The head of HSBC's Korean unit on Wednesday highlighted the country's prospect as a renminbi hub as the British banking giant focuses on its corporate finance business after shutting down its retail units here."We believe that given its geographical proximity to China and the importance of its economic and trade links with China, Korea can become one of the most successful renminbi centers in Asia and globally," HSBC Korea President Martin Tricaud told reporters in a news conference.Earlier this

South Korea and Japan plan to hold a director-general level meeting on cultural exchange in Tokyo this week for the first time in four years despite strained bilateral ties, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.Kim Dong-gi, director-general of the cultural affairs bureau at Seoul's foreign ministry, will meet with his Japanese counterpart Jun Shimmi on Thursday to assess the current state of cultural exchanges as well as the future direction of people-to-people exchanges, it said.The two side

A key opposition lawmaker at the center of a political firestorm on Wednesday dropped her plan to leave the party as she vowed to make efforts to strike a deal on a controversial bill regarding the investigation of April's ferry disaster.Park Young-sun, floor leader of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, had suggested that she could quit her leadership post and even leave the party due to infighting over the formation of its interim leadership."I am sorry for causing much co

Peace Prize for her repeated, heartfelt apologies for Germany's past war atrocities, the prize's judging committee said Wednesday."The 12th Seoul Peace Prize goes to German Chancellor Angela Merkel," Lee Chul-seung, the chairman of the judging committee said in a press conference. "Her apology over Germany's past affairs has reminded the international community of the importance of human dignity and human rights, and this again set off an alarm about the harmful consequences of war and highlight

쌍둥이처럼 닮은 네살배기 두 아이가 있다. 태어난 날짜도 같고, 다니는 학교도 같다. 둘 도 없는 사이인 이들은 가족이다. 하지만 놀랍게도 이들은 쌍둥이 자매가 아닌 이모 조카 지간이다. 영국에 사는 데이지 윌슨과 루비 스테픈슨의 혈연지간은 다음과 같다. 데이지의 어머니가 다른 네살배기인 루비의 외할머니인 것. 2010년 4월 외할머니인 43세 알리슨 윌슨이 아이를 출산한 지 72시간이 지나지 않은 시각에 그녀의 딸인 25세 애슐리 스태픈슨이 아이를 출산했다. 금주부터 학교를 같이 다니기 시작한 데이지와 루비는 서로에게 그 누구보다 특별한 존재다. 애슐리는 “학교에서 아무도 이모-조카 지간일 것이라고 상상하는 사람이 없다”며 “사실을 알게 되면 놀라워 한다”고 전했다. (khnews@heraldcorp.com) 　　

미국 국적의 한 남성이 경기도 김포지역 에서 월북을 시도하다가 우리 군 초병에 붙잡힌 것으로 알려졌다. (연합)정부의 한 소식통은 17일 "어제 오후 11시55분께 김포 지역에서 아랍계 미국인 남성 1명이 한강을 헤엄쳐 월북을 시도하다가 해병대 매복조에 체포됐다"면서 "현재 국가정보원 등 관계당국에서 월북 시도 경위 등을 조사하고 있다"고 밝혔다.20대 후반에서 30대 초반인 이 남성은 체포된 후 "북한의 최고 지도자 김정은을 만나기 위해 북한으로 가려했다"고 진술한 것으로 알려졌다.소식통은 "미국인 남성이 조류를 따라 북쪽으로 헤엄치다가 지쳐서 강기슭 지역 에 엎드려 있는 것을 해병 매복조가 발견한 것으로 안다"면서 "김포 지역에서  미국 인이 월북을 시도한 사례는 처음인 것 같다"고 전했다.(연합)<관련 영문 기사>U.S. man caught trying to swim to N.K.A U.S. citizen was caught trying to cross a river borde

North Korea sent a protest letter to South Korea's presidential office demanding measures to stop the cross-border spread of anti-Pyongyang leaflets by civic groups in the South, the Unification Ministry said Tuesday.The North's National Defense Commission (NDC), chaired by the country's top leader, Kim Jong-un, delivered two fax messages to Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Council on Saturday and Monday, respectively, the ministry said.It is unusual for the North's commission to deliver messag

태국의 대학 교과서 표지에 실린 사진이 알고 보니 포르노물의 일부분인 것으로 알려져 논란이 일고 있다. 16일 외신에 따르면, 태국의 한 수학 교과서 표지에는 선생님이 수업을 진행하는 모습이 담겨져 있는데 이는 “역할 놀이 전문 여성”이라는 에로물의 스틸컷으로 밝혀졌다. 사진의 주인공은 마노 아오키라는 포르노 배우라고 외신은 덧붙였다. 논란이 일자 출판사측은 교과서를 즉시 리콜했다. 3천 권 이상의 문제의 교과서가 배포됐다고 외신은 전했다. (khnews@heraldcorp.com) 　

Buildings in Tokyo shook Tuesday as a strong quake hit Japan, AFP reporters in the city said, but there was no immediate risk of a tsunami and no damage was reported.Seismologists said the epicentre was around 44 kilometres north-northeast of the Japanese capital and was located around 50 kilometres (30 miles) below the surface.The US Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 5.6. Their Japanese counterparts said there was no danger of a tsunami from the tremor, the effects of which co

