The South Korean foreign ministry issued on Monday a travel alert to Sudan, advising travelers there to leave the African nation troubled with anti-government protests.   "Considering anti-government protests spreading in places like Khartoum and Omdurman and an increasing number of casualties from the Sudanese government's crackdown, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a special travel alert in the entire Sudan region starting Monday," the ministry's statement said.   South Koreans who a

Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., a major South Korean drug maker, said Monday it has signed a deal with Evolus, a U.S. biotech venture, in a bid to sell its Botox products in the U.S. and European markets beginning as early as 2016.The deal is designed to start regulatory processes for approval of botulinum toxin type A in the U.S. and European markets, according to Daewoong.Daewoong said it will export botulinum toxin type A, which will be marketed as Nabota, while Evolus will be in charge of clini

BEIJING-- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged his South Korean counterpart to reopen long-stalled multilateral nuclear talks with North Korea, state media said Saturday.   Wang made the appeal at a bilateral meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, China's Xinhua news agency reported.   After conducting its third nuclear test earlier this year, North Korea has expressed its willingness to return to the six-party tal

박근혜 대통령이 ‘혼외 아들’ 의혹으로 사의를 표명한 채동욱 검찰총장의 사표를 수리했다. 박 대통령은 당초 채 총장이 혼외 아들과 관련해 해명하고 의혹을 벗기를 바란다고 전했으나, 법무부가 각종 의혹을 사실로 인정할 만한 근거를 밝힌 상태에서 검찰 수장 자리를 더 이상 공백으로 방치하기 어렵다고 판단, 채 총장의 사표를 수리했다고 청와대가 28일 밝혔다.법무부는 하루 전인 27일 긴급 브리핑을 열어 사의를 표명한 채 총장에 대한 진상 조사에서 ‘혼외아들 의혹’을 사실로 인정할 만한 정황이 다수 확보 됐다면서 박 대통령에게 채 총장의 사표 수리를 건의했다.앞서 채 총장은 조선일보가 ‘혼외아들 의혹’을 제기한 지 1주일만인 지난 13일 전격 사의를 표명했지만, 박 대통령은 ‘진실규명이 우선’이라며 사표를 수리하지 않았다.이정현 청와대 홍보수석은 28일 아침 브리핑에서 "대통령께서는 채동욱 검찰총장의 사표를 수리하지 않으면서 본인이 조사에 응해서 자신의 모든 것을 해명하고 의혹을 걷기를

President Park Geun-hye accepted on Saturday the resignation of the country's top prosecutor, the presidential office said.Park accepted the resignation by Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook, who allegedly fathered a son in an extramarital affair in 2002, on concerns that a prolonged absence of a top prosecutor is feared to hamper operations of the prosecution, according to an official at the presidential office. The decision came after the Justice Ministry advised Friday Cheong Wa Dae to accept

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The United States and Iran took a historic step toward ending more than three decades of estrangement on Friday when President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke by phone and agreed to work on resolving global suspicions that Tehran is trying to build a nuclear weapon.   The 15-minute call capped a week of seismic shifts in the relationship that revolved around Rouhani's participation in the annual U.N. meeting of world leaders. The night before the two lea

WASHINGTON- The Obama administration puts a "significant priority" on the North Korean nuclear problem and the communist nation has not shown any signs that it is serious about denuclearization talks, top U.S. officials said Friday.   Daniel Russel, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said Pyongyang is trying to "have its cake and eat it, too."   The communist nation appears to be seeking economic support from the West but it also wants to be allowed to retain its nu

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Friday night to secure and destroy Syria's chemical weapons stockpile, a landmark decision aimed at taking poison gas off the battlefield in the escalating 2 1/2-year conflict.The vote after two weeks of intense negotiations marked a major breakthrough in the paralysis that has gripped the council since the Syrian uprising began. Russia and China previously vetoed three Western-backed resolutions pressuring President Bashar Assad'

In an unusually speedy manner, the nation's spy agency on Wednesday arrested a leftist lawmaker on charges of plotting to overthrow the government, putting it a step closer to launching a prosecution probe into the scandal.Rep. Lee Seok-ki of the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party (UPP) is accused of leading a secret organization with suspected links to North Korea. The so-called Revolutionary Organization (RO) allegedly devised plans to destroy key infrastructure facilities in the South

