Prosecutors said Tuesday they have indicted three board members of the Seoul branch of a British international school over allegations they embezzled some billions of won in school expenses in violation of the private school act.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said the dean of admissions at Dulwich College Seoul, identified only by her surname Lee, is accused of siphoning off some 7.2 billion won ($6 million) of tuition from 2010 to 2015 to redeem loans. The money was borrowed to

The United States said Tuesday that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the highest priority in its North Korea policy and pressed the communist country to give up its nuclear programs. The close cooperation on Resolution 2270 adopted by the U.N.Security Council, imposing the strongest sanctions yet on Pyongyang, demonstrated that South Korea and the U.S. are in "firm agreement" on dealing with threats posed by the North, the U.S.Embassy said in a press release.Last week, the U.N. adopte

A U.N. resolution unanimously adopted Wednesday ratchets up sanctions on North Korea, with a raft of new measures that are the toughest yet to hit the reclusive country.Here are the key points of the resolution: ARMS EMBARGO TIGHTENED- Prevents sales of small arms, transfers of any item except food and medicine that could be used by the armed forces, for example trucks.- Bans military and police cooperation, shutting down North Korea's training programs abroad, in particular in Africa. These wer

The National Intelligence Service reported to the National Assembly on Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently ordered terrorist attacks in the South, which reportedly include kidnapping or poisoning government officials or North Korean defectors here. Saenuri’s Rep. Lee Cheol-woo, member of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, said that the North may target the country’s power supplies or public areas. He added members of the media who criticize the Kim regime may be vic

Next month’s joint military drills by South Korea and the United States will simulate an endgame scenario for North Korea that has the military recover the entire territory of the peninsula after the collapse of the Kim Jong-un regime, a military official said Thursday.The relatively rare simulation -- military operations are usually focused on hitting the North Korean leadership in Pyongyang -- coincided with Defense Minister Han Min-koo saying that the annual war games would be “the biggest ye

North Korea notified a U.N. maritime agency Tuesday that it will launch a satellite later this month, confirming widespread concern the communist nation is readying for a banned long-range rocket launch just weeks after its fourth nuclear test.The North said in a letter to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that an "earth observation satellite" will be launched between Feb. 8-25. It also provided coordinates for three maritime areas where rocket stages are expected to fall. This photo

U.S. presidential hopefuls trained their sights on New Hampshire and beyond Tuesday, with conservative Ted Cruz keen to build on his dramatic Iowa victory over Donald Trump, and Democrat Hillary Clinton reminded that she is not politically invincible.Republicans in the rural state backed the ultraconservative Cruz for their party's nomination, leaving a humbled Trump in second place just ahead of Senator Marco Rubio, according to nearly complete results given by the party. Republican presidentia

ANSAN, Gyeonggi Province – Lockers have not been emptied, boards not erased, class timetables not updated and the calendar not flipped since that fateful day of April 16, 2014. This photo shows one of the Memory Classrooms dedicated to the student victims. (Yoon Min-sik/The Korea Herald)Ten classrooms in Danwon High School in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province have been left untouched in memory of 250 students who were killed or remain missing from the sinking of the ferry Sewol en route from Incheon to J

It was a harsh end to the year 2015, as the nation roiled in escalating angst against the government’s agreement with Japan to settle the World War II wartime sexual slavery issue. The year had already been riven with conflicts over education, ideology, labor and other social issues that are likely to continue in the coming year.Social division is expected to only deteriorate as the nation enters major elections, starting with the April 13 general election, which is shaping up as a prelude to th

Ewha Womans University Medical Center said Wednesday it had opened the Organ Transplantation Center to provide a wide range of services for patients who need organ transplants. One of the nation’s leading medical institutes said that the specialized center in southwestern Seoul was part of the EUMC’s efforts to sharpen its competitiveness in organ transplants -- one of its key fields of expertise -- before unveiling its second hospital in Seoul in 2018.Headed by director and surgeon Jung Gu-yong

Amnesty International said on Wednesday that nearly three months of Russian air raids in Syria have killed hundreds of civilians, many in targeted strikes that could constitute war crimes.Some “appear to have directly attacked civilians or civilian objects by striking residential areas with no evident military target and even medical facilities, resulting in deaths and injuries to civilians,” Amnesty Middle East and North Africa director Philip Luther said in a statement.“Such attacks may amount

