South Korea, the United States and Japan plan to hold talks in Hawaii this week to boost military coordination in dealing with North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities, a JCS officer here said Monday.   The meeting among Adm. Choi Yun-hee, Gen. Martin Dempsey, and Gen. Shigeru Iwasaki will be held on the island on Wednesday on the sidelines of the biannual Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) training, according to the officer.    "Joint preparedness against North Korea's nuclear and missile progra

Ruling and opposition lawmakers will launch a probe into April's deadly ferry sinking this week, visiting families of the victims at a port near the shipwreck site, officials close to the investigation said Sunday.A total of 18 members of the special parliamentary committee in charge of the probe will arrive at the port of Paengmok, on Jindo Island, on Monday afternoon, they said.The lawmakers are scheduled to meet with relatives of more than300 victims of the disaster to listen to their opinion

Search operations for passengers missing from April's deadly sinking of the ferry Sewol will be put on hold for the next three days following the death of a civilian diver and bad weather, officials said Sunday."Based on weather conditions, we expect the search operations will be suspended from Monday to Wednesday," Koh Myung-suk, a senior Coast Guard official of the government's disaster response team, told a press briefing.Amid little progress over the past two weeks in finding the 16 people s

South Korea said Thursday that Japan should dispel doubts and concerns shared by its neighboring countries as it moves closer to exercising the right to "collective self-defense."   Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a review of the interpretation of the pacifist constitution that has banned Japan from exercising the right to collective self-defense. The right would allow Tokyo to fight alongside its allies and beyond its borders.   Seoul's foreign ministry said that Japan's move shou

The United Nations would discuss additional measures to punish North Korea for its recent ballistic missile launches, a South Korean envoy to the international body said Thursday.   Last week, the communist country fired off two medium-range Rodonng ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, the first such launches in four years, in what appeared to be a show of force in defiance of ongoing Seoul-Washington military exercises.    The move, which followed a series of short-range rocket l

   BEIJING (Yonhap) -- China's state-run newspaper called on North Korea Thursday to "abandon illusions" about its defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons, warning that a fresh nuclear test would only deepen isolation.    The Global Times published the editorial days after North Korea threatened to carry out a "new form" of nuclear test, more than a year after its third nuclear test heightened tension and strained ties with its key ally China.    In unusually harsh language, the newspaper said North

   BRUSSELS (AP) -- Russia will face sanctions over its military incursion in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula unless it withdraws its troops or engages in credible talks to defuse the situation, European leaders said Thursday.     ``We need to send a very clear message to the Russian government that what has happened is unacceptable and should have consequences,'' British Prime Minister David Cameron said as he arrived at an emergency meeting of the bloc's 28 leaders in Brussels.     But leaders app

   BEIJING Yonhap) -- China expressed "concern" on Thursday over North Korea's firing of an artillery shell that happened minutes before a Chinese passenger jet passed through the trajectory of the shell.    North Korea has fired short-range missiles for days into the East Sea and launched a volley of artillery shells into the sea on Tuesday, in an apparent show of force against ongoing joint military drills between South Korea and the U.S.    Minutes after North Korea fired an artillery shell i

   SEJONG (Yonhap) -- South Korea's nuclear safety commission on Thursday resumed the operation of a nuclear reactor in the southeastern region that was shut down eight days ago due to what has been identified as damaged parts.   "It has been confirmed that the reactor had been shut down as two of the 73 control cards that operate control rods were damaged," the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said in a released statement.   The Reactor Unit 5 at the Hanul Nuclear Power Plant in Uljin, 33

현대그룹이 주축 계열사인 현대증권을 비롯해 금융계열사 3개사를 매각한다.현대그룹은 계열사와 자산 처분을 통해 총 3조3천억원 이상의 자금을 확보할 계획이다.현대그룹은 이 같은 선제적 자구안으로 최근 시장에서 제기된 현대그룹의 유동성 문제를 해소할 방침이라고 22일 밝혔다.현대그룹은 우선 현대증권, 현대자산운용, 현대저축은행 등 금융계열사를 모두 매각, 금융업에서 철수하기로 했다.금융계열사 매각으로 7천억원에서 1조원 이상의 자금을 조달할 예정이다.금융계열사 매각 방식은 SPC(특수목적회사) 설립을 통해 진행할 예정이다. SPC를 세워 금융계열사 등의 자산을 이전시키고 세부적인 매각방안과 절차는 주채권은행인 산업은행을 비롯한 금융권과 협의해 진행할 예정이라고 현대그룹은 설명했다.또 현대상선이 보유한 항만터미널사업 일부 지분을 매각하고 벌크 전용선 부문의 사업구조를 조정해 약 1조5천억원을 조달할 방침이다.이밖에 서울 장충동 반얀트리호텔도 매각하기로 했다. 반얀트리호텔 매각으로 3천40

