North Korea said Monday that it has extended the launch period for a controversial long-range rocket by another week until Dec. 29, citing technical problems.An unidentified spokesman for the North’s Korean Committee of Space Technology told state media that scientists found a "technical deficiency in the first-stage control engine module of the rocket." The statement didn’t elaborate but said technicians were "pushing forward" with final preparations for the launch.The United Nations, Washingto

Attention wealthy nations and billionaires: A team of former NASA executives will fly you to the moon in an out-of-this-world commercial venture combining the wizardry of Apollo and the marketing of Apple.For a mere $1.5 billion, the business is offering countries the chance to send two people to the moon and back, either for research or national prestige. And if you are an individual with that kind of money to spare, you too can go the moon for a couple days.Some space experts, though, are skep

Korean scientists have discovered a way to restore DNA in human cells damaged by ultraviolet radiation from the sun, chemical and toxic agents, and smoking that can potentially lead to aging and cancer.A team led by professor Kang Tae-hong of Dong-A University Department of Biological Science said nucleotide excision repair, or NER, holds the key through the modulation of enzymes to prevent diseases such as skin cancer, developmental disorder and progeria.NER has been widely known to play a vita

On the shopping streets of Myeong-dong, it is hard to miss the sound of a bell rung by a man clad in a military-style black coat and hat.Standing beside a tripod with a bright red kettle hanging from it, and facing a line of trees and buildings glistening with Christmas lights, the man continues to ring the bell to attract attention.The sound, the handbell, the kettle and the man are all too familiar to hundreds of Korean passersby at this time of the year, when the cold begins to bite.They have

Park Man-hee, Korea’s territorial commander and commissioner of the Salvation Army, has dedicated his life to serving those in need since the late 1960s when he first attended an Army church.With less than a year left to his retirement and the expiration of his three-year command post, Park’s remaining wishes are to see a younger commander carry on the Korean Army’s long-term plan under God, and one day see a Korean voted general of the Salvation Army, which is based in London and administers an

South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are remaining vigilant over North Korea’s expected rocket launch between Dec. 10 and 22.The three countries have deployed destroyers and surveillance aircraft with advanced radar systems to track and intercept the long-range rocket.North Korea announced its intention to fire the rocket Saturday and notified countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan of its launch and path.The first-stage propulsion rocket is expected to separate and fall into the sea s

South Korea and the U.S. are strengthening their joint surveillance operations as North Korea prepares to launch a long-range rocket between Dec. 10 and 22, defense sources said.The allies are putting their reconnaissance aircraft on standby, while further sharing intelligence via U.S. satellites over North Korea, where signs have been detected of the rocket being transported to a launch pad in Dongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province, bordering China.“The two allies are closely collaborating to mon

For the first time, scientists have figured out how to determine the age of a lobster ― by counting its rings, like a tree.Nobody knows how old lobsters can live to be; some people estimate they live to more than 100.But knowing ― rather than simply guessing ― their age and that of other shellfish could help scientists better understand the population and assist regulators of the lucrative industry, said Raouf Kilada, a research associate at the University of New Brunswick who was the lead autho

Korean scientists have discovered a way to improve the energy output and lifecycle of lithium-ion batteries by applying nanotechnology in the development of lithium manganese oxide for use in cathodes.The materials have been studied over the years as an alternative to lithium cobalt oxide to boost power and life expectancy of rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles.However, the dissolution of manganese during the chemical reaction process to create the compound has shortened the life cycle

Korea called off the launch of its first space rocket again on Thursday due to a technical glitch on its electronic systems.Officials of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute said that they detected malfunctions in the control system for a hydraulic pump that provides the thrust to the second-stage solid rocket.“We will further look for and resolve the problem, and announce a new launch date in the near future,” Education, Science and Techno

Korea has once again canceled the launch of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, or the Naro, on Thursday due to technical problems on the second-stage solid-fuel rocket’s thrust vector control system.Given that this will make it the final attempt to blast the rocket, jointly developed by Russia and Korea, into space, Korea is playing it safe by making sure everything is in perfect order before launching the Naro one last time.“Rockets require more than a million sophisticated components. One small

The Korean government plans to invest 579 billion won ($534 million) in genomics research over the next eight years to create and support related industries in the field.Five ministries will be participating in the project ― the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology; Ministry of Health and Welfare; Ministry of Knowledge Economy; Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs; and Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.The plan comes as Korea has been lagging behind other adva

Hyundai Rotem, a unit of Hyundai Motor Group, has been chosen as the preferred bidder to develop proprietary amphibious armored vehicles by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.DAPA plans to develop up to three test vehicles, complete with Korean-made parts and equipment by 2015, and will be deployed at infantry units for operation beginning in 2016, an DAPA official said.DAPA will finalize its negotiations with Rotem by the end of December.This is in line with efforts to build Korean

Wild weather is taking a toll on roads, airports, railways and transit systems across the country.That’s leaving states and cities searching for ways to brace for more catastrophes like Superstorm Sandy that are straining the nation’s transportation lifelines beyond what their builders imagined.Despite their concerns about intense rain, historic floods and record heat waves, some transportation planners find it too politically sensitive to say aloud a source of their weather worries: climate cha

Korean scientists have discovered a new molecular compound that could increase the efficiency of human adult cell reprogramming to induced pluripotent stem cells.The low-molecule Reprogramming Stimulating Compound 133, or RSC133, adds to the list of non-viral vectors that are crucial to advancing the biotechnology and production of iPS cells.Dr. Cho Yee-sook and Dr. Lee Jung-woon of the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology led a team of researchers for this latest discovery tha

Defense officials in South Korea and the U.S. are closely monitoring signs that North Korea may be preparing to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile. The U.S. recently informed South Korea and Japan that it had detected via satellite North Korea transporting something shaped like a missile component from a weapons factory in Pyongyang to its missile assembly base in Dongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported Friday. “We are closely monitoring North Korea’s movements

SK Telecom, Korea’s biggest telecom company, is most likely to merge two of its subsidiaries -- SK Planet and SK Marketing & Company -- as a means to beef up their mobile business, industry sources said.The telecom giant will move forward with the merger and acquisition plan after it acquires SK Innovation’s 50 percent stake in SK M&C for a 100 percent controlling equity.SK Telecom will likely make SK Planet the surviving entity through a statutory merger with SK M&C, which will dissolve after t

South Korea is still facing difficulties on placing key advanced weapons in the northwest islands and boosting its military preparedness against North Korea, defense sources said.The country has not deployed precise guided missiles, a surveillance airship and an unmanned drone as planned due to technical and political issues since North Korea’s shelling of South Korea’s Yeonpyeongdo in 2010, which claimed the lives of two South Korean marines and two civilians.Israel’s anti-tank guided missile,

South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development is seeking to revise laws to allow it to share and transfer ideas and technology more easily between itself, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and the private sector.Its proposal for the revision is subject to approval by the National Assembly.The proposal comes as the agency plans to restructure some of its key divisions to set up a new unit focusing on developing new defense technology in collaboration with private companies, including

The Joint Chiefs of Staff’s operational readiness inspection unit will be restructured by the end of this year, defense officials said.The unit will be re-established under the wing of the Ministry of National Defense by early 2013, with an expanded role evaluating and overseeing comprehensive aspects of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, including munitions supplies, administration and the strategic command system.The JCS unit had been limited to inspection and evaluation of the milita