concerned about the slowing speed of production at his manufacturing factory in Gyeonggi Province. A factory manager has already been staying at home for days after he was diagnosed with the influenza A(H1N1) virus, while there are more workers who show flu symptoms. “If more workers become ill from the virus and have to rest at home, it would greatly affect the factory’s product

Social Affairs Jan. 7, 2011

Prosecutors on Thursday started an investigation into RNL Bio, which is suspected of illegally formulating stem cells and brokering their overseas injections, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said. The probe, the first of its kind here, came after the Ministry of Health and Welfare filed charges against the company Tuesday, which the ministry said had manufactured stem cells without

Social Affairs Jan. 6, 2011

Educational institutes will face a fine of up to 10 million won ($8,800) if found to have hired sex offenders, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Wednesday.Under a related revision, which will take effect from February, institute owners will be obliged to check new teachers’ and other employees’ records for sex crimes. If the owner violates the rule or makes a false report of a sex crime

Social Affairs Jan. 5, 2011

S. Korean panel wraps up investigationAt least 5,000 civilians were killed by the U.S. military during the Korean War, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission found Tuesday.According to the truth panel, which was established in 2005 to reinvestigate past atrocities, a total of 4,091 civilian casualties were caused by the U.S. military in the first three months of the war, before the reclaim of Seo

Social Affairs Jan. 4, 2011

The nation’s antismoking campaign saw great progress in 2010, with the smoking rate among men falling below 40 percent for the first time. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Sunday that 39.6 percent of male adults smoked as of December, down 3.5 percent from 43.1 percent in the same period of 2009.Men in their 40s and 50s were found to have driven down the overall smoking rate, the ministry s

Social Affairs Jan. 2, 2011