국군포로 출신 유영복 씨 (84)는 2000년, 북한에서 50년간의 고된 노동 끝에 정부의 도움으로 서울로 귀환했다.유씨에게 고층건물과 굶주림과 억압으로부터 자유로운 삶으로 가득한 서울은 마치 지상낙원 같았다. 유씨는 다행스럽게 당시 94세였던 아버지가 사망하기 6개월 전 재회할 수 있었다.그러나 자유의 기쁨은 그가 남겨두고 온 이들에 대한 죄책감으로 금새 희미해졌다. 그의 아이들은 “반역자”라는 멍에를 쓰고 더욱 심한 억압을 받을 것이 분명하며 그의 국군포로 동료들은 여전히 악명 높은 지하 광산에서 고통 받으며 사랑하는 이들과의 재회를 그리고 있을 것이었기 때문이다. 유씨는 코리아헤럴드와의 인터뷰에서 “우리가 수천미터 지하의 광산에서 겪었던 수치스럽고 혹독한 나날들은 말로 표현되지 않는다. 일부는 반항했다는 이유로 총살당하거나 정치범 수용소로 보내졌다”고 설명했다.6ㆍ25 국군포로가족회 명예회장인 유씨는 “그곳에 아직 있는 내 동료들을 생각하면, 이 자유를 그저 즐길수만은 없다”면

Daniel Russel, the nominee to become the United States‘ point man on East Asia, said Thursday he will actively pursue “the verifiable denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula. “North Korea presents, through its nuclear and missile programs, a serious threat to the U.S., to our allies and to the global non-proliferation regime,” Russel said during a confirmation hearing by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.“If confirmed, I will actively pursue the verifiable denuclerization of the Korean

Prosecutors on Friday raided the headquarters and offices of Woongjin Group as part of their investigation into allegations that several executives of the troubled mid-size conglomerate fraudulently issued commercial papers (CPs).The probe comes after the nation's securities regulator had reported the group's chairman Yoon Seok-keum, and four other executives to the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office for alleged unfair trading in early May.A team of investigators and prosecutors seized relevant d

South Korean stocks declined 1.49 percent Friday as the U.S. Federal Reserve chief's remark on its stimulus actions continued to weigh on investors' sentiment, analysts said. The local currency continued its slide against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 27.66 points to close at 1,822.83. Trading volume was low at 281.8 million shares worth 4.89 trillion won (US$4.24 billion) with losers far outpacing gainers 640 to 199. It marked the lowest level sinc

수원지검은 20일 국가보안법 위반 혐의로 고발된 수원 삼성 블루윙즈 정대세(29) 선수 사건을 공안부에 배당해 수사에 착수했다고 밝혔다.보수 논객 변희재가 회장으로 있는 한국인터넷미디어협회로 지난 14일 정대세가 과거에 해외 방송을 통해 북한을 찬양해 국가보안법을 위반했다고 검찰에 고발했다.한국인터넷미디어협회에 따르면 정 선수는 “김정일을 존경하며 믿고 따른다,” “ 내 조국은 북한”이라고 말한 바가 있다고 한다.검찰은 “고발장이 접수된 만큼 법리 검토 등을 하기 위한 기초 조사에 들어갔다”고 밝혔다.일본에서 태어난 정 선수는 대한민국 국적을 갖고 있지만 일본에서 조총련계 학교를 졸업하고 2007년 북한 축구 대표팀에 발탁되기도 했다. 그는 국제축구연맹(FIFA)의 중재에 따라 한국 국적임에도 북한 대표팀에서 뛸 수 있었고 이후 2010 남아공 월드컵에 북한대표팀 선수로 출전했다.그는 2013년 수원 삼성과 계약했는데, 국적 논란으로 인해 일부 팬들 사이에서 반발이 일었다. 심지어

New York state hit Japan's largest bank Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi-UFJ with a $250 million fine Thursday for handling money transfers that violated sanctions on Iran as well as Sudan and Myanmar.The state's Department of Financial Services (DFS) said Mitsubishi-UFJ moved billions of dollars through its New York branch between 2002 and 2007 for state and private entities in Iran, Sudan and Myanmar, including entities on the US Treasury's blacklist.In that period banking services and money transfers

Apple Inc. has won a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Electronics Co. in a Japanese court, one of dozens of legal battles around the world between the technology giants.The Tokyo District Court issued a partial verdict Friday in favor of Apple. Damages were not announced. The court said in a summary that further examination is needed to determine if Samsung must pay compensation, and if so, how much. A final verdict is expected later.Apple and Samsung are embroiled in similar battles

The Miami Heat clinched back-to-back titles with a 95-88 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.LeBron James had 37 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, while Dwyane Wade added 23 points and 10 rebounds and Shane Battier scored 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting from 3-point range. James made 5 of 10 3-point attempts, all the while hounding Spurs star Tony Parker on defense.Tim Duncan had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs, who were trying to become the first

Cheong Wa Dae denied any role Friday in the National Intelligence Service's decision to show some lawmakers a 2007 inter-Korean summit transcript that reportedly confirms allegations that late former President Roh Moo-hyun made remarks seriously undermining the legitimacy of the sea border with North Korea.On Thursday, the NIS showed the confidential document to members of the parliamentary intelligence committee. After seeing the records, ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers claimed that Roh did make

The main opposition Democratic Party on Friday proposed disclosing the minutes of a controversial 2007 inter-Korean summit in exchange for conducting a parliamentary probe into a scandal surrounding the national spy agency.The proposal comes one day after the ruling Saenuri Party claimed that it has seen official government records backing up allegations that late President Roh Moo-hyun tried to nullify the de facto maritime border separating the two Koreas during his meeting with then North Kor

