The U.S. State Department emphasized Monday that this week's talks with North Korea in New York are just to see whether it is prepared for full-fledged negotiations on denuclearization.The North's vice foreign minister, Kim Kye-gwan, is scheduled to visit New York later this week for a meeting with a U.S. government delegation, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced earlier."We see this as a

South Korean banks' loan delinquency rate fell to the lowest level in six months in June due mainly to a decline in project financing loans, the financial watchdog said Tuesday.The average delinquency rate of bank loans to companies and households stood at 0.97 percent as of the end of June, down 0.33 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).Th

Regardless of the upcoming meeting with the United States, North Korea is likely to launch additional provocations, the top U.S. military officer said Monday."It is my view that the North Korean regime will once again attempt to provoke hostilities," Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a meeting with foreign reporters here. "And that once again, leaders in the South wi

North Korea is preparing for a military exercise on the west coast involving all three branches of its forces, a government source here said Tuesday."We noted preparations for a military exercise from the North's naval base in Nampo and its aerial base in Onchon in South Pyongan Province," the source said, referring to a western province north of the border. "Warships and fighters have been assemb

South Korea and India signed an agreement Monday to cooperate in nuclear power, providing a legal basis for the South's future participation in atomic plant projects in India.The agreement was signed after a summit between President Lee Myung-Bak and his Indian counterpart Pratibha Patil, Lee's office said in a statement.South Korea operates 20 nuclear plants that generate some 35 percent of its e

PARIS (AFP) -- Moody's Investors Service said on Monday it had downgraded Greece's sovereign debt rating by three notches, leaving it one away from default, and warned creditors would lose out from the latest bailout deal.The ratings agency said in a statement that it has "downgraded Greece's local- and foreign-currency bond ratings to Ca from Caa1 and has assigned a developing outlook to the rati

 PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- As his right hand grips the mouse, the physics major's eyes are fixed on a flat-screen monitor labeled with a red sticker reminding him the computer was a gift from Kim Jong Il.People work on library computers at the Grand People's Study House in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea is undergoing a digital revolution of sorts, even as it holds some of the strictest c

KABUL (AP) -- Insurgents in southern Afghanistan hanged an 8-year-old boy six days after they abducted him, the Afghan government said Sunday.The boy's captors had demanded that his father, a police officer, supply them with a police vehicle and he refused, said a statement from President Hamid Karzai's office. The militants hanged the boy Friday in Helmand province's Gereshk district.``President

PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) _ Congressman David Wu faced calls for his resignation Saturday over a young woman's reported accusation that she had an “unwanted sexual encounter” with the Democrat three weeks after his election victory in November.Congressman David Wu, D-Oregon., speaks during an interview in Portland, Oregon. (AP-Yonhap News)Wu's spokesman, Erik Dorey, said the seven-term Democrat had a

BEIJING (AP) -- A toddler was rescued about 21 hours after a crash involving two high-speed trains in eastern China killed at least 35 people and injured more than 190 others, state media reported.Rescuers carry an injured child to sent her to a hospital at the site where a high-speed train crash occurred in Wenzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, on Sunday. (AP-Yonhap News)Xinhua News Agency sai

South Korea and China will hold their inaugural defense strategic talks this week in Seoul, the defense ministry here said Monday.The first strategic dialogue is scheduled for Wednesday, the ministry said in a statement. Lee Yong-gul, the South's vice defense minister, and Air Force Gen. Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese Army, will lead each delegation, the ministry added."

An international team of nuclear safety experts said on Friday that South Korea has strong regulations on operating atomic energy facilities safely and preventing accidents, concluding their two-week mission here.The special review, called the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS), by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) came at the request of the South Korean government.“This was t

BEIJING (AFP) -- At least 41 people died on Friday when an overcrowded bus that was carrying hazardous goods caught fire in central China, state television reported.The fire happened early on Friday morning on a highway in Henan province, China Central Television (CCTV) said.Five passengers and the driver were pulled out alive from the overnight bus-- made up of 35 berths allowing passengers to sl

Smartphone manufacturer HTC Corp. is considering switching to Samsung’s mobile application processors in a move that may help the local electronics maker extend its market share, industry sources said. A man checks out items for his new HTC EVO smart phone at the Sprint store in Los Angeles, California (MCT)HTC currently uses Qualcomm processors. Qualcomm accounts for more than 40 percent of the g

A video of a dog attacking a shark posted on YouTube by an Australian man is grabbing global attention. The footage shows two big dogs swimming in the ocean near the West Australian town of Broom, about 1,650 kilometers north of Perth. The dogs appear to be headed into the path of the sharks without realizing, but one suddenly attacks a shark. "The dog is biting the shark,” said Russe

TVXQ (aka Dongbangsingi or Tohoshinki), a two-member Korean boy band popular across Asia, topped Japan’s Oricon Daily chart on Thursday with its new single “Super Star.”TVXQ (Yonhap News)More than 75,000 copies of the new album were sold on the first day it hit the shelves in Japan on Wednesday and nearly 50,000 copies were sold the next day, putting the South Korean boyband on the top of Japan’s

Rescuers break a game machine to get to a young boy trapped inside. (Yonhap News)A boy was rescued from a game machine on the street after allegedly crawling inside in order to get a prize, according to Hanam Fire Station.The 10-year-old, only known by his last name Kim, played on a doll machine, which is activated by controlling an artificial grabber with a joystick to grab prizes. After playing

Amid increasing popularity of Steve Job’s products around the globe, fake Apple stores that pretend to be authentic are opening in China. A motorcyclist passes by a shop masquerading as a bona fide Apple store in downtown Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan province. China (AP-Yonhap News)Not only did the stores in Kunming disguised themselves to be official retail chains, the products sold there

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Arnold Schwarzenegger indicated in a court filing that he does not want to pay wife Maria Shriver spousal support or attorney fees as the couple ends their 25-year marriage. In this Oct. 2, 2009 file photo, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver pose for photos before they meet at the second Governors' Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles. (AP-Yonhap N