North Korea again claimed the South Korean Navy’s firing of warning shots at its vessels that trespassed into the de facto western maritime border as “a premeditated plot” to heighten inter-Korean tension on Saturday.The North said it will open fire without warning at any South Korean warship that intrudes an inch into the sea border.“The reckless military provocation was evidently prompted by a premeditated sinister plot to bedevil the North-South relations and further aggravate the tension on

North Korea continues to show signs suggesting it could be reprocessing spent nuclear fuel to harvest plutonium for nuclear weapons, a U.S. research institute said Friday, citing recent satellite imagery.The May 22 imagery of the North’s Yongbyon nuclear complex shows nine tanks in front of the spent fuel reception building next to the reprocessing plant, and smoke from a coal-fired plant providing steam for reprocessing activity, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said.

The ratio of South Korea’s household debt borrowed by local banks dipped to the lowest-ever level as stricter screening regulations prompted more people to take out loans from nonbanking lenders, data showed Saturday. The private sector debt, excluding credit card spending, tallied at 569.3 trillion won ($482.5 billion) at end-March, and loans by local banks accounted for 49.1 percent of the total, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said. It is the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2002 when the central b

South Korean stocks will likely remain in a tight range next week on lingering uncertainties over the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate decision and Britain’s possible exit from the eurozone, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,967.17 on Friday, up 1 percent from a week earlier. The index dipped to a three-month low on Tuesday, but bounced back the next day as securities firms rallied on expectations of extending stock trading hours by 30 minutes

South Korea's weather service said Wednesday that its employee mistakenly sent to local media outlets a fax message saying that a 6.5-magnitude earthquake occurred in Hoengseong, Gangwon Province.The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) apologized for the false message, saying that it was wrongly disseminated amid a five-day disaster response exercise, which began on Monday."We apologize deeply for causing inconvenience," the KMA said in a statement."The message was made for an exercise pur

South Korea will select a foreign jet engine maker to power the country's first indigenously-developed combat aircraft by next month, the defense procurement agency said Wednesday.European jet engine giant Eurojet Turbo GmbH is competing against U.S. rival General Electric (GE) for the South Korean deal to procure engines for its high-profile indigenous fighter jet project, known as the Korean Fighter Experimental, or KF-X.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) is currently review

SEOUL, May 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's point man on unification said Wednesday that now is the time to focus on punishing North Korea with sanctions for its nuclear and missile provocations amid the possibility of the North's fifth nuclear test.Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo told a forum that seeking dialogue with Pyongyang is needed down the road, but it is also not a panacea.“Dialogue is necessary, but it is not a cure-all,” Hong said.“There is the need to prod North Korea into changing i

An unarmed U.S. soldier awaiting trial has deserted an American Army base in a city near the border with North Korea, police said Wednesday.The whereabouts of a 27-year-old serviceman, whose identity is withheld, has been unknown since Saturday when he is presumed to have run away, according to the police. It said the U.S. Army is currently trying to locate him.Police said he belongs to the U.S. Army's 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Casey, which is located in Dongducheon, some 40 kilometers north

French President Francois Hollande vowed Tuesday to stick with his controversial attempts to reform the labor market, even as a new round of violent protests broke out.Police fired tear gas in central Paris as an initially peaceful protest organized by unions and students was disrupted by a more radical fringe.The labor reforms have sparked two months of protests on France‘s streets, drawing 68,000 nationwide on Tuesday, authorities said, while organizers put the turnout at 220,000. “Withdraw, w

About two years ago, Park Hyung-jun was told by his doctor that he should stop drinking coke. The 32-year-old used to have three cans of coke a day – one after every meal. “I loved the sensation of carbonation and the sweet taste,” he told The Korea Herald. “It felt like drinking coke helped digestion. It was just a nice way of finishing meals, especially heavy ones. ”Kim developed his love for coke while he was serving his military duty about five years ago. Coke became a daily necessity for hi

