MANILA, Philippines (AP) --  Two Chinese military officers have for the first time joined a closed-door discussion on disaster response which is part of major annual U.S.-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has protested in the past.   Philippine Brig. Gen. Aurelio Baladad says the inclusion of military officers from the United States and China along with nine other countries in Monday's talks on responding to sea disasters shows that major powers sometimes seen as rivals can work togethe

Woori Finance Holdings Co., South Korea's top banking group, is likely to launch a committee next week to select a new head to replace Chairman Lee Pal-seung, officials said Monday.Chairman Lee offered to resign from the top post of the state-owned Woori Finance on Sunday, 11 months ahead of the official end of his term, as political pressure mounts.A seven-member committee to select a new chief is likely to be launched on Tuesday when a board meeting will be held, according to officials. A shar

The state-run Korea Gas Corp. said on Monday that its president and CEO Choo Kang-soo has offered to resign.In a press release, Choo said that he wants to step down to help South Korea open a "new era" following the inauguration of a new government, adding that he will follow the decision of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, which oversees the gas monopoly.Choo served as vice president of a Hyundai unit and is known to be a close confidant to former President Lee Myung-bak, whose five-

Dozens of South Korean civic groups on Monday urged the two Koreas to defuse escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula by seeking a peaceful resolution through dialogue.Tensions have been simmering over the communist North's bellicose rhetoric and actions against the South and its allies after Pyongyang faced fresh U.N. sanctions for its third nuclear test on Feb. 12 and last month's joint military exercise between Seoul and Washington. An association of 24 progressive civic groups, including

South Korean President Park Geun-hye met with the chief of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) on Monday and discussed ways to make next year's Asian Games in the port city of Incheon a success, the presidential office said.Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah of Kuwait, who heads the OCA and the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), paid a visit to Park as she is the head of state hosting next year's Asiad, the office said in a statement.The Incheon Asian Games are scheduled for September

KT Corp., South Korea's top fixed line and No. 2 mobile operator, said Monday that it will not participate in a final bid for a stake in a Moroccan telecom operator due to differences over price.In a regulatory filing, KT said it has decided not to bid for the 53-percent stake in Maroc Telecom, which is controlled by French multimedia giant Vivendi SA."But we will seek various cooperation with Morac Telecom depending on the situation," it said.KT has been seeking to expand its global business in

BERKELEY, California (AP) -- Les Blank, an acclaimed documentary maker who focused his camera on cultural corners ranging from blues music, to garlic lovers, to shoe-eating artists, died Sunday at age 77, his son said.Blank died at his home in Berkeley, California nearly a year after being diagnosed with bladder cancer, Harrod Blank said.Blank's 42 films earned him a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute."I think he's a national treasure," filmmaker Taylor Hackford, preside

SEOUL, (Yonhap) -- Scores of ethnic Korean journalists living abroad gathered on Monday for an annual conference in Seoul to discuss their role in bettering the national image and helping cultivate the identity of overseas Koreans, organizers said.About 70 journalists from 22 countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Nepal, are taking part in the 12th Overseas Korean Journalists Convention that opened at Korea Press Center in central Seoul, they said.Co-hosted by the Overseas Korea

공연예술전문잡지 ‘월간 객석’이 창간 29년만에 유럽판을 창간한다. 외환위기 이후 극심한 운영난에 시달리던 1997년 연극배우 윤석화 (56) 가 인수한지 16년만이다. 창간 행사를 위해 잠시 런던에서 귀국한 윤석화를 동숭동 월간 객석 사무실에서 만났다. 몇년 전부터 영국 웨스트엔드에서 공연제작자로 활동하고 있는 그는 검은색 드레스 차림에 담배 한갑과 분홍색 립글로스를 손에 들고 나타났다. “아시다시피 이 책이 적자를 면하기가 참 어려운 책이에요. 사실 저의 가장 큰 짐이라는 생각을 할 때가 많습니다. 매달 돈 걱정을 했죠. 지금 돌아서 생각해보니 여기까지 온 게 기적 같아요. ” 관객에게 받은 사랑을 돌려주고 싶은 마음에서 잡지를 인수했지만, 운영이 쉽지만은 않았다. 그만두고 싶다는 생각도 여러번 했다고 한다. “처음 인수할 때 제 생각은 ‘아무리 힘들어도 5년은 버텨라, 아무리 좋아도 5년후엔 떠나라’였어요. 본분은 연극배우고 발행인의 꿈이 있었던 사람도 아니었으니까요. 살려만

MOSCOW, (AFP) -- Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris failed to reach progress after two rounds of talks in Moscow on assistance from Russia after his island's rejection of an EU bailout that slapped a painful levy on bank deposits.Sarris met his Russian counterpart Anton Siluanov before holding talks with First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov about a possible new Moscow loan.Cyprus also hopes to ease the terms of a 2.5-billion-euro loan Moscow afforded Nicosia in 2011 that matures in 20

