South Korea and the United States completed the regulatory process needed for Seoul’s provision of a base site for a US missile defense battery, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.A bilateral committee on the status of US Forces Korea approved the plan for land transfer, allowing the US military to begin work for the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in the some 300,000-square-meter land in the southeastern county of Seongju. The land was formerly owned by a Lotte Group

MOKPO -- A probe to shed light on the exact cause of the tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry will begin late next month, a special fact-finding body said Thursday.The eight-member panel set up last month by special law aims to allow maritime experts and lawyers to determine why the 6,800 ton ship capsized in waters off the southwest coast in 2014. The sinking resulted in the deaths of 304 people, with the remains of nine still unaccounted for. (Yonhap)"We expect that the investigation will start a

Hyundai Motor Co. has lowered the prices of its i30 hatchback models to attract customers amid tougher competition from rivals, the carmaker said Thursday. Hyundai Motor has cut the mainstay hatchback's sticker price by 250,000 won to 1.25 million won ($219-$1,097) in the domestic market, South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales said in a statement.  Hyundai's i30 hatchback. (Hyundai Motor)The carmaker has also reduced the number of trims for the car from nine to five. It cut the trims for the 1.

The US Air Force dispatched a nuclear sniffer aircraft Thursday to the east of the Korean Peninsula amid the possibility of North Korea's imminent nuclear test, a government source said."The WC-135 Constant Phoenix, a special-purpose US plane, made an emergency sortie today over the East Sea," the source said, requesting anonymity.The US Air Force's WC-135 Constant Phoenix sniffer plane (Yonhap)Its mission is to collect samples from the atmosphere in order to detect and identity a nuclear explos

The top diplomats of South Korea and Tanzania will sit down together in Seoul next week to discuss bilateral collaboration on economic issues as well as the North Korean nuclear issue, the foreign ministry here said Thursday.The talks between Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Tanzanian counterpart Augustine P. Mahiga are scheduled for Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. It will be their second meeting in about four months following one held on Dec. 7 in Ethiopia during a regional f

South Korean football icon Park Ji-sung said Thursday he hopes the national under-20 football team will create a "miracle" at the upcoming FIFA competition at home.South Korea will host the FIFA U-20 World Cup in six cities -- Cheonan, Daejeon, Incheon, Jeju, Jeonju and Suwon -- between May 20 and June 11. At the 24-team U-20 World Cup, host South Korea will face Argentina, England and Guinea in Group A.Park Ji-sung speaks before a match between South Korea and Brazil at the Suwon JS Cup interna

More than 100 South Korean and US warplanes have joined an annual combined defense exercise under way on the peninsula, South Korea's Air Force said Thursday.The Max Thunder training, which started on April 14 for a two-week run, also involves around 1,200 troops, including some American personnel stationed in Japan.South Korea has dispatched F-15K, KF-16, FA-50, F-4E and F-5 fighter jets, as well as C-130 cargo and E-737 airborne early warning and control aircraft. A F-16 fighter jet of the US

GYEONGSAN -- An unidentified armed man escaped with a sack of money after robbing a bank branch of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation in the southeastern city of Gyeongsan on Thursday, police said. (Yonhap)Around 11:55 a.m., the burglar wearing a mask and toting a gun entered the branch and fired a shot, demanding that tellers at the branch of the cooperative, also known as Nonghyup, put money into a sack he had brought with him. He fled the scene on a bicycle after the tellers com

South Korea will hold an anti-piracy drill in waters off the southern coast ahead of the dispatch of a 4,500-ton destroyer to Somalia, the maritime ministry said Thursday. South Korea Navy's Daejoyoung destroyer. (Yonhap)Taking place on Friday, the one-day drill will involve the South Korean destroyer Daejoyoung, a 17,000-ton commercial vessel and 350 seamen and sailors, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.Next month, the warship will join the South Korean naval unit which has been

Rare is the pitcher who successfully makes it back from a shoulder operation. Even rarer is the one who bounces back from both a shoulder operation and an elbow procedure.That Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers is pitching at all at the major league level, after missing the majority of the past two seasons with injuries, is no small accomplishment in and of itself. Whether he can continue on at the level, though, remains a big question mark, given his travails in his first three starts of t

