Health authorities said Friday they've discovered more than 100 toothpastes containing the same chemicals used in the toxic humidifier sterilizers, though their miniscule amounts pose no harm.   The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it has detected chloro-methylisothiazolinone (CMIT) and methylisothiazolinone (MIT) in 149 products by 10 manufacturers. The ministry reviewed toothpastes by 68 makers.   CMIT/MIT were used in the controversial humidifier sterilizers that have been linked to more

South Korea has confirmed another  case of the Zika virus infection, raising the number of people infected with the virus here to 14, health authorities said Saturday.    A 34-year-old man who recently made a trip to Thailand was confirmed to have been infected with the mosquito-borne virus on Friday, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).    He is presumed to have been bitten by a mosquito during his  stay in the Southeast Asian nation from Sept. 8-16, the cen

Japanese authorities investigate the scene where an explosion took place at a park in Tokyo on Sept. 24, 2016. The explosion injured three South Koreans who were preparing to open a booth for Korean cuisine at the South Korea-Japan cultural exchange event. (Yonhap)Three South Koreans were injured Saturday as an explosion occurred at a park in Tokyo where a regular cultural exchange event of South Korea and Japan was being held, police said.   The blast occurred at Hibiya Park in Tokyo at around

North Korea's top diplomat has reaffirmed Pyongyang's "my-way" stance in its nuclear development efforts during his latest speech at the United Nations, blaming what he calls the United States' hostile attitude again for causing the current stalemate, experts said Saturday.   The North also made clear that it will not give in to growing international pressure to dissuade it from pushing forward with its nuclear ambitions, further clouding outlooks for any imminent breakthrough, they predicted.  

South Korean President Park Geun-hye hosts a gathering of Cabinet ministers and vice ministers to discuss ways to address a series of security and economic challenges facing the nation on Saturday at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. (Yonhap)South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Saturday hosted a gathering of Cabinet ministers and vice ministers to discuss ways to address a series of security and economic challenges facing the nation.   The workshop gathering, the first since March 2013,

South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Saturday it has donated about US$115 million over the past 18 years to its social contribution program in the United States to help children fight cancer.   Hyundai Motor launched the anti-cancer campaign, titled "Hope on Wheels," in 1998, in which $14 is raised every time a new Hyundai vehicle is sold. The automaker's accumulative donation topped the $100 million last year.   Participants called for more efforts to help children fight cancer at

A Seoul court on Saturday rejected a prosecution request to issue a warrant to arrest a former head of the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) who is facing a string of bribery allegations.   On Wednesday, the prosecution filed for a writ to formally arrest Kang Man-soo, 71, on charges of bribery and breach of trust.   The Seoul Central District Court, however, said it is hard to acknowledge the reason and necessity for the detention when Kang's major crime allegations are still disputable.  

 Aftershocks of the most powerful earthquake recorded in South Korea are finally showing signs of easing with no aftershocks detected since early Thursday, the meteorological agency said.   The state-run Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said no aftershocks have been detected for more than an hour since around 10 a.m. Thursday.   The possible cease comes after 316 aftershocks following the 5.8-magnitude quake Monday, the most powerful one to be recorded since the KMA began monitoring sei

In a trove of newly leaked emails, former Secretary of State Colin Powell calls Donald Trump ``a national disgrace'' and suggests his own Republican Party is ``crashing and burning.''    Powell also laments Hillary Clinton's attempt to equate her use of private email at the State Department with his.    The emails, posted on the website DCLeaks.com and first reported by Buzzfeed News late Tuesday, offer insight into the unvarnished opinions of the respected retired Army general who was secretary

Samsung's recall of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones after several dozen caught fire and exploded may stem from a subtle manufacturing error, but it highlights the challenge electronics makers face in packing ever more battery power into ever thinner phones, while rushing for faster release dates.    Announcing the recall on Sept. 2, Samsung confirmed dozens of cases where Note 7 batteries caught fire or exploded, mostly while charging. It plans a software update that will cap battery recharging