LONDON (AP) -- Prosecutors say that The Sun newspaper's Deputy Editor Geoff Webster has been charged with authorizing thousands in illegal payoffs to government officials.The charges are among the most serious so-far leveled against journalists caught up in Britain's wide-ranging media ethics scandal, which has seen newspaper executives, senior journalists, and high-profile police figures get dragged before the courts.Rupert Murdoch's News International confirmed Wednesday that Webster is still

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)  -- President Barack Obama is declaring common cause with Israel, highlighting the bonds between the United States and its Mideast ally. He says he has made Israel the first stop of the first trip of his second term to restate his commitment to Israel's security.Obama arrived Wednesday in Tel Aviv, joking to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that he was "getting away from Congress."Israeli President Shimon Peres welcomed Obama, declaring that "A world without America's lead

Samsung Display Co., the world's biggest display maker, has decided to drop a patent suit against LG Electronics Co. over liquid-crystal display technologies, paving the way for both sides to end a long-running legal battle, industry sources said Wednesday.The two display giants have been embroiled in a patent tussle over organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and LCD technologies that broke out on the heels of a police investigation into an alleged leak of technologies from Samsung Display to LG D

South Korea's communication watchdog said Wednesday that massive computer network failures at major broadcasters and banks were caused by hacking attacks using malignant code.Officials said they could not find any evidence to link the attacks to North Korea but stressed that does not mean that they are ruling out such a possibility.At around 2 p.m., broadcasters KBS, MBC and YTN and four banks -- Shinhan, Nonghyup, Woori and Jeju -- reported to the National Police Agency (NPA) that their compute

As North Korea moves to ratchet up tensions on the Korean Peninsula, its leader Kim Jong-un has ordered his military to conduct mobile anti-aircraft rocket and unmanned combat air vehicle exercises, a state media outlet reported Wednesday.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a report, monitored in Seoul, that Kim issued the order to conduct the drills, but did not provide further details, including whether the drills had actually been staged.The report comes after the North warned earli

“고통은 한 순간이지만 영화는 영원히 남습니다. 내가 가진 모든 것을 쏟아 부으면 언젠가 걸작을 만들 수도 있을 것이라고 생각하며 일해왔습니다.”할리우드 배우 레오나르도 디카프리오 (38)가 자신만의 영화 철학을 밝혔다.7일 서울의 한 호텔에서 쿠엔틴 타란티노의 서부극 “장고:분노의 추적자” 홍보차 첫 내한한 디카프리오의 기자회견이 열렸다. 90년대 말 제임스 카메론의 “타이타닉”으로 일약 스타덤에 오른 후 약 20년간 배우생활을 해온 그의 신념을 들을 수 있는 행사였다.그는 “신인시절 처음으로 잡게 된 기회는 로버트 드 니로와 출연한 ‘디스 보이즈 라이프’ (1991)란 영화였다” 며 “당시 16살 살이었다. 그 때 짧은 시간 내에 영화사를 공부하려고 1년간 엄청난 양의 영화를 봤다” 고 회상했다.이어 그는 “이후 내 철학은 언제나 같았다. 고통은 한 순간이지만 영화는 영원히 남는다고 생각하며 일해왔다. 내 모든 것을 쏟아 부으면 언젠가는 걸작을 만들 수도 있을 것이라고 믿고 있다

Local film ‘Miracle in Cell No. 7’ drew 11.09 million viewers in just 38 days after its release, official data showed Friday. This makes it the seventh highest grossing movie in Korean film history, beating Kang Woo-suk’s 2003 drama “Silmido.”A heartwarming comedy about a mentally challenged father (played by Ryoo Seung-ryong) wrongfully imprisoned for murder, the film drew 4.6 million viewers in its first two weeks of release. The plot of the film develops as the man forms genuine friendship wi

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Stiff budget cuts that take effect Friday because of a political standoff over America's burgeoning debt could crimp U.S. military activity in the Asia-Pacific, just as Washington seeks to reassure friends and allies of its staying power in the region.The impact is unlikely to be sudden or stark. There won't be a dramatic withdrawal of U.S. forces from bases in South Korea and Japan. But it could mean fewer military exercises and operations by ships and aircraft in the region,

The office of President Park Geun-hye urged Friday the National Assembly to approve her government reorganization bill by next Tuesday, as the parliamentary impasse over the bill is feared to take a toll on national security and other state affairs."The presidential office earnestly asks the National Assembly to pass the government reorganization bill by March 5, or before ending its extraordinary session," Park's spokeswoman Kim Haing told reporters.The ruling Saenuri Party introduced the reorg

WASHINGTON, (AFP) -- US President Barack Obama threw his weight behind gay marriage on Thursday when his administration filed a brief with the Supreme Court opposing California's bid to ban same-sex unions.The court is to examine the issue at the end of March, when it will study the constitutionality of California's "Proposition 8," a measure approved by referendum in 2008 which outlawed gay marriage in the state.Obama's Department of Justice filed a brief to the court in support of moves to hav