Kim Young-nam, the ceremonial leader of the North, touted the regime's move to "build up the self-defensive war deterrent" at a Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Iran, North Korea's state news media said Friday."The situation of the peninsula tells us that we were absolutely right to have chosen the path of Songun politics and built up the self-defensive war deterrent," Kim Young-nam, the presi

South Korean rapper-singer Psy's hit-single "Gangnam Style" on Friday rose to the top of a major chart of the U.S. music publication Billboard boosted by the viral popularity of the song's music video on the Internet."Gangnam Style" sits on top of Billboard's "Social 50" chart, beating famous North American pop stars such as Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber as well as British idol group One Directio

DUBAI -- U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon met with North Korea's ceremonial head of state in Tehran and expressed hope for improved relations between the two Koreas, his spokesman said Friday. Ban's meeting with Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's ceremonial head of state and chief of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, took place Thursday on the sidelines of a Non-Aligned Movement summit hosted by Iran

Japan strongly protested against South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's surprise visit to Dokdo.Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda expressed regrets and said the visit is unacceptable.Tokyo's Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba recalled the country's ambassador to Seoul, Masatoshi Muto, filed official complaints with South Korean Ambassador to Japan Shin Kak-soo and made a protest call to South Korean Fore

The ruling Saenuri Party on Friday vowed to get to the bottom of allegations that one of its lawmakers bribed her way into parliament as it scrambled to contain the fallout ahead of December's presidential election.The scandal centers on suspicions that Rep. Hyun Young-hee secured a proportional representative seat in April's general elections after paying 300 million won ($265,960) to Hyun Ki-hwa

Kim Ki-duk, one of the best known Korean directors overseas, said on Thursday he has realized that filmmaking makes him happy, in his first appearance before local media in four years."It will be my first feature film to be shown in four years,"Kim said during a news conference in Seoul to promote his new film "Pieta." "I haven't worked on any movie for many reasons so far.This time, I surely felt

Labor unionists of South Korea's biggest umbrella union said Thursday that an estimated 130,000 members will stage a second nationwide strike to demand better working conditions.Affiliated companies of the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU), one of the largest industrial guilds under the progressive Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), will go on a one-day walkout on Friday, following the

A new book by Ahn Cheol-soo, considered one of the strongest contenders for this year’s presidential election, has become an instant top seller, industry officials said Thursday.According to Yes24, a leading online bookstore, about 3,200 copies of “Thoughts of Ahn Cheol-soo” were sold as of 5 p.m., just five hours after sales began. On average, 11 copies were sold per minute, it said. At that pace

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Double amputee Oscar Pistorius is going to the London Olympics after being selected for South Africa's 4x400 relay team.Pistorius is set to become the first amputee track athlete ever to compete at the Olympics. South Africa's Olympic committee picked him Wednesday.The selection eased Pistorius' disappointment at his failure to qualify in the individual 400 meters. The 25-year

A South Korean unification activist on an unauthorized visit to North Korea met with the communist nation's No. 2 leader on Wednesday, Pyongyang's official news agency reported.Ro Su-hui, 68, a leader of a pro-Pyongyang organization, has been in North Korea since March 24 on an unsanctioned trip to attend a memorial service to mark the 100th day anniversary of the death of Pyongyang's long-time le

President Lee Myung-bak met with Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong on Wednesday and discussed ways to expand cooperation in energy and resources as well as development aid between the two countries, the presidential office said.Thongsing arrived in Seoul earlier Wednesday for a two-day visit that also includes talks with South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and a business forum aime

South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party will stick to its current presidential candidate selection process, but will check to see if there are shortcomings that can be addressed, the party's chairman said Saturday.At the end of a workshop event for lawmakers, Hwang Woo-yea said meeting the primary election timetable set by the party's constitution will be a challenge in itself. He said that because the

The cost to dine with investor Warren Buffett has apparently spiked in value, with one deep-pocketed bidder forking over nearly $3.5 million during a charity auction Friday night.The annual auction for a private lunch with the Nebraska billionaire closed following a flurry of activity in the final hours. In the end, the highest bid was a record-breaking $3,456,789.The auction benefits the Glide Fo

A University of Georgia professor famous for his life-long study of German literature and history has been charged with prostitution in a suburb of Atlanta, officials said.Max Reinhart, 65, was arrested Thursday afternoon after investigators answered an online ad listed by an individual on Backpage.com, according to local media reports. The website has an "adult" section that includes "escorts" an

China will launch a manned spacecraft this month, state news agency Xinhua said Saturday, in the latest step in a programme aimed at giving the country a permanent space station by 2020.The Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and its carrier rocket have already been moved to the launch platform at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China, Xinhua said, quoting an official with the country's manned

The main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) was set to pick its new leadership at a national convention Saturday ahead of this year's presidential race.Party sources said that Reps. Kim Han-gil and Lee Hae-chan were in the lead for the top post as the party gathering got underway at the KINTEX convention center, northwest of Seoul.They added that Kang Gi-jung, Choo Mi-ae, Woo Sang-ho and Cho

Police have arrested 190 people and rescued 18 children in a major US crackdown on child pornography, including some detained in Europe and elsewhere, judicial authorities said Friday.Most of the arrests in Operation Orion through the month of May took place in the United States, but suspects were also picked up in Argentina, Britain, the Philippines and Spain."Many of the child exploitation cases

Britain's government announced plans Friday to make forced marriage a criminal offence, with parents who coerce their children into marrying to face "very tough punishments".Prime Minister David Cameron said forced marriage had been tolerated as a cultural practice in Britain's Asian community for too long and was "little short of slavery"."For too long in this country we have thought 'well, it's

MEXICO CITY -- The Peruvian military and police are ready to send in rescue teams to find a helicopter carrying eight South Koreans that went missing earlier in the week, a diplomatic source said Friday.The South Korean Embassy source in Lima said a 21-person air rescue team is on standby so they can be sent in by helicopter to the Hualla Hualla region where the ill-fated S-58 chopper may have cra

Two North Korean nationals were sentenced to eight year prison terms after being caught trying to steal secret rocket technology from the Ukraine, local sources said Saturday.Sources said the North Koreans identified as Ryu Song-chul and Lee Tae-kil were arrested for spying in July after they tried to steal classified technology from the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Dnipropetrovsk. The sentence was h