The new commander of the United States military forces in South Korea said Thursday he expects resumption of talks and coordination with North Korea during his first visit to the frontline region separating the two sides.The Joint Security Area (JSA), the inter-Korean truce village where South and North Korean soldiers are standing face-to-face, was the choice for Gen. Vincent Brooks' first field inspection as the top commander of the 28,000-strong U.S. Forces Korea.  "Each time I come back (her

Brazil’s Senate voted Thursday to impeach President Dilma Rousseff after a months-long fight that laid raw the country’s fury over corruption and economic decay, hurling Latin America’s largest country into political turmoil just months before it hosts the Summer Olympics. Rousseff’s enraged backers called the move a coup d’etat and threatened wide-scale protests and strikes. Her foes, meanwhile, insisted that she had broken the law, and that the country’s deep political, social and economic woe

    President Park Geun-hye is seeking to capitalize on diplomatic and economic achievements from her groundbreaking visit to Iran to push forward stalled domestic reforms.   Park secured Iran's support for denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula during talks with her Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani earlier this week in Tehran -- the first summit between the leaders of the two countries in more than half a century.   She also met with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a symboli

    Once dismissed as a fringe contender, businessman Donald Trump now is all but certain to lead the Republican Party into the fall presidential campaign against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton -- a stunning political triumph for a first-time candidate whose appeal to frustrated voters was widely underestimated.    Trump's victory in Indiana Tuesday and Ted Cruz's abrupt decision to drop out resolved the Republican nominee for 2016, but it still left the party in a deep state of uncerta

　Up until this year, cadets at South Korea’s military academies were banned from getting married, smoking cigarettes, and drinking alcohol off campus as part of an effort to instill a sense of discipline throughout their four-year training and education process. 　From this year, however, the Army, Navy and the Air Force Academies have eased their rules to allow cadets to drink outside the schools, as the policy was criticized for being out-of-date. Drinking on campus and in uniform is still bann

Lawmaker-elects are gearing up to seize the legislative lead with eye-catching and trailblazing bills when the 20th National Assembly begins its four-year term end-May.　Lawmaker-elect Lee Hye-hoon of the Saenuri Party has vowed to introduce a bill aiming to restrict the government from granting presidential pardon to convicted chaebol owners. Conglomerate leaders have mostly enjoyed the privilege and the release has was often been justified as a step to jumpstart the economy. 　“Releasing them do

Nine people were killed after a powerful earthquake hit southern Japan, toppling homes, sparking fires and injuring hundreds, officials said Friday, as rescuers scrambled to find residents feared trapped in rubble.Tens of thousands of people fled their homes after the 6.5-magnitude quake struck the southwestern island of Kyushu, buckling roads and leaving lumps of broken concrete strewn in the streets. This aerial photo shows houses damaged by a magnitude-6.5 earthquake in Mashiki, Kumamoto pref

Turkey's interior minister on Sunday identified the suicide bomber who killed himself and four foreign tourists in Istanbul as a militant with links to the Islamic State group.Minister Efkan Ala said the bomber was Turkish citizen Mehmet Ozturk, who was born in 1992 in Gaziantep province, which borders Syria. He said Ozturk had no previous criminal record and five other people were detained as part of the investigation. Saturday's explosion killed five people, including Ozturk, andeurowounded do

Stepping into history, President Barack Obama opened an extraordinary visit to Cuba on Sunday, eager to push decades of acrimony deeper into the past and forge irreversible ties with America's former adversary. ``It is wonderful to be here,'' he said.Obama's whirlwind trip is a crowning moment in his and Cuban President Raul Castro's ambitious effort to restore normal relations between their countries. While deep differences persist, the economic and political relationship has changed rapidly in

South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday cast doubts on North Korea’s ability to ensure that its intercontinental ballistic missiles can reenter the atmosphere after being fired, despite its claims to have acquired the related technology.The ministry’s spokesman Moon Sang-kyun said that based on intelligence reports, Pyongyang does not appear to have acquired the technology to develop a “reentry vehicle” for its long-range missiles, which is key technology required to utilize the weapons.“What