증강현실을 이용한 모바일 게임 “포켓몬 고” 가 추운 날씨에도 불구하고 국내에서 큰 인기를 누리고 있는 가운데 북한에도 “포켓스탑”이 존재하는 것으로 밝혀져 화제가 되고 있다. 　“포켓스탑”은 게임 상에서 포켓볼 등의 아이템을 모을 수 있고, 포켓몬이 자주 출몰하는 곳이다. 　전 세계의 포켓스탑 위치를 알려주는 포켓몬고맵에 따르면 북한에도 포켓스탑이 존재하며, 평양 근처에 포켓스탑이 집중되어 있는 것으로 확인된다.현재 평양에 존재하는 대부분의 포켓스탑은 이름이 영어나 중국어로 되어 있어 평양 현지 주민보다는 외국인 관광객들이 포켓스탑으로 설정해 두었을 가능성이 높은 것으로 보인다.  한편 북한에서 실제로 포켓몬고를 할 수 있는지는 확인되지 않았다.(khnews@heraldcorp.com)　(사진=포켓몬고맵 화면 캡쳐)

South Korea's consumption of antibiotics edged down in 2015 but remained the highest among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the health ministry said Monday.According to the ministry, the country's antibiotic use was tallied at 31.1 defined daily dose per 1,000 people, meaning 31.1 out of 1,000 people were prescribed antibiotics a day. The prescription of antibiotics, which stood at 26.9 DDD in 2008, topped 30 DDD in 2013 and peaked at 31.7 DDD in 2014 before

Rep. Park Jie-won, who heads the minor People's Party, on Monday urged the Malaysian government to demand that North Korea extradite the suspects linked to the alleged assassination of the North Korean leader's half-brother in order to carry out a thorough investigation.Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was killed at a Kuala Lumpur airport last week. Malaysian police said Sunday that they have identified four more North Korean nationals as suspects in the case

South Korea's opposition parties on Monday urged the acting president to approve the extension of the independent investigation into a corruption scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye.The independent counsel must end its probe at the end of this month unless the acting president gives permission to extend the investigation by a month.Rep. Choo Mi-ae, the head of the Democratic Party (Yonhap)"Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn must remember if he does not approve the extensio

미국 콜로라도주 남쪽 파라슈트 마을에 마리화나 드라이브스루 (drive-through) 1호점이 탄생하게 된다. 18일 현지 매체에 따르면 지역 평의원회는 지난주 한 사업체에 “텀블위드 익스프레스” 사업허가증을 내주었다고 한다. (사진=123rf)자동차를 탄 채 지나가며 상점 창문에 선 직원에게 대마를 살 수 있다. 이 상점은 3월 중 열릴 예정이다. 지역 마을 읍장은 “마리화나 드라이브스루는 창의적이고 혁신적인 아이디어”라고 말했다. 실제로 파라슈트 마을은 대마초 합법화로 심각한 경제 상황을 벗어날 수 있었다. 단, 만 21세 이하는 마리화나 드라이브스루를 이용할 수 없으며 자동차 뒷자석에 앉아 있어도 안 된다.코리아헤럴드 지예은 인턴기자 (yeeunjie@heraldcorp.com)

South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung of the Democratic Party continued to narrow the gap with front-runner Moon Jae-in, the party's former head, in approval ratings among presidential hopefuls, a poll showed Monday.According to the data compiled by Realmeter, An posted an approval rating of 20.4 percent last week, up 3.7 percentage points on-week.  South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung (Yonhap)Moon Jae-in continued to lead the poll with 32.5 percent, but his figure dropped 0.4 percentage points.Actin

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Monday said it appears "certain" that North Korea is behind last week's murder of the estranged half brother of its leader Kim Jong-un.During a meeting of the National Security Council's Standing Committee, Hwang called the apparent assassination of Kim Jong-nam an "unacceptable inhumane criminal act," directing officials to seek international cooperation in having Pyongyang pay for its "act of terrorism."In this photo, provided

Talks are under way to bring senior North Korean officials to New York in the coming weeks for unofficial talks with former US officials, a news report said Sunday.Choe Son-hui, director-general at the North Korean Foreign Ministry in charge of US affairs, is expected to lead the North's delegation should the "Track 1.5" talks take place in the next few weeks, The Washington Post reported, citing unidentified sources. (Yonhap)Donald S. Zagoria, senior vice president of the National Committee on

The United States on Sunday kept up its demand for China to use its "unique leverage" on North Korea to pressure the regime in Pyongyang after Beijing suspended coal imports from the neighboring nation.China's Commerce Ministry announced Saturday it is suspending North Korean coal imports starting Sunday through the end of the year in accordance with the latest UN Security Council resolution adopted in December to punish Pyongyang for its fifth nuclear test in September. (Yonhap)The resolution c

