BEIJING -- A group of North Korean trade representatives has visited the Chinese border city of Dandong this week during which the two sides discussed ways to promote an annual trade exhibition between the two nations, according to Dandong officials on Saturday. North Korea and its economic lifeline, China, have jointly held the annual trade fair in October since 2012, but the number of North Korean business entities attending the event last year was about 30 percent less than 2013. The subdued

SINGAPORE (AFP) -- More than 330,000 people, equivalent to 10 percent of Singapore's citizen population, have visited the city-state's parliament to pay their respects to late prime minister Lee Kuan Yew ahead of his cremation this weekend, officials said Saturday.The surge of mourners was so great that the government had to temporarily suspend access to parliament late Friday for the sake of crowd safety.At peak periods, mourners could only spend a few seconds in front of Lee's closed casket, m

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) -- Malaysian police have arrested two politicians and a political activist as they seek to thwart a Saturday protest march demanding the release of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, an opposition parliamentarian said.Tian Chua said he also would comply with an order to surrender to police on Saturday, but that the afternoon rally in Kuala Lumpur would go ahead.The arrests are the latest in an escalating crackdown on government opponents amid anger over Anwar's jailing la

TAIPEI (AFP) -- Taiwanese police on Saturday arrested 13 people who splashed red paint on the wall of the presidential residence in the latest protest against China's planned launch of a controversial new flight route.The protesters from the small anti-China opposition party Taiwan Solidarity Union briefly scuffled with military police guarding the residence of President Ma Ying-jeou in Taipei in the early morning.The demonstration came ahead of the scheduled launch of the route known as M503 ov

ROME (AP) -- Amanda Knox, who maintained that she and her former Italian boyfriend were innocent in her British roommate's murder through multiple trials and nearly four years in jail, was vindicated Friday when Italy's highest court threw out their convictions once and for all."Finished!'' Knox's lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova exulted after the decision was read out late Friday. "It couldn't be better than this."The surprise decision definitively ends the 7{-year legal battle waged by Knox, 27, and

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) -- The capsule carrying a Russian and an American who are to spend a year away from Earth docked Saturday with the International Space Station.Mikhail Kornienko and Scott Kelly are to spend 342 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, about twice as long as a standard mission on the station. The Soyuz space capsule, also carrying Russia's Gennady Padalka for a six-month stay, docked about six hours after launching  from Russia's manned space facility in Kazakhstan.Once the

BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping is arguing for strong China-led efforts to promote Asian economic and political cooperation while speaking a major regional economic conference.Xi delivered the keynote address at the Boao Forum held Saturday on Hainan island in the country's south, at which he lauded the promise of the Chinese economy despite slowing growth. The Chinese president also celebrated what he said was a multipolar world in which all countries play equal roles in regional d

Prosecution raids Dongkuk Steel over embezzlement allegation Prosecutors raided the office of Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., a South Korean steel maker, on Saturday to look into alleged embezzlement and tax evasion, authorities said. Dongkuk Steel is suspected of stashing about 10 billion won (US$90.3 million) in illegal funds in U.S. accounts while in the process of purchasing raw materials and avoiding paying taxes, according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.Investigators raided Dong

The United States will pursue further three-way defense cooperation deals with South Korea and Japan like the information sharing agreement concluded among the countries late last year, the top Pentagon official in charge of Asian affairs said Friday.Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs David Shear made the remark during a speech at an event on U.S.-Japan security, calling the intelligence sharing deal was a "good first step" and expressing hopes for Seoul and To

South Korea on Friday welcomed a U.N. decision to adopt a resolution that calls for improvement in the human rights situations in North Korea.Earlier, the U.N. Human Rights Council adopted the resolution, criticizing the communist country for violating the human rights of its citizens. It was proposed by the European Union and Japan during a session in Geneva, with such issues as political prisoners and discrimination based on family background also touched upon. "We welcome the adoption of the

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stuck to vagueness on the country's responsibility for its sexual enslavement of women during World War II, calling the issue "human trafficking" without specifying the perpetrator.The statement, made in an interview with the Washington Post ahead of his visit to the United States next month, appeared carefully calculated not to deviate from his administration's existing position not to unequivocally acknowledge Japan's responsibility for the atrocity. Shinzo A

The foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan are likely to discuss the Chinese-led multinational lender as they are set to hold a three-way meeting in Seoul later this week, China's foreign ministry said Wednesday. China launched the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in November with 21 nations in Asia and the Pacific region listed as its founding members. Close U.S. allies in the region -- South Korea, Australia and Japan -- have yet to make their decision. The Chinese-led ba

The foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan are likely to discuss the Chinese-led multinational lender as they are set to hold a three-way meeting in Seoul later this week, China's foreign ministry said Wednesday. China launched the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in November with 21 nations in Asia and the Pacific region listed as its founding members. Close U.S. allies in the region -- South Korea, Australia and Japan -- have yet to make their decision. The Chinese-led ba

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Prince Charles and his wife will visit the home of the man who, more than anyone else, ensured that Americans would not be his subjects.The visit Wednesday to George Washington's Mount Vernon estate by the Prince of Wales and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, is one of many stops the two will make throughout the Washington, D.C. area.The first scheduled visits Wednesday are stops at the Lincoln Memorial and Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.In the afternoon, Charles wi

Korean Air Lines Co., the country's flagship carrier, has become a corporate sponsor for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, the event organizers said Wednesday.The signing ceremony took place at Lakai Sandpine Resort in Gangneung, east of PyeongChang in Gangwon Province. The International Olympic Committee's Coordination Commission on PyeongChang is visiting the area this week to check preparations for the Olympics. Gangneung will host curling, hockey and skating events a

정부가 주관하는 아이돌봄 사업이 저소득층 지원확대라는 본래의 취지에서 벗어난 것으로 보인다.25일 2013-14년치 여성가족부 문서에 따르면, 여가부는 되레 형편이 어렵지 않는 중산층가정에 육아돌보미 파견을 권장해온 것으로 드러났다. 전국 돌봄서비스 제공기관에 ‘정부미지원 아동 연계실적’을 반영해 직원들에게 성과급을 지급하도록 명기한 것이다.평가 지표를 보면 제공기관 근무자는 정부 지원을 받는 가정을 모집했을 때보다 그렇지 않은 가정을 유치했을 경우 추가 배점을 받을 수 있도록 되어 있다. 고소득층 가정들을 최대한 끌어들임으로써 전체 돌봄 서비스 이용자 수는 늘었지만 그와 동시에 저소득층 이용 가정의 비율은 지난 몇년 간 지속적으로 줄었다는 것이 관계자들의 지적이다.여가부는 아이돌봄 서비스 이용 가구의 소득소준에 따라 본인 및 정부부담 비율을 정하고 있다. 전국가구평균소득 50% (241만원) 이하의 경우는 (가)형, 50-70% 구간은 (나)형, 70-100%구간는 (다)형, 10

SYDNEY, (AFP) -- Foreign Minister Julie Bishop called on Indonesia to give two Australians on death row an "indefinite stay of execution" as she clarified her Prime Minister's comments linking their fate to aid, media reports said Saturday.Tensions between the two nations have grown after Indonesia confirmed Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, ringleaders of the so-called Bali Nine heroin trafficking group, were among the next group of prisoners to face the firing squad.Prime Minister Tony Abbott

TOKYO (AP) -- Yutaka Katayama, a former president of Nissan Motor Co.'s U.S. unit who built the Z sportscar into a powerful global brand in the 1970s, has died. He was 105.Known as the "father of the Z," Katayama won international respect for the Datsun Z as an affordable sportscar at a time when Japan-made products were synonymous with slipshod quality. Katayama, who died Thursday, retired from Nissan in 1977. Carlos Ghosn, who has led a turnaround at the Japanese automaker under an alliance wi

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- Gov. Jerry Brown has blocked parole for a former leader of the notorious Mexican Mafia prison gang who has turned on his former comrades and now aids law enforcement.Brown announced Friday that he was blocking the release of 52-year-old Rene ``Boxer'' Enriquez.Enriquez has been in prison since 1993 serving a sentence of 20 years-to life in prison for two murders, multiple assaults and conspiracy to traffic in controlled substances.He drew attention last month when

PARIS, (AFP) -- The continued fighting in eastern Ukraine has made a mockery of the West's latest attempts to negotiate a ceasefire but may ultimately pave the way for a more durable peace, say analysts.It did not take long for the latest truce, brokered by France and Germany and signed in the Belarussian capital Minsk last week, to look as impotent as previous deals.With barely a pause, pro-Russian rebels continued their assault on the key transport hub of Debaltseve, ultimately forcing the Ukr