North Korea has strengthened the intensity of its naval drills this year by deploying a new submarine, prompting South Korea’s military to raise its level of vigilance, a government source here said Wednesday.“North Korea is on naval maneuvers near its bases off the East Sea and Yellow Sea by mobilizing five to six submarines, including a new Sango class submarine,” the source said on the conditio

The chief of the ruling Grand National Party proposed Monday that South and North Korea establish a joint body to conduct research together and share information on natural disasters on the peninsula.The suggestion from GNP leader Ahn Sang-soo came as the two Koreas launched civilian-level talks last week on a potential volcanic eruption at the North’s Mount Paekdu. The second round of volcano tal

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― A bipartisan group of congressmen will soon submit legislation to redesignate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism for its torpedoing of a South Korean warship and shelling of a South Korean border island that killed 50 people last year, sources said Friday.“I understand Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has almost completed drafting the legislation, and she is likely to s

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The U.S. has the capability to intercept ballistic missiles from North Korea, a senior U.S. official has said.Patrick O’Reilly, director of the Missile Defense Agency, made the remarks at a House Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday in response to a lawmaker who expressed “concerns about the ground-based midcourse defense system in Alaska and California,” citing “ba

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan left for Africa on Saturday on a three-nation trip aimed at boosting partnerships in energy, infrastructure and other areas.The trip comes as South Korea is seeking to tap business opportunities in African countries rich in oil and other mineral resources as a way to strengthen Seoul’s energy diplomacy.The eight-day trip will take Kim to Gabon, the Democratic Republi

Prosecutors said Saturday that they have arrested a retired Air Force colonel on charges of stealing confidential information on South Korea’s arms procurement plans.The suspect, identified only by his surname Chang, was accused of leaking about 10 classified documents on arms buildup projects of the Air Force, including a plan to purchase Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missiles, prosecutors said.C

Minuscule traces of radioactive silver were found in South Korean atmosphere for the first time Saturday since Japan’s nuclear accident, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety said.The substance was detected in air samples taken from the central city of Daejeon and the southeastern city of Daegu, the agency said. Radioactive iodine and cesium had been found in South Korean air before, but it was th

Officials from the ruling party and the government plan to hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss how to tackle Japan’s repeated territorial claims over Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo.Japan approved Tuesday new middle school textbooks claiming the islets as its territory, drawing a strong protest from the Seoul government.It repeated its territorial claims over Dokdo in its annual diplom

South Korea’s defense minister said Thursday his military was willing to hold low-level military talks with North Korea if the North suggests such a meeting again, but insisted that no progress would be possible unless Pyongyang apologizes for last year’s deadly attacks. “If North Korea proposes a dialogue again, (the South’s military) will accept the proposal,” Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― A senior South Korean lawmaker Tuesday called for redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea to pressure China to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear stockpile.“The threat of a counter-nuclear force may be the only thing that will discourage North Korea from developing its nuclear arsenal,” Rep. Chung Mong-joon, former chairman of the ruling Gra

Cambridge University’s English language department has launched a competition to find the best young Cambridge English speaker in Asia. Open to 18- to 25-year-olds, winning candidates will be awarded with prizes including an MBA scholarship in London.All those studying Cambridge English programs in Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and India are eligible to ap

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― South Korea does not oppose providing humanitarian food aid to North Korea as the communist country suffers from severe food shortages due to a poor harvest last year, a senior South Korean lawmaker said Monday.Speaking to a forum here, Rep. Chung Mong-joon of the ruling Grand National Party said, “Nobody in South Korea opposes humanitarian aid to North Korea by South Ko

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik will visit China next month for talks with his counterpart and other senior officials on ways to develop diplomatic and economic ties, Kim’s office said Tuesday.During the April 12-14 trip, Kim will hold talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and pay a visit to President Hu Jintao, the office said in a statement.Kim will also meet with Wu Bangguo, China’s t

The planned relocation of most U.S. troops in South Korea to an expanded base south of Seoul will be completed by the end of 2016, the South’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday, confirming a widely expected four-year delay in the multi-billion dollar project. The Defense Ministry, in a statement, said South Korea and the U.S. have recently finalized a fresh agreement to relocate the U.S. military’s he

Will smokers be compensated for the cancer they develop after smoking cigarettes for decades without knowing its harms?Moreover, will the court find tobacco firms guilty of selling carcinogens without appropriate warnings?The answers now depend on the Supreme Court justices as six smokers and 25 of their relatives have filed a suit against KT&G, the tobacco manufacturer here, over the prevalence o

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The South Korean-invested industrial complex in North Korea will eventually help promote economic and political reform in the reclusive communist state and reduce the unification cost for South Korea, a U.S. congressional report said.The Congressional Research Service report dated March 17 that was written by specialists Dick Nanto and Mark Manyin dismissed concerns over

Nuclear reactor breakdowns in South Korea have cost the country 333 billion won ($299 million) over the past 10 years, a report by a state-run atomic power company showed Sunday.In the report to the National Assembly, the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. said there were 89 malfunctions that caused reactors to go off-line temporarily from 2001 onwards.The country currently operates 21 reactors that

North Korea’s trade with South Korea was at about half the value of its trade with China in 2010, as the divided Koreas’ political relations worsened.The two Koreas exchanged $1.91 billion worth of goods last year, up 14 percent from 2009, the Korea International Trade Association said Wednesday.However, trade between the North and China jumped 32 percent on-year to slightly over $3.46 billion, in

WASHINGTON ― The war in Libya will hinder international efforts toward North Korea’s nuclear dismantlement as North Koreans reflect on Moammar Gadhafi’s decision years ago to abandon his nuclear weapons, a scholar said Tuesday.“The latest developments in Libya will have a strong effect on North Korea,” Ruediger Frank, a professor at the University of Vienna, Austria, said in a contribution to the

BUSAN (Yonhap News) ― Eight North Korean defectors are believed to have sought asylum in Britain after staying for years in South Korea, police said Tuesday.Police in Busan recently conducted a survey on 25 North Korean defectors who stayed in foreign countries for more than three months. The police hoped to gain insight into the North Koreans’ motivation to live overseas.Among them, eight North K