The top leaders of the United States and China met Friday, saying that they would explore ways to boost partnerships on a raft of global challenges including North Korea.In his remarks made at the start of a two-day meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, U.S. President Barck Obama stressed the importance of a healthy economic competition between the world's two largest economies.Obama remined that there also are other urgent issues that need to be addressed during the weekend meeting

World News June 8, 2013

POSCO, South Korea's biggest steelmaker, became the world's fifth-largest crude steel producer in 2012, dropping by one notch from a year ago, data showed Saturday.According to data by World Steel Association (WSA), India's ArcelorMittal retained its top ranking with 93.6 million tons of crude steel, followed by Japan's Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. with 47.9 million tons.POSOCO's crude steel production came to 39.9 million tons last year, down from 39.1 million tons in 2011, it said.POSCO

Industry June 8, 2013

North Korea has set a no-sail zone in the Yellow Sea off its central west coast apparently for an artillery exercise, a South Korean military source said Saturday."North Korea has designated the sailing ban area around the Seohan bay starting from today until early next week," the source said, noting that the North has previously taken similar actions when conducting artillery exercises.In May, North Korea declared an off-limits area for ships in the sea off its east coast for four days prior to

North Korea June 8, 2013

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Thursday she plans to use her upcoming visit to China to enlist the help of North Korea's most important ally in making Pyongyang realize that its bad behavior will never be rewarded.Breaking North Korea's behavioral pattern of seeking economic and other concessions through provocations was one of the major points of agreement that Park reached during her first meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington earlier this month.Park is expected to

Politics May 23, 2013

The state-run disease control agency on Thursday confirmed another fatality caused by a killer tick virus amid fears that the disease may quickly spread nationwide.The Korea Center for Disease Control & Prevention said a man who died on the southern island of Jeju Friday has been confirmed as a victim of the killer virus transmitted by one species of tick, the Haemaphysalis longicornis.The deceased, surnamed Kang, is the second tick-caused victim reported in South Korea in the past year. Last Au

Social Affairs May 23, 2013

K-pop sensation Psy was added to the annals of history Wednesday when his name was officially included in the Encyclopedia Britannica, its Web site showed.   The online version of the English-language encyclopedia introduces Psy as the "South Korean singer and rapper" who "achieved international fame" last year with the humorous music video to his pop song "Gangnam Style."Though the 36-year-old singer, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, was originally known in his home country as a "controversial

Television May 1, 2013

The government and the ruling party agreed Monday to provide emergency funds to South Korean businesses suffering from the suspension of a joint industrial complex in North Korea, officials said.The nine-year-old industrial park in the North's border city of Gaeseong ground to a halt early last month when the communist country withdrew its 53,000 workers from the complex in protest of U.S.-involved military drills in the South.Seoul responded by pulling its own workers and managers from the 123

Politics May 1, 2013

The fiscal independence ratio of South Korean local governments dropped to its lowest level this year since 1991 as tax revenues fell and subsidies from the central government increased, data showed on Tuesday.According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Security and Public Administration, the fiscal independence ratio for 244 local autonomous governments stood at 51.1 percent for 2013, compared with the 52.3 percent posted last year.The 2013 figure also marks the lowest since 1991 when Sou

Politics April 9, 2013

A strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake has hit southern Iran, the US Geological Survey said.The epicenter of the quake, which struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), was located about 90 kilometers southeast of Bandar Bushehr, the USGS said.(AFP)

World News April 9, 2013

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is warning that even a slight miscalculation involving the tensions on the Korean peninsula could spiral into an "uncontrollable situation'' as he urged North Korea to tone down its "provocative'' rhetoric.Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, also called on Pyongyang to restart work at the Kaesong industrial park near its border, the only remaining product of economic cooperation between the North and South Korea. North Korea on Tuesday pulled out more

World News April 9, 2013

Lawmakers on Tuesday stepped up their attacks on President Park Geun-hye's nominee for Constitutional Court chief as they tried to determine whether he is ethically fit for the job.Park Han-cheol, who was tapped by the president last month to head the top court, faced a barrage of questions from lawmakers over whether the large legal fees he received at a law firm in 2010 were justified.Park, a former public prosecutor, is known to have earned a total of 245 million won (US$215,000) during the f

Politics April 9, 2013

The National Assembly failed to pass a government reorganization bill on Thursday.The bill will be submitted to a general session at the National Assembly at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, according to reports.The parliament was expected to go on a vote to pass the bill as the ruling and main opposition parties reached an agreement over pending broadcasting-related issues at a parliamentary committee meeting on Thursday evening.If the bill gains the parliamentary approval, it is expected to give a boost

Politics March 21, 2013

A top U.S. commander said Thursday the recently concluded joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises were a good first step for Seoul to rehearse a scenario in which it is set to play a leading role in defending itself.Amid heightened North Korean war rhetoric, South Korea and the U.S. ended a 10-day military exercise, code-named Key Resolve.About 10,000 South Korean and 3,000 U.S. troops took part in the largely computer simulated war games.The annual exercises were the first of their kind in wh

Defense March 21, 2013