North Korea has made progress in its nuclear weapons program to a level that it can produce weapons-grade uranium to make a bomb on its own, South Korea's defense chief said Wednesday."We evaluate that North Korea can build a nuclear weapon using uranium," Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said during an interpellation session at the National Assembly, giving a rare assessment on the reclusive nation's nuclear program.In regard to North Korea's 5-megawatt reactor that was reactivated in April, Kim s

The United Nations unanimously adopted a resolution that denounces North Korea's worsening human rights violations, including its brutal treatment of political prisoners in the communist country, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.Adopted on Tuesday (New York time) by the Third Committee dealing with human rights issues, it was the U.N.'s 9th annual resolution on North Korean human rights and the second unanimously consented one, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.China, Russia, C

The son of a state senator in the U.S. stabbed his father in the head and chest Tuesday before apparently killing himself with a gun, according to initial reports from police.Authorities were still piecing together a motive and the circumstances that led up to the stabbing of Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds.“We're leaning towards it being an attempted murder/suicide,” Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corrine Geller said. Deeds' 24-year-old son, Gus, died at the home of a gunshot wound. Geller

 방송인 강호동 (43)이 전성기를 함께했던 ‘1박2일’로 돌아올까.한 매체는 19일 방송관계자의 말을 인용하며 KBS 고위 관계자들이 ‘1박2일’ 시즌3에 강호동을 섭외하기 위해 노력하고 있다고 보도했다. 이 매체에 따르면 지난주 강호동이 출연하고 있는 ‘우리동네 예체능’ 촬영 현장을 찾은 KBS TV본부장과 박태호 KBS 예능제작 국장은 강호동과 여러 이야기를 나누는 중 ‘1박2일’시즌 3 출연과 관련된 이야기 역시 나눴다고 한다.그러나 이에 대해 ‘1박2일’ 측은 “격려차 방문한 것이 와전된 것”이라고 해명했다. 한편 익명을 요구한 또다른 관계자는 “’1박2일' 시즌3 제작진은 강호동 섭외에 대해 호의적이지 않은 것으로 안다”고 밝혔다. ‘1박2일’ 시즌 3는 오는 22일 녹화를 시작하여 12월 1일에 첫 방송될 예정이다. <관련 영문 기사>Rumors suggest Kang’s return to ‘1 Night, 2 Days’ may be imminentWith KBS rep

South Korean stocks traded 0.54 percent lower late Wednesday morning due mainly to losses in technology firms and carmakers, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 11.02 points to 2,020.62 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares traded lower, with Samsung Electronics falling 0.81 percent and SK hynix losing 1.79 percent. Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an industrial parts maker, shed 1.04 percent.Carmakers also traded bearish, with No. 1 player Hyundai Motor decreasing 1

일본 정부 대변인인 스가 요시히데(菅義偉) 관방장관이 19일 박근혜 대통령의 안중근 의사 표지석 설치 언급과 관련, 안 의사는 일본에는 "범죄자"라고 밝혀 논란이 일고 있다.우리 정부는 이런 '망언'에 대해 "대단히 유감"이라고 강하게 비판했다. 인터넷 등에도 스가 장관의 발언을 비판하는 목소리가 커지고 있다.스가 장관은 이날 오전 정례 회견에서 박 대통령이 지난 18일 방한한 양제츠(楊潔지<兼대신虎들어간簾>) 중국 외교담당 국무위원에게 지난 6월 한중 정상회담에서 논의된 안중근 의사 표지석 설치가 원만하게 진행되고 있다고 사의를 표명한 데 대해 "이러한 움직임은 한일관계에 도움이 되지 않는다"고 정면 비판했다.그는 특히 "일본은 그동안에도 안중근에 대해 범죄자라는 입장을 한국 정부에 밝혀왔다"면서 "일본의 주장을 분명히 한국에 전달하겠다"고까지 말했다.앞서 아베 신조(安倍晋三) 일본 총리는 안 의사 표지석 설치가 처음 제기된 직후인 지난 7월 TV프로그램에 출연한 자리에서 안 의사

South Korea's policies and efforts to enable publicly-available government data to be easily accessible still has a long way to go with the country coming in 12th among the surveyed 77 nations, data showed on Wednesday.The so-called Open Government Data Barometer ranked Britain as the most advanced country for open data readiness, implementation and impact with a score of 100. The United States came in second with a score of 93.38, followed by Sweden with 85.75 and New Zealand with 74.34, accord

South Korea has beefed up its forces on a group of northwestern islands along the tensely guarded maritime border with North Korea to counter provocations from its archrival, military officials said Wednesday.Following the North's shelling of a front-line island in 2010, Seoul has increased forces and firepower near the area to enhance strike capabilities, but some of the weapons systems were not deployed last year as planned.With the third anniversary of the Yeonpyeong attack three days away, m

