김정은 북한 국방위원회 제1위원장이 최룡해(63) 인민군 총정치국장을 중국에 특사로 파견했다.중국에 특사를 파견하기는 작년 4월 김정은 체제 출범 이후 처음이다. 고위급 인사로는 작년 8월 장성택 부위원장이 방중한 이래로 처음이다. <조선중앙통신>은 이날 “김정은 동지의 특사로 최룡해 조선인민군 총정치국장이 중화인민공화국을 방문하기 위하여 22일 특별기편으로 평양을 출발했다”고 보도했다. 하지만 최 국장의 파견 목적이나 구체적인 일정은 밝히지 않았다. 최 국장은 이날 사절단과 함께 고려항공 특별기를 타고 오전 열시 반 베이징 서우두 공항에 도착했다. 이후 시진핑 수석을 포함한 중국 고위층 인사를 접견할 것으로 보인다. 최 국장은 최고권력기관인 국방위원회 위원직, 당 중앙군사위원회 부위원장 등 여러 요직을 겸비한 북한 정권의 핵심 실세다. 일부 전문가는 최 국장이 방문 중 양자 회담이나 다자 회담을 통해 연이은 도발 협박과 핵 실험으로 야기한 국제적 고립을 타개할 것이라고 전망했다.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday sent a special envoy to Beijing in an apparent effort to mend fences with its ally ahead of China’s summits next month with the U.S. and South Korea.Choe Ryong-hae, the director of the General Political Bureau of the North’s Korean People’s Army, flew to Beijing ― the first high-level visit since Jang Song-thaek, the vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, went there in August.The North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported that Cho

가수 손호영(33)씨 소유의 승용차에서 젊은 여성의 변사체가 발견돼 경찰이 수사에 나섰다.서울 강남경찰서는 지난 21일 오후 3시께 강남의 모 아파트 인근에 주차된 손씨 의 차량에서 한 여성이 숨진 채 발견됐다고 22일 밝혔다.이 차량은 일주일 전부터 불법주차돼 있었으며 견인업체 직원이 이날 차량을 견인하는 과정에서 변사체를 발견해 경찰에 신고한 것으로 전해졌다.경찰은 차량 소유주가 손씨로 확인됨에 따라 손씨를 이날 오후 10시께 참고인 신분으로 불러 조사했다. 손씨는 2시간가량 이어진 경찰 조사에서 숨진 여성과의 관계 등과 관련해 진술하고 돌아간 것으로 알려졌다.경찰은 차량 안에서 번개탄과 이를 태운 화로, 수면제 한 통, 유서 등이 발견된 것으로 미루어 이 여성이 스스로 목숨을 끊은 것으로 보고 있다.경찰은 추가 수사를 진행한 뒤 필요하면 국립과학수사연구원에 시신 부검을 의뢰한다는 입장이다.손씨는 경찰의 연락을 받기 전까지 해당 사실을 전혀 알지 못했던 것으로 전해졌다.손씨의 음

Local exporters saw their net fall in 2012 from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, as the weak Japanese yen apparently dealt a harsh blow to their price competitiveness and global sales.Top 500 South Korean firms' net nosedived 7.8 percent to reach 98 trillion won ($88.1 billion) last year from 2011, according to data compiled by CEO Score, a local corporate research firm.Chemical firms led the overall decline, with their operating profit moving down 50.5 percent in 2012 from a year earlier.

Shareholders at JPMorgan Chase voted to let Jamie Dimon, the chairman and CEO, keep both his jobs.At the bank's annual meeting, just 32 percent of shareholders voted for a non-binding measure that would have advised the bank to split the roles. That's less than the 40 percent vote that a similar proposal received last year.Shareholder groups lobbying for the split gained momentum from a surprise $6 billion trading loss last year, which tarnished the reputation of both JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Di

Twitter is booming as a social media destination for teenagers who complain about too many adults and too much drama on Facebook, according to a new study published Tuesday about online behavior. It said teens are sharing more personal information about themselves even as they try to protect their online reputations.Teens told researchers there were too many adults on Facebook and too much sharing of teenage angst and inane details like what a friend ate for dinner.“The key is that there are few

South Korea is in talks with China to set up a summit between President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping for late June, the presidential spokeswoman said Wednesday.China will be Park's second overseas trip since taking office in February. In early May, she visited the United States and held summit talks with President Barack Obama where they reaffirmed that the two countries are firmly united against threats from North Korea. "South Korea and China are undertaking discussions about

South Korea's external debt fell in the first quarter due to a weaker won, with the ratio of the short-term foreign debt against the total debt hitting an over 13-year low, the central bank said Wednesday.The country's external debt totaled US$410.3 billion as of the end of March, down $3.3 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The data marked the lowest reading since $398.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.The BOK said that foreign investors continued to b

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as officials from the United States Federal Reserve highlighted the necessity to maintain its quantitative easing down the road, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 8.84 points, or 0.45 percent, to 1,989.93 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips led the gain, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.13 percent and its rival LG Electronics moving up 0.72 percent. Leading chipmaker SK hynix c