Host South Korea will finalize their final squad for the FIFA U-20 World Cup after playing two friendly matches with local soccer clubs next week.The country is in the final stretch of their preparations for the U-20 World Cup that will run from May 20 to June 11. The men’s national U-20 team, led by head coach Shin Tae-yong, is in Group A with Argentina, England and Guinea at the 24-team tournament. South Korean national U-20 football team head coach Shin Tae-yong speaks to reporters after his

South Korea's prosecution said it signed an agreement with Microsoft Corp. on Thursday to protect against growing cyber threats. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office inked the Government Security Program with the US software giant at the office of its local unit in central Seoul.  (Yonhap)The GSP is a program Microsoft runs targeting governments and public organizations worldwide to more effectively respond to cybersecurity incidents, the prosecution said. It is an upgraded version of the company's S

Mystery persists over US President Donald Trump's dispatch of an "armada" toward the Korean Peninsula, leaving many people here puzzled and concerned about defense coordination between the allies.Early this month, the US Pacific Command announced the departure of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and its strike group from Singapore for waters near the peninsula.On April 12, Trump said in an interview with Fox News, "We are sending an armada (to the area). Very powerful." A day later, a US Pac

K-pop girl group EXID has secured the No. 4 spot on Billboard’s World Albums chart with its third EP “Eclipse” for the week of April 29.On Thursday, the group broke its own record, setting its highest ranking and making its first top five entry. K-pop group EXID (Banana Culture Entertainment)“EXID is the only Korean artist to be listed in the upper ranks of the Billboard’s chart,” Banana Culture Entertainment said. The five-member group first featured on the chart in 2015 with its second EP “Ah

South Korea's defense ministry said Thursday that North Korea is clearly the country's enemy, although it has formally jettisoned the politically sensitive expression "main enemy."A longstanding controversy over labeling the communist neighbor has been rekindled by the television debate Wednesday night of five politicians running for the May 9 presidential elections.South Korean Defense Ministry's spokesman Moon Sang-gyun (Yonhap)Asked if the North is the South's main enemy, Moon Jae-in of the l

A South Korean research institute on freshwater organisms and biodiversity conservation said Thursday it will sign a business pact with Japan's Lake Biwa Museum this week to push ahead with joint research, education and exhibitions on freshwater animals and plants.The state-run Nakdonggang National Institute of Biological Resources will tie up with the Japanese research center on Friday when officials hold a joint seminar at the South Korean research institute located near the Nakdong River in s

The average age of South Koreans was 41.2 as of end-March, up 4.2 years from 2008, data from the Ministry of the Interior showed Thursday. The average age of the country's registered population was 37 when the government started to compile the data in 2008. The number has been on a constant rise, with the 40-year mark topped in 2014, according to the data.Among cities and provinces, Sejong in the middle of the country had the youngest population with an average of 36.8. It was also the only city

South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Thursday that it has imposed a combined 70.2 billion-won ($61.4 million) fine on four local builders for rigging bids for a state railway project.The four companies -- Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co., Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. and KCC Engineering & Construction Co. -- allegedly colluded to participate in the bidding process to build a 58-kilometer-long railroad arranged by the Korea Railway

MONACO -- Top-ranked Andy Murray returned from an elbow injury to beat Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-5, 7-5 in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday.　 The right elbow injury prompted Murray to withdraw from last month‘s Miami Open and he also missed Britain’s recent quarterfinal loss to France in the Davis Cup.　 “Missing Miami was a shame because it’s one of my favorite ones, but I needed it,” Murray said. “Sometimes having a break, if you’re feeling tired or fatigued is great

MONACO -- Rising teenage star Kylian Mbappe and resurgent forward Radamel Falcao scored early goals as free-scoring Monaco beat Borussia Dortmund 3-1 to reach the Champions League semifinals Wednesday.　 Dortmund trailed 3-2 from the first leg of the quarterfinal in Germany and conceded twice inside 20 minutes -- meaning it needed to score three times to have a chance. Attacking midfielder Marco Reus pulled one back in the 48th minute.　  Monaco's Kylian Mbappe (L) celebrates with his teammate Rad