The president of the national Olympic body will serve as an interim head of South Korea's first Winter Games, officials said Wednesday, two days after a sudden resignation of the former chief organizer.Kim Jung-haeng, who heads the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC), will also oversee operations of the organizing committee of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, an alpine town about 180 kilometers east of Seoul, until it finds a full-time replacement for the former president of the committee, Ki

Olympic Games July 23, 2014

President Park Geun-hye will take a five-day summer vacation next week at a location yet to be decided, officials said Wednesday.Park's main concern in choosing a location for the holiday starting Monday is the message it will send to the public following April's deadly ferry sinking, the officials said."I understand that she is contemplating the situation surrounding the (ferry) Sewol, a return to everyday life and the vitalization of the public's livelihoods," presidential spokesman Min Kyung-

Politics July 23, 2014

A district court ordered a local daily Wednesday to compensate Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn for a defamatory report that said he took bribes from the nation's top conglomerate, Samsung Group, years ago.Siding partially with Hwang in a libel suit, the Seoul Central District Court ruled the Hankook Ilbo, flagship newspaper of the namesake media group, should pay 20 million won (US$19,500) in damages, saying that the article is not true. The media outlet published the article on Oct. 4, 2013, all

Social Affairs July 23, 2014

A growing number of Chinese film studios are casting influential South Korean stars in what appears to be an effort to reach out to a wider Asian audience who love Korean pop culture.Several South Korean movie stars have recently been chosen for lead and supporting roles in Chinese films, a departure from the past when their roles were largely limited to television dramas.Industry insiders said this is a sign that the Chinese film industry began to pay attention to ticket selling powers of South

July 23, 2014

Senior U.S. intelligence officials said Tuesday that Russia was responsible for ``creating the conditions'' that led to the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, but they offered no evidence of direct Russian government involvement.The intelligence officials were cautious in their assessment, noting that while the Russians have been arming separatists in eastern Ukraine, the U.S. had no direct evidence that the missile used to shoot down the passenger jet came from Russia.The officials b

World News July 23, 2014

A Hamas rocket exploded Tuesday near Israel's main airport, prompting a ban on flights from the U.S. and many from Europe and Canada as aviation authorities responded to the shock of seeing a civilian jetliner shot down over Ukraine. Israel declared that Ben-Gurion Airport was safe and said there was no reason to ``hand terror a prize'' by halting flights. The rare flight ban came as Israel grappled with news that a soldier went missing after an attack in the Gaza Strip, raising the possibility

World News July 23, 2014

North Korea criticized the United States on Tuesday for leading the international condemnation of its missile launches, saying it will never be daunted by such denunciation.Last week, the United Nations Security Council issued a statement denouncing the communist nation's launch of short-range ballistic missiles.The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary that "it is absurd to take issue with strategic rockets, a fruit of Pyongyang's defense industry."Under no cir

North Korea July 22, 2014

South Korea's foreign minister may encounter his North Korean counterpart during next month's Asia security forum, but it is unclear whether they will hold a formal meeting, a government official said Tuesday.This year's ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) will be held in Myanmar's capital of Naypyidaw on Aug. 9-10 amid nagging threats from North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions and growing territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas.North Korea's new foreign minister Ri Su-yong, who assumed h

Foreign Affairs July 22, 2014

South Korean President Park Geun-hye has tapped a former four-term lawmaker with close ties to Japan as her new top envoy to Tokyo, officials said Tuesday.Yoo Heung-soo, the head of the Korea-Japan Friendship Association, was chosen for his wide network of personal relationships with members of the Japanese government and public, which is expected to help mend frayed ties between Seoul and Tokyo, the officials said.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as Yoo's appointment is subject to

Foreign Affairs July 22, 2014

North Korea denounced Tuesday the international community's accusations of human rights violations in the country, calling them an attempt to topple its regime. The reaction from the North came amid heightening international calls on the North Korean regime to improve its human rights conditions. The United Nations Human Rights Council pledged concerted efforts to end crimes against humanity in North Korea in March after its Commission of Inquiry filed an official report, after a year-long inves

North Korea July 22, 2014

President Barack Obama sternly called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to compel Kremlin-backed separatists to stop hampering the probe at the Ukraine site of a downed passenger jet and allow international investigators unfettered access.``What exactly are they trying to hide?'' Obama said Monday from the South Lawn of the White House.Obama also warned Putin that he could face additional economic costs if he fails to take steps to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, but officials said new American

World News July 22, 2014

An inter-Korean factory park is seeking to obtain global certifications for its infrastructure as part of efforts to guarantee stable service and lure more foreign investors, the unification ministry said Tuesday.The management committee of the Kaesong Industrial Complex is pushing to win management quality certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for the bus operating system as well as environmental management certification for the water purification and drain

North Korea July 22, 2014