Japan's nuclear regulator upgraded a radioactive water leak at the crippled Fukushima plant to a level three "serious incident" Wednesday, its highest warning in two years, as the operator scrambled to contain the impact on the environment.The re-evaluation came a day after operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said some 300 tons of radioactive water was believed to have leaked from a tank at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. It is the worst such leak since the crisis began in M

South Korea ranked 21st among global peers in terms of the percentage of population with Internet access last year, a United Nations agency for information and communication technologies said Wednesday.According to a report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 84.1 percent of South Koreans had access to the Internet in 2012, edging up from 83.8 percent tallied a year earlier. The research was conducted on 211 countries.Although South Korea ranked 5th in 2004 at 72.7 percent, its r

South Korea has the second-highest level of social friction in major economies and its economic costs are estimated at up to 246 trillion won ($220 billion), a research fellow said Wednesday.South Korea's social friction index stood at 0.72 as of 2010, the highest level only behind Turkey whose index stood at 1.27, said Park Jun, a research fellow for the Samsung Economic Research Institute, a private think tank of South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group.Park made the comment in a public sy

South Korean stocks opened marginally higher Wednesday amid uncertainties on the U.S. monetary policy that continues to keep investors directionless following a steep fall in the previous session, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 1.65 points, or 0.09 percent, to 1,889.50 in the first 15 minutes of trading. During that period of time, the main index bobbed in and out of positive territory, with foreigners and institutions dumping stocks while retail inv

The Hanbit Nuclear Reactor 6, located in Younggwang, South Jeolla Province, suddenly halted operations on Wednesday afternoon due to mechanical failure, adding up to the concerns on electricity shortage.“The reactor suddenly went out of order and had to be suspended at 2:44 p.m.,” said an official of the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corporation.As a result, the nation’s backup power level dropped from 4.5 million kilowatt level to 3.7 million kilowatts as of 3 p.m., which triggered the phase 3 al

South Korea's short-term foreign debt declined to its lowest level in more than six years in the second quarter, the central bank said Wednesday, helping improve the country's capacity to service external debt.The country's short-term external debt totaled $119.6 billion as of the end of June, down $2.6 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).It marked the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2006 when short-term foreign debts hit $113.7 billion.The second-qua

A U.S. county has instructed teachers in local schools to explain why the body of water between Korea and Japan should be called both the "East Sea" and the "Sea of Japan." "The National Geographic Society and many other cartographic institutions, atlases and textbooks are now labeling maps of the region of East Sea with both names -- Sea of Japan and East Sea,"Andrea M. Kane, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for Anne Arundel County, said in a recent letter to the principa

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee has been hospitalized for pneumonia, a group official said Wednesday. Lee, 71, was admitted to the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul a week ago, and is expected to be released from the hospital this weekend, the official said. The tycoon has a history of lung cancer, for which he underwent surgery in the United States about a decade ago.There have been rumors that Lee's health has been declining, although the business group has strongly denied the claim.Lee

Kodak doesn't look a whole lot like it did when it filed for bankruptcy protection last year, but its executives and investors are hoping for a picture-perfect future.Many of its products and services are gone, including the camera-making business that made it famous more than a century ago. Also gone are scores of workers, manufacturing facilities, supply contracts and millions of dollars in investments.On Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper approved the company's plan to emerge from c

The Obama administration, undertaking a major review of U.S. relations with Egypt, edged closer to a decision Tuesday about curtailing some of America's $1.5 billion in annual aid after the Egyptian military's crackdown on supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.Top administration officials met at the White House to review the possibility of cutting military or economic aid to Egypt, a longtime U.S. ally and the most populous nation in the Arab world. Some cuts are forthcoming, according t

차기전투기 사업자 선정을 놓고 한정적인 예산으로 인해 기종 선택의 제약을 지나치게 받고 있다는 우려의 목소리가 나오고 있다. 정부는 8.3조 규모의 프로젝트로 60대의 전투기를 2017년부터 2012년 사이에 배치하는 것을 목표로 3가지 기종을 후보로 두고 있었지만 록히드 마틴의 F-35A와 유럽항공방위우주산업(EADS)의 유로파이터가 예산 초과로 제외되면서 보잉의 F-15SE 사일런트 이글이 유력한 후보로 거론되고 있다.  전문가들은 현재 북한과 잠재적 위협이 되는 중국에 대응해 국익에 맞는 전투기를 다시 고려하기를 촉구하고 있다. 일부 관찰자들은 지역의 강대국들 사이에 높은 수준의 전투기를 확보하기 위한 경쟁이 치열해지는 가운데 전투기의 역량에 대한 부족한 분석을 지적한다. 중국은 J-20이나 J-31과 같이 레이더를 피할 수 있는 전투기를 개발하려 분투 중이고 일본은 록히드 마틴과 F-35 42개를 도입하기로 체결 계약했다. 러시아는 자국의 T-50 스텔스 전투기를 만드는 작업

