China said Thursday that it will not permit chaos on its doorstep, in another thinly-veiled warning to its wayward ally North Korea amid indications that the North is technically ready to conduct a fresh nuclear test. "Peace and stability is in the immediate interests of China. We will by no means allow war or chaos to occur on our doorstep," China's foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters, when asked about the possibility of a fourth nuclear test by North Korea. The comments by Qin e

France is very much concerned about the possibility of North Korea conducting its fourth nuclear test, the visiting speaker of the French Senate was quoted as saying Thursday.Sen. Jean-Pierre Bel made the remark during a meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye after Park said it is a serious matter for North Korea to threaten a nuclear test and show signs of actual preparations, according to a statement from Park's office.Bel also said the entire international community is concerned ab

The easternmost South Korean islets of Dokdo are subject to the mutual defense treaty between South Korea and the United States, the foreign ministry said Thursday, suggesting that a foreign attack on the islets would lead to joint countermeasures. "Our government's stance is that Dokdo is a territory under South Korea's administrative control as stipulated in the South Korea-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty," foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young said in a briefing. Cho's comments indicate that So

The Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that a law limiting children's access to online computer games after midnight is constitutional.In the ruling against a group of teenagers who enjoy online games, their parents and gaming firms, the court said the law has the "justifiable" purpose of protecting minors from Internet game addiction and "a proper means" to implement this aim.The court made the decision in a 7-2 majority opinion by its justices.Under the Youth Protection Act, online game opera

North Korea appears technically ready to conduct its fourth nuclear test any time once a political decision is made, South Korea's foreign minister said Thursday.Concerns have been growing since Pyongyang threatened to conduct a "new form" of nuclear test late last month. South Korean officials are on alert after detecting "increased activity" at North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site in its mountainous northeastern region close to its border with China and Russia.North Korea has so far carr

Nuclear threats from North Korea, including the possibility of an additional nuclear test, will be a key topic when President Park Geun-hye holds talks with U.S. President Barack Obama later this week, an official said Thursday.Obama is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Friday for a two-day visit amid growing concerns that Pyongyang could conduct its fourth nuclear test. South Korean officials have cited intelligence showing that all technical preparations have been completed at the Punggye-ri tes

SK hynix Inc., the world's No. 2 memory chip maker, said Thursday its net profit surged 348.9 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier on the back of improved sales in dynamic random access memory chips.Net profit came to 802.2 billion won ($771.7 million) in the January-March period, soaring from 178.7 billion won in the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.Revenue gained 34.6 percent on-year to 3.74 trillion won in the first quarter, and operating profit also jumped t

The South Korean economy grew 0.9 percent in the first quarter from three months earlier as exports and construction investment gained ground, the central bank said Thursday.The first-quarter growth of Korea's gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic performance, matched the 0.9 percent on-quarter gain in the fourth quarter, according to the Bank of Korea.From a year earlier, Asia's fourth-largest economy grew 3.9 percent in the first quarter after advancing 3.7 percent on-year i

홀로 두 아이를 키우며 구직 중이던 미혼모 용의자가 눈물을 흘리며 용의자 식별 사진(머그샷)을 찍은 사연이 알려지면서 SNS 상에서 동정 여론과 모금활동이 확산되고 있다. 미국 현지 언론의 21일 보도에 따르면, 아이를 보호자 없이 방치한 혐의로 연행돼 기소된 샤네샤 테일러라는 이름의 이 여성은 지난 3월 취업 면접 날 아이를 돌봐줄 사람을 구하지 못해, 차에 아이들을 태우고 면접 장소 인근에 도착했다. 테일러는 아이들에게 안전벨트를 착용시킨 채 차를 주차하고 면접을 보러 갔으나, 얼마 되지 않아 아동 방치 혐의로 경찰에 연행됐다. 그녀의 SUV는 창문이 깨져 있었으나 수리하지 못한 상태였다.그녀는 연행되면서도 눈물을 멈추지 못했고, 결국 수사정보로 활용되는 용의자 식별용 사진에도 두 눈 가득 눈물을 흘리는 모습으로 찍혔다. 이 사진이 SNS에 퍼지면서 미혼모로서의 그녀의 신상, 체포 경위와 함께 빈곤 속에도 사랑을 다해 아이들을 키우던 그녀의 육아 사진들이 공개돼 동정 여론이 전세

홀로 두 아이를 키우며 구직 중이던 미혼모 용의자가 눈물을 흘리며 용의자 식별 사진(머그샷)을 찍은 사연이 알려지면서 SNS 상에서 동정 여론과 모금활동이 확산되고 있다. 미국 현지 언론의 21일 보도에 따르면, 아이를 보호자 없이 방치한 혐의로 연행돼 기소된 샤네샤 테일러라는 이름의 이 여성은 지난 3월 취업 면접 날 아이를 돌봐줄 사람을 구하지 못해, 차에 아이들을 태우고 면접 장소 인근에 도착했다. 테일러는 아이들에게 안전벨트를 착용시킨 채 차를 주차하고 면접을 보러 갔으나, 얼마 되지 않아 아동 방치 혐의로 경찰에 연행됐다. 그녀의 SUV는 창문이 깨져 있었으나 수리하지 못한 상태였다. 그녀는 연행되면서도 눈물을 멈추지 못했고, 결국 수사정보로 활용되는 용의자 식별용 사진에도 두 눈 가득 눈물을 흘리는 모습으로 찍혔다. 이 사진이 SNS에 퍼지면서 미혼모로서의 그녀의 신상, 체포 경위와 함께 빈곤 속에도 사랑을 다해 아이들을 키우던 그녀의 육아 사진들이 공개돼 동정 여론이 전

