Kim Yu-na will begin her quest to repeat as the Olympic figure skating champion on Wednesday, as the ladies' short program takes place at Iceberg Skating Palace.Kim captured the gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics with a record score of 228.56 points. She took an extended hiatus from competition afterward, apparently mulling retirement, but returned with a bang by winning her second world championship in March last year.Last September, she suffered a foot injury that threatened to d

Prosecutors launched a probe into allegations that evidence against a former civil servant accused of spying for North Korea was forged."We will carry out the investigation in a thorough and swift manner," a senior prosecutor said.The announcement came after defense lawyers claimed a key piece of evidence against Yoo Woo-seong -- a Chinese national in North Korea who arrived in South Korea by disguising himself as a North Korean defector -- was fabricated.The 34-year-old suspect was indicted las

With a breathtaking finish, South Korea captured the gold medal in the women's 3,000-meter relay short track at the Sochi Winter Olympics on Tuesday.The team of Cho Ha-ri, Kim A-lang, Park Seung-hi and Shim Suk-hee claimed South Korea's first short track gold medal in Sochi, and its second gold overall. They finished the 27-lap race in 4:09.498.Canada took the silver in 4:10.641 and Italy earned the bronze in 4:14.014. China finished the relay in second place but received a penalty for interfere

The government will unveil a three-year economic growth plan next week that President Geun-hye outlined in her New Year's news conference with a pledge to nearly double South Korea's per capita national income.The announcement will be made in an economic ministers' meeting that Park plans to preside over on Feb. 25, the first anniversary of her inauguration, presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters.The plan was put together jointly by the state-run think tank Korea Development Instit

China on Tuesday praised remarks by South Korean President Park Geun-hye that Seoul is committed to enhancing bilateral relations with Beijing, saying it would help promote peace and stability in the region.   In her New Year's press conference on Monday, Park urged China to further improve bilateral ties. Park held a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping last June during her state visit.   "China highly commends the relevant statement by President Park Geun-hye," China's foreign ministry spo

Overseas orders for Korea's industrial plants shrank slightly from a year earlier in 2013 due to sharp drops in orders from Middle Eastern and American countries, the government said Tuesday.   Overseas orders for the country's industrial plants, including offshore facilities, came to about $63.67 billion last year, down 1.7 percent from 2012, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.   "The local industry can be said to have successfully entered a phase of steady overseas orders

North Korea's deputy ambassador to UNESCO was called back to Pyongyang from Paris on Monday, a diplomatic source said, marking the latest summoning of North Korean diplomats following the recent execution of leader Kim Jong-un's uncle.Hong Yong, the North's deputy permanent delegate to UNESCO, and his wife were spotted at the Beijing airport before boarding an Air Koryo flight earlier in the day, the source said on the condition of anonymity.Last week, the North's ambassador to Sweden, Pak Kwang

A local court on Monday turned down a request from authors of six history textbooks to suspend a controversial government order to amend them for containing ideological bias, allowing the distribution of revised versions to high school students early next year as scheduled.   The Ministry of Education ordered publishers of the books on Dec. 2 to revise 41 parts of their descriptions for containing factual errors and views that could "negatively affect students perspective of history."   Two days

Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co., which has been under a debt workout program, said Monday it has filed for court receivership after its creditors decided not to extend their financial support.The builder said it has asked the Seoul District Court to help reschedule its debts following a decision by the company board in the afternoon.The Korea Exchange is expected to suspend trading of Ssangyong Engineering shares on the tech-heavy junior bourse KOSDAQ."We are faced with a severe financi

여야가 3일 국가정보원 개혁 특위 구성에 합의했다. 또 내년 예산안과 관련 법률안을 올해 안에 합의 처리하기로 하고, 국가기관의 대선개입 의혹 수사를 위한 특검 도입 문제는 추후 계속 논의키로 했다. 여야는 3일 밤 양당 대표, 원내대표 4자 회담을 다시 열어 이같이 합의했다. 새누리당 황우여 대표•최경환 원내대표와 민주당 김한길 대표•전병헌 원내대표는 3일 여야 대치 상황을 풀기 위해 오전과 오후 두 차례에 걸쳐 4자 회담을 가졌으나, 합의점을 찾지 못했다. 하지만, 여야는 오후 8시경 다시 4자 회담을 재개했고, 이 회의에서 국정원 개혁 특위에 전격 합의했다. 여야는 이날 합의에 따라 4일부터 정기국회를 정상화하기로 했다.<관련 영어 기사>Parties agree to normalize parliamentRival parties on Tuesday agreed to form special parliamentary committees on reforming the state spy