Calls are growing in the US Congress for relisting North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism in the wake of Pyongyang's latest ballistic missile test and the killing of the half brother of the North's leader."North Korea illegally launched yet another menacing ballistic missile. This was a high-tech, pre-fueled rocket that can be launched quickly. This type of rocket has a range of about 1,800 miles -- thus, making it an immediate threat to South Korea and Japan, as well as our troops that are

Domestic courtroom drama "New Trial" topped the box office on its first weekend, pushing aside the previous No. 1 "Fabricated City," data showed Monday. (OPUS Pictures)"New Trial" starring Kang Ha-neul and Jung Woo attracted 755,268 viewers over the Feb. 17-19 weekend, according to a box office tally from the Korean Film Council. The film exceeded 1 million in attendance on Sunday.Helmed by director Kim Tae-yoon, the movie follows the story of Hyun-woo, the only witness to a taxi driver's murder

The arrest of Samsung Group's de facto leader has prompted questions about the fate of President Park Geun-hye, who has been impeached for allegedly extorting money from conglomerates including Samsung.Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., was arrested Friday on suspicion of offering 43 billion won ($36.3 million) worth of bribes to Park's friend Choi Soon-sil in exchange for business favors. President Park Geun-hye (Yonhap)The president's lawyers dismissed any link between the

Aides to Rep. Yoo Seong-min, a potential presidential candidate from the Bareun Party, on Friday defended his remarks that he hopes to close down the gender ministry and disperse its functions to other executive departments.Yoo made the remark during a TV interview on Thursday, sparking heated discussion on online forums with some calling it a patriarchal and chauvinistic idea. Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the Bareun Party (Yonhap)He criticized the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family for failing to

Almost three in 10 South Korean adults skip breakfast, with people in their 20s doing so more often, a survey said Friday, raising the need for improving the public's eating habits.The survey on the status of the eating habits of the country's adults, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, revealed that 29.5 percent and 26.1 percent of males and females, respectively, aged 19 or older did not eat breakfast in 2015. (Yonhap)The figures represented growth of 9.1 percentage po

The elder daughter of Samsung Group's controlling family was recast in the spotlight Friday on speculation, although mostly perceived as unlikely, that she may take over the country's biggest conglomerate in lieu of her brother being arrested early in the day on bribery charges.Lee Boo-jin is known in the business community as most resembling her father Lee Kun-hee, the head of Samsung Group who has been hospitalized since May 2014 after a heart attack, in management style and character. She has

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Friday pledged to nurture 100 global venture firms by 2020 as part of the government's efforts to promote startups, create jobs and revitalize the economy.To achieve this goal, the government plans to provide "strategic, tailored" assistance, including legal counseling, to help venture firms prepare for their entry into foreign markets or expand their presence abroad. Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks during a meeting of

Special prosecutors will summon the de facto leader of Samsung Group this weekend to question him for the first time since his arrest over a bribery scandal involving President Park Geun-hye, a spokesman said Friday.Lee Jae-yong, who was formally arrested earlier in the day, will be brought to the special prosecutors' office Saturday, according to Assistant Special Counsel Lee Kyu-cheol, to face questioning over allegations he offered 43 billion won ($36.3 million) worth of bribes to Park's frie

KB Kookmin Bank, a major South Korean bank, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Myanmar's Construction Ministry and its state-run Construction and Housing Development Bank, KB Financial Group said Friday.Under the deal, KB Kookmin Bank plans to provide financial support to Myanmar's plan to expand houses for its working-class people.(Yonhap)KB Microfinance Myanmar Co., the local unit that's owned 100 percent by KB Kookmin Bank, plans to offer loans to Myanmar's people when they renovat

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Friday pledged to nurture 100 global venture firms by 2020 as part of the government's efforts to promote startups, create jobs and revitalize the economy.To achieve this goal, the government plans to provide "strategic, tailored" assistance, including legal counseling, to help venture firms prepare for their entry into foreign markets or expand their presence abroad. Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks during a meeting of

The underground economy accounted for 8 percent of South Korea's gross domestic product in 2015 amid the government's efforts to reduce the black market, a state-run think tank said Friday.The Korea Institute of Public Finance said in its latest report that the shadow economy was estimated at 124.7 trillion won ($108.8 billion) as of 2015, taking up 8 percent of the country's GDP worth 1,558.6 trillion won. (Yonhap)The rate against the GDP has been on a slight decline since 2013 when it hit 8.7