With Russia warily looking on, European Union leaders on Thursday implored Ukraine to sign a landmark association agreement and reverse the geopolitical defeat they suffered last week when the former Soviet republic sought closer ties with Moscow instead of Brussels.Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych shocked the 28-country bloc by freezing the long-negotiated deal days before it was due to be signed. EU leaders continued to express guarded optimism for the future even as the first day of a tw

Eighty people were injured early Friday when a high-speed ferry travelling from Hong Kong to Macau hit an "unidentified object" in the water, according to Hong Kong's marine department."Information received from the Marine Department suggested that 80 people on the ferry were injured. Among them four were classified as seriously injured," a spokesman for the Hong Kong government told AFP.Local media reported that the vessel was a hydrofoil.It comes just a month after Hong Kong marked the one yea

Tension in Northeast Asia persisted Friday as China sent fighter jets and early warning aircraft to its newly declared air defense zone over the East China Sea which overlaps those of South Korea and Japan. The move comes a day after Seoul and Tokyo flew their own warplanes into the air space in what appeared to be a show of force against Beijing’s increasing maritime assertions. Washington, which displayed opposition toward any alteration of the status quo, flew two B-52 strategic bombers over

South Korea and China have agreed to strengthen their maritime cooperation that will include the mutual use of their assets in the Antarctic for joint research, the South Korean government said Friday.The agreement came at the latest bilateral talks on maritime cooperation held in Beijing on Thursday, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.At this week's meeting, the 12th of its kind, "the two sides agreed to pursue a joint survey of the sea in the polar region, using the two countrie

South Korea's industrial output grew at the fastest pace in 11 months in October, raising hopes that the economy might be picking up its recovery momentum, a government report showed Friday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries gained 1.8 percent last month from a month earlier. This marked the fastest growth since November of last year when it increased 2.1 percent. It also represented a turnaround from a revised 2.3

South Koreans' overseas credit card spending rose to a fresh record high in the third quarter as the number of outbound travelers increased amid the local currency's ascent, the central bank said Friday.Overseas credit card bills totaled US$2.71 billion in the July-September period, up 7.3 percent from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The BOK said that the number of outbound travelers sharply rose last quarter, making spending on overseas travel increase.In the cited pe

South Korean stocks opened almost flat Friday as investors took a wait-and-see approach on a possible tapering of quantitative easing (QE) by the U.S. Federal Reserve, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 0.96 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,044.81 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares traded mixed, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics losing 0.13 percent, while SK hynix gained 0.99 percent. LG Electronics fell 0.29 percent.Shipbuilders lost groun

 故최진실의 마지막 매니저로 알려진 32살 박모 씨가 스스로 목숨을 끊은 것으로 알려져 충격을 주고 있다.26일 오후 서울 역삼동 한 모텔서 발견된 박모씨의 주변에서는 신경안정제와 수면제 빈 봉지 등이 발견됐다. 경찰은 타살 흔적이 없고 약물이 발견된 점으로 미뤄 박씨가 극단적 선택을 한 것으로 보고 있다.박씨 가족은 경찰에 “오래전부터 박씨가 우울증 약을 복용해 왔다”고 진술한 것으로 알려졌다. 박씨는 세상을 떠나기 몇 달 전부터 생활고에 시달린 것으로 전해졌다.경찰은 이 같은 정황을 바탕으로 故 최진실 매니저가 우울증을 앓다 스스로 목숨을 끊은 것으로 보고 정확한 사인을 조사하고 있다.한편 지난 2005년부터 2008년까지 故 최진실의 마지막 매니저로 일했던 박씨는 지난해 매니저 일을 그만 둔 것으로 알려졌다. 박씨의 사망이 더욱 충격적인 것은 최진실 사망 이후 주변 인물들은 잇따라 목숨을 끊고 있다는 것이다. 2008년 악성 루머에 시달리던 최씨가 서울 잠원동 자택에서 목을 매

A senior U.S. White House official visited South Korea Thursday to discuss the unilateral drawing of Beijing‘s air defense zone over the East China Sea.Evan Medeiros, the senior director of Asian affairs at the National Security Council, was in Seoul and held talks with officials at the presidential office.Mederios explained Washington’s stance on the air defense identification zone and expressed concerns that such a move will likely exert a negative influence on U.S.-China relations and with ot

서울중앙지검 형사8부(김태철 부장검사) 는 가수 비(본명 정지훈)에 대한 '군 복무규정 위반' 고발 사건을 경찰에서 송치받아 수사중이라고 28일 밝혔다.고발장을 낸 한 시민은 "비가 연예 병사 복무 당시 잦은 휴가를 내고 복무규정을 어겼다"라며 형사처벌을 촉구했고, 수사를 담당한 강남경찰서는 지난 8월 사건을 검찰에 송치한 것으로 알려졌다.경찰은 당시 고발 내용에 대해 '혐의없음' 의견을 올린 것으로 알려졌다. 검찰 관계자는 "수사중이라 구체적인 수사내용은 확인해 줄 수 없다. 필요하면 당사자도 불러 조사할 것"이라고 말했다.비는 지난 2011년 10월 입대한 뒤 지난해 2월 말 국방홍보지원대(연예 병사)로 선발돼 복무해왔다.올 초 배우 김태희씨와의 열애설이 나오면서 군 복무 중 자주 휴가를 나와 데이트를 즐겼다는 보도가 났고 이 때문에 특혜 시비 및 복무규율 위반 논란이 일었다.   국방부는 비의 군인복무 규율 위반 사실을 확인해 '7일 근신' 처분을 내렸다.그러다 지난 6월 일부

