BEIJING--The framework nuclear deal reached by Iran and world powers is also positive for bilateral relations between the United States and China, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a telephone call with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Wang told Kerry that the agreement with Iran was sealed because of joint efforts by all parties that seized the "historic opportunity." Also, he said the deal "adds positive energy to Sino-U.S. relations," according to a statement posted by China's forei

North Korea on Saturday criticized the United States for its moves to deploy an advanced missile defense system on the Korean Peninsula, apparently amid rising concerns that such a move may weigh down on its state defense.The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the Workers' Party, said it is "unlikely" that South Korea and the United States did not discuss the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) last month during the visit of Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chief

South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party said Saturday it greets Iran's latest move to join the denuclearization drive, adding that North Korea should also take similar steps in response to international efforts."(The Iran agreement) came as a result of the international cooperation for denuclearization. We hope the move will have a positive impact on talks with North Korea as well," the party said in its statement."We hope that North Korea follows the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and joins the d

South Korean stocks are expected to move in a tight range next week as investors wait for the upcoming earnings season that will start with Samsung Electronics' earnings estimate later in the week, analysts said.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,045.42 on Friday, up 1.3 percent from a week earlier. The index started off on a positive note on anticipation that Beijing will take additional measures to spur growth. It slipped on Thursday as both institutions and foreigners u

North Korea said Saturday it has built statutes of its two former leaders, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-Il, at the northern free-trade city of Rason, apparently to show off the regime's stability to foreigners.   "They were erected on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung," the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in its English report. "Present there on invitation were staff members of the Russian consulate-general in Chongjin and foreigners staying in the city."   North Ko

WASHINGTON--The breakthrough nuclear deal with Iran has nothing to do with North Korea and does not change the communist nation's obligations to abandon its nuclear program, the State Department said Friday.   "These really are very different issues. What Iran chooses to do or not do doesn't have a lot of bearing on whether North Korea lives up to its international obligation," State Department acting spokeswoman Marie Harf said at a regular briefing.   On Thursday, six world powers and Iran ann

WASHINGTON--U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will reiterate Washington's strong security commitment to South Korea when he travels to the Asian ally next week, the Pentagon announced Friday.   Carter is scheduled to visit South Korea on April 9-11 for his first face-to-face talks with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo and other senior officials. He is expected to focus on how to strengthen joint defense capabilities against North Korea.   South Korea is the second leg of a two-nation

One of North Korea's deputy prime ministers is planning to visit the Russian capital of Moscow this month, a Russian newspaper reported Friday, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gears up for a trip there next month.Parlamentskaya Gazeta, an organ of the Russian Federation's Federal Council, said Kim Hyong-jun, the North's envoy to Russia, and Yevgeny Bushmin, deputy speaker of the Russian congress, reached the consensus after a meeting.The report, however, did not specify which of the seven Nor

A doctor was given a suspended jail term for performing an abortion on a teenager who died from surgical complications, a Seoul court said Friday.The Seoul Eastern District Court convicted the doctor, identified only as a 37-year-old woman surnamed Jeong, of terminating the pregnancy of a 17-year-old and causing her death in November 2012. The girl, surnamed Lee, was 23 weeks pregnant.Jeong was sentenced to a year in prison with a two-year stay of execution. Her doctor's license was also suspend

항해에 나섰다가 행방불명된 미국인 남성이 빗물과 물고기로 연명하며 두 달 넘게 표류하다 2일(현지시간) 극적으로 구조됐다고 AFP통신 등이 보도했다. 미국 해안경비대(USCG)는 이날 오후 미국인 루이스 조던(37)이 노스캐롤라이나주 해안에서 322㎞가량 떨어진 해역을 떠돌던 것을 인근을 지나던 독일 국적 유조선이 발견해 구조했다고 밝혔다.  사우스캐롤라이나주에 살던 조던이 지난 1월26일 '낚시를 좀 하겠다'며 배를 몰고 떠난 지 66일, 그와 연락이 끊기자 가족들이 실종 신고를 한 같은달 29일부터는 63일 만의 일이다.미국인 루이스 조던(37)이 2일 미국 노스캐롤라이나 주에서 해안경비대의 헬기로 구조됐다. (AP)구조 소식을 전달받은 해안경비대는 즉시 헬기를 보내 조던을 육지로 이송했다.조던은 표류 기간 빗물을 받아마시고 손으로 물고기를 잡아먹으며 연명했으며 현재 버지니아주 항만도시 노퍽의 한 병원에서 치료를 받고 있다고 해안경비대는 덧붙였다.구조 당시 배는 전복돼 있었고 조

