SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak ordered Monday all government officials to be placed on emergency response status, following the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Under the order, all government officials are restricted from taking leave or traveling and required to mainta

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States was Sunday "closely monitoring" reports on North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il's death and said it was committed to stability on the Korean peninsula and the security of its allies.Kim's death, announced by North Korea's official media, posed an immediate and grave f

 

SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- North Korea and the United States are highly likely to delay bilateral nuclear talks set for this week in Beijing, following the report of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's death, a senior Seoul official said Monday. "In the wake of the North Korean leader Kim's death, it

South Korean government branches and the military have been put on high alert following the announcement of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s death on Monday.President Lee Myung-bak called a National Security Council meeting immediately after he was informed of Kim’s death, and held an emergency Cab

<긴급> 北 김정일 사망 (Yonhap News)

(Yonhap News)Funeral set for Dec. 28; Jong-un hailed as heir; Lee talks with ObamaNorth Korea’s iron-fisted ruler Kim Jong-il, who had long drawn international attention for his unceasing nuclear ambitions, died of a heart attack on a train ride on Saturday, the communist state’s state media reporte

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) _ Iran's state TV broadcast video of a young man Sunday it claimed was a CIA spy who sought to infiltrate Iran's secret services.The TV identified the man, apparently in his late 20s, as Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, an American-Iranian who received special training and served at U.S. mili

ROME (AP) _ Pope Benedict XVI made an emotional visit Sunday to Rome's main prison, meeting with detainees, denouncing prison overcrowding and calling for greater dignity for inmates everywhere.Benedict spent over an hour at Rome's Rebibbia prison, fielding questions from a half-dozen inmates who sp

WASHINGTON (AP) _ When someone is talking to you, your brain is listening, processing and thinking about what is being said _ even if you are in the driver's seat trying to concentrate on traffic.That is why drivers get distracted during cellphone conversations, even when using hands-free phones, re

At Camp Blessing in Afghanistan’s Pech Valley, some American soldiers played “Angry Birds” on their iPhones when off-duty. Jonathan Springer decided to put his device to a different use: building an app to help fight the Taliban. “I wanted to give something back to soldiers that might help save thei

SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) -- The number of foreign residents living in South Korea reached an all-time high this year, accounting for 3 percent of the country's total population, with Chinese residents forming the largest group, government data showed Friday. According to the statistics compiled by th

LOS ANGELES, Dec 15, 2011 (AFP) - Shots were fired at or near the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles on Thursday, but no one was injured, police said, adding that an Asian suspect was being sought."It was a shooting at the building" housing the consulate general, which is between downtown LA and Holly

SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) -- The chairman of SK Group will be summoned next week for interrogation over allegations that he embezzled a massive amount of company funds in collusion with his younger brother, prosecutors said Friday. Prosecutors have given notice to Chairman Chey Tae-won to appear at th

Small private airline PC Air says it will begin operating charter flights this month with Bangkok-Vientiane service and will start serving China next month.Originally the charter service was to take off around the middle of this year or in the third quarter, but factors such as the flood disaster fo

SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Thursday sentenced the adoptive mother of an infant to seven years in prison for frequently beating the baby girl, causing brain death.The 28-year-old mother, identified only by her surname Lee, was indicted in September on charges of habitually beating he

A gay man who avoided military service became the first South Korean to be granted asylum abroad on grounds of conscientious objection in 2009, a military human rights group belatedly announced on Thursday.According to the group, Canadian immigration officials granted asylum to Kim Kyung-hwan in 200

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ A chimpanzee that kicked a smoking habit and used sign language to beg for candy has died at a California animal refuge.Martine Colette of the Wildlife WayStation says Booie was being treated for a heart condition when he died Saturday at 44. The chimp had been living at the anima

POSCO founder Park Tae-joon, who pioneered the steel sector in a barren tract of Korea, died on Tuesday at age 84.His death came after a decade-long battle with a tumor in his lung. Park has been suffering from side effects related to a 2001 surgery, and had one of his lungs and pulmonary pleura rem

SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors said Tuesday that they have indicted a U.S. soldier on charges of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old South Korean girl and stealing her laptop.The 21-year-old private from a communications brigade of the 8th U.S. Army is accused of raping the girl in her rented