A U.S. court on Friday jailed a "radicalized" Colorado teenager intercepted by the FBI when she attempted to join her fiance in the Islamic State group to fight in Syria.Shannon Conley, 19, will serve four years in prison for providing and attempting to provide material support and resources to IS fighters and other extremist groups including Al-Qaeda, the U.S. justice department said.Conley, who struck a plea bargain with prosecutors, had expressed a desire to wage violent jihad, or holy war, a

World News Jan. 24, 2015

Russia plans to bring together members of the Syrian regime and opposition in a new push to resuscitate talks on ending the country's nearly four-year civil war, although hopes of a breakthrough are slim.The January 26-29 behind closed doors talks will include Syria's regime-tolerated domestic opposition and members of Bashar al-Assad's government but not the Western-backed exiled National Coalition.Moscow hopes to burnish its credentials as a top diplomatic mediator, although Russia itself is m

World News Jan. 24, 2015

U.S. President Barack Obama said he believes North Korea will ultimately collapse, but a military solution is not the answer to handling the communist nation armed with nuclear technologies and missiles.Obama made the remark in an interview on Youtube on Thursday, stressing that the Internet will ultimately find its way into the isolated totalitarian nation and spread information that will undercut the authoritarian regime.Obama called the North "the most isolated, the most sanctioned, the most

North Korea Jan. 24, 2015

South Korea head coach Uli Stielike on Thursday praised his players' mental toughness after his squad defeated Uzbekistan 2-0 in extra time to reach the semifinals at the AFC Asian Cup.Son Heung-min scored both goals in extra time to send South Korea into the final four at the third straight Asian Cup. The country is now two victories away from ending its 55-year drought at the continental tournament.South Korea entered the match at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium banged-up. Midfielders Lee Chung-

Soccer Jan. 22, 2015

South Korean winger Son Heung-min picked the perfect time to end his international scoringdrought on Thursday, scoring both goals in the team's 2-0 extra-time win over Uzbekistan to send South Korea into the semifinals at the AFC Asian Cup.Son scored the first goal on a diving header in the 104th minute, taking a cross from left fullback Kim Jin-su and putting it just past goalkeeper Ignatiy Nesterov.Nesterov had been stellar all match, but could only get a piece of Son's header as it trickled o

Soccer Jan. 22, 2015

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest carmaker, said on Friday it has begun sales of its2015 K3 compact sedan, the latest version of the car otherwise known as the Forte in the United States, in the home market.    The new mid-sized sedan, built for five passengers, is equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system, unlike the previous version for which the monitoring device was only an option.    The automaker, part of the world's No. 5 automotive conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group, sai

Industry Dec. 26, 2014

South Korea, the United States and Japan will sign a pact next week on sharing their military intelligence about North Korea's nuclear and missile programs in the face of Pyongyang's evolving security threats, officials here said Friday.   The three counties have been discussing the signing of a memorandum of understanding on sharing military secrets since May when they agreed on the need for such an agreement during their defense ministers' talks in Singapore. The conclusion comes two years aft

Defense Dec. 26, 2014

South Korea said Friday it will soon propose talks with North Korea on ways to set the wages for the North's workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex.   "The government has plans to offer consultations with the North in the near future in order to resolve the issue," the unification ministry's deputy spokeswoman, Park Soo-jin, told reporters. "The timing has not been decided yet."   The South is upset about the North's unilateral decision to amend the wage system for its 53,000 workers at the j

North Korea Dec. 26, 2014

South Korea's public corporations plan to hire 17,187 new employees in 2015, up 2.9 percent from this year, as every effort is made to create jobs vital for sustainable growth, the government said Friday.    The latest hiring target set by the 302 state-run enterprises and quasi-government agencies comes after the number of people hired by the public sector has been growing gradually since 2011, the finance ministry said.   In 2011, 9,538 people were hired, with that number going up to 14,452 in

Social Affairs Dec. 26, 2014

Ssangyong Motor Co., the local unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said Friday it will hold off any plans of compensation for the overstated fuel efficiency claims on its Korando Sports CX7 SUV until after the verdict for an ongoing lawsuit comes out.    Earlier in June, carmaker was fined by the government for exaggerating the gas mileage of its Korando Sports 2-liter diesel by as much as 10.7 percent, according to exhaustive tests carried out by automotive institutes. Some 720 ow

Industry Dec. 26, 2014

North Korea on Friday repatriated a South Korean man accused of illegal entry, Seoul's unification ministry said.   The 52-year-old, identified only by his surname Ma, was sent back to the South through the truce village of Panmunjom, it said.   "The government will proceed with medical check-ups for him and work to confirm the reason for, and method of, his entry into the North," Park Soo-jin, the ministry's deputy spokeswoman, said at a press briefing.   North Korea said Ma entered the North i

North Korea Dec. 26, 2014

The government said Friday that it has made any future sale of eight outer-most islands subject to prior approval, a move apparently aimed at preventing foreign ownership of the islands that make up the country's maritime border.   Under the revised regulation, owners of the eight currently uninhabited islands must obtain prior authorization for the sale of their properties to foreign investors, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.   There are 23 islands that provide

Politics Dec. 26, 2014

A former presidential secretary again appeared before prosecutors Friday to face questioning over a leaked presidential document claiming a former aide to President Park Geun-hye tried to exert undue influence on state affairs.   The former secretary, Cho Eung-cheon, entered the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul around 10 a.m. as a suspect in the widening scandal.    He previously underwent questioning by prosecutors on Dec. 5.    Citing the internal document, the local daily

Social Affairs Dec. 26, 2014