북한이 탈북자들의 재입북을 유도하기 위해 현금과 여러 혜택을 제시하고 있다고 탈북자들이 주장했다.로이터 통신이 18일 탈북자 커뮤니티를 인용해 보도한 바에 따르면 최근 북한 정권은 탈북자들에게 접근해 재입북시 한국 금액으로 5천만원과 TV 출연 등을 약속하고 있다고 한다. 또한 익명을 요구한 소식통에 따르면 이들은 북한에 남아있는 탈북자들의 가족들에게 접근해, 남한에 있는 탈북자들이 재입북하게 설득하도록 종용하기도 한다.로이터 통신은 김정은 북한 국방위원회 제1위원장이 유화책을 들고 나온 이유는 알 수 없으나 북한의 인권 문제에 대한 국제사회의 압박 및 점점 커지고 있는 탈북자 커뮤니티의 영향력으로 추정된다고 전했다.실제로 북한으로 돌아간 탈북자들이 어떻게 되었는지는 알 수 없으나, 평양 소재의 한 외교관이 전한 바에 따르면, 지난 5월 라오스에서 송환된 탈북자들이 별다른 박해를 받지 않았으며 “실제로 꽤 대접을 잘 받았다”고 전했다.익명을 요구한 이 외교관은 이렇게 돌아온 탈북자들

South Korean stocks retreated 1.55 percent Tuesday on losses by blue-chip steelmakers and chemical companies amid jitters over the U.S. stimulus cut, analysts said.The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed down 29.79 points to 1,887.85. Trading volume was moderate at 345.5 million shares worth 4.19 trillion won ($3.73 billion) with decliners far outstripping gainers 707 to 123. "What investors across the globe fear the m

A local court accepted a request Tuesday by the chairman of food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group to temporarily release him from jail for hospital treatment.The Seoul Central District Court decided to suspend the execution of the confinement of Lee Jay-hyun for three months from Tuesday.Lee has been behind bars since early last month under a court-issued arrest warrant pending trial on charges of creating a massive slush fund.Lee's defense lawyers later requested for a temporary suspensi

 김영규(18·알메리아·사진)가 스페인 프로축구 프리메라리가에 깜짝 데뷔, 4번째 코리안 프리메라리거로 이름을 올렸다. 김영규는 20일(한국시간) 스페인 에스타디오 델 메디텔라니오에서 열린 비야레알과의 2013-2014 시즌 프리메라리가 1라운드 홈경기에서 후반 38분에 교체 투입돼 경기가 끝날 때까지 그라운드를 누볐다. 김영규는 이천수(전 레알 소시에다드), 이호진(전 라싱 산탄데르), 박주영(전 셀타 비고)에 이어 네번째로 프리메라리가 무대를 밟은 한국인이 됐다. 2선 공격진에 배치된 김영규는 공격포인트는 올리지 못했지만 날카로운 움직임으로 합격점을 받았다. 좌우 측면을 돌파해 예리한 크로스를 돕고 상대 수비수를 농락하며 프리킥도 얻어냈다. 김영규는 양발을 자유자재로 사용하는 데다가 빠르고 유연하다는 것이 장점이다. 김영규는 경북 풍기초, 경기 용인 원삼중을 거치며 유소년 국가대표로 활약한 기대주다. 2009년 아시아축구연맹(AFC) 14세 이하 챔피언십에서 한국의 우승을 이끌고

The number of foreign workers in South Korea's farming and fishing sector jumped 3.5-fold in 2012 from three years earlier, data showed Tuesday.According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the number of immigrant workers in the country's farming and fishing sector came to 4,863 last year, compared to 1,390 tallied in 2009.Local households employing foreign workers also jumped more than four-fold to reach 2,677 units over the cited period, the data also s

In a departure from its recent conciliatory stance toward South Korea, North Korea resumed its verbal threats on Tuesday by lambasting President Park Geun-hye for stressing the need to guard against the North during a security meeting. On Monday, President Park cautioned against complacency in defending against North Korean provocations during a National Security Council (NSC) meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae's crisis room, known as the "underground bunker," the first meeting of its kind since her

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers suffered his first loss in Major League Baseball (MLB) in two months, as the Dodgers fell to the Miami Marlins 6-2 here on Monday.At Marlins Park, Ryu gave up three runs on six hits and two walks in 7 1/3 innings to drop to 12-4 in his first big league season. The Dodgers lost consecutive games for the first time since June 20-21.The South Korean left-hander struck out five, but his ERA rose from 2.91 to 2.95. His previous defeat had come against the New Y

Unionized workers at South Korea's largest carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. were to stage a partial strike on Tuesday to demand higher wages, officials said, in the latest work stoppage that could cut vehicle output.Some workers plan to down tools between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. while others plan to walk off the job between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., according to company and union officials.Hyundai Motor's 46,000-strong labor union will also walk out for four hours on Wednesday, Kwon Oh-il, a spokesman

A court ruling Monday raised the possibility of jailed ex-president Hosni Mubarak walking free soon, a move that would fuel the unrest roiling the country after the autocratic leader's successor was removed in a military coup.Underscoring the growing anger over Mohammed Morsi's ouster, suspected Islamic militants ambushed two minibuses carrying off-duty policemen in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, forcing the men to lie on the sand and shooting 25 of them dead. “They were marked in advance by the attac