South Korea's military said Wednesday that it sent reinforcement troops to western border islands near the tense sea border with North Korea in a drill aimed at countering Pyongyang's relentless provocations.    The regular exercise has been held since 2011, a year after North Korea sank a South Korean warship that resulted in the deaths of 46 sailors.   The Navy and the Marine Corps' quick maneuver force of 4,000 troops took part in the drill, being sent to the border islands on Air Force C-130

[THE INVESTOR] North Korea’s fifth nuclear test on last Friday put China and its decades-old ties with the hermit kingdom to the test, amid growing accusations that Beijing is not doing enough to curb Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.Douglas H. Paal, vice president for studies at international think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, stressed the importance of China’s role in thwarting the North’s nuclear ambitions. He said China holds the key to engaging with the

Four people were killed Saturday after a fire broke out at a construction site in the western city of Gimpo, rescue workers said.The fire broke out at about 1:30 p.m. at the construction site of a residential building here, according to officials from the Gimpo fire station.What exactly started the fire will be determined through a later investigation, but the officials believe exposed insulation may have caught sparks from a welder as workers at the construction site have said they were welding

  More and stronger sanctions should be in place against North Korea as its nuclear capability has been upgraded in the past decade, South Korea's top diplomat said Saturday, calling on the international community to make concerted efforts to put further pressure on the communist state.His remarks came as Pyongyang conducted its nuclear test in its northeastern region early Friday claiming that its detonation test was "successful."“Over the past decade, North Korea's nuclear capability has highl

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest manufacturer of smartphones, on Saturday urged local users of its Galaxy Note 7 to stop using the phablet as the company is recalling its flagship smartphone due to a battery problem.In an online statement, Samsung said Galaxy Note 7 users are advised to visit its service centers nationwide to exchange their phones for other Samsung smartphones before receiving a new Galaxy Note 7 with a safe battery from Sept. 19. (Yonhap)Earlier this month, Samsung

The United States and Russia early Saturday announced a breakthrough agreement on Syria that foresees a nationwide cease-fire starting on Monday, followed a week later by an unlikely new military partnership targeting the Islamic State and al-Qaida as well as the establishment of new limits on President Bashar Assad's forces.After a daylong final negotiating session in Geneva, US Secretary of State John Kerry said shortly after midnight Saturday that the plan could reduce violence in Syria and l

South Korea and the United States on Saturday started their search for any traces, including radionuclides or radioactive materials such as xenon, that could come from North Korea's latest nuclear test, military officials said.North Korea conducted its fifth and largest-yet nuclear test in its northeastern region early Friday, sending ripples through the international community.“The investigation team will engage in collecting and analyzing radionuclide exposure in the water and atmosphere,” a m

Cash-strapped Hanjin Shipping Co. was given provisional court protection in the US on Friday to unload cargo at some ports without worrying about its ships being seized by its creditors, industry sources said Saturday.Hanjin Shipping, currently under receivership in South Korea, has sought court protection in the US as four of its ships have been stranded off the coast of the US out of fears that they will be seized by creditors.According to the sources, US Bankruptcy Judge John K. Sherwood on F

 President Park Geun-hye on Friday excoriated North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the country’s fifth nuclear test, calling him "uncontrollable" and stressing the need to strengthen the U.S. extended deterrence.During a meeting of top security and foreign policy officials, Park underscored that the communist state's evolving nuclear threats are "urgent and existential" for South Korea, and that the international community's response to them must be "diametrically different" from what it has been

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter called for ramping up pressure on North Korea and stressed the importance of China’s role in reining in the provocative regime after Pyongyang carried out its fifth nuclear test.“This nuclear test constitutes a direct challenge to the entire international community. It is another destabilizing and provocative act by North Korea that further heightens anxiety on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the vital Asia-Pacific region,”Carter said during a visit to Oslo, a

Hillary Clinton said Friday it was time for a “rethinking” of America’s strategy for North Korea following the regime’s latest test of a nuclear weapon. Donald Trump’s campaign chief, meanwhile, refused to outline the Republican presidential candidate’s plans for defusing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.Speaking after meeting with a bipartisan group of national security experts in New York, the former secretary of state said she would seek to impose tougher sanctions on the communist nation. Sh

President Barack Obama vowed Friday to push for new international sanctions in retaliation for the “grave threat” posed by North Korea’s latest nuclear test.The US leader consulted by telephone with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe following news of the reclusive country’s fifth and most powerful test.“We agreed to work with the UN Security Council, our other Six-Party partners, and the international community to vigorously implement existing measures i

The Latest on North Korea's nuclear test7:30 a.m.The U.N. Security Council is strongly condemning North Korea's latest nuclear test and says it will start discussions on “significant measures'' against Pyongyang including new sanctions.The council quickly agreed to a press statement after an emergency closed-door meeting late Friday afternoon called by the United States, Japan and South Korea. Just three days ago, the council condemned the North's latest ballistic missile test.In Friday's statem

The UN Security Council on Friday strongly condemned North Korea's fifth nuclear test and pledged to begin work immediately to put together a new resolution of sanctions punishing the communist nation.“The members of the Security Council strongly condemned this test, which is a clear violation and a flagrant disregard of Security Council resolution,” Security Council president and New Zealand Ambassador Gerard van Bohemen told reporters after urgent discussions, reading a press statement.“The me

Rescue crews using bulldozers and their bare hands raced to dig out survivors from a strong earthquake that reduced three central Italian towns to rubble Wednesday. The death toll stood at 159, but the number of dead and missing was uncertain given the thousands of vacationers in the area for summer’s final days.Residents wakened before dawn by the temblor emerged from their crumbled homes to find what they described as apocalyptic scenes ``like Dante’s Inferno,’’ with entire blocks of buildings

North Korea on Wednesday test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile into the East Sea, in what appears to be an act of protest against the ongoing annual joint drills held by South Korea and the US.The launch comes two days after the North threatened “preemptive nuclear strike” against the allies, for what it claims to be a retaliatory action against the military exercise. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the SLBM was fired around 5:30 a.m. near the city of Sinpo, South Hamkyung Pr

Tesla Motors has begun taking online reservations in Korea for its electric cars, Model S, Model X, and Model 3, the company said Friday.With a deposit of 2 million won ($1,800) for the Model S, 5 million won for Model X and 1 million won for model 3, customers can make a reservation, it said in the first statement released for Korean press. (AFP-Yonhap)“Korean customers have already shown a great interest in Tesla through reservations for Model 3,” it said. The model 3 is a Tesla electric vehic

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea has kicked off development of an advanced radar for its indigenous fighter jet project set for completion by 2026, the military affiliated arms procurement agency said Wednesday.According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the state-run Agency for Defense Development held a meeting on development and systems integration for the active electronically scanned array for the Korean Fighter Experimental, or KF-X, project. The meeting -- held in the ADD headq

Fresh from its election victory on Tuesday, the new leadership of the ruling Saenuri Party faces an array of daunting challenges, including shoring up public trust and fostering unity in a party long beset by factional feuds that have hurt it in the eyes of voters, analysts said.At a national convention in Seoul the party elected Rep. Lee Jung-hyun, a third-term lawmaker loyal to President Park Geun-hye, as its new leader, and chose five new members of the party’s decision-making Supreme Council

The ruling Saenuri Party on Tuesday elected Rep. Lee Jung-hyun as its new leader, marking the first time for a politician from the country's liberal-leaning southwestern Honam region to take the helm of the conservative party.The third-term lawmaker was elected at the party's national convention in Seoul that also picked five members of the decision-making Supreme Council.Lee, who represents Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, is one of the only two Saenuri Party lawmakers from the Honam region whe