BEIJING-- China's foreign ministry on Wednesday confirmed that a senior U.S. diplomat will make a two-day visit to Beijing late next week, indicating that the topics would include the latest situation on the Korean Peninsula.   Daniel Russel, the assistant U.S. secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, will make a 10-day visit to five nations in Asia from Thursday. His itinerary includes South Korea, Japan and China.   Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters that Russel will pay

(URGENT) Spy agency detains leftist lawmaker on rebellion plot charge

More than 7,780 South Koreans have been infected with HIV, the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), health authorities said Wednesday.   The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said 9,410 South Korean were diagnosed with HIV between 1985 and 2012. Among them, 1,622 people died.   Last year, 808 South Korean men and 60 South Korean women were newly infected with HIV. The KCDC said 541 out of 868 HIV carriers became infected through sexual contact.   The

TOKYO (AP)-The operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant said Tuesday it is struggling with its latest efforts to stop contaminated underground water leaks from running into the sea.Tokyo Electric Power Co. said that some of the water was seeping over or around a ``liquid glass wall'' it has created by injecting chemicals into the soil that solidify into a wall.The latest problem involves underground water which has built up over the last month, since the company started creating the

 ULSAN-- The union of South Korea's largestcarmaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday its talks with the management over a nearly three-month-old wage deal collapsed, a move that may lead to a strike.   Kwon Oh-il, a spokesman for the Hyundai union, said 45,000 unionized workers plan to vote on Aug. 13 on whether to go on strike, which requires majority approval from union members.   The union demanded a hike of 130,498 won ($117) in basic salaries and an extension of the retirement age to 61, as w

WASHINGTON (AP) --The U.S. State Department on Tuesday ordered non-essential personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen to leave the country following the threat by al-Qaida that has caused temporary shutdowns of 19 American diplomatic posts across the Middle East and Africa.The department said in a travel warning that it had ordered the evacuation ``due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks'' and said U.S. citizens in Yemen should leave immediately because of an ``extremely high'' securi

BEIJING(Yonhap)-- China, North Korea's foremost ally and its biggest trading partner, is trying "very hard" to exert its influence in persuading the North to abandon its nuclear weapons program, a former Chinese diplomat said Tuesday.Ruan Zongze, now vice president of the China Institute of International Studies, said, however, that he expects no major policy changes toward North Korea by China's new leadership,despite Beijing's growing frustration with its unpredictable ally.China's patience wi

South Korea played China to a scoreless draw at the East Asian Cup football tournament here on Wednesday.At Hwaseong Stadium in Gyeonggi Province, south of Seoul, South Korea played its second straight scoreless draw at the regional competition, as the Chinese crowded their own zone and often outnumbered South Korean attackers inside the box.South Korea, which drew Australia 0-0 last Saturday, will close out the tournament against Japan on Sunday in Seoul. China's final match will be against Aus

State prosecutors on Wednesday raided some 30 companies that are suspected of having been involved in the provision of substandard reactor parts by falsifying quality warranties.The raid was made as part of the prosecution probe into a corruption scandal late last year in which more than 13,000 substandard parts were supplied to nuclear reactors under fake warranties over the past 10 years. The government had to stop six reactors after they were found to be using parts with fake warranties."We'v

MOSCOW (AP)--The National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden has been given a document that allows him to leave the transit zone of a Moscow airport and enter Russia, Russia's state news agency said Wednesday. Snowden applied for temporary asylum in Russia last week after his attempts to leave the airport and fly out of Russia were thwarted. The United States wants him sent home to face prosecution for espionage. Snowden, who revealed details  of NSA's wide-ranging spying activities targeting

LONDON (AP)--A closely watched survey has raised hopes that the laggard of the global economy, the 17-country eurozone, may be growing again.Financial information company Markit said Wednesday that its monthly purchasing managers' index, a broad gauge of economic activity, for the eurozone rose for the fourth month running, to 50.4 points in July from 48.7 the previous month. The increase reflected improvements in both the manufacturing and services sectors.That's the first time that the survey