   MEXICO CITY -- Authorities said Saturday that they broke up a trafficking ring that brought foreigners, mostly Asians, into Mexico intent on smuggling them into the United States.   Prosecutors said they detained seven Mexicans and three Bangladeshis accused of moving the migrants to Mexico's northern border with the United States at a huge cost and in grim conditions.   The migrants came from places like India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan, as well as Iran and Somalia, officials said.   Th

정부는 외국인력정책위원회(위원장 김동연 국무조정실장)를 열어 내년 외국인력(E-9) 도입규모를 5만3천명으로 확정했다고 22일 밝혔다.올해 체류기간이 끝나 귀국 예정인 근로자 대체인력(1만7천명)과 중소기업의 추가 인력 수요 3만6천명을 반영한 규모로, 2013년 대비 3천명 늘었다.업종별로는 내국인 구인에 어려움을 겪는 제조업(4만2천250명), 농축산업(6천명), 어업(2천300명)에 집중적으로 배정했다.신규입국자는 4만7천400명, 재입국자는 5천600명이다.<관련 영문 기사>Korea to permit 53,000 foreign laborers next year　　By Suk Gee-hyun　　Korea will allow about 53,000 migrant workers under the non-professional employment (E-9) visa next year, an increase of 3,000 from this year, the Ministry of E

  More than 100 striking railway workers were taken into custody Sunday after the police forced their way into a union office with tear gas to round them up for questioning.   Some 600 police officers were deployed to raid the headquarters of a militant labor umbrella group, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), in central Seoul around 11 a.m. to arrest union leaders of the state-run Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) who have been defying summons by prosecutors.     The unionists fought b

 South Korea will intensify its monitoring of patent right abuse in the software sector in order to prevent reckless lawsuits from hampering technology development in one of the fast-growing markets, the head of the country's antitrust watchdog said.   "We will closely monitor unfair business activities, including patent right abuse, which is regarded as a stumbling block to developing technologies in the software sector. We will consider related measures," Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman N

 Mid-sized drug manufacturer Samil Pharm Co. has been charged with offering massive illegal kickbacks to doctors and hospitals, state prosecutors said Sunday.   The pharmaceutical company is suspected of giving what in the industry is known as "rebates" worth some 3.25 billion won ($3.1 million) to a total of 1,132 doctors and officials from 894 hospitals across the country in exchange for prescribing its products, they said.   Wrapping up an intensive eight-month probe, prosecutors said they ha

 The vice chairman of retail giant Shinsegae Group was cleared of suspicions that he ordered an illegal surveillance of his employees to block them from organizing a labor union, state prosecutors said Sunday.   Chung Yong-jin has been investigated over allegations that the nation's largest discount outlet E-Mart, run by Shinsegae, systemically attempted to undermine the organization of a labor union through various illegal methods.   Wrapping up a five-month probe, the Seoul Central District Pr

LG Electronics will debut three new smart audio-video gadgets at next month's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the company said Sunday.   The new products include a wireless multi-room home audio system that can link all speakers for hi-fi dual-band sound streaming and a 4.1 channel 320-watt sound bar that includes subwoofers.   The company will also debut a 320-watt TV-top sound plate that features a wireless subwoofer and 4.1 channels. The product measures 39.5 millimeters in thic

Hyundai Group said Sunday it would secure around 3.3 trillion won ($3.1 billion) in emergency funds by selling its three financial units, including Hyundai Securities Co. This is part of its efforts to address the recent liquidity concerns in the market. “Though we have enough cash for the first half of next year, we have taken strong measures to ease the concerns of the market,” a Hyundai spokesman said. “We have repeatedly pondered the sale of financial organizations, which are among Hyundai G

South Korean rapper Psy's music video, "Gentleman," surpassed the 600 million view mark on YouTube Friday.   The video has attracted more than 600.40 million hits since it was released in April, according to the video-sharing website.    The milestone was reached more than four months after the video broke the 500 million mark on July 31.   "Gentleman" had set a world record as the most-watched online video in a single day upon its release, breaking 100 million views in the shortest period of ti

GENEVA (AFP) -- Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in a breakthrough deal Sunday that world powers claimed was the biggest step in decade-long efforts to deny Tehran an atomic bomb.Tehran boasted that the agreement, which offers Iran limited sanctions relief, recognised its right to enrich uranium -- which it says is for peaceful purposes -- but Washington denied the deal made any such reference.Israel slammed the deal as an "historic mistake" failing to ensure the Islamic republic could