BEIJING (Yonhap News) – A senior Chinese military official renewed his country's "clear-cut" goal of ending North Korea's nuclear program through dialogue during a meeting with South Korean defense officials last week, China's defense ministry said Tuesday. Sun Jianguo, the deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, made the remark on Friday when he met a delegation of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, which is affiliated with South Korea's defense ministry, i

North Korea Sept. 3, 2013

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Syria's neighbors are bracing for an influx of refugees fleeing their country in fear of U.S.-led military action, compounding what the UN has branded a "disgraceful humanitarian calamity."The movement could deepen an already enormous regional refugee crisis.The numbers of Syrians seeking safety abroad have increased nearly 10-fold from a year ago, the latest grim milestone in a 29-month battle between President Bashar al-Assad and rebels bent on overthrowing him.Correspondents a

International Sept. 3, 2013

LONDON (AFP) - Oil briefly jumped on Tuesday after Russia said it had detected the launch of two ballistic missiles heading towards the eastern Mediterranean, dealers said.Brent North Sea crude oil for October delivery climbed to $115.74 per barrel, before pulling back to $115.25, up 92 cents from Monday's closing level.New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for October, rallied as high as $107.77 per barrel. It later stood at $107.28, down 37 cents from Monday."This morning saw

International Sept. 3, 2013

ADEN (AFP) - A gun battle in the southern Yemeni province of Abyan left two suspected Al-Qaeda militants and a pro-government militiaman dead on Tuesday, an official from the militia said. Fighting between Al-Qaeda militants and the Popular Resistance Committees, which back the government, took place in Batis, northwest of the city of Jaar, the official said.Tuesday's violence erupted a day after a failed attack on the chief of the Committees in Abyan, Abdullatif Sayed. A blast targeted Sayed's

International Sept. 3, 2013

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold his first meeting with new Iranian President Hassan Rowhani on the sidelines of a regional summit in Kyrgyzstan next month, the Kremlin said Friday.Russia has agreed to a proposal from Tehran for the meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on September 13 in Bishkek, Putin's top foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said, quoted by Russian news agencies.

International Aug. 9, 2013

BEIJING (AFP) - A detained Chinese activist has managed to release a video from behind bars urging citizens to fight for their rights in an act likely to further antagonize authorities. Xu Zhiyong, who has been detained since mid-July, is among two dozen activists rounded up this year for criticizing corruption and other sensitive topics -- despite a government campaign to fight graft. "Let us come together and work to make the rights of citizens’ matter, the identities of citizens’ matter, and

International Aug. 9, 2013

MOSCOW (AP) _ The International Olympic Committee is waiting for more clarifications from the Russian government on the anti-gay law that is overshadowing preparations for the Winter Games in Sochi, IOC President Jacques Rogge said Friday. The law, signed by President Vladimir Putin in June, bans ``propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations'' and imposes fines on those holding gay pride rallies. It has caused a major international outcry and spawned calls for protests ahead of the Feb. 7-23 O

International Aug. 9, 2013

PAKISTAN (Reuters) - Gunmen in Pakistan fired on the vehicle of a politician driving past worshippers leaving a mosque on a Muslim holiday on Friday, killing nine people and wounding 27 in the city of Quetta, police said. Quetta is the capital of the southwestern province of Baluchistan, where several militant groups are active, including the Pakistani Taliban, who claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack that killed 30 people at a policeman's funeral on Thursday. The United States has w

International Aug. 9, 2013

South Korea's top negotiator on ending North Korea's nuclear program will fly to Moscow next week to discuss denuclearization policy with his Russian counterpart, the foreign ministry said Friday.Cho Tae-yong, Seoul's point man on the long-stalled six-party talks, will visit Russia for three days from Tuesday to hold the bilateral meeting with Igor Vladimirovich Morgulov, Moscow's top negotiator on North Korea's denuclearization, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.During the meeting, t

North Korea Aug. 9, 2013

Asiana Airlines Inc. said Wednesday it has withdrawn its plan to file a defamation suit against a U.S. television station for damaging the carrier's reputation over the deadly crash of its plane in San Francisco. "We decided not to proceed with the suit to concentrate all our efforts on dealing with the aftermath of the accident," the South Korea's second-largest flag carrier said in a statement.The airline also cited an apology by the San Francisco Bay Area station KTVU Channel 2 for its abrupt

Industry July 17, 2013

North Korea said Wednesday four more people have died from floods over the past few days and some 180 houses were destroyed or inundated, raising the death toll to six.The country's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said one person is still missing after the heavy downpour, which was recorded as reaching as much as 518 millimeters in its southeastern province of Gangwon between July 9 and 16. The agency had reported two deaths last week and over 760 people left homeless.In a separate report, the

North Korea July 17, 2013

South Korea has become an observer to the Pacific Alliance, a Latin American economic bloc, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.The Pacific Alliance, launched in June last year, groups Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru and aims to strengthen their joint competitiveness through free trade. It now has 20 observer nations, including South Korea.The ministry said the tie with the bloc would enable South Korea to be ready for a possible link between the Pacific Alliance and the U.S.-led Trans Pacific

International July 17, 2013