The U.S. Senate sharply questioned the CEO of Apple Inc., the world's most valuable company, over allegations that its Irish subsidiaries help it avoid billions in taxes, and Tim Cook declared, “We pay all the taxes we owe _ every single dollar.”The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report Monday that held up Apple as an example of the legal tax avoidance made possible for companies by the U.S. tax code. It estimates that Apple avoided at least $3.5 billion in U.S. feder

The death of a young woman is under investigation after her body was discovered inside a car owned by a pop singer, police said Wednesday.The body was discovered around 3:00 p.m. Tuesday inside the vehicle parked near an apartment building in Gangnam-gu in southern Seoul, according to the Gangnam Police Station.The car is owned by pop singer Son Ho-young, the police said, adding that an empty bottle of sleeping pills and a used briquette were found along with a suicide note."The deceased woman i

'국가정보원의 대선•정치 개입 의혹'을 수사 중인 서울중앙지검 특별수사팀(팀장 윤석열)은 21일 경찰 단계에서의 수사 축소•외압 의혹과 관련해 김용판 전 서울경찰청장을 소환 조사중이다.김 전 청장은 이날 오전 10시께 피고발인 신분으로 변호인과 함께 검찰에 출석했다.김 전 청장은 지난해 경찰이 국정원 여직원 댓글 사건을 수사할 당시 사건을 맡은 수서경찰서에 부당하게 개입해 수사를 축소시킨 의혹을 받고 있다. 검찰 관계자는 이날 "그동안 조사를 통해 확인된 게 있어 소환했다"고 말했다. 이 관계자는 "일단 오늘 한 번으로 조사를 끝내는 게 맞겠지만 압수물 분석을 해보고 의미 있는 게 나오면 더 부를 수도 있다"고 말했다. 검찰은 김 전 청장을 상대로 수사 실무진 혹은 지휘 라인에 수사를 축소하라고 압력을 넣었는지, 이 과정에 특정 정치권과 모종의 협의가 있었는지 등을 집중 추궁 하고 있다. 권은희 전 수서서 수사과장(현 송파서 수사과장)은 민주당이 작년 12월 수서서에 국정원 댓글 의

Prosecutors summoned a former head of the Seoul police agency Tuesday for questioning over suspicions that he had hampered a police probe into the nation's spy agency's alleged attempt to influence public opinion ahead of last year's presidential election.The summons came after a female detective, who led the police investigation, claimed that high-ranking police officers of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) had pressured her to treat the case lightly.Kim Yong-pan, who headed the SMPA

South Korea is seeking to resume talks on a free trade deal with Russia as part of efforts to expand its economic cooperation with the country, the government said Tuesday.Free trade agreement (FTA) talks with Russia came to a halt in 2008 when Russia suspended negotiations unilaterally. In a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok to discuss trade affairs, the government decided to resume FTA talks with Russia as quickly as possible, a move aimed at pre-empting the market there and lay

South Korea has reported the first confirmed case of a person infected with a tick-borne virus in the country following reports of deaths in China and Japan, the state-run disease control agency said Tuesday.Out of five suspected cases, a 63-year-old woman was found to be infected with the virus transmitted by one species of tick, the Haemaphysalis longicornis, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.The infected patient died in Seoul in August last year and four others w

A monstrous tornado of rare power roared through an Oklahoma City suburb, killing at least 51, flattening neighborhoods with winds up to 200 mph (320 kilometers) and destroying at least one school. Officials said children were among the dead.The death toll was expected to rise, an Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office spokeswoman said. More than 120 people were being treated at hospitals, including about 70 children. Some were in critical condition.“Hearts are broken” for parents looking for their

A North Korean concentration camp escapee will receive an international human rights award for raising global awareness of atrocities taking place in the communist country, a news report said Tuesday.The Voice of America (VOA) said the Switzerland-based non-governmental agency UN Watch decided to give the 2013 Moral Courage Award to Shin Dong-hyuk, who has been made famous by his biography "Escape from Camp 14." The award ceremony will be held in Geneva's League of Nations Hall on June 5 with th

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investors scooped up key exporters amid the eased concerns over the weak Japanese yen, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 4.49 points, or 0.23 percent, to 1,986.92 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips led the gain, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.07 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix climbing 0.16 percent. Samsung Techwin, a defense and precision machinery firm, added 0.76 pe

Jose Mourinho will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season after three years at the Spanish club, paving the way for his expected return to Chelsea.The Portuguese coach's final season at Madrid has been blighted by divisions and a lack of trophies, but he is free to leave three years early from his contract after the final match on June 1 without any compensation involved.“To spend three years in a first-division Spanish club is not easy _ I share his reasons for wanting to leave,” President

South Korea's credit card spending grew at a slower pace in April from a year earlier as the economic slowdown continued to dent consumer sentiment, a trade association said Tuesday.Purchases made with plastic cards totaled 44.8 trillion won ($40.1 billion) last month, up 4.5 percent from the 42.9 trillion won tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Credit Finance Association (CREFIA).The country's card spending sank to an all-time low in February, growing 3.4 percent on-ye