North Korea on Tuesday said that South Korea’s recent announcement pinpointing it as the culprit for the April 12 cyber attack was a “fabrication,” denying its role in the nation’s worst-ever banking system crash.The North’s Defense Ministry spokesperson issued a statement, claiming that the announcement last Tuesday was the “same fabrication” as the sinking of the corvette Cheonan, according to i

North Korea May 10, 2011

Former and current South Korean ambassadors will give a series of lectures in Seoul on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations from May 31 through July 5 to enhance understanding of its 10 member countries. The ASEAN-Korea Center has organized the lectures on relations between Korea and ASEAN members and ways to improve them.The center is an international body established in March 2009 under an

Politics May 10, 2011

Police will recruit a former military officer to effectively carry out their operations in the event of North Korean provocations, officials at the National Police Agency said Tuesday.“The agency revised its regulations to expand its anti-terrorism center into a bigger crisis management center which will handle disaster situations. With the revision, we have also laid a ground on which to recruit

Social Affairs May 10, 2011

Twenty newly promoted general-grade officers from the U.S. are on a five-day tour to South Korea under an educational program aimed at enhancing understanding of its key Asian ally.Under the “Capstone” program organized by the U.S. National Defense University, the group, which arrived here Sunday, visited Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and was briefed on the security situation on the Korean Peninsu

Defense May 9, 2011

Looking at Internet cafes with many messages disparaging migrant workers based on their appearances and nationalities, Soe Moe Thu feels Korea still has a long way to go to establish a “mature” online culture.To maintain the country’s reputation for state-of-the-art Internet infrastructure, the Seoul government needs to make more efforts to ameliorate “online manners,” the 36-year-old Myanmarese s

Social Affairs May 9, 2011

The South Korean military is strengthening its protective facilities on the country’s five northwestern border islands with corrugated steel plates a military official said Monday.It has been bolstering its defense capabilities on the islands near the tense western sea border since the artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island in November last year, killing two soldiers and two civilians.Additional hi

Politics May 9, 2011

The nuclear materials found in Libya in 2004 were highly likely to have been produced by North Korea, U.S.-funded broadcaster Voice of America said Saturday, citing an interview with a former senior official of the U.N. nuclear watchdog. In the interview, Olli Heinonen, the former deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said uranium hexafluoride, or UF6 ― used in uranium

North Korea May 8, 2011

Four artillery landed in and around a base in Afghanistan, where South Korean aid workers and troops are stationed, early on Thursday, but there were no injuries, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.“Four unidentified artillery rounds landed in and around the base at around 9:30 p.m., local time, but there were no injuries and no damage on our equipment and facilities,” said a JCS official, declining t

Defense May 5, 2011

Reform measures aim to enhance efficiency and interoperabilityThe South Korean military is stepping up efforts to overhaul its top command structure in a bid to enhance efficiency of its peacetime and wartime operations, and interoperability among the three armed services.On Wednesday, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin reported to President Lee Myung-bak recent developments of the military’s reform en

Defense May 5, 2011

The Foreign Ministry has begun studying whether the April 12 cyber attack by North Korea violated the international law as part of efforts to ward off additional attacks, an official said Wednesday.“The exercise of their right in a way that inflicts damage on other countries is illegal under the international law,” the official said on condition of anonymity.Prosecutors on Tuesday concluded that t

Politics May 4, 2011

Kim Min-joo, an 18-year-old student, feels extremely exhausted at the end of each day, swamped with a slew of things to study. She finds little time or energy to share even small talk with her family and friends.She is one of many final-year high school students undergoing one of the most grueling periods in their lives to survive the fierce competition for entry into universities. In Korea, admis

Social Affairs May 4, 2011