South Korea's major business groups have to repay maturing bonds worth nearly 30 trillion won ($27.9 billion) through 2014, data showed Monday, raising woes over their financial health.The country's top 30 conglomerates' listed firms must pay back debts worth 9.7 trillion won by the end of this year, and another 19.2 trillion won by next year, according to the data by market researcher Chaebul.com.Cash-strapped Tong Yang Group, the country's 38th-largest conglomerate, saw its bonds set to mature

Oscar Hijuelos, a Cuban-American novelist who won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1989 novel “The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love” and whose work often captured the losses and triumphs of the Cuban immigrant experience, has died. He was 62.Hijuelos died of a heart attack in Manhattan on Saturday while playing tennis, according to his agent, Jennifer Lyons.“The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love” became a best seller and earned him international acclaim. He won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1990, making

Mass evacuations spared India the widespread deaths many had feared from a powerful cyclone that roared ashore over the weekend, officials said Sunday, as the country sorted through the wreckage of flooded towns, tangled power lines and tens of thousands of destroyed thatch homes.Cyclone Phailin, the strongest storm to hit India in more than a decade, destroyed hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of crops, but more than 20 hours after it made landfall in Orissa state on the country's east coa

Negotiations in Congress to raise the nation's borrowing limit are up against a deadline of Thursday. If the limit isn't raised by then, the government will no longer have authority to borrow to pay its bills.So what happens if Thursday comes and goes and the limit isn't raised?The scary thing is, no one really knows. Going past the deadline would be unprecedented.The possible consequences are complex. But none are good. The gravest threat is that the government would soon fail to make interest

Senators looked to party leaders Sunday to devise a plan that would reopen the government and steer clear of a potential default this week, saying it's unthinkable that political obstinacy would prevent the United States from paying its bills.With House leaders sidelined, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have taken the lead on discussions in the fiscal crisis. That raised the level of optimism among some senators that a deal could be reached even as Re

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday said the window for diplomacy with Iran was "cracking open" following talks in London with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.Kerry met Ashton in London for talks covering Syria and the forthcoming meeting between Iran and world powers, according to a State Department official.The two-day talks kick off in Geneva on Tuesday amid raised hopes of a less hardline approach from the Islamic republic's new president, Hassan Rouhani, a reputed moderate

걸그룹 미쓰에이 멤버 수지와 배우 성준과의 열애설에 수지 소속사측이 “친한 오빠 동생사이”라며 이를 부인했다. 11일 수지 소속사 JYP엔터테인먼트 관계자는 “두 사람이 사귀는 사이가 아니라 친한 오빠ㆍ동생이다”라고 언론과의 인터뷰를 통해 밝혔다. 이 관계자는 “사진을 보면 알겠지만 다른 한 사람까지 같이 한 자리다”라며 “드라마를 하며 워낙 친해져 스스럼없이 어깨동무를 하는 것뿐이다”고 덧붙였다. 앞서 이날 스포츠서울닷컴은 두 사람의 야간 데이트 장면을 포착해 보도했다. 보도에 따르면 두 사람은 지난달 24일 서울 강남구 청담동의 한 식당에서 밥을 먹고 근처의 술집에서 술을 마신 뒤 함께 차를 타고 이동했다.당시 수지는 마스크를 착용하고 있었고, 성준은 식당을 나오면서 수지의 어깨 위로 자연스럽게 손을 올리며 친분을 과시했다. 두 사람은 종영된 MBC 드라마 ‘구가의 서’에서 함께 호흡을 맞추며 친분을 쌓아온 것으로 알려졌다. 한편 모델 출신인 성준은 2011년 KBS 드라마 스페

  The winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize is a body that has spent years trying to rid the world of chemical weapons in relative obscurity and was recently thrust into the limelight by the Syrian crisis.From Russia to the United States, Iraq and Libya, inspectors from the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have been slowly but surely destroying the world's most dangerous chemical stockpiles.Syria last month signed up to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CW