Russia's top investigative body on Wednesday declared Mikhail Khodorkovsky as arrested in absentia, two years after the Kremlin critic and former oil tycoon was pardoned after serving 10 years in prison.Investigators earlier this month accused the former billionaire of involvement in the 1998 murder of a Siberian mayor. On Tuesday, Russian officials searched the residences of several employees of his Open Russia foundation in connection with a probe into a privatization deal.Khodorkovsky, 52, sp

The French cabinet backed reform proposals Wednesday that could see the state of emergency called after last month's Paris attacks enshrined in the constitution. Special policing powers used under the state of emergency -- such as house arrests and the right to raid houses without judicial oversight -- are currently based on an ordinary law which can be challenged at the constitutional court.In the wake of the Paris attacks that left 130 dead, President Francois Hollande called for the emergency

The Constitutional Court ruled in a 6-3 vote Wednesday that hormonal treatment to suppress sexual impulses in sex offenders is constitutional.In 2013, a district court had challenged the law that allows chemical castration for convicted child molesters over 19 years of age who are at risk of repeating their crimes, saying it violates basic human rights. The Constitutional Court, however, said the medication is a temporary treatment for the offenders and the hormones could be produced again when

Ruling Saenuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung apologized Friday for a racist remark he made to an African student during volunteer work earlier in the day.Kim had been delivering briquettes to the socially underprivileged in southern Seoul as part of the party’s community outreach program, when he told an accompanying student that his face “was the same color as the briquettes.” The student reportedly did not understand the comment.Kim Moo-sung (Yonhap)As public criticism mounted, Kim posted a public

NAPLES, Florida (AP) -- Lydia Ko had just been handed a $1 million bonus for the second consecutive year, and the first thing she thought about buying with those newfound additional riches was a new phone.She’s had a bunch. She keeps dropping them.“My mom doesn’t like it,” Ko said. “Phones are expensive.”It’s moments like those that serve as the reminder that the New Zealander is only 18. The way she plays, no one believes she’s just a teenager. The LPGA’s rookie of the year from 2014 was the LP

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Egypt agreed Tuesday to work together to combat the growing threat of terrorism in the world, the Foreign Ministry said.Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, held talks on a wide range of issues, including bilateral ties, regional issues and cooperation on the global stage, the ministry said in a press release.Citing the Nov. 13 Paris terrorist attacks, Shoukry said the international community must work together to fig

Turkey shot down a Russian warplane Tuesday, claiming it had violated Turkish airspace and ignored repeated warnings. Russia denied that the plane crossed the Syrian border into Turkish skies.“We are looking into the circumstances of the crash of the Russian jet,” Russia's Defense Ministry said. “The Ministry of Defense would like to stress that the plane was over the Syrian territory throughout the flight.” Russia said the Su-24 was downed by artillery fire, but Turkey claimed that its F-16s fi

한국학 전문가인 시카고 대학의 브루스 커밍스 교수는 최근 한국사 교과서를 국정화하기로 한 한국 정부의 결정에 대해 “멍청한 계획”이라면서, “박근혜 대통령이 일본 신조 아베 총리에게 놀아나는 것(playing into the hands of Abe)”이라고 비판을 했다. 그는 “올바른 역사란 없다”면서 역사란 끊임없는 토론을 통해 진실을 추구하는 과정이라고 설명했다.　다음은 커밍스 교수의 인터뷰 전문　1. 역사 검인정 제도를 국정화로 교체하는 것의 가장 큰 문제는 무엇인가?　커밍스: 가장 큰 문제는 정부가 역사를 다루는 방법을 모른다는 것이다. 정부는 정치인들이 이끌며, 정치인들은 지지도를 높이기 위해 달이 녹색으로 된 치즈로 만들어졌다는 식의 발언까지 불사하는 사람들이다. 미국에서 만약 도널드 트럼프가 역사 교과서에 무슨 내용이 들어갈지 결정한다고 상상해보라. 마치 만화책 같을 것이다.물론 정부는 “우리가 진짜(bona-fide) 역사가들을 고용할 거지 만화 작가를 고용하는 게 아

China vowed Wednesday to finance one third of Britain's first nuclear power plant in decades in a project led by French energy giant EDF confirmed on the second day of President Xi Jinping's state visit.The blockbuster deal, signed in the presence of Xi and British Prime Minister David Cameron, was announced by EDF in an official statement as London rolls out the red carpet to Chinese investors.The agreement for the 18-billion pound ($28-billion, 24.5-billion-euro) project, which is scheduled fo