K-pop star Rain is under investigation by prosecutors on charges of violating the military code of conduct during his mandatory service, prosecution officials said Thursday.The probe comes after an unidentified person had filed a charge against the 30-year-old singer, whose real name is Jung Ji-hoon, for spending too many days off duty before being discharged in July, they said.All able-bodied South Korean men are required to serve about two years in the armed forces.Rain spent 21 months as an "

 지난 3일(현지시간), 유튜브 뮤직 어워즈에서 소녀시대의 “아이 갓 어 보이(I Got A Boy)”로 레이디 가가, 저스틴 비버 등 기라성 같은 스타들을 제치고 “올해의 비디오” 상을 수상했다.CNN 방송은 수상 당시 분위기에 대해 “관중들의 반응은 조용했다(muted). 곳곳에서 산발적인 박수소리가 들렸으나, 대부분 침묵밖에 없었다”고 전했다. 실제로 소녀시대의 미국 주류음악계에서의 인지도는 ‘강남스타일’로 전세계를 강타한 싸이와 달리 낮은 편이다. 그러나 전세계 팬들을 대상으로 하는 유튜브에서 소녀시대를 포함한 케이팝의 위상은 무시못할 수준으로 성장했다. 케이팝 뮤직비디오를 지켜보는 자신의 모습을 담은 ‘케이팝 반응 비디오(k-pop reaction video)’ 자체만 해도 상당한 인기를 끌 정도.이에 유튜브 상에서 활동하는 온라인 영상 제작자 “파인 브라더스(Fine Brothers)”는 다른 ‘유튜브 유명인사(코미디 등 다양한 활동을 찍어서 유튜브 채널에 올리는 방식으로

중국은 한국이 동중국해 방공식별구역 선포에 항의하고 조정을 요구한데 대해 사실상 거부한다고 밝혔다.한국과 중국은 28일 서울 국방부에서 개최된 제3차 국방전략대화에서 방공식별구역 문제에 대해 논의했으나 이견 확인 수준에 그쳤다.김민석 국방부 대변인은 국방전략대화 뒤 브리핑에서 중국측 반응에 대한 질문에 “일단 우리측의 요구에 대해서 수용하지 않겠다고 답변했다”고 밝혔다.백승주 국방부 차관을 수석대표로 하는 우리측은 이날 회의에서 먼저 한중간 신뢰관계를 고려할 때 중국의 방공식별구역이 우리의 방공식별구역과 일부 중첩되고 이어도까지 포함돼 있는데도 사전협의가 없었다는 데 대해 매우 유감이라는 뜻을 전달했다고 김 대변인은 전했다.이와 함께 우리측은 중국을 포함한 주변국들의 방공식별구역 설정과 무관하게 이어도와 주변 수역 우리 관할권은 영향을 받지 않을 것이라는 점을 강조하고, 한국방공식별구역과 중첩되는 부분 시정을 요구하면서 국익보호를 위해 방공식별구역 확장을 검토중에 있다고 밝혔다.특히

South Korean stocks inched up 0.84 percent on Thursday as tech shares gained ground on expectations that U.S. consumer spending may pick up near the year-end, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 16.96 points to 2,045.77. Trading volume was moderate at 270.4 million shares worth 3.99 trillion won (US$3.76 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 518 to 299."Foreign capital flew into the local share market, led

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the convictions of two Unified Progressive Party members for voting fraud in last year’s in-house primary. Only identified by their surnames Lee and Baek, the members of the minor opposition party were sentenced to one year in prison with three years suspended.They and other party members were put on trial for voting in place of other party members after receiving voting orders through phone text messages during last year’s elections to select UPP proportiona

Former independent presidential candidate Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo announced on Thursday that he would launch a new party in the coming months, potentially reshaping the political landscape currently dominated by two parties. Saying that inter-party conflict was holding back Korean politics, Ahn said that a tentatively named “new politics promotion committee” would be launched to lay the foundations for his party. “The aim is establishing a party. There exists a national demand for new politics. The n

South Korean stocks traded 0.63 percent higher late Thursday morning, due mainly to gains in technology firms and mobile carriers, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 12.73 points to 2,041.54 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares continued to trade higher, with No. 1 Samsung Electronics rising 1.36 percent and flat panel maker LG Display climbing 2.73 percent. Leading chipmaker SK hynix moved up 1.59 percent.Mobile carriers also gathered ground, with SK Telecom addi

The ruling Saenuri Party unilaterally adopted a report Thursday on the confirmation of the nominee for Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) chief, defying strong objections from the main opposition party.The report was adopted in a vote by all seven ruling party members on the special parliamentary committee for handling nominee Hwang Chan-hyon's confirmation.The remaining six opposition party members boycotted the vote, but the report still passed with majority approval.The move is expected to d

The Doosan Bears abruptly fired Kim Jin-wook as their manager late Wednesday, weeks after finishing runner-up in the top domestic baseball league, citing his inability to take the team to the next level.The Seoul-based Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club said they promoted Song Il-soo, formerly the manager of their minor league affiliate, to replace Kim. The Bears also said Song, 62, has signed for three years, with an annual salary of 250 million won ($235,500) and another 250 million won in

China acknowledged Wednesday it let two American B-52 bombers fly unhindered through its newly declared air defense zone in the East China Sea despite its earlier threat to take defensive measures against unidentified foreign aircraft. The U.S. flights, which tested the Chinese zone for the first time since it was declared over the weekend, raised questions about Beijing's determination to enforce its requirement that foreign aircraft identify themselves and accept Chinese instructions. China's