(Yonhap)A woman in her 40s has been indicted on charges of attempting to rape a man after drugging him, becoming the first woman to be charged for such offenses in Korean history.Up until June 2013, Korean law did not acknowledge women as rapists and therefore it was impossible for male victims to file complaints to police.This is the first time a woman has been arrested on charges of sexually abusing a man.According to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seoul, the woman, who is only identified

KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP)--The Islamic State jihadist group executed 20 people who wanted to fight against them in the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk, officials said on Monday.The killings of the men, who wanted to join anti-IS paramilitary forces known as Popular Mobilisation units, took place in the town of Hawijah, a police intelligence officer and two local officials said.The executions could not be independently confirmed, but a gruesome series of photos posted online and shared on social media

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she still hopes for a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis while underlining that the onus is on Russia due to its seizure of Ukrainian territory."Through the annexation of Crimea in violation of international law and the support of the separatists in the east of Ukraine, Russia violates the territorial integrity of Ukraine," Merkel said Monday in a speech in Tokyo. Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed Ukraine's Crimea last March.           Merkel an

RIYADH (AFP)--Saudi Arabia on Monday beheaded a Filipino convicted of murdering his boss, bringing to 40 the number of executions this year.   In just over two months, Saudi Arabia has beheaded almost half the number of foreigners and Saudis executed during all of 2014, according to AFP tallies.   Joven Esteva was found guilty of stabbing the Saudi in the chest in 2007.   "The perpetrator had worked as a driver for him," an interior ministry statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency s

WASHINGTON (AP)--The Senate report on the CIA's post-Sept. 11 interrogations shows how a rigorous examination of a secret agency can expose misconduct, incompetence and bureaucratic spin, even to those who question the investigation's assertion that torture did not work.The review also highlights how rare such examinations are, and it raises this question: How well run are other CIA programs, such as targeted killing with drones or the secret effort to train and arm Syrian rebels?Congressional i

  SELMA, Alabama (AP)--A march commemorating the historic "Bloody Sunday" demonstration is set to begin Monday afternoon after several speakers at the 50th anniversary commemoration pushed visitors to fight to restore the Voting Rights Act.As thousands marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on Sunday, some of the demonstrators who were attacked by law enforcement there 50 years ago said they fear the country is becoming a place where widespread minority voter suppression is on

Daum Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's top mobile messenger, said Monday its 2014 net profit more than doubled from a year earlier, aided by robust sales from e-commerce platforms and mobile advertising.   Net profit amounted to 149.8 billion won (US$135.1 million) last year, up 126.7 percent from the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.   Daum Kakao's operating profit jumped 115.7 percent on-year to 176.4 billion won while its sales inched down 6 percent to 498.9 bil

Kumho Asiana Group, the parent company of South Korea's No. 2 air carrier, said Monday it has decided to take over Kumho Buslines Co., its former intercity bus transportation unit, as it tries to reshape itself into the same conglomerate it was before its liquidity crisis.   The group expressed its intent to buy the unit, but it attached a condition under which it will only buy stakes in Kumho Buslines after excluding the bus operator's 48.8 percent stake in Kumho Resort, it said in its takeover

Korean farmers’ traditional folk dance and music “nongak” has been recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, the Korean government said Thursday. It is Korea’s 17th item inscribed on the international heritage list, following the addition in December last year of “gimjang,” the culture of making and sharing kimchi. Meeting in Paris, representatives of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage decided to add the Kore

South Korea's central bank said Monday it is closely monitoring the impact of Japan's further monetary easing and vowed to block one-sided market expectation.   On Friday, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) stunned the market by announcing it will ramp up its already sizable stimulus, sending the yen sharply lower against the U.S. dollar and also causing a sharp slide in the Korean won against the greenback.    Japan's central bank said it will jack up its asset purchases by up to 20 trillion yen to some 8