Three Marines were injured Tuesday as a hand grenade exploded during a training session at a Marine unit in this southeastern port city, military sources said. The accident took place around 10:20 a.m. at a drill camp of the South Korean Marine Corps as a hand grenade suddenly exploded, cutting off the wrist of one Marine with shrapnel wounding two others, they said. The injured Marines were all were taken to a hospital and they were listed in stable condition, the sources said. The military is

South Korea's current economic slowdown is not a "temporary" phenomenon affected by cyclical factors but by more complicated and structural problems, the finance minister said Tuesday, worrying that the economy might take the road of Japan's lost decades "if not responding in a timely manner."Meeting with foreign journalists to explain Seoul's economic policy measures that his economic team has taken since mid-July, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan reaffirmed that the government will implement e

U.S. officials said Monday the United States has taken the first step in its planned expanded fight against Islamic State militants, going to the aid of Iraqi security forces near Baghdad who were being attacked by enemy fighters.The U.S. Central Command said it conducted a strike Monday in support of the Iraqi forces southwest of Baghdad. There was also an airstrike Sunday near Sinjar in northern Iraq. The strike southwest of Baghdad represents the newly broadened mission authorized by Presiden

President Park Geun-hye ruled out concessions on Tuesday as she urged the parliament to quickly pass a contentious bill meant to uncover the truth behind April's ferry disaster.She has been under pressure to allow a proposed ad hoc committee for an independent probe into the ferry sinking to have the right to investigate and indict those responsible for the tragedy, a key demand by the families of the ferry victims."The call is not something that she can determine as the president as it would un

North Korea has turned down South Korea's offer of talks on their joint venture in Kaesong, again taking issue with propaganda leaflets sent from the South, an official here said Tuesday.In a fax message, the North demanded a halt to the scattering of anti-communist leaflets across the border by South Korean civic groups as a precondition for discussions on improving business conditions at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, according to the unification ministry official.Earlier this month, Seoul pr

귀여운 외모와 글래머스한 몸매로 남심을 흔드는 플레이보이 모델이 57살 연상의 갑부와 결혼했다. (유튜브 캡쳐)16일 외신에 따르면 24세 캐시 스미츠는 올해 81세인 건설업계 억만장자와 식을 올렸다. 신랑인 리차드 루그너에게는 이번이 다섯 번째 결혼인 가운데, 루그넌은 “나이 차이를 제외하고는 모든 게 잘 맞다”며 궁합을 자랑했다. 신부는 “사랑에 빠지려고 의도하지 않았다”며 “사랑에는 나이가 존재하지 않는다”고 강조했다. (유튜브 캡쳐)이들의 결혼식은 오스트리아 빈에서 많은 군중들의 축복 속에서 치뤄졌다. 숀브룬 궁을 대여하고 네 마리의 백마를 동원하는 등 루그너는 신부를 위해 돈을 아끼지 않았다. 문지기들은 전통 옷을 입은 채 커플을 맞이했다. 그들은 결혼식을 마친 후 상징적인 비둘기 두 마리를 날려 보내기도 했다. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

The state audit agency has interrogated the chief of the Navy over a faulty Navy salvage ship that failed to participate in the national rescue operation for the ferry Sewol that sank off the southwest coast in April, a source said Tuesday.The interrogation of Navy Chief Adm. Hwang Ki-chul is part of the Board of Audit and Inspection's probe into the military's project to construct the first South Korean-built salvage ship Tongyeong, according to the source.The military completed the constructio

Prosecutors searched the computer center of South Korea's No. 2 lender Kookmin Bank on Tuesday as part of a probe into suspicions surrounding the bank's introduction of a new computer system, prosecution sources said.During the raid on the computer center in western Seoul, prosecution investigators secured company e-mails exchanged among employees in charge of the mainframe system change, according to the sources."We secured e-mails on a limited basis to know what opinions had been exchanged ins

South Korean boy group Infinite topped Billboard's chart for emerging artists on Twitter for its hit single "Last Romeo," the American music site has said.Released in late May, "Last Romeo" rose to the top of the Billboard Twitter Emerging Artists chart on Thursday, becoming the first Korean song to do so.The chart ranks the "most shared songs on Twitter in the U.S. by up and coming artists," according to Billboard.com."The conversations kicked off on Sept. 3 when Infinite revealed a 'dance prac

President Park Geun-hye vowed Monday to revitalize the ecosystem of the creative economy in South Korea through innovation centers.Park's creative economy -- a key policy objective of Park -- calls for boosting the economy by turning creative ideas into real businesses through science and technology, and information technology.The pledge came two weeks after the government announced a plan to link the country's conglomerate to innovation centers as part of efforts to build a creative economy.The

A former chief of the state spy agency on Monday appealed against a suspended jail sentence for intervening in the 2012 presidential election through an online smear campaign in favor of President Park Geun-hye, then ruling party candidate.In a high-profile ruling, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Won Sei-hoon, former director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), to two years and six months in prison, suspended for four years, for election meddling.The 63-year-old was found guil