A Seoul court ordered a high school teacher to pay damages for hitting a student on the hands, giving her bruises and inflammations, officials said Friday.   The Seoul Northern District Court ordered the 52-year-old female teacher, identified only by her surname, No, to pay her former student 2.54 million won ($2,280) in compensation and medical expenses, court officials said.   The student, ident

 About 200 people forced their way into a South Korean-run construction site in Libya, and half of them are still occupying the site, the foreign ministry said Friday.   Discontent over the government's housing policy is believed to be a reason for the intrusion in Derna in eastern Libya at around 12:30 a.m. (local time) Thursday, the ministry said. A similar incident happened at the same site las

   WASHINGTON -- The United States Thursday warned of further provocations from North Korea within months as part of the ongoing effort by leader Kim Jong-il to cede power to his youngest son.   Adm. Robert Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, however, told a forum here that he saw "no signs that I'm aware of that they're preparing for near-term missile tests."   Reports said that North

 The European Parliament approved a free trade pact with South Korea on Thursday, bringing it one step closer to coming into force this July, diplomatic sources said.   The trade accord, adopted in Strasbourg, France, during the European Parliament's plenary session, is the most ambitious free trade pact the European Union (EU) has so far negotiated, and the first of its kind with an Asian country

  Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest flat-screen TV maker, said Thursday it released a new line of full HD smart 3D televisions that help viewers get better access to online content and use social networking services.   The smart TV line, which comes in 46-inch and 55-inch, is part of Samsung's attempt to grab a larger share of the blooming smart TV market. Samsung aims to sell 12 millio

  A South Korean sailor from a fishing vessel freed recently from Somali pirates apparently fell to his death from his hotel in Kenya on Wednesday, a foreign ministry official said.   Kim Yong-hyun, 68, one of the 43 crew members of the Keummi 305 released last week after four months in the hands of Somali pirates, died at 2:25 a.m. Wednesday (local time) apparently after falling from his third-fl

 South Korea's financial regulator on Thursday suspended operations of the country's biggest savings bank and one of its affiliates due to capital shortages triggered by mounting insolvent construction project financing (PF) loans.    The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it suspended Busan Savings Bank, the top savings bank by assets based in the port city of Busan, and its affiliate Daeje

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles pose a serious threat to the United States, the chief U.S. intelligence official said Wednesday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his son Jong-un attend a ceremony marking the 65th founding anniversary of the Workers’ Party in Pyongyang on Oct. 10. (Yonhap News)"North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs also pose a seri

   South Korean stocks started higher on Thursday as investor sentiment got a boost from Wall Street gains sparked by growing optimism about the U.S. economic recovery, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 11.36 points, or 0.57 percent, to trade at 2,000.47 in the first 15 minutes of trading.   Tech shares were in focus with market leader Samsung Electr

   WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The Obama administration is committed to pass through Congress pending free trade deals with South Korea, Panama and Colombia this year, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday.   "We would like to pass all of them, alongside trade adjustment assistance, and we want to do it this year," Geithner told a Senate Finance Committee hearing. "They're overwhelmingly i

 Park Geun-hye, former chairwoman of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), said Wednesday that President Lee Myung-bak will have to assume full responsibility for his possible attempt to review his election pledge to build an "international science-business belt" in the central Chungcheong province.  Park, a leading presidential hopeful who has frequently clashed with Lee over key state policies,

Samsung Electronics unveiled the upgraded versions of its flagship smartphone Galaxy S and its tablet PC Galaxy Tab for the first time in an event held a day before the launch of the global mobile industry show in Barcelona on Sunday.In an event called “Samsung Mobile Unpack,” the world’s second-largest handset maker presented Galaxy S 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1, while designating 2011 as the year of s

   A South Korean fishing vessel, freed by Somali pirates after four months of captivity, is expected to arrive at a Kenyan port this week en route to South Korea, a government official here said Sunday.   "The ship, Keummi 305, is currently passing through international waters at 8-knot average speed after receiving fuel supply from a Finnish warship belonging to a fleet of the European Union," t

   North Korea's foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has spread across many parts of the country after the first case was confirmed in the capital city on Dec. 25, a U.S. broadcaster said Sunday.   Radio Free Asia (RFA), quoting a report by the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health, said the communist country confirmed that since the first case hit a small cattle farm in Pyongyang, the highly

Thousands demand reforms in Algeria; 400 arrestedALGIERS, Algeria (AP) -- Heavily outnumbered by riot police, thousands of Algerians have defied government warnings and dodged barricades to rally in their capital, demanding democratic reforms a day after mass protests toppled Egypt's autocratic ruler.   Protesters chanting ``No to the police state!'' and brandishing signs that read ``Give us back

  Nearly half of North Korean defectors here have remitted money to their families in the impoverished communist nation under U.N. sanctions, a poll showed Sunday.   According to the survey of 396 North Korean defectors residing in South Korea, aged 15 or older, 49.5 percent said they have sent money to their families in the North, while 46 percent said they have not and 4.5 percent said that they

  Prices of many daily necessities increased in January despite government efforts to fight rising inflation, a report by the state-run consumer protection watchdog showed Sunday.   The report by the Korea Consumer Agency showed that of the 80 everyday consumer necessities monitored such as sugar, cereals and detergents, prices for 53 of the products, or 66.3 percent, went up in the cited month co

  A South Korean fishing vessel released from four months of captivity in Somalia met with a European Union warship in international waters and all crew members were confirmed safe, Seoul's foreign ministry said.   The 241-ton trawler Keummi 305 and its 43 crew members were freed Wednesday four months after the vessel was seized by Somali pirates on Oct. 9. The crew consisted of two Koreans, two C

   The Air Force said Wednesday that it is deploying satellite-guided joint direct attack munitions (JDAMs) on its KF-16 fighter jets, enhancing the capability to neutralize long-range North Korean artillery.   The South Korean Air Force has been working with the U.S. military since 2008 to modify the KF-16's computer systems to carry the all-weather "smart" bombs guided by an internal navigation

   GM Daewoo Auto & Technology, the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., introduced Wednesday its new seven-seat, multi-purpose vehicle, the Chevrolet Orlando, in South Korea.   "We are carving out a new segment in the market with the Orlando," said Mike Arcamone, president and CEO of GM Daewoo, defining the vehicle as South Korea's first Active Life Vehicle (ALV). The Chevrolet Orlando (Yonha