A Korean Air plane caught fire before takeoff in Tokyo on Friday, but there were no reports of injuries, the foreign ministry here said. According to Kyodo News and NHK, the fire occurred on the left wing of the Boeing 777-300 as it was set to leave Haneda Airport for Seoul. All 319 passengers and crew members were safely evacuated. Seoul's foreign ministry confirmed it received no reports of injuries.The Tokyo Fire Department said Korean Air reported the fire at 12:44 p.m. More than 100 firefig

Social Affairs May 27, 2016

North Korea is continuously trying to purchase luxury wristwatches and the newest medical equipment from Switzerland despite the latest United Nations sanctions on the communist country's unwavering pursuit of its nuclear and missile programs, a U.S.-based news media reported on Friday.  In early March, the U.N. Security Council adopted its toughest-ever sanctions, Resolution 2270, to punish the North's nuclear and missile tests in January and February, respectively. In response to the U.N.'s pu

North Korea May 27, 2016

A recent hacking attempt on South Korea's Air Force's website apparently used methods mostly employed by North Korean hackers, a military source said Friday, raising suspicion that Pyongyang might have been behind the cyberattack.Military authorities have been conducting an investigation into a suspected hacking attempt into the official website of the Air Force after a malicious code was found on May 11. It remains shutdown, and a temporary website has been in operation."We cannot determine who

Defense May 27, 2016

An appeals court on Friday convicted the former head of local telecoms giant KT Corp. of creating slush funds and embezzling the money.Overturning a lower court's decision, the Seoul High Court sentenced Lee Suk-chae to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years. Lee was indicted in 2014 on charges of causing financial losses worth some 10 billion won ($8.5 million) to KT, the country's top fixed-line operator and No. 2 mobile carrier, by making poor business decisions before stepping down in

Social Affairs May 27, 2016

A prosecutor-turned-lawyer was summoned Friday to face questions over suspicions he illegally peddled his influence for his clients and evaded taxes in the process.Hong Man-pyo appeared before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul as a suspect in the snowballing corruption scandal that is rocking the country's legal sector. "I will fully cooperate with the investigation," he told reporters before entering the prosecutors' office. Still, the 56-year-old denied allegatio

Social Affairs May 27, 2016

Not only has children's sense of responsibility for their aging parents weakened over the years, but parents' views of their duties toward their sons and daughters have also become lighter, a report released Friday said.A key change, according to the report by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, was that fewer parents believe they have to take care of their children until they get married. In a 2003 survey, 32.1 percent of the parents surveyed said their responsibility continues u

Social Affairs May 27, 2016

Chinese President Xi Jinping inspected troops in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, near the sensitive border with its traditional ally, North Korea, according to China's state media on Friday. Xi inspected senior military officials and soldiers stationed in Harbin, Heilongjiang's capital, and an outpost on Tuesday and Wednesday, and instructed them to build a "strong army," the official Xinhua News Agency reported from Harbin.While the report made no mention of North Korea, it was Xi's

North Korea May 27, 2016

South Korea's unification minister dismissed calls for conversation with the North on Friday, saying sanctions are the "best recipe" to get Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program. On a local radio program, Hong Young-pyo also said that the government is not considering an inter-Korean summit. "We cannot say when and whether we will hold an inter-Korean summit and are not considering any such talks," Hong said, when asked if there is any possibility for leaders of the two Koreas to meet

North Korea May 27, 2016

Five homegrown drugs obtained the green light from local drug authorities for sale last year, health authorities said Friday, as major South Korean pharmaceutical companies expanded their spending on research and development.Health authorities approved the local release of Crystal Genomics' anti-inflammatory drug Acelex, Dong Wha Pharmaceuticals' Zabolante, and Dong-A ST's diabetes drug Suganon, superbacteria target antibiotics Sivextro (TAB) and Sivextro (INJ), the quasi-governmental Korea Heal

Technology May 27, 2016

Two North Korean vessels crossed the de facto western maritime border Friday amid heightened tensions in inter-Korean relations, Seoul's military said.The Navy fired warning shots at the North Korean vessels -- a fishing boat and a patrol boat -- as they trespassed across the maritime border in the Yellow Sea, widely known as the Northern Limit Line, at around 7:30 a.m, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They returned to the northern side immediately after the warning shots were fired, it a

North Korea May 27, 2016

Specialty foods that normally belong on restaurant menus are being catered to leading hospitals in South Korea as the country's medical community serves a growing number of patients from the Middle East.Records from the Health and Welfare Ministry and medical institutions on Friday showed steady increases in patients from Middle East countries. Last year, some 3,000 people from the United Arab Emirates received care from South Korean hospitals.Patients from the region need food and drinks that a

Social Affairs May 27, 2016