검찰은 11일 경영 과정에서 수천 억원대 탈세를 한 의혹 등을 받는 효성그룹과 조석래 회장 자택 등을 전격 압수수색 했다.서울중앙지검 특수2부(윤대진 부장검사)는 이날 오전 7시 30분부터 서울 마포구 의 효성그룹 본사와 효성캐피탈 본사, 조석래 회장 자택과 관련 임원 주거지 등 7∼ 8곳에 대해 압수수색을 벌였다.검찰은 검사와 수사관 50∼60여명을 보내 그룹 회장실과 사장실, 회계 담당 부서 등에서 컴퓨터 하드디스크와 회계 장부, 내부 보고서 등을 확보했다. 압수수색 대상에는 조 회장의 아들 3형제인 현준•현문•현상씨의 주거지도 포함됐다. 장남 현준씨는 효성의 섬유PG장ㆍ정보통신PG장ㆍ전략본부장(사장)을 맡고 있다.삼남 현상씨는 효성에서 산업자재PG장과 전략본부 부사장으로 재직 중이다. 이들이 경영 실적과 계열사 지분을 놓고 경쟁하며 그룹 '후계구도'를 잇고 있다고 재계에서 는 보고 있다. 미국 변호사인 차남 현문씨는 지난 2월 중공업PG장(사장)에서 사임해 경영 일선 에서 물러

South Korean stocks rose to the highest level in nearly nine months on Friday, cheered by hopes that Washington will soon work out ways to settle its political deadlock over the debt ceiling, analysts said. The local currency edged up against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 23.50 points, or 1.17 percent, to finish at 2,024.90, the highest since Feb. 20. Trading volume was light at 245.5 million shares worth 4.44 trillion won ($4.11 billion) with ga

Four former U.S. government officials who met with former National Security Agency systems analyst Edward Snowden said Thursday that he is adjusting to life in Russia and expresses no regrets about leaking highly classified information. Separately, Snowden's father arrived to see his son. The Americans, who once worked for the CIA, FBI, Justice Department and NSA, have criticized the U.S. government and exposed what they believed was wrongdoing in the security agencies. All supporters of Snowden

China and the United States remain committed to expanding their "effective coordination" to resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff and reduce tensions over other regional hot issues, a senior Chinese diplomat said Friday. China has been keen to restart the long-stalled multilateral talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear weapons program, but South Korea and the U.S. insist that a new round of six-party talks will not take place unless North Korea demonstrates its seriousness about denuclear

모델 서바이벌 프로그램 ‘도전 수퍼모델 코리아4’ 도전자 정하은의 막말 논란에 제작진이 해명에 나섰다.11일 케이블 TV 온스타일 ‘도전 수퍼모델 코리아4’(이하 도수코4) 제작사 측은 “지난 방송에서 출연자 정하은과 황현주를 한 방에 배정한 것에 대한 다른 의도는 없었다”고 밝혔다. 이어 “도전자들이 서바이벌이라는 힘든 상황 속에서 지쳐있는 상황에서 생긴 일이니 이해해 달라”고 전했다. 또, 제작사는 “해당 장면은 모든 경쟁을 내려놓고 숙소에서 어떤 생활을 하고 있는지를 보여주고 있는 장면이다. 미션 사이 도전자들의 긴장감과 일상을 그려넣기 위함이며 제작진의 의도와 달리 논란이 불거져 속상하다”고 해명했다.앞서 지난 10일 방송된 이하 ‘도수코4’에서는 룸메이트로 지정된 참가자 정하은과 황현주 간의 갈등장면이 그려졌다. 이날 정하은은 특히 황현주를 향해 막말을 하는 등 언성을 높여 막말논란에 휩싸였다. 한편, ‘도수코4’는 매주 목요일 밤 11시 방송된다.<관련 영문 기사>Mode