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday as the United States Federal Reserve's remark on a possible cut in monetary easing continued to weigh down on investors' sentiment, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) nosedived 36.16 points, or 1.95 percent, to 1,814.33 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Blue-chip shares lost ground across the board, with tech giant Samsung Electronics falling 2.26 percent and chipmaker SK hynix moving down 1.93 percent. Top steelmaker PO

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest maker of smartphones and computer memory chips, said Friday that it was named the best computing brand by a Britain-based consumer advocacy group.Which?, a product testing and consumer campaigning charity, rated Samsung as the best brand in the areas of mobile phone, laptop PC, tablet PC and printer, praising its breadth of high performance models across the whole range, according to the company.The Which? Awards is an annual event that celebrates the

For investors, there was no place to go on Thursday.A day after the Federal Reserve roiled Wall Street when it said it could reduce its aggressive economic stimulus program later this year, financial markets around the world plunged. A slowdown in Chinese manufacturing and reports of a squeeze in the world's second-biggest economy heightened worries.The global sell-off began in Asia and quickly spread to Europe and then the U.S., where the Dow Jones industrial average fell 353 points, wiping out

Tahiti coach Eddy Etaeta isn't one to get distracted by small things, like being overwhelmed 10-0 by World Cup winner Spain on Thursday in the Confederations Cup.He's used to looking for the positive. He predicted Spain might score as many as 20 _ and they didn't. With that achievement, he's focused on another _ the World Cup. Tahiti has already been eliminated from qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.“But there's another one in 2018 and in 2022, so we have to be realistic and work to de

Police and protesters fought in the streets into the early hours Friday as an estimated 1 million Brazilians swarmed through more than 80 Brazilian cities in the biggest demonstrations yet against a government viewed as corrupt at all levels and unresponsive to its people.President Dilma Rousseff called an emergency meeting of her top Cabinet members for Friday morning, more than a week after the protests began. Rousseff, who has a standoffish governing style, has been almost entirely absent fro

Greece's prime minister said Friday he's determined to avoid early elections despite a deep rift with a coalition ally, which threatened new political instability in the bailed-out country and prompted warnings from international creditors. One year into his mandate, at the head of a three-party coalition formed to stave off financial collapse, Antonis Samaras said his overriding priority was to persevere with reforms demanded to keep the country's rescue loans flowing.“We have three years left,

서울지역 대학들 사이에서 국가정보원의 대선 개입 의혹을 성토하는 움직임이 확산되고 있다.서울대 총학생회는 20일 오전 서울 서초동 대검찰청 앞에서 기자회견을 열어 성명서를 내고 이번 사건을 통해 국정원의 선거개입, 수사기관의 축소수사, 법무부의 수사 간섭이 한번에 드러났다고 주장했다.총학생회는 “민주주의 기본원리를 국가권력의 이름으로 짓밟은 원세훈 전 국정원장, 김용판 전 서울청장 등 관계자들을 엄중 처벌해야 한다”며 권력기관을 통해 국민 기본권이 침해되는 일이 없도록 정부측에서 조치를 취해야 한다고 주장했다.검찰은 14일 국가정보원의 대선ㆍ정치 개입 의혹’ 사건과 관련해 원세훈 전 국정원장을 불구속 기소했으며, 경찰 수사 과정에서 사건의 축소ㆍ은폐를 지시했다는 의혹을 받고 있는 김용판 전 서울지방경찰청장 역시 불구속기소했다. 이화여대 역시 이날 학교 정문 앞에서 시국선언문을 발표하며 국정원이 선거를 “여당의 정권재창출을 위한 조직적 대응과 선거 개입의 계기로 삼았다”고 비판했다.

국제 해커그룹 ‘어나니머스(Anonymous)’가 최근 북한 인터넷망에 침투했으며 미사일, 군 관련 문서에 대한 정보를 확보했다고 주장했다. 어나니머스는 지난 17일 유튜브에 올린 동영상을 통해 “우리는 전에 당신들의 인트라넷에 침투한다고 말했다. 그리고 우리는 성공했다”며 “북한의 주요 미사일 문서와 주민문서, 군 관련 문서는 이미 훤히 내려다 보인다”고 밝혔다.어나니머스는 이어 이 정보 중 일부를 공개하겠다고 밝혔다. 정보 공개의 구체적인 날짜는 밝혀지지 않았지만 어나니머스는 영상을 통해 6월 25일에 “힘을 과시하겠다”라고 말했다.어나니머스는 자신들이 세계평화와 대한민국을 위해 이러한 공격을 하고 있다고 주장하면서 김정은에게 권력을 내놓을 것을 촉구했다.어나니머스는 지난 4월 트위터를 통해 오는 25일 북한 내부 인터넷망을 공격하겠다고 예고한 바 있다. 당시 어나니머스는 북한 내부 인터넷망 ‘광명’에 일명 ‘닌자 게이트웨이’를 구축해 외부인들과 북한 주민들이 인터넷망을 자유롭게

Asian stock markets plummeted Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it could start scaling back its huge economic stimulus program later this year.The announcement Wednesday in Washington drew sharp reaction in financial markets, showing just how dependent investors have become on the Fed's easy money policies.The Fed has been buying $85 billion worth of bonds each month to keep long-term interest rates low to boost borrowing and spending. On Wednesday, however, the Fed said the U.S. econ

The South Korean currency fell to the lowest level in almost 11 months against the U.S. dollar Thursday as the Federal Reserve's head said it would begin to taper its stimulus bond purchases later this year, dealers said.The local currency closed at 1,145.70 won to the greenback, down 14.9 won or 1.3 percent from Wednesday's close. It marked the lowest level since July 27, 2012 and the local currency hit an intra-day low of 1,146.60 won at one point during the afternoon trading."Emerging countri