South Korean President Park Geun-hye asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help persuade North Korea not to carry out a nuclear test, her office said Wednesday, a day after Seoul reported increased activity at the North's nuclear test site.Park made the request when she spoke by phone with Xi on Wednesday morning, saying an additional nuclear test by the North would fundamentally change the security landscape in Northeast Asia as it would spark an arms race and a "nuclear domino" effect in the r

North Korea April 23, 2014

A South Korean citizen who was jailed in Iran on spying charges last year has been released and plans to return home soon, a government source said Wednesday.The 43-year-old South Korean man, surnamed Kim, was convicted of espionage in an Iranian court last September for taking pictures of some Iranian government facilities while he was traveling the country in last 2012. He was given a seven-year prison sentence and had been serving the prison term."The citizen of ours arrested for taking pictu

Social Affairs April 23, 2014

South Korea's telecom ministry said Wednesday it will seek a law revision to slap fines of up to 100 million won ($96,311) on those using mobile phones under borrowed names, a practice used widely in crimes and illegal activities to evade investigation.The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said it hopes to establish legal grounds by June to punish any activities related to using or inducing, advertising, and mediating the use of such "pirate" phones, with possible penalties also inclu

Industry April 23, 2014

The number of bodies recovered from the sunken ferry Sewol continued to rise Wednesday, further dampening hopes of finding survivors inside the wreck.The rescue workers resumed their search early Wednesday and recovered eight more victims from the ship, pushing the death toll up to 139.Of the 476 people aboard, 163 remain unaccounted for eight days since the vessel sank 20 kilometers off the coast of Jindo Island, South Jeolla Province, on April 16.As the search continues, the authorities plan t

National April 23, 2014

Relatives of flight MH370 passengers have denounced the Malaysian government's suggestion that it would soon look into issuing death certificates for those on board despite no proof yet of what happened to the plane.The statement, issued in response to a weekend briefing that Malaysian  officials gave to families in Kuala Lumpur, also called for a review of  satellite data that Malaysia says indicates the plane likely crashed somewhere  in the Indian Ocean."We, the families of MH370, believe tha

World News April 23, 2014

While South Korea's military made public some sensitive intelligence on North Korea's activity at its nuclear test site, the U.S. government maintained a cautious approach, at least outwardly.Speaking formally to reporters, U.S. officials did not rule out the possibility of another nuclear test by the unpredictable communist regime.But they would not reveal specific information."North Korea has a history of taking provocative action and we are always mindful of the possibility that such an actio

North Korea April 23, 2014

A South Korean coast guard official was relieved of his duties on Tuesday for comments deemed insensitive to the grieving families of the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster.The official told reporters last week that "Is there anything the coast guard couldn't do? Wouldn't it be wonderful to rescue 80 people?"He made the comments when asked if the coast guard had poorly handled the accident.The official in the southwestern port city of Mokpo was not immediately available for comment.The coast gu

Social Affairs April 23, 2014

The head of South Korea's railway company apparently arrived in North Korea on Tuesday for a conference meant to boost international cooperation between railway operators.Choi Yeon-hye, president and CEO of the Korea Railroad Corp., is included in an international delegation of rail officials scheduled to attend a meeting of the Organization for Cooperation between Railways set for April 24-28.The North's official Korean Central News Agency reported that the delegation arrived in Pyongyang in a

North Korea April 23, 2014

North Korea lambasted the South's ruling party lawmaker Tuesday for his attempt to capitalize on last week's deadly sinking of a passenger ferry to create anti-Pyongyang moods. Rep. Han Ki-ho of the ruling Saenuri Party has come under fire for his divisive Facebook post on Sunday at a time when the entire nation should focus on searching those missing after the ferry Sewol sank off South Korea's southwestern island of Jindo on Wednesday. Pointing to the North's indirect criticism of Seoul for it

North Korea April 22, 2014

The number of South Koreans tying the knot fell for the second straight year in 2013, government data showed Tuesday.According to the data by Statistics Korea, the number of marriages filed last year stood at 322,807, down 1.3 percent from a year earlier. This followed a 0.6 percent on-year fall in 2012.The decline comes as the average age of people getting married hit an all-time high last year, rising to 32.2 for men from 32.1 the previous year. The average age for women rose 0.2 to 29.6.These

Social Affairs April 22, 2014