Having thrown live batting practice for the first time with the St. Louis Cardinals, South Korean reliever Oh Seung-hwan said Thursday he will mostly stick to his tried and tested arsenal in the majors.Oh faced hitters for the first time Wednesday to solid reviews. Infielder Greg Garcia said Oh's ball "was jumping" and the right-hander didn't offer up anything straight.Oh, a lights-out closer in both South Korea and Japan for a decade before joining the Cards this offseason, built his career mos

Baseball Feb. 26, 2016

The South Korean sports ministry plans to meet the International Olympic Committee next week with two leaders of local sports governing bodies at odds over their merger, a government official said Friday.An official at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports told Yonhap News Agency that the ministry is preparing to send its vice minister Kim Chong, along with the Korean Olympic Committee head Kim Jung-haeng and the Korea Council of Sport for All chief Kang Young-joong, to Lausanne, Switzerla

Olympic Games Feb. 26, 2016

North Korea's foreign currency earnings would be cut drastically if the United Nations adopts sanctions on the country's mineral exports, the South Korean government said Friday.The United States and China have agreed on a package of new sanctions against Pyongyang for its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and long-range missile test on Feb. 7.The reclusive country is banned from such tests under previous U.N. resolutions that seek to counter North Korea's development and proliferation of weapons of

North Korea Feb. 26, 2016

South Korean lawmakers collected the lowest amount of political donations last year since 2012, official data showed Friday, in an apparent reflection of growing political apathy.A total of 291 lawmakers received just over 36.2 billion won ($29.2 million) in political donations through their supporters' associations, according to the country's election watchdog the National Election Commission.On average, each lawmaker collected 124 million won in donations, about 25 million won short of an uppe

Politics Feb. 26, 2016

The United States and China have agreed on tougher-than-expected U.N. sanctions on North Korea, if not "terminating," government officials here said Friday.But they acknowledged the challenges inherent in enforcing the resolution likely to be adopted at the U.N. Security Council early next week.It contains "unprecedented strong and comprehensive" sanctions on Pyongyang for its Jan. 6 nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch a month later, a South Korean official said. "If the resolution is im

North Korea Feb. 26, 2016

A debate is heating up over whether South Korea should pursue nuclear armament after North Korea has fueled security jitters here by conducting a fourth nuclear test last month.Experts and politicians are sharply divided as they contemplate the potential benefits and perils of the South's nuclearization, which they say is bound to reshape the contours of regional politics and security. The Seoul government has said that its vision of a nuclear-free peninsula will remain unchanged with the U.S.'

Defense Feb. 26, 2016

The presidential office on Friday asked the parliament to endorse an anti-terrorism bill in the latest push to try to better protect South Korea from any possible terror attacks.Presidential spokesman Jeong Yeon-guk expressed hope that the National Assembly "would take into account public safety exposed to terror threats."Opposition lawmakers staged a marathon filibuster for the third straight day Friday, dimming prospects of any bipartisan breakthrough on the bill.The rival parties have been at

Politics Feb. 26, 2016

A draft U.N. resolution aimed at imposing more stringent sanctions on North Korea after its nuclear test and rocket launch is expected to curtail bilateral trade between Pyongyang and its ally China, but it remains to be seen how far Beijing will go in limiting trade with the country. The draft resolution came after an agreement between the United States and China, which has been reluctant to put crippling economic sanctions against North Korea due to fears over a collapse of the North Korean ec

North Korea Feb. 26, 2016

A senior U.S. diplomat arrived in Seoul Friday for talks with South Korean officials on how to deal with North Korea after the imminent adoption of a U.N. resolution.Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel is scheduled to meet with Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam and Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun to discuss the allies' joint response to North Korea's nuclear and missile tests, according to the ministry.Washington and Beijing agreed Wednesday on a draft resolution calling for the st

North Korea Feb. 26, 2016

Recovering from a May shoulder operation that ended his 2015 season before it began, Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin said Thursday he was pleased with breaking pitches that he threw in his long toss.At Camelback Ranch, the site of the Dodgers' spring training in Arizona, Ryu said he mixed in curves, changeups and sliders with his fastball."The spins weren't too bad," Ryu said with a smile in the club house while icing down the surgically repaired left shoulder.Ryu, who didn't throw

Baseball Feb. 26, 2016

The decision by South Korea and the United States to begin consultations on the potential deployment of the THAAD missile defense system doesn't mean the two sides have agreed to deploy the system, the U.S. Pacific commander said Thursday."Neither South Korea nor the United States have agreed to put a THAAD in Korea," Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr. said at a Pentagon briefing. "The decision to discuss it is not necessarily a decision to do it, not yet. So, we're having the discussions now, and we'll s

Defense Feb. 26, 2016

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday that China's national security interests could be "jeopardized or threatened" by the THAAD missile defense system the U.S. and South Korea are considering deploying to better cope with threats from North Korea.Speaking at a think tank in Washington, Wang said he understands the U.S. and the South want to ensure their own security, but the "X-band radar" associated with the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system "has a radius that goes fa

Foreign Affairs Feb. 26, 2016

A proposed package of new U.N. sanctions would require mandatory inspection of all cargo going in and out of North Korea and ban its exports of mineral resources, a key source of hard currency for Pyongyang, a U.S. envoy said Thursday.U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power unveiled the unprecedented measures as she outlined key points of the draft U.N. Security Council resolution expanding sanctions on North Korea for conducting nuclear and missile tests in violation of U.N. bans.The U.S. an

North Korea Feb. 26, 2016