TOKYO (AP)— U.S. Vice President Joe Biden voiced strong opposition Tuesday to China's new air defense zone above a set of disputed islands, showing a united front with an anxious Japan as tension in the region simmered.Standing side by side in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Biden said the U.S. is  "deeply concerned" about China's attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the East China Sea."This action has raised regional tensions and increased the risk of accidents and mi

 Samsung Electronics president Shin Jong-kyun and Apple CEO Tim Cook are likely to have a face-to-face meeting over their ongoing patent disputes, news reports said on Wednesday.　The news came after a California district court judge on Tuesday asked Apple and Samsung to hold talks one more time before a new patent infringement trial is scheduled to kick off in March. 　Reports said the two electronic giants agreed to pursue talks by January 8, but did not specify an exact date or location for the

 A senior Chinese official is due in Seoul this weekend for high-level bilateral strategic talks, sources said Wednesday.    Yang Jiechi, China's state councilor who handles foreign affairs, is expected to arrive on Sunday for a three-day visit, according to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because a formal announcement has not yet been made. The visit had been anticipated as a follow-up to the South Korea-China summit agreement in June to establish a dialogue channel on security

South Korea will fly two planes of relief goods to the typhoon-ravaged Philippines this week as part of assistance efforts, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.Two military planes carrying relief goods including food, blankets and hygiene products will head out Thursday morning and arrive in Tacloban -- the area hardest hit by the recent super typhoon -- around 3 p.m., local time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.Seoul earlier this week had pledged to send a 40-man team of res

A Lao airplane crashed Wednesday in the Southeast Asian nation, reportedly killing all 49 passengers and crewmembers aboard, including three South Koreans.The plane crashed into the Mekong River while attempting to land in bad weather at Pakse Airport in Champassak Province in southern Laos, officials said.Lao authorities said there was no report of survivors.State-owned Lao Airlines confirmed the accident, saying its plane was carrying 44 passengers and five crewmembers."There were no news of s

GENEVA(AFP)- Iran and world powers will meet in Geneva in "a few weeks" to continue negotiations over Tehran's controversial nuclear drive, Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday.   "The continuation of the negotiations will be in Geneva in a few weeks," Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on his Facebook page.   Iran, the United States and five other world powers revived stalled nuclear talks in Geneva on Tuesday, with Tehran laying out a road map to end the showdown over its nuclear ambitions.   Negoti

The Doosan Bears edged out the LG Twins 4-2 to open their second round Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) playoff series on Wednesday, capitalizing on a pair of crucial errors from the hot corner.   LG's third baseman Jeong Seong-hoon made two errors that directly led to two of Doosan's three runs in the game at Seoul's Jamsil Stadium, as the Bears opened a 1-0 series in the best-of-five affair.   In the 24 previous best-of-five playoff series, the teams that won the first game advanced to the ch

The South Korean government has added 295 more people to its official list of abductees taken by North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War, a special commission on the issue said Wednesday.   During the 11th meeting of the commission on Korean War abductees, the government confirmed additional Koreans were kidnapped by the communist country, bringing the total number to 2,560.   Notable South Koreans were placed on the list, such as Chung In-bo, a famous scholar of classical Korean studies; Kim

North Korea has established a private organization to develop special economic zones, its media said Wednesday, following toughened business sanctions slapped on the communist country for its nuclear weapons test earlier in the year. The organization, dubbed the Korean economic developmentfederation, aims to support activities of foreign businesses and scholars interested in the special zones in North Korea, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.The regime's news wire added that the organiz

South Korean President Park Geun-hye told U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Monday that Japan should first resolve long-running grievances over its sexual enslavement of Korean women and other colonial-era atrocities if the two neighbors are to build trust and improve ties.   Park made the remark after Hagel talked about the importance of resolving historical problems and other issues between Seoul and Tokyo in order to establish a three-way security cooperation between South Korea, Japan an