PAJU -- A delegation of Unification Church officials who visited North Korea to accept condolences over the death of church founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon did not discuss inter-Korean ties with the North during their two-day stay in the communist country, a church-affiliated businessman said Saturday.The delegation, including Moon's seventh and youngest son, Hyung Jin Moon, and Park Sang-kwon, the pr

North Korea Sept. 8, 2012

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed Saturday to work closely together to resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff and continue cooperation on a project to build a gas pipeline stretching from Russia across both Koreas, an official said.Lee and Putin reached the agreement during a one-on-one summit held in this Far Eastern Russian

Politics Sept. 8, 2012

Apple is rising to be the newsmaker in the global tech arena as foreign media reported on Saturday that the company is planning to launch an Internet radio service, competing with Pandora Media.The Cupertino-based firm is also reportedly making moves to offer the fourth-generation communication technology LTE-based iPhones around the world, including Korea.Involving the Apple’s entry in the field

Technology Sept. 8, 2012

South Korean stocks are expected to move higher next week on growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will roll out additional credit easing measures, analysts said Saturday.The country's key stock index, the KOSPI, gained 0.7 percent this week to close at 1,929.58 on Friday. On Friday alone, the index rallied 2.57 percent as investors cheered the bond-buying program of the European Cent

Sept. 8, 2012

BERLIN -- Kim Ok, the rumored fourth wife of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was treated for a cervical disk problem and coxitis at a hospital in Berlin in May, sources here said Saturday.Kim, 48, arrived in the German capital via Beijing and stayed at a hotel while receiving treatment at the Charite hospital, according to multiple South Korean residents here, who asked not to be named.Kim,

North Korea Sept. 8, 2012

TOKYO -- South Korea fell to Japan 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup here Thursday.   At National Stadium in the Japanese capital, midfielders Hanae Shibata grabbed a brace and Yoko Tanaka had another for the victorious host. Jeoun Eun-ha had the lone goal for South Korea.   With Japan holding on to a 2-1 lead, Tanaka scored her team-leading fifth goal of the tournament i

Soccer Aug. 30, 2012

North Korea's state media said Thursday Typhoon Bolaven left three dead and 3,300 homeless and submerged farmlands, as the disaster-prone nation braced for the second major storm in less than a week.   The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported the human casualties caused by Bolaven, which swept the North on Tuesday and Wednesday, without giving the number of those injured or missing,

North Korea Aug. 30, 2012

HWASEONG, Gyeonggi Province -- Four people were missing Monday after an explosion apparently triggered by overheating at a glue factory in a city south of Seoul, police and fire officials said.The explosion occurred just before noon, destroying one building and damaging three others at the factory in Hwaseong, 60 kilometers south of the capital, the officials said.Four workers remained unaccounted

Social Affairs June 18, 2012

BEIJING -- The leaders of South Korea and Japan on Sunday discussed security cooperation, which has recently gained momentum as the two neighbors seek to sign two military pacts on sharing information and logistical support.President Lee Myung-bak and his Japanese counterpart Yoshihiko Noda held a bilateral meeting as they gathered here for the annual tripartite summit with China.Seoul and Tokyo a

National May 13, 2012

The National Assembly's Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Committee on Tuesday adopted a resolution calling on the Lee Myung-bak government to halt quarantine inspections on U.S. beef following a case of mad cow disease in California.The resolution signed by both ruling and opposition party lawmakers during a committee meeting urged the Lee administration to immediately suspend quarantine

Politics May 1, 2012

Speculation that the South Korean government is considering a move to halt U.S. beef imports is unfounded since there is no risk to public health, a senior aide to the president said Saturday.Senior press secretary Choe Geum-nak said media reports that the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae is reviewing the possibility of halting imports are not true.The comments came as some media outlets reported

Politics April 28, 2012

The South Korean and U.S. defense authorities agree that the chances of another North Korean nuclear test are "very high," a senior military official said Friday."The assessment of South Korea and the U.S. is that chances are very high that North Korea will carry out a nuclear experiment," South Korea's deputy minister of defense, Lim Kwan-bin, told reporters after two days of meetings here with h

North Korea April 28, 2012

South Korean stocks are expected to track developments in eurozone countries and global and domestic economic data next week, local analysts said Saturday.The country's key stock index, the KOSPI, closed at 1,975.35 on Friday, a dip of 0.1 percent from a week earlier, mainly due to North Korea's geopolitical risk, and persistent eurozone woes fueled by the downgrading of Spain's long-term credit r

April 28, 2012

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed a combined arms exercise to mark the 80th anniversary of the Korean People's Army (KPA), a media report said Saturday.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) picked up in Seoul said without specifying the date of the exercise that Kim, who has been made the supreme commander of the KPA, "guided" the military maneuver. The anniversary of the North Korean armed

North Korea April 28, 2012