The traditional Korean marital art of taekwondo will remain an Olympic sport for the foreseeable future after surviving the latest scrutiny by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), officials here said Tuesday.At the IOC Executive Board meeting, taekwondo was kept on as one of 25 "core sports" in the Summer Olympic program. Out of 26 sports competed at the London Games, the IOC board decided to drop wrestling.Mark Adams, the IOC spokesman, told reporters that the decision was reached through

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi expressed firm opposition against North Korea's latest nuclear test Tuesday and called for the North's return to suspended six-party denuclearization talks, China's foreign ministry said. According to a statement posted on the ministry's Web site, Yang called in North Korean ambassador to Beijing Ji Jae-ryong and displayed China’s strong dissatisfaction and stern opposition toward North Korea's third nuclear test conducted earlier in the day. Yang urged North

U.S. President Barack Obama and his South Korean counterpart, President Lee Myung-bak, on Tuesday pledged unswerving unity in coping with North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile threats.In a phone conversation with Lee, Obama also agreed to work together on several measures to punish Pyongyang for its continued provocative acts and to curb its drive for weapons of mass destruction, according to the White House."They agreed to work closely together, including at the United Nations Security Co

Soccer is falling under a cloud of suspicion as never before, sullied by a multibillion-dollar web of match-fixing that is corrupting increasingly larger parts of the world's most popular sport. Internet betting, emboldened criminal gangs and even the economic downturn have created conditions that make soccer _ or football, as the sport is called around the world _ a lucrative target. Known as “the beautiful game” for its grace, athleticism and traditions of fair play, soccer is under threat of

 북한이 핵실험을 12일 결국 강행함에 따라 한반도가 또다시 격랑에 휩싸이게 됐다.향후 지역 정세는 어디로 향할지 예측하기 어려운 '시계 제로'의 형국이 됐다.핵실험을 하면 중대조치를 하겠다고 예고한 국제사회의 추가 대북 제재조치, 이에 맞선 북한의 후속 도발이 악순환으로 이어질 경우 한반도는 일촉즉발의 초긴장 국면으로 진입할 가능성도 있다. 반면 긴장의 급격한 수위 고조 후 극적으로 대화의 물꼬가 열릴 수 있다는 관측 도 나오는 유동성이 큰 상황이다.당장은 유엔 제재와 북한의 반발이 맞물리면서 대립이 격화되는 방향으로 상황이 전개될 전망이다.유엔 안보리는 북한이 3차 실험을 강행한 직후 12일 오전 9시(한국시간 12일 오 후 11시)에 긴급회의를 소집했다.국제사회는 이미 유엔 결의 2087호를 통해 북한의 추가도발시 중대 조치를 취하겠다는 점을 분명히 해왔다. 유엔 안보리에서의 대북조치 논의는 매우 빠른 속도로 진행될 것으로 전망된다.북한의 로켓 발사에 대응해 채택된 이 결의는

South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye strongly condemned North Korea's nuclear test Tuesday, saying the incoming government will not tolerate a nuclear-armed North, her spokeswoman said."I strongly condemn North Korea's third nuclear test that was carried out in spite of strong warnings from us and the international community," Park said in a statement read by her spokeswoman Cho Yoon-sun. "North Korea's nuclear test is a grave threat to the Korean Peninsula and international peace, hampers

North Korea carried out an apparent nuclear test Tuesday, its third, despite numerous appeals and warnings to desist.Here are some questions and answers about the country's nuclear weapons program, which has grown over the decades despite ever-tighter UN sanctions:Q. Is North Korea a nuclear weapons state?A. No, or at least not yet. It conducted confirmed nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. Both were believed to be fairly crude plutonium devices with relatively low yields, and the 2006 test was wide

South Korean civic groups and citizens expressed grave concern over the nuclear test by North Korea on Tuesday, urging the Seoul government to deal more sternly with the communist neighbor."North Korea should be held responsible for bringing about extreme tension in Northeast Asia," Kim Sam-soo, an official at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, said.Kim also stressed that the incoming Seoul government should continuously urge Pyongyang to abide by all U.N. Security Council resolutions

The South Korean government entered emergency mode by stepping up the security alert level and fully activating diplomatic channels to discuss countermeasures following North Korea’s defiant nuclear test Tuesday.Outgoing and incoming presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye met at 3 p.m. in Cheong Wa Dae for discussion upon Pyongyang’s nuclear test in Kilju County despite vehement warnings by the international community.“It is deemed that the North is attempting to raise anxiety among our gove

