Colombia's congress has postponed its decision on the ratification of a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea, apparently reflecting a worsening public sentiment toward free trade deals in the Latin American country, a government official here said Thursday.The recent failure by Colombia's Chamber of Representatives to ratify the South Korea-Colombia FTA came shortly after the Colombian senate, the upper house of congress, approved the bilateral trade pact.The official, who spoke on condit

South Korean rapper Psy's new single, "Hangover," landed in 26th place on the Billboard singles chart to be released soon, the U.S. music magazine that runs the chart said Wednesday.The single featuring American hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg was ranked No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, showing strength in the streaming category, according to Billboard.com. The weekly chart will be updated on Thursday (on U.S. local time).This made Psy the first Asian singer whose three songs were included in the top

Nearly 119 million pieces of personal data were found to have been leaked from major local firms and the government over the past two years and eight months, a government report showed Thursday.A total of 118.64 million files containing personal information have been stolen since the law on protecting personal information came into force in September 2011, according to the home ministry report.The report released by Rep. Lee No-gun of the ruling Saenuri Party showed that a total of 42 cases of d

The World Food Programme (WFP) has decided to curtail its nutrition program for North Korean babies and pregnant women by about 30 percent due to a lack of funding, a U.S. report said Thursday.The WFP is operating the two-year nutrition program worthUS$200 million in North Korea through 2015, targeting 2.4 million children under the age of 5 as well as pregnant women.But a lack of funding seemed to lead the U.N. food agency to decide to reduce the operation of its nutrition program, according to

Striker Mario Mandzukic scored two second-half goals as Croatia knocked 10-man Cameroon out of the World Cup with a 4-0 rout in Manaus on Wednesday. Cameroon's Pierre Webo (left) and Croatia's Dejan Lovren challenge for the ball during the group A World Cup soccer match between Cameroon and Croatia at the Arena da Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil, Wednesday, June 18, 2014. (AP-Yonhap)Croatia bounced back from their opening defeat to hosts Brazil to keep alive their hopes of progressing from Group A wi

SM Entertainment, the nation’s largest management agency, said Wednesday that it will embark on an “SM Town Live” tour that will start in Seoul on Aug. 15. A slew of K-pop sensations under the label -- EXO, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, BoA and f(x) -- will join the collective tour. The artists will sing their hit songs and stage joint performances to enthrall fans around the globe. “SM Town Live,” a concert tour series that commenced in 2008, has made a splash in the major citi

South Korean singer and actor Lee Seung-gi will make his screen debut with “Woman of Three Men,” according to local news reports on Wednesday.  (Yonhap)“Lee Seung-gi will accept the male lead in the film ‘Woman of Three Men’ if the plan goes well,” a film insider told entertainment news outlet Star N. Directed by Park Jin-pyo, the rom-com will follow the story of three male friends who happen to fall in love with the same woman, who works as a TV weather forecaster, played by Korean actress Moon

Amazon stages a mystery unveiling -- widely expected to be a smartphone -- on Wednesday to delve into a super competitive market dominated by Apple and Samsung.The company has given a hint as to what is in store and invited a small group of media to the Seattle event to be hosted by Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos.The announcement contained an image of what appeared to be the edge of a smartphone -- a device long rumored to be in the works by the Seattle, Washington firm, which is

Photos of K-pop idol group EXO taken at a recent concert were unveiled Monday by its label SM Entertainment.  (SM Entertainment)The photos offer a glimpse into the heated-up atmosphere at the concert held on June 14 in Wuhan, China, part of the Asian concert series “EXO FROM EXOPLANET #1 -- THE LOST PLANET.” (SM Entertainment)The group captivated Chinese fans with an array of hit songs including “Growl” and the new song “Overdose,” garnering around 10,000 spectators.  (SM Entertainment)A slew of

President Park Geun-hye is considering whether to present a motion to parliament seeking confirmation of her latest choice for prime minister after she wraps up her ongoing trip to Central Asia, an official said Wednesday.Park will decide whether to "approve the motion by fully taking into account various situations after returning home," presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters traveling with Park to the Uzbek city of Samarkand.Park will focus on important economic and diplomatic is