 가수 김흥국(54) 씨가 음주운전을 하다 경찰에 적발됐다. 서울 강남경찰서는 음주 상태에서 차량을 운전한 혐의(도로교통법 위반)로 김 씨를 불구속 입건했다고 11일 밝혔다.경찰에 따르면 김 씨는 이날 0시13분께 서울 강남구 청담동의 한 도로에서 스포츠유틸리티차량(SUV)을 운전하다 음주단속 중이던 경찰에 적발됐다. 혈중 알코올 농도는 0.071%로 100일간 면허정지에 해당한다. 적발 당시 김 씨가 운전한 차량은 김 씨의 명의로 자동차보험에 가입돼 있었다고 경찰은 전했다. 경찰 관계자는 “김 씨가 적발된 후 곧바로 음주를 시인해 현장에서 돌려보냈고, 추후 김 씨를 따로 불러 조사할 예정”이라고 말했다. 이날 김흥국 측 관계자는 복수 매체를 통해 “김흥국이 어제 음주운전 입건사실에 대해 인정하고 죄송하다는 뜻을 전했다. 특히 미국에 있는 딸에게 미안하며, 딸과 술을 마시지 않겠다고 약속했다”고 밝혔다. 김 씨는 지난 1985년 ‘창백한 꽃잎’으로 데뷔, ‘호랑나비’ ‘레게파티’ ‘

The mother of a U.S. missionary, jailed in North Korea for unspecified anti-government activities, was allowed to meet her son Friday, a news report said.Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American based in China, was traveling in North Korea late last year when he was arrested by authorities on charges of trying to overthrow the North's communist regime. In April, he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.On Friday, Japan's Kyodo News reported from Pyongyang that the missionary's mother, Bae Myung-hee, met

Detroit won through to another appearance in the American League Championship Series by beating Oakland 3-0 on Friday, sealing a 3-2 series victory, with Justin Verlander in dominant form on the mound.The Tigers became the first team to reach the ALCS in three straight years since the New York Yankees from 1998-2001.Their opponent will be Boston, which will host Game 1 on Saturday. Despite both being historic clubs, they have never before faced each other in the playoffs.Verlander held Oakland h

The nominee for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) vowed Friday to speed up major weapons programs to bolster defense capabilities, saying North Korea's missile and nuclear ambitions are posing the greatest threat to South Korean national security.President Park Geun-hye last month appointed Adm. Choi Yun-hee to the JCS chief, marking the first time that a Navy chief has been appointed to the top commander post. His appointment is subject to parliamentary approval.Choi said the Sout

 [기사요약]검찰은 7일 남북정상회담 회의록 폐기 의혹과 관련, 참여정부 시절 청와대에서 근무한 임상경 전 대통령 기록관리비서관을 소환해 조사했다. 검찰은 임 전 비서관을 상대로 2007년 남북정상회담 대화록(회의록)이 청와대 문서관리시스템 '이지원'에서 삭제된 경위와 국가기록원 대통령기록관으로 이관되지 않은 과정에 관해 조사했다. 수사와 관련 검찰은 봉하 이지원이 제일 중요한 “키(key)”가 아닌가 싶다라고 말했다.(1) Prosecutors on Monday summoned former presidential records secretary Im Sang-kyeong in their stepped-up probe into the suspected deletion and failed handover of the transcript of the 2007 inter-Korean summit.*summon: 소환하다, 부르다*records secretary: 기록(관리)비서관 (다른

South Korean stocks began higher Friday, as fear of a U.S. default eased after the Republicans offered the White House a proposal to break the logjam in their negotiations, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 18 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,019.40 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Large-cap stocks gathered ground across the board, with Samsung Electronics rising 0.8 percent and Shinhan Financial Group climbing 1.4 percent. House Republicans proposed a

International inspectors have so far visited three sites linked to Syria's chemical weapons program, a spokesman said Thursday, as the team races to destroy the country's stockpile and delivery systems amid a raging civil war.Underscoring the complexity of the mission, a regime warplane bombed the rebel-held town of Safira, an activist group said. A regime-controlled military complex believed to include chemical weapons facilities is located near the town.The inspectors are to visit more than 20