South Korea and China remain divided over a number of issues such as illegal fishing that may prevent early conclusion of their negotiations for a free trade agreement, officials here said Sunday."We are hoping to include a provision that can effectively prevent illegal fishing in the FTA, but China maintains it will not even discuss the issue," a government official here said on condition of anonymity.Seoul is pressing the issue that has become a major diplomatic sticking point. The number of C

80대 노부부가 지난 40년간 쓴 러브레터를 공개하면서 전세계에 놀라움과 감동을 선사했다. 이 편지들의 주인공들은 미국 워싱턴 주에 거주하는 조 헤스케스(81)와 헬렌 헤스케스(81) 부부로, 지난 1974년 2월부터 매일 주고 받은 편지가 29,000 통이 넘는다고 시애틀 지역 방송 KIRO-TV가 14일 보도했다.이들이 서로에게 편지를 쓰게 된 계기는 지난 1974년 2월 22일 참가한 부부 대상 주말 세미나였다. 당시 헤스케스 부부는 원만하지 못했던 부부 사이를 개선하기 위해 이 프로그램에 참가했다. 남편인 조 헤스케스는 “(편지들은) 공책 한 페이지 정도 되는 분량이고, 항상 기도로 시작한다”고  설명하며 “그 날 그 날 알게된 헬렌의 특별한 것들을 편지에 담는다”고 말했다. 특히 그는 “결혼이란 평생에 걸친 과정”이기 때문에 “우리 부부는 변함없이 노력하는 사이”라고 강조했다. 또 아내인 헬렌 헤스케스는 “매일 이 편지를 쓰는 동안 집중할 수 있게 남편이 배려해준다”며 “한

South Korean bobsledders will try to add a new chapter to their Cinderella story, as the two-man competition opens on Sunday.South Korea made its Olympic bobsleigh debut in Vancouver four years ago, with just one team in the four-man event in action.This year, pilots Won Yun-jong and Kim Dong-hyun have qualified for both the two-man and the four-man events. It's a remarkable progress for a country that doesn't even have a proper track.Won led his two-man team to the overall North American Cup ti

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un paid his respects to his late father on Sunday to mark the former leader's 72nd birthday, Pyongyang's state media reported. The Korean Central News Agency, monitored in Seoul, said Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in the capital Pyongyang, where the body of Kim Jong-il lies in state. The KCNA said the junior Kim paid his respects before the statues of Kim Il-sung, his grandfather and the founder of North Korea, and Kim Jong-il. The leader place

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry began a three-day trip to Jakarta Saturday where he plans to focus on climate change.The Indonesian capital is the last stop in his three-country Asia tour. He traveled to Seoul and Beijing.On Sunday, he is scheduled to deliver a speech on climate change at the American Center here.In the first of a series of speeches on climate change this year, the secretary will touch on the "compelling and undeniable scientific case of this growing challenge," a senior Stat

Below are the medal standings for the top 10 countries at the Sochi Winter Olympics through Saturday.Rank     Country     Gold    Silver   Bronze    Total   1     Germany           7        3        2             12   2     Switzerland       5        1        1               7   3     Russia               4        6        5              15   4     Canada             4        5        3              12   5     Netherlands      4        4        6              14   6     United States    4       

With his first Olympic gold medal for his adopted Russia around his neck, Viktor Ahn, the short track star born as Ahn Hyun-soo in South Korea, said he made "the right choice" in switching allegiances.Ahn captured the men's 1,000m gold medal on Saturday at Iceberg Skating Palace. It was Russia's first Olympic gold in short track. Earlier, Ahn had won the bronze in the 1,500m.The 1,000m title was Ahn's fourth career gold medal, making him the most decorated male short tracker in Olympic history."

Youth was well served for South Korea at the Sochi Winter Games on Saturday, as the 17-year-old short tracker Shim Suk-hee claimed the silver medal in the women's 1,500 meters and Yun Sung-bin, 19, posted the country's best result ever in men's skeleton.Shim's silver was South Korea's third medal in Sochi, and second from short track. She was leading the race until Zhou Yang of China charged out in front with two laps remaining and held on to the lead to win her second straight gold medal in the

[팟캐스트] (29) 김연아 선수 대항마는 러시아 신예?[기사요약]피겨의 여왕 김연아 선수가 2014년 소치 동계 올림픽에서 2연패를 노리는 가운데 한 러시아 신예가 도전장을 내밀 전망이다. 만 15살인 율리아 리프니츠카야 선수는 8일 피겨스케이팅 단체전 여자 싱글 쇼트프로그램에서 1위를 차지해 러시아에게 첫 금메달을 안겨준 주역이다. 유연성과 힘을 무기로 나선 리프니츠카야 선수가 역사상 가장 완벽한 무대를 선보이며 신기록을 세운 김연아 선수를 위협할 수 있을 지 모두의 관심이 모아지고 있다.Champ Kim Yu-na has Russian competition[1] Tension is building between Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na and the much praised Russian prodigy Julia Lipnitskaia with the individual event just over one week away.*pro

Girls' Generation, one of the most popular South Korean pop groups, may postpone the release of its new album after footage for the video of the album's title track was accidentally deleted, the group's management agency said Friday.The K-pop group originally planned to end a one-year hiatus with the release of its fourth mini-album titled "Mr.Mr." on Feb. 24. Before the official release, the group was scheduled to release the title track "Mr. Mr." on local online music services such as Melon, N