Sixty-six people were missing on Wednesday after a boat carrying Indonesian illegal migrants sank off Malaysia's west coast, a maritime official said."A wooden boat with 97 Indonesians has sank off Port Klang near Banting," Mohamad Zuhri, spokesman for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, told AFP, adding that 31 had been rescued."The Indonesians were trying to enter Malaysia illegally by crossing the Malacca Straits."He said the boat sank overnight, but had no details on what caused the a

South Korea will dispatch troops to an annual multinational peacekeeping exercise set to kick off in Mongolia this week, the Marine Corps here said Wednesday.Some 34 South Korean Marines as well as eight service members of the Army, Navy and Air Force will participate in the Khan Quest exercise in the landlocked country. The exercise is set for June 20 to July 1.During the drill, the troops are scheduled to practice how to carry out operations in conflict areas, provide humanitarian aid and perf

The number of stay-at-home moms in South Korea dropped for the 11th straight month in May, as more women came out in search of work to support their families, data showed Wednesday.According to the data by Statistics Korea, the number of women staying at home to care for household chores and child-rearing came to 7.08 million in May, down 2.6 percent, or 191,000, from the same month a year earlier. This represented the 11th straight month since July that the figure has dropped.The decline is att

Divers made no headway in their search for those still missing in April's deadly ferry sinking for a 10th day on Wednesday amid growing concerns that the upcoming rainy season could further hamper the Herculean job.Dozens of Navy, Coast Guard and civilian divers combed the sunken ship to find 12 people still unaccounted for 64 days after the boat sank off the country's southwestern coast, but in vain.With no bodies being recovered for the 10th straight day on Wednesday, the discovery of one body

He was called a hero and a savior by his Mexican teammates. His Brazilian opponents said he produced miracles.There is no doubt that Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa was the one responsible for spoiling Brazil's hopes of another World Cup victory at its home tournament.  Brazil's Paulinho (8) watches as Mexico's goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa punches the ball clear of the goal during the group A World Cup soccer match between Brazil and Mexico at the Arena Castelao in Fortaleza, Brazil, Tuesday, Ju

The nominee for South Korea's education minister is suspected of having plagiarized a thesis written by one of his students while serving as a professor, an opposition lawmaker claimed Tuesday.President Park Geun-hye nominated Kim Myung-soo, a professor at Korea National University of Education, last week as the new education minister, who will also double as deputy prime minister for educational, social and cultural affairs.Rep. Park Hong-geun raised the issue of Kim's suspected plagiarism, cla

South Korea is willing to consider forming joint teams with North Korea in some events for the upcoming Asian Games if such a request is made, the unification ministry said Tuesday.Last month, North Korea announced its plan to join the 2014 Asian Games to be held in the metropolitan city of Incheon, just west of Seoul, from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4. The host city of Incheon has been pushing to form joint South and North Korean teams in some of the 36 sports during the regional sports event."(The gover

The South Korean financial watchdog said Tuesday it will closely monitor stock trading by paper companies set up in tax havens to ferret out local nationals disguised as foreign investors to dodge domestic law and engage in illegal activities.The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said out of 38,437 foreign corporations investing in the country, 7,626, or 20 percent, are offshore companies based in 62 tax haven-designated countries including the Cayman Islands, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Barb

South Korean head coach Hong Myung-bo on Monday hinted at a conservative approach against Russia in the upcoming World Cup showdown, saying his team should "play not to lose." (Yonhap)The Group H kickoff between the 57th-ranked South Korea and the 19th-ranked Russia will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba, in the central-west region of the host Brazil. At a pre-match press conference held at the stadium, Hong said it was as important to avoid a loss as it is to try to win the opene

North Korea appears to have acquired a sea-based copy of a Russian cruise missile, the latest step in an effort to enhance its maritime strike capability, a US think-tank said Tuesday.A state propaganda film disseminated on social media sites, including YouTube, provides a very brief glimpse of the missile being launched from a naval vessel.Writing on the closely watched 38 North website of the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, arms control expert Jeffrey Lewis said the missile wou