The Shinmoedake Volcano erupts on the Southern Japanese Island of Kyushu on Thursday. (Photo: AP-Yonhap)

 WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- North Korea will likely develop intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads within the coming decade, the chief U.S. military officer said Thursday.   "There's little doubt in my mind, unless North Korea is deterred, that sometime in the next, I'm not sure but, five to 10 years, the provocations ... will continue at a much higher threat level,

In this Feb. 13, 2010 file photo, Ion Banner loses control on a giant wave during the first heat of the Mavericks surfing contest in Half Moon Bay, Calif. The cold water and stories high surf at the big, treacherous surf break called Mavericks in Northern California have made it a Mt. Everest-like conquest for some surfers. And like Everest, Mavericks has claimed its share of lives: whether it be

A ferry decorated as a whale leads in the annual Ferry Race during Australia Day celebrations in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011. (AP-Yonhap)

     DOHA (AFP) - Three-time champions Japan reached the Asian Cupfinal after defeating arch-rivals South Korea 3-0 in a nail-biting penaltyshootout in the semi-finals on Tuesday.   Centre-back Yasuyuki Konno netted the decisive penalty, placing the ballinto the right-hand side of the goal, after Koo Ja-Cheol, Lee Yong-Rae and Hong Jeong-Ho had all failed from 12 yards for South Korea.   Japan led

Indian artists perform the classical Kuchipudi dance during a cultural event in Hyderabad, India. The Kuchipudi is a classical dance from the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. (AP-Yonhap)

Newly recruited soldiers of the People's Liberation Army take part in a training session in Yichun, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 21, 2011. Some 150 newly recruited soldiers took part in the training session despite the cold weather. Local temperature in Yichun reached minus 32 degrees centigrade on Friday. (Xinhua-Yonhap)

Portuguese soldiers arrest Somali pirates in 2009. (Yonhap News)   MOGADISHU (AFP) - Somali lawmakers on Tuesday blocked a bill criminalising piracy which was proposed by the justice minister to pave the way for a local tribunal.   The bill finalised last week by the government is meant to beef up Somalia's legal arsenal in prosecuting and detaining pirates, who have so far been mainly tried abroa

   Two light planes collided and crashed in southern South Korea on Friday, leaving two pilots dead, police said.   The mid-air collision happened during training flights at around 9:51 a.m. and the civilian planes went down into road-side rice paddies in the coastal town of Uljin, about 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to police.    The aircraft had taken off from Uljin Airport's flig

The denuclearization of North Korea remains an unexpendable issue for South Korea even as Seoul prepares for talks with Pyongyang over a pair of other security issues, an official said Friday.   The comments by Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung mean that South Korea will continue to press North Korea to agree to separate talks on the nuclear programs the communist state operates.   On T

GM Daewoo Auto & Technology, the South Korean unit of U.S. automaker General Motors Co., said Friday it began producing its new compact multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), the Chevrolet Orlando.   The vehicle will be produced at the GM Daewoo plant in Gunsan, 270 kilometers southwest of Seoul. The Orlando is scheduled to be launched here next month as the first of seven Chevrolet vehicles set to be intro

   WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The United States Thursday welcomed North Korea's proposal for high-level inter-Korean military dialogue to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula after the North's shelling of a front-line island and torpedoing of a South Korean warship last year.   "I think following that, the Republic of Korea agreeing to enter talks with the North Koreans -- clearly, conditions were cr

 YOUNG OPINION LEADERS -- About 200 teenagers took part in the second Young Opinion Leaders' Knowledge Forum hosted by The Herald Media to meet with renowned experts in foreign affairs, economy, law and the environment. German Ambassador Hans-Ulrich Seidt spoke about the 20 years since Germany's reunification and Indian Minister to Korea Jeeva Sagar described the changing relations between Korea a

   WASHINGTON  -- The United States and China Wednesday called on North Korea to stop provocations and abide by its denuclearization pledge.U.S. President Obama (right) and Chinese President Hu Jintao attend a joint news conference at the White House after summit talks on Wednesday. (AP-Yonhap)   Speaking at a joint press conference at the White House withChinese President Hu Jintao, U.S. Presiden

The number of people working less than 18 hours a week in South Korea exceeded 1 million for the first time last year, data showed Wednesday, indicating that employment conditions remained tough for many despite an economic recovery.   According to the data provided by Statistics Korea, people working for 1-17 hours a week totaled 1.056 million at the end of last year, up 9.7 percent from a year e

Prosecutors have requested a warrant to arrest Taekwang Group chairman Lee Ho-jin on charges of creating a slush fund with company money, officials said Wednesday.The 49-year-old Lee is suspected of pocketing 42.4 billion won (US$38 million) of company money by padding out deals and paychecks, and causing financial damage to his company by buying affiliate companies' shares and golf clubs located

   WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The White House said Tuesday North Korea will be among the major topics at the crucial Sino-U.S. summit here Wednesday. Also high on the agenda are Iran's nuclear ambitions, the Chinese currency yuan's revaluation and human rights.   "There are a whole host of issues and topics that we anticipate that the two leaders will discuss tomorrow before meeting with you guys," Ro

The atmospheric concentration of dust particles in Seoul hit 49 micrograms per cubic meter on average last year, an all-time low since the air pollution test was started in 1995, the city government said Wednesday, indicating a steady improvement in the capital's air quality.   The capital's dust density level has fallen for the third consecutive year after peaking at 61 micrograms per cubic meter

The number of full-time stay-at-home dads in South Korea has jumped over the past five years as more women enter the workforce, replacing men in many professional jobs, data showed Wednesday.   The number of househusbands, who stay at home to do household chores, totaled 156,000 at the end of last year, up 34.5 percent from 116,000 in 2005, according to the data offered by Statistics Korea.    The

   DOHA (AFP) - South Korea marched into the Asian Cup quarter-finals with a 4-1 defeat of an obdurate India in their final Group C game at a sodden Al Gharafa Stadium on Tuesday.   Beneath pouring rain, the Koreans established a quick-fire 2-0 lead through Ji Dong-Won and Koo Ja-Cheol before striker Sunil Chhetri brought India backinto the game from the penalty spot.   Ji swiftly restored the Tae