South Korean consumers' confidence rose to the highest level in 13 months in June as the government's fiscal stimulus and the central bank's latest rate cut raised hopes for economic recovery, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday.The consumer sentiment index (CSI) -- a gauge of consumers' overall economic outlook, living conditions and future spending -- came in at 105 for June, up from 104 tallied for the previous month, according to the BOK.It marked the highest level since the index hit 106 i

고(故) 노무현 전 대통령은 지난 2007년 김정일북한 국방위원장과의 남북정상회담에서 서해 북방한계선(NLL) 문제와 관련, “안보군사 지도 위에다가 평화 경제지도를 크게 위에다 덮어서 그려보자”고 제안한 것으로 확인되었다.이와 같은 사실은 국가정보원이 24일 국회 정보위 소속 여당의원들에게 정상회담 회의록 전문과 함께 배포한 8쪽짜리 발췌록을 통해 확인됐다. 앞서 국정원은 지난 20일 동일한 8쪽짜리 발췌본을 새누리당 소속 정보위원들에게 전달한 적이 있으나, 열람한 의원들의 전언이 아닌 문서로서 노 전 대통령의 발언내용이 확인되기는 처음이다.노무현은 이어 “서해평화협력지대를 설치하기로 하고 그것을 가지고 평화문제, 공동번영의 문제를 다 일거에 해결하기로 합의하고 거기에 필요한 실무협의 계속해 나가면 내 임기 동안에 NLL 문제는 다 치유된다”고 설명헀다.그는 “NLL이라는 것이 이상하게 생겨 가지고 무슨 괴물처럼 함부로 못 건드리는물건이 돼 있다”면서 “그래서 서해평화협력지대를 만

South Korea and Japan have decided not to extend the soon-to-be-expired won-yen swap facility worth $3 billion in currency, officials said Monday.Korea's central bank said that it and its counterpart in Japan have reached a decision to end the bilateral swap line, which is due to expire on July 3.South Korea and Japan signed a swap deal worth $13 billion in 2008 to better prepare for the global financial crisis. They expanded the swap line temporarily to $70 billion in 2011. Under the deal, Seou

South Korea on Monday raised the possibility of holding a bilateral meeting with North Korea on the sidelines of a regional security conference in Brunei early next week, a senior Seoul official said Monday.The ASEAN Regional Forum, which will be hosted by Brunei on July 2, has traditionally brought together foreign ministers and key officials of all the countries participating in the six-way talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear ambitions. The multilateral forum involves the two Koreas, the

모델 케이트 업튼(21)과 NBA 로스엔젤레스 클리퍼스의 블래이크 그리핀(24)이 열애설에 휩싸였다.미국의 연예전문 매체 E!온라인은 최근 그리핀과 업튼이 한 클럽에서 “친밀하게 행동하는 것(cozying up)”이 목격되었다고 보도했다. 이들이 목격된 것은 뉴욕의 한 나이트 를럽으로 이 곳에서는 그리핀의 팀동료 디안드레 조던 등 두 사람의 지인들이 함께 어울리고 있었다고 한다. 보도에 따르면 이날 두 사람은 “서로 껴안고 손을 잡고 있었으나” 그 이상의 행위는 하지 않았다고 한다.그리핀은 LA클리퍼스의 올스타 포워드이자 2011년 신인왕 출신으로, 어마어마한 운동능력과 화려한 덩크로 주목받으며 차세대 슈퍼스타로 기대받고 있는 대형 선수이며, 업튼은 미국의 스포츠 전문지 스포츠 일러스트레이티드 커버를 장식한 적도 있는 모델이다.한편 업튼은 전에도 여러 번 스포츠 스타와 열애설에 휘말렸는데, 대표적으로 메이저리그 디트로이트 타이거스의 저스틴 벌렌더, 미국프로풋볼리그 (NFL) 뉴욕 제

South Korean stocks closed 1.31 percent lower Monday, as lingering angst over a gradual end of the U.S. easy-money policy continued to sap investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) sank 23.82 points to finish at 1,799.01. Trading volume was light at 216.6 million shares worth 3.11 trillion won ($2.69 billion) with decliners far outstripping gainers 613 to 203. "Foreigners again opted to offlo

박근혜 대통령은 국가정보원의 대선개입 의혹과 관련해 “왜 그런 일이 생겼는지, 왜 그런 일을 했는지 전혀 알지 못한다”라고 주장했다고 이정현 청와대 홍보수석이 24일 브리핑에서 전했다.박 대통령은 이날 민주당 김한길 대표가 국정원 대선개입 의혹과 관련한 국정조사 실시에 대해 대통령의 결단을 촉구하는 서한을 보낸 것에 대해 자신은 해당 사건에 “관여해오지 않았다”라고 강조하며 “대선 때 국정원이 어떤 도움을 주지도 국정원으로부터 어떤 도움도 받지 않았다”고 말했다.박 대통령은 국가정보원에 이러한 문제가 있었다면 “여야가 제기한 국정원 관련 문 제들에 대해 국민 앞에 의혹을 밝힐 필요가 있다고 생각한다”고 밝혔다. 그러나 그 절차에 대해서는 대통령이 나설 문제가 아니라 국회에서 논의해서 할 일이라고 말했다.이러한 박 대통령의 태도는 국정원의 대선개입 의혹에 대해 거리를 두려는 의도로 보인다.국정원은 지난 2012년 대선 당시 민주당 문재인 대선후보 등 야권후보들을 비방하는 글을 작성하는