South Korean President Park Geun-hye asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help persuade North Korea not to carry out a nuclear test, her office said Wednesday, a day after Seoul reported increased activity at the North's nuclear test site.Park made the request when she spoke by phone with Xi on Wednesday morning, saying an additional nuclear test by the North would fundamentally change the security landscape in Northeast Asia as it would spark an arms race and a "nuclear domino" effect in the r

A South Korean citizen who was jailed in Iran on spying charges last year has been released and plans to return home soon, a government source said Wednesday.The 43-year-old South Korean man, surnamed Kim, was convicted of espionage in an Iranian court last September for taking pictures of some Iranian government facilities while he was traveling the country in last 2012. He was given a seven-year prison sentence and had been serving the prison term."The citizen of ours arrested for taking pictu

힙합 그룹 리쌍 멤버 길(37•본명 길성준)이 음주운전으로 면허취소 처분을 받았다.23일 마포경찰서 관계자는 “길성준 씨(길)가 금일 새벽 12시 30분께 합정동 인근에서 음주운전으로 적발돼 면허취소 처분을 받았다”며 “곧 소환조사를 실시할 예정이다”고 한 매체를 통해 전했다.당시 길의 혈중 알콜 농도는 0.109%로 알려졌다. 경찰 조사 결과, 길은 지인들과 술을 마시고 귀가하던 중이었던 것으로 전해졌다.소식을 접한 누리꾼들은 “리쌍 길 음주운전? 충격이다”, “리쌍 길 음주운전이라니...왜 이시점에”, “길 요즘 호감이었는데... 안녕” "리쌍 길, 조심하시지 " 등의 반응을 보였다.(khnews@heraldcorp.com)

South Korea's telecom ministry said Wednesday it will seek a law revision to slap fines of up to 100 million won ($96,311) on those using mobile phones under borrowed names, a practice used widely in crimes and illegal activities to evade investigation.The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said it hopes to establish legal grounds by June to punish any activities related to using or inducing, advertising, and mediating the use of such "pirate" phones, with possible penalties also inclu

The number of bodies recovered from the sunken ferry Sewol continued to rise Wednesday, further dampening hopes of finding survivors inside the wreck.The rescue workers resumed their search early Wednesday and recovered eight more victims from the ship, pushing the death toll up to 139.Of the 476 people aboard, 163 remain unaccounted for eight days since the vessel sank 20 kilometers off the coast of Jindo Island, South Jeolla Province, on April 16.As the search continues, the authorities plan t

A spokeswoman for Oscar Pistorius on Tuesday said suggestions that the Paralympian had taken acting lessons ahead of his emotional murder trial testimony were "totally devoid of any truth.”We "deny that our client has undergone any 'acting lessons' or any form of emotional coaching,” Anneliese Burgess, media manager for the Pistorius family, said in a statement on his website.Pistorius broke down repeatedly in the witness box as he gave his version of shooting dead girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on

Relatives of flight MH370 passengers have denounced the Malaysian government's suggestion that it would soon look into issuing death certificates for those on board despite no proof yet of what happened to the plane.The statement, issued in response to a weekend briefing that Malaysian  officials gave to families in Kuala Lumpur, also called for a review of  satellite data that Malaysia says indicates the plane likely crashed somewhere  in the Indian Ocean."We, the families of MH370, believe tha

While South Korea's military made public some sensitive intelligence on North Korea's activity at its nuclear test site, the U.S. government maintained a cautious approach, at least outwardly.Speaking formally to reporters, U.S. officials did not rule out the possibility of another nuclear test by the unpredictable communist regime.But they would not reveal specific information."North Korea has a history of taking provocative action and we are always mindful of the possibility that such an actio

A South Korean coast guard official was relieved of his duties on Tuesday for comments deemed insensitive to the grieving families of the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster.The official told reporters last week that "Is there anything the coast guard couldn't do? Wouldn't it be wonderful to rescue 80 people?"He made the comments when asked if the coast guard had poorly handled the accident.The official in the southwestern port city of Mokpo was not immediately available for comment.The coast gu

The head of South Korea's railway company apparently arrived in North Korea on Tuesday for a conference meant to boost international cooperation between railway operators.Choi Yeon-hye, president and CEO of the Korea Railroad Corp., is included in an international delegation of rail officials scheduled to attend a meeting of the Organization for Cooperation between Railways set for April 24-28.The North's official Korean Central News Agency reported that the delegation arrived in Pyongyang in a