Below are the medal standings for the top 10 countries at the Sochi Winter Olympics through Thursday.Rank    Country          Gold    Silver   Bronze     Total   1     Germany           7        2        1        10   2     Canada             4        4        2        10   3     Norway              4        3        6        13   4     Netherlands      4        3        5        12   5     United States    4        2        6        12   6     Switzerland       3        0        1         4   7

South Korean pitcher Yoon Suk-min has reached an agreement with the Baltimore Orioles, pending a physical, multiple U.S. reports said on Thursday.CBS Sports.com said the right-hander has agreed to join the Major League Baseball team but will have to pass the team's physical. Another report on MLB.com said the deal is worth $5.75 million over three years.Earlier this week, Yoon tweeted a photo of himself wearing an Orioles cap, fueling speculation that a deal was imminent. The Orioles said there

Park Seung-hi fell down and she got up. She fell for the second time, and she got up again.The 21-year-old short tracker stayed on her skates long enough to win the bronze medal in the women's 500 meters on Thursday at the Sochi Winter Games. It was South Korea's second medal in Sochi, and its first in short track at these ongoing Winter Games.Park survived the nervy final in which three of the four skaters fell to the ice even before they could complete their first lap.Undaunted by an earlier f

South Korean speed skater Lee Sang-hwa, fresh off her second straight Olympic title in the women's 500 meters, ended her 1,000ｍ race in 12th place on Thursday at the Sochi Winter Olympics.Skating in the outer lane in the 18th and last pairing with Lotte Van Beek of the Netherlands, Lee clocked at 1:15.94, well out of medals.On Tuesday, Lee defended her gold in 500ｍ with an Olympic record time of 74.70 seconds.Zhang Hong of China claimed the gold in 1:14.02, 0.67 second ahead of the silver medal

China said Thursday that it has maintained an "overall good momentum" of bilateral relations with the United States, a day after the White House announced a four-nation Asian visit by U.S. President Barack Obama.Obama will visit South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines in April, with major security headaches ranging from North Korea to China's maritime disputes with Southeast Asian nations expected to top his agenda.When asked about Obama's planned visit to Asia, China's foreign ministry

South Korea's tax agency said Thursday that it aims to collect 14.7 trillion won ($13.8 billion) more in taxes this year than last year amid the government's ongoing efforts to expand its revenue base.In a plan submitted to lawmakers, the National Tax Service set its goal at a total of 204.9 trillion won worth of national taxes including income, corporate and value-added taxes this year.This is 7.7 percent, or 14.7 trillion won, more than the 190.2 trillion won the NTS brought in last year, the

South and North Korea will resume high-level talks this week, an official said Thursday, in an apparent attempt to break the deadlock in their relations.The sides will hold the talks at the border village of Panmunjom at 10 a.m. on Friday at the North's request, the official of the unification ministry said.The move came a day after the rival Koreas ended their first high-level talks in seven years without any tangible agreement.The official said the two Koreas are expected to discuss the reunio

올림픽 2연패를 달성한 스피드 스케이팅 선수 이상화의 발 사진이 공개돼 화제다.사진 속 이상화의 발바닥은 대부분이 굳은살로 덮여있고, 뒤꿈치를 비롯해 발 전체가 물집 흔적과 상흔으로 가득해 이상화의 초인적인 노력이 엿보인다.한편, 이상화는 지난 11일(한국시간) 러시아 소치의 아들레르 아레나에서 열린 스피드 스케이팅 여자 500m에서 최종합계 74초70으로 금메달을 목에 걸었다.(khnews@heraldcorp.com)Lee Sang-hwa’s feet praised as ‘worn out yet beautiful’A photo of the feet of speed skater Lee Sang-hwa has been gaining popularity in online communities since she won a gold medal in the women’s 500-meter speed skating event at the Sochi Olympics on Tuesday. Onli

올케가 될 여자가 마음에 들지 않는다는 이유로 오빠의 결혼을 취소시킨 여성에게 징역 8주가 선고됐다. 이처럼 새언니와 올케간의 반목이 실형으로 이어진 것은 이례적이다.외신에 따르면 영국 플라이머스에 거주하는 앤 더피(50)란 여성은 친오빠인 데이빗 그레텍스(52)가 24세 연하인 샌드라 하디(28)와 결혼하겠다고 하자 이에 반발, 하디를 사칭해 혼인 등기소에 연락해 혼인 신고 일정을 취소했다. 나중에 더피는 오빠인 그레텍스에게 이 일을 알려주며 “내 덕분에 (차후) 이혼할 수고를 덜었다”고 덧붙였다. 이에 화가 난 그레텍스는 “그 애(더피)는 질투에 눈이 멀었고 샌드라가 오빠를 독차지하려고 한다며 트집잡곤 했다”고 말했다고 외신은 전했다. 이에 약혼녀인 하디도 “우리는 절대로 그 여자(더피)를 용서하지 않을 것”이라며 그레텍스의 편을 들었다. 그레텍스와 하디는 3주 후 결혼식을 올렸으며, 더피는 식장에서 욕설을 퍼붓는 등 여전히 방해를 멈추지 않았다고 외신은 밝혔다. (코리아헤럴드

A woman was jailed in the U.K. for maliciously canceling the wedding of her brother and a woman she hated, British media reported Wednesday. Ann Duffy, 50, of Plymouth, England, was sentenced to eight-weeks in jail, the court document said. Duffy was irritated when Sandra Hardy, 28, was marrying her 52-year-old brother David Greatex. Duffy posed as Hardy at a clerk’s registry office to cancel the wedding without noticing the couple. “She (Duffy) was jealous and kept accusing Sand