The National Intelligence Service on Monday disclosed to lawmakers the records of former President Roh Moo-hyun’s remarks during the 2007 inter-Korean summit, bringing a new twist to the bipartisan wrangling over the NIS and its interference in politics.The contents of his remarks on the Northern Limit Line has been a hot political issue here following the ruling Saenuri Party’s accusations that Roh denied the validity of the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea during the meeting with late North

The chief of CJ Group, a local food and entertainment conglomerate, will be summoned over suspicions that he created massive secret funds and evaded taxes in the process, prosecutors said Monday.Chairman Lee Jae-hyun has been notified to show up for questioning at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Tuesday, they said.Prosecutors suspect that Lee evaded 51 billion won ($44.5 million) in taxes by stashing secret funds offshore. Lee also alle

Florida aerialist Nik Wallenda completed a tightrope walk that took him a quarter mile over the Little Colorado River Gorge in northeastern Arizona on Sunday.Wallenda performed the stunt on a 2-inch (50.8-millimeter)-thick steel cable, 1,500 feet (457.2 meters) above the river on the Navajo Nation near the Grand Canyon. He took just more than 22 minutes, pausing and crouching twice as winds whipped around him so that he could get “the rhythm out of the rope.”“Thank you Lord. Thank you for calmin

South Korean stocks traded 0.61 percent lower late Monday morning, led by large-cap auto and tech losses, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.19 points to 1,811.64 as of 11:20 a.m.Kia Motors, the smaller affiliate of Hyundai Motor, shed 0.7 percent, with auto-parts maker Hyundai Mobis losing nearly 2 percent. SK hynix, a leading chipmaker, also dipped more than 2 percent. But shares of Samsung Electronics, the top-listed firm, continued to trade in posi

China has agreed to a plan to beef up a U.N. sanctions committee on North Korea and unveil the panel’s new blacklist in another apparent swipe at Pyongyang, a news report said Monday. With its veto power, Beijing has long strived to dilute international calls for tougher penalties against its defiant ally in the face of missile launches and nuclear tests. Yonhap News cited an unnamed U.N. source as saying that there had been a “very meaningful shift” in China’s position toward sanctions against

Seven out of 10 South Korean students see North Korea as the biggest threat to national security, with half of them feeling reunification of the Korean Peninsula is a necessity, a poll showed Monday.According to the survey of 1,489 primary and middle school students in Seoul, 71 percent said North Korea is the No. 1 entity that poses a threat to national security, followed by 11.3 percent citing Japan and 5 percent pointing to the United States.A majority of the respondents had knowledge of the

South Korean stocks began lower Monday as lingering policy woes from a possible end of the U.S. monetary easing dampened investor sentiment, analyst said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.32 points, or 0.46 percent to 1,814.51 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Domestic-driven shares lost ground, with top mobile carrier SK Telecom slumping more than 3 percent and state-run gas provider Korea Gas dipping nearly 3.5 percent. Top-cap Samsung Electronics bucked up gain

South Korea and Saudi Arabia sought to boost their cooperation in nuclear energy Monday in a meeting attended by their energy ministers."The nuclear technology advanced by South Korea will be of a great help to Saudi Arabia in its project to build nuclear power plants," Seoul's Energy Minister Yoon Sang-jick said, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Saudi Arabia, the world's largest supplier of petroleum, plans to build up to 16 nuclear reactors by 2032 as a way of diversifyi

Albania's national elections Sunday were marred by violence after an exchange of gunfire wounded a candidate and killed a supporter of a rival party, tainting what had been a largely peaceful campaign and threatening to undermine the country's bid to join the European Union.The violence near a polling station, which drew condemnation from an EU official, added to the existing uncertainty surrounding the election. Though the leader of the main Socialist Party has claimed victory, it's unclear whe

World Cup winners Spain defeated Nigeria 3-0 with two goals from Jordi Alba and another from Fernando Torres on Sunday to set up a semifinal showdown with Italy in the Confederations Cup.Although the final score was emphatic, it could have been much closer if Nigeria had accepted some of their many clear chances in the first half. At times Spain looked vulnerable to the African champions' fast breaks.Thursday's rematch in Fortaleza will be a chance for Italy to get even for a humiliating 4-0 los

Park In-bee earned her fifth LPGA Tour victory of the season on Sunday in Arkansas, tying the record for most wins by a South Korean LPGA pro in a season.Park, the world's No. 1-ranked female golfer, defeated fellow South Korean Ryu So-yeon with a birdie on the first playoff hole at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club in Arkansas. The tournament was a three-round affair.Park's fifth win of 2013 pulled her into a tie with Pak Se-ri for most LPGA wins in a season by a Sou

Nelson Mandela's health has deteriorated and he is now in critical condition, the South African government said Sunday.The office of President Jacob Zuma said in a statement that he had visited the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader at a hospital Sunday evening and was informed by the medical team that Mandela's condition had become critical in the past 24 hours.“The doctors are doing everything possible to get his condition to improve and are ensuring that Madiba is well-looked after and is comf

Admitted leaker Edward Snowden took flight Sunday in evasion of U.S. authorities, seeking asylum in Ecuador and leaving the Obama administration scrambling to determine its next step in what became a game of diplomatic cat-and-mouse.The former National Security Agency contractor and CIA technician fled Hong Kong and arrived at the Moscow airport, where he planned to spend the night before boarding an Aeroflot flight to Cuba. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his government received