(Yonhap)South Korea has yet to find any traces of radioactive materials from North Korea's latest nuclear test, a nuclear safety commission here said Thursday, confirming the country remains safe from nuclear fallout.   "The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission has not found any traces of radionuclides, such as xenon, in its tests of soil, water and air samples following North Korea's fifth nuclear test," the commission said in a released statement.   The commission has been testing samples ev

The amount of tax reimbursements more than doubled from a year earlier in 2015, apparently indicating excessive tax collection by officials out to improve their personal performances, a lawmaker said Thursday.   In 2015, the National Tax Service (NTS) was forced to reimburse 6.26 trillion won (US$5.56 billion) in excess taxes, according to Rep. Kim Gwang-lim of the ruling Saenuri Party.   The 2015 tally marks a 106 percent spike from 3.04 trillion won in 2014, the lawmaker said, citing related d

A great majority of South Koreans still see a need to reunify their country with North Korea, but the number of people in favor of reunification has dropped significantly apparently due to a series of recent provocations by the communist North, a survey showed Thursday.   In a survey conducted by the National Unification Advisory Council, 74.4 percent of respondents said they saw a need for peaceful reunification of the two Koreas.   The ratio marked a 7.7 percentage point drop from 82.1 percent

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday he has never seen tensions on the Korean Peninsula as high as now and urged the Security Council to unite and send a strong message to North Korea that nuclear and missile tests are unacceptable.   "The level of tension on the Korean peninsula has gone much, much higher," Ban said at a news conference marking the opening of the U.N. General Assembly. "Never in the past I have seen such kind of heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula."    "So i

South Korea's life expectancy has increased at a rapid rate over the past two decades largely on advances in medical services, while that of communist North Korea climbed at less than half the speed of the South, a report showed Thursday.   According to the Korea Insurance Research Institute (KIRI), South Korea's life expectancy came to 81 years as of the end-2013, up 8.6 years from 72.5 years in 1990.   The increase compared with North Korea's 3.3-year gain over the cited period, KIRI said.   T

For the first time in Asia, France’s cherished Lascaux Paleolithic cave paintings found a temporary home inside Korea’s Gwangmyeong Cave. 　In celebration of the 130th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and France, the Lascaux International Exhibition made its way here. The commemorative diplomatic project allowed Gwangmyeong Cave -- the country’s latest tourist hot spot -- to host the Lascaux International Exhibition from April through Sept. 4. 　The world-famous Lascaux cave paintings

Maestro Chung Myung-whun (Yonhap)Esteemed South Korean conductor Chung Myung-whun, the former Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra music director, has been appointed the honorary music director of Japan’s oldest classical orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. 　Chung officially took rein as honorary music director of the Tokyo Phil beginning Sept. 1, following a longtime relationship with the orchestra, He worked with the ensemble as a special artistic advisor from 2001 to the 2009/10 season, and

A North Korean diplomat who was reported to have defected from his post in Russia last month entered South Korea with his family and huge holdings of foreign currency, a source said Thursday.   "The diplomat involved in Pyongyang's trade representatives under its consulate general in Vladivostok defected and went to South Korea via a third country," the source said.     The first secretary-level diplomat brought a "considerable" sum of foreign currency with him to the South along with his wife a

Apple's chief executive says the company has put aside ``several billion dollars'' to pay tax liabilities in the United States as it repatriates some of its huge overseas earnings.    Tim Cook told Irish state network RTE in an interview broadcast Thursday that the money, part of profits from 2014, should be brought back to the U.S. next year. He did not specify how much would be repatriated.    Apple holds nearly $215 billion in cash and securities outside the U.S., much of that generated by it

South Korea on Thursday hailed the latest United Nations resolution on North Korea for putting significant pressure on the communist country to give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.   "(Seoul) assesses that a significant level of progress has been achieved," foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said as Resolution 2270 passed by the United Nations Security Council hits the six month mark.   On March 2, the U.N council approved its toughest resolution yet in response to North Ko