The irrepressible Cristiano Ronaldo scored a dazzling hat trick to send Portugal into the 2014 World Cup finals at the expense of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Sweden on Tuesday, while France advanced by conjuring a remarkable turnaround against Ukraine.There was disappointment in the playoffs for Iceland, however, after the Nordic country failed in its bid to become the least populous nation to reach football's biggest stage after losing to Croatia on a thrilling final night in European qualification.Ro

First-term U.S. congressman Trey Radel of Florida has been arrested for possession of cocaine, court documents showed Tuesday. A form filed with Washington DC Superior Court says Radel, a 37-year-old Republican, will be arraigned Wednesday on misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance.Radel issued a statement saying he was "profoundly sorry to let down my family... and the people of Southwest Florida." He did not mention cocaine."I struggle with the disease of alcoholism, and th

Japan's trade deficit nearly doubled on-year to a bigger-than-expected $10.9 billion in October as the country's energy bill soared, government data showed Wednesday.The shortfall of 1.09 trillion yen ($10.9 billion) was larger than the 810 billion yen in red ink economists had expected on average, and an expansion of 96.1 percent from the year-before deficit of 556.2 billion yen.It was also the largest deficit for the month of October in comparable data that go back to 1979, according to the fi

Thomas Bach, recently elected as the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), will make his first visit to South Korea on Wednesday, officials here said.The organizing committee for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics said Bach will arrive in Seoul later in the day for a two-day visit. On Thursday, he will be briefed by PyeongChang officials on the east coast alpine town's preparations for the 2018 Winter Games and also give a special lecture to staff members of the organizing team, o

A Silicon Valley began its second day of deliberations Wednesday in a trial to determine damages owed by Samsung Electronics for infringing on Apple's patents. The jury asked the judge for calculators Tuesday to help it determine how much Samsung owes for copying key features of the iPhone and iPad.The federal judge presiding over the patent trial granted the jury's request before the smartphone rivals' lawyers delivered their closing arguments. The one-week trial is being held to determine dama

South Korea's short-term foreign debt declined to its lowest level in seven years in the third quarter on a fall in banks' overseas borrowing, the central bank said Wednesday.The country's short-term external debt totaled US$111.5 billion as of end-September, down $8.1 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).It marked the lowest level since the third quarter of 2006 when short-term foreign debts hit $107.4 billion.The third-quarter data also marked the fifth strai

South Korea should not cross off F-15 fighter jets from its shopping list aimed at boosting combat capability, a former top U.S. military commander in Korea said Tuesday."In a real sense, a mix of F-35s and F-15s is the right decision," retired Gen. John Tilelli told reporters.His comments came amid media reports that South Korea will likely announce plans to buy 40 F-35s in the coming weeks.Tilelli, who headed U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) from 1996 to 1999, emphasized that carrying weight is as imp

South Korea has been re-elected as a member state of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to a four-year term for the third time, Seoul's cultural heritage authority said Wednesday.Seoul regained the membership during the 19th session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage that opened at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris Tuesday for a three-day run, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration.It marks the

Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy S4 was dethroned by Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5S, which became the best-selling smartphone in the world in September, data showed on Wednesday.According to the data compiled by Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Technology Market Research, Apple's iPhone 5S became the bestselling phone last month in just 10 days of its release, ending the Galaxy S4's several month reign.Samsung took the No. 1 position in the premium smartphone market of phones above the US$400 price point in

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 7.66 points, or 0.38 percent to 2,023.98 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares lost ground across the board, with tech giant Samsung Electronics falling 1.01 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor decreasing 0.77 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO shed 0.92 percent.U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday as investors took a breather after the m

South Korea blew an early lead and lost to Russia 2-1 in its last football friendly of the year in Dubai on Tuesday.At Zabeel Stadium, Dmitri Tarasov headed in the go-ahead goal in the 58th minute as the 19th-ranked Russians came back from a 1-0 deficit against No. 56 South Korea.South Korea had hoped to end 2013 on a three-game winning streak, following wins over Mali in October and Switzerland last week. The country is trying to schedule two friendly matches in the United States in January to

Supporters and haters of Roh Moo-hyun were locked in a furious online battle on Tuesday over a new movie inspired by the late former president.The movie “Byeonhoin (Lawyer)” is a about a Busan-based human rights lawyer Song Wu-seok, played by actor Song Kang-ho. The character was inspired by Roh, who was also a Busan-based human rights lawyer before he entered politics.“I was scared that I wouldn’t be able depict a part of his (Roh’s) life, so I turned down the part at first,” Song said during a