With legislative standoff persisting over the disputed counterterrorism bill, opposition lawmakers staging filibuster continued to make headlines on Friday for poignant speeches that resonated with their supporters. The unlimited speech relay serves as a rare opportunity to make their case before the national audience, particularly for political rookies and those excluded from their parties’ nomination list for the April general elections. Among them was Rep. Kim Hyun of The Minjoo Party of Kore

　For Yoon Hee-won, a 31-year-old South Korean graduate student who studied political science in the United States for more than 10 years, the ongoing legislative standoff back home is quite different from what he saw while living overseas. 　“When I turned on the TV to watch news about Korean politics, the programs often reported about Korean lawmakers getting into fistfights, hiding gavels and throwing furniture in order to prevent the passage of laws. It is quite noteworthy that they don’t do t

 　The National Assembly speaker’s decision Tuesday to put an antiterrorism bill to a vote was seen as a show of support for the law, which the opposition has branded as unnecessary and politically motivated.　Ruling party lawmakers moved quickly upon the announcement by Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa that he would exercise his authority to bring the government-led security bill to a vote in a plenary session without sending them to a legislative committee. The Saenuri Party members of the Intellig

　South Korea announced Sunday that it would channel some 330 billion won ($267 million) into a government fund to compensate companies forced out of a joint factory park in North Korea’s border city of Gaesong. 　“In order to minimize economic losses suffered by the companies, we reached a consensus on the amount of compensation fund to make the payment as soon as possible,” an official from the Unification Ministry told reporters after the meeting to discuss the plan to compensate the hard-hit b

　Senior politicians and former lawmakers gathered Sunday in Seoul to pay final respects to Lee Ki-taek, late opposition leader who spearheaded the pro-democracy movement that led to the resignation of South Korea’s first president Syngman Rhee. 　The seventh-term lawmaker, who died on Saturday at the age of 79, entered politics after launching a student-led campaign in his college to topple the late president in the wake of his bid to extend the tenure beyond the constitution. 　“I heard that he l

　Rival parties are bracing to settle negotiations over new electoral maps this week with concerns that further delay could lead to an unprecedented pushback of the April 13 election date.　The leaderships of the ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea are scheduled to meet on Monday to hammer out agreements on the election rule that will redraw constituencies and determine the number of seats for lawmakers elected from local constituencies and proportional representatio

LONDON --  Prime Minister David Cameron takes a deal giving Britain "special status" in the EU back to London on Saturday hoping it will be enough to keep his country in the bloc as campaigning begins for a crucial in-out referendum.    The British premier is expected to announce a date for the vote, likely June 23, after sealing unanimous support for the agreement during two days and nights of intense negotiations in Brussels.    Cameron will hold a cabinet meeting at 1000 GMT on Saturday, afte

   Italian author Umberto Eco, a philosopher who wrote best-selling novels including "The Name of the Rose", has died at 84, Italian media said Saturday, quoting his family.   Eco, who had been suffering from cancer, passed away at his home late on Friday, La Repubblica said on its website.   "The world has lost one of the most important men in contemporary culture,"  the daily said, while the Corriere della Sera said: "Umberto Eco, one of Italy's most celebrated intellectuals, is dead."   Eco w

  The recent shutdown of an inter-Korean industrial complex will not affect Pyongyang's nuclear program, as it started before the opening of the zone, North Korea said Saturday.   The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the mouthpiece of Pyongyang, said its development of nuclear and "space" programs will remain intact after the shutdown, adding that South Korea's plan to cut the funding of such moves by closing the complex will