The Navy has retrieved the debris of North Korea's long-range rocket launched earlier this week and a joint investigation team will analyze it to get a glimpse of the communist state's rocket technology, the defense ministry here said Friday.Less than two hours after Wednesday's liftoff, a South Korean Aegis destroyer deployed in the Yellow Sea discovered an object, believed to be part of a fuel container from the first stage of the rocket, near the trajectory announced by the North."The Navy's

North Korea Dec. 14, 2012

South Korea's defense chief said there was successful separation of the first and second stages of North Korea's long-range rocket that was launched on Wednesday. "South Korea and the U.S. military are checking whether North Korea's rocket accurately entered orbit," Kim Kwan-jin told a Yonhap News reporter on his way back from an emergency national security meeting convened by President Lee Myung-bak. "Our radar has verified that (the rocket's) second stage separated."Kim said his government was

North Korea Dec. 12, 2012

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top smartphone maker, claimed the biggest share in the global market for long-term evolution (LTE) devices for the fifth straight quarter, data showed Tuesday.The company topped the LTE market with a 40 percent share in the third quarter, but its stake slipped from 50.9 percent in the previous quarter amid growing competition, according to the data by research firm Strategy Analytics.Handset makers have been racing to roll out LTE devices betting on the fast-

Dec. 11, 2012

South Korean maritime police said Sunday they have arrested 24 Chinese sailors who violently resisted the authority's crackdown on their illegal fishing in the Yellow Sea.The latest clash took place in waters near the western port city of Incheon on Nov. 27, when Chinese sailors aboard three vessels fought against Korean maritime police officers, hurling fishing gears and wielding steel pipes at them, Incheon Coast Guard officials said.Four officers sustained minor injuries in the clash with the

World News Dec. 9, 2012

This year’s Nobel Prize in literature winner, Mo Yan, who has been criticized for his membership in China’s Communist Party and reluctance to speak out against the country’s government, defended censorship Thursday as something as necessary as airport security checks.He also suggested he won’t join an appeal calling for the release of the jailed 2010 Peace Prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo, a fellow writer and compatriot.Mo has been criticized by human rights activists for not being a more outspoken de

Culture Dec. 7, 2012

South Koreans in the United States began casting their ballots Wednesday in the presidential election in their homeland.It is the first time that South Koreans abroad have taken part in presidential polls, thanks to a revised election law that took effect in 2009.The early voting is taking place at a dozen polling stations across the United States, including one in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, according to officials at the South Korean Embassy.The election, slated for Dec. 19, pits Park G

Politics Dec. 6, 2012

A shell from the Vietnam War killed four children and seriously injured four other villagers when it exploded at a family party, police said Monday.The children, a girl and three boys aged between four and 11-years-old, died on Sunday after finding the unexploded shell while they played in a garden, according to police officer Luong Van Tri.Four others -- two men and two children aged five and 12 -- were seriously wounded in the blast which occurred in Vinh Long province, he added."The owner of

World News Dec. 3, 2012

영국 교육관련 회사 피어슨(Pearson)이 전세계 선진국들의 학업 성과 순위를 발표했다. 이는 국제학력시험 결과와 교육시스템을 동시에 평가한 것으로, 한국은 핀란드에 이어 2위를 차지했다.피어슨은 2006년에서 2010년까지 수학, 과학, 읽기 능력을 측정한 국제시험결과로 학업성과를 평가했으며, 대학에 진학하는 학생수와 졸업 비율에 초점을 맞추어 각국의 교육 시스템을 조사했다.한국에 이어 홍콩, 일본, 싱가폴이 상위권을 기록했다. 멕시코, 브라질 그리고 인도네시아가 최하위권을 기록한 것으로 드러났다.피어슨의 최고 교육고문으로 있는 마이클 바버(Michael Barber)는 상위권 국가들이 모두 사회 전체의 교육 열기가 뜨거운 “교육 문화”를 가지고 있다고 평가했다. 단순히 교육에 대한 지출이 높은 것이 아니라, 교육에 높은 가치를 두는 사회적 분위기가 가장 중요하다고 연구진은 밝혔다. 바버는 핀란드와 한국은 교육에 있어서 시스템 등 많은 요소들이 상이하지만 교육에 대한 관심이 뜨거

Podcast Nov. 30, 2012

South Korea remained the nation with the largest income gap between men and women among advanced countries with the gender pay gap hardly narrowing over the past decade, a report showed Friday.According to the report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), South Korea found its gender income gap to be 39 percent, the highest among 28 surveyed member nations, as of 2010.It means that South Korean women are paid 39 percent less than their male counterparts, lower than

Industry Nov. 30, 2012