South Korea will confer an order of merit on a former US lawmaker who has long fought for Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, Seoul officials said Tuesday. This photo, taken on July 7, 2016, shows former US lawmaker Mike Honda speaking during a conference in Washington DC. (Yonhap)The Cabinet approved a proposal to give the Gwanghwa Medal of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit to Mike Honda who has been at the forefront of efforts to get Tokyo to recognize its past misdeeds and a

Social Affairs April 25, 2017

CHUNGJU -- Two people were injured after a cargo truck carrying paint for road lane marking overturned on the Jungbu Inland Expressway in central South Korea on Tuesday, police said.The 5-ton truck was involved in the accident on the southbound side of the expressway in the city of Chungju, North Chunngcheong Province, around 8:30 a.m., prompting the two including the 40-year-old driver to be whisked to a nearby hospital. This provided photo shows a cargo truck gutted by fire after the truck car

Social Affairs April 25, 2017

South Korea's unification ministry on Tuesday unveiled a three-year plan to improve North Korea's human rights situation including efforts to get its people access to outside information.The Ministry of Unification set up the initial plan which will run from this year through 2019 in line with the country's law aimed at improving North Korea's human right situation that went into effect in September last year, government officials said.This photo, taken on Sept. 28, 2016, shows Unification Minis

North Korea April 25, 2017

INCHEON -- A 17th-century cannon used during the 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty has been excavated from an old fortress on an island off Incheon, west of Seoul, the Incheon municipality said Tuesday, the first time such an artifact has been recovered from a place where it was deployed.The local government said the cannon, called "bullanggi" and believed to date back to the dynasty in 1680, has been discovered in the Geonpyeong Fortification on Ganghwa Island, in which repair work was underway. This ph

Social Affairs April 25, 2017

North Korea staged what appears to be the largest firing drill on Tuesday to mark the 85th founding anniversary of its military, a government source said."Signs are detected that North Korea's military is conducting a large-scale drill around the eastern port city of Wonsan on the anniversary," the source said. These photos released by Rodong Sinmun in Nov. 2016 show a firing drill on North Korea's western coast. (Yonhap) (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution)North Korean lea

North Korea April 25, 2017

Senior diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan sat together in Tokyo on Tuesday seeking to chart ways to rein in North Korea as the communist country appears to be preparing another military provocation.The meeting brought together the three countries' chief negotiators on the North Korean nuclear issue to coordinate their responses to advancing nuclear and missile threats by North Korea.   (Yonhap)The trilateral meeting comes amid unusually heightened tension after North Korea rat

Foreign Affairs April 25, 2017

The majority of childrearing women preferred raising financial assistance to increasing the maternity leave period or other support measures related to childcare, a survey showed Tuesday.As many as 59.8 percent of the 1,302 women surveyed by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education between July and August last year said financial aid from the government for childcare and education was the most important service.  (Yonhap)About 63.9 percent called on the government to increase the amount o

Social Affairs April 25, 2017

American troops in Seoul kicked off their full-fledged relocation Tuesday to a refurbished base south of the capital with a symbolic ceremony to commemorate Gen. Walton H. Walker, a Korean War hero.Standing in front of the 8th Army's headquarters at Yongsan garrison, the 10-foot-tall bronze statue is a token of the US fight against North Korea alongside South Korea in the 1950-53 conflict and their decades-old alliance.The US Eighth Army hosts the Gen. Walker Monument Transition Ceremony in fron

Defense April 25, 2017

North Korea on Tuesday marked the 85th founding anniversary of its military with a massive live-fire drill in an apparent show of force amid tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.Instead of conducting a nuclear test or missile launch, North Korea staged a large-scale conventional firing drill near the eastern city of Wonsan on the Korean People's Army anniversary, according to the South Korean military.This image captured from footage of North Korea's state-run TV station on Apr

North Korea April 25, 2017

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn warned North Korea Tuesday that it would face "strong measures" different from the past should it press ahead with another provocation.Hwang made the remarks amid growing concerns that the communist state could conduct a nuclear test or an intercontinental ballistic missile launch to mark the 85th anniversary of the foundation of its Korean People's Army.Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks during a Cabinet meeti

North Korea April 25, 2017

GENEVA -- South Korea and Japan were divided over the usage of "East Sea" in naming the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan as a conference of the International Hydrographic Organization opened in Monaco on Monday, South Korean officials said.Koreans claim that East Sea has been used for more than 2,000 years. But the name was not known internationally in modern times because the Korean Peninsula was under Japan's colonial rule from 1910-45. This provided photo shows the body of

Foreign Affairs April 25, 2017

South Korea's Navy said Tuesday it will hold a joint live-fire exercise with the US in the Yellow Sea later in the day to show their close alliance against North Korea.It will involve the Navy's 4,400-ton destroyer Wanggeon and the USS Wayne E. Meyer, a Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer of the US Navy. A joint South Korea-US naval drill in the Yellow Sea. (Yonhap)They are scheduled to stage a combined tactical operation and live-fire drill, according to the Navy.The allies also plan t

Defense April 25, 2017

The conservative Bareun Party on Tuesday proposed a three-way alliance to challenge front-runner Moon Jae-in in the upcoming presidential election.But the offer was instantly dismissed by three candidates including its own nominee Yoo Seong-min. Bareun, which means "righteous" in Korean, held five-hour marathon talks between its lawmakers and the nominee to discuss the future of their anemic campaign.Yoo Seong-min, presidential nominee of the Bareun Party, waves from his car as he leaves a forum

Politics April 25, 2017

A fashion industry is taking shape in North Korea thanks to the country's "first lady" Ri Sol-ju and an all-women band who are changing what was a dour, uniformity-driven industry into a more trendy sector, a local think tank said Tuesday.Ri, the wife of North Korea's top leader Kim Jong-un, has often been photographed in modern western-style clothes, including short skirts and handbags resembling high-end brands. Members of Moranbong, the singing and dancing band of women created by Kim, were s

North Korea April 25, 2017

Top American military commanders here on Tuesday emphasized the strength of the alliance with South Korea, as North Korea's military apparently staged its largest-ever live-fire drills along its east coast on the occasion of the founding anniversary of its armed forces."We just stand ready. That's the only message we have (to North Korea)," Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, the commander of US Forces Korea, said. "We are committed to the ROK (South Korea)-US alliance. That's the most important thing. That

Defense April 25, 2017