U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday that North Korea's "provocative" nuclear test did not make it more secure and called for "swift" and "credible" international action in response.Obama also vowed in a written statement that Washington would remain vigilant in the face of the underground detonation by the Stalinist state and steadfast in its defense commitments to its allies in Asia."These provocations do not make North Korea more secure," Obama said."Far from achieving its stated goal of

The power of the device used in North Korea’s third nuclear test fell short of expectations based on Pyongyang’s earlier statements, fueling concerns for further tests.“If it was a high-standard test North Korea claimed, it should have been more than 10 kilotons, but it fell short of that mark. It is lower even than the explosive power (Seoul) has been estimating” an anonymous military official was quoted as by local news agency. The high-standard test refers to Pyongyang’s Jan. 24 threat of con

Calls are growing for South Korea to map out a more effective, stronger deterrence strategy against North Korea after it carried out a third nuclear test on Tuesday in defiance of international warnings.Military strategists argue Seoul should devise a fresh military approach to fend off the threat such as developing its nuclear deterrence capability and strategic, asymmetrical weapons systems including special operations forces and stealth combat aircraft.But others say Seoul should maintain its

North Korea on Tuesday conducted a third nuclear test, more powerful than the previous, in its northeast village of Punggye-ri, triggering international condemnation and warnings of tougher sanctions. The Seoul government said the explosive power of the test was around 6-7 kilotons -- stronger than its two previous tests but far weaker than the “Little Boy” atomic bomb the U.S. dropped in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945.The North’s nuclear explosions in 2006 and in 2009 were 1 kiloton and around 2-6 k

South Korea condemned North Korea's third nuclear test as a violation of U.N. resolutions, an "unacceptable threat" to peace and stability in the region and a "head-on challenge" to the international community.The government also warned that Pyongyang will be seriously held accountable for its defiance in an official statement issued after President Lee Myung-bak held an emergency meeting of the National Security Council. Lee was also to meet with President-elect Park Geun-hye to discuss the sec

North Korea's third nuclear test looks likely to set back any new diplomatic drive from the United States, which had seen glimmers of hope with the new cast of leaders in the region.The renewed crisis comes just as all three key regional players -- China, Japan and South Korea -- go through transitions to leaders who in varying ways have hinted they are seeking new ways to handle the regional pariah.U.S. President Barack Obama has made engagement a key priority in his foreign policy, but had lar

South Koreans who reside in the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea were confirmed to be safe amid growing tension in the wake of North Korea’s third nuclear test Tuesday. “No unusual situation has been found in the district yet after the North’s nuclear test,“ an official from the Ministry of Unification said. Currently, 163 South Koreans are said to be staying in the Gaeseong industrial area as many of the residing workers came back home to spend the Lunar New Year holiday with their fa

South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan telephoned U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday and they agreed to take "swift and unified" action at the U.N. Security Council over North Korea's third nuclear test, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. North Korea's state media confirmed that it has successfully carried out a third nuclear test, using a miniaturized device that yielded a greater explosive force than previous tests. South Korea condemned the test as a violation of U.N. Secu

North Korea ignored a "strong warning" from China against staging its suspected nuclear weapon test, a UN diplomat said, as the Security Council planned emergency crisis talks for Tuesday.The 15-nation council warned the North in a resolution passed last month that it would take "significant" action in the event of a new test or missile launch, and the body has called an emergency session for 9:00 am (1400 GMT).The United States and South Korea, the council president for February, had both calle

South Korea's economic policymakers beefed up their market monitoring and held emergency meetings on Tuesday to gauge the impact of a suspected nuclear test by North Korea.Authorities detected an unusually powerful seismic tremor near the North's nuclear site in its northeast shortly before noon Tuesday. Experts believe that it could be a sign that the North has conducted its third nuclear test in defiance of repeated international warnings.The news sent economic policymakers rushing to convene

North Korea's blast was similar to previous nuclear tests, the Vienna-based monitoring agency CTBTO said early Tuesday, slamming it as a potential threat to international security."The event shows explosion-like characteristics and its location is roughly congruent with the 2006 and 2009 DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) nuclear tests," agency chief Tibor Toth said in a statement. "For now, further data and analysis are necessary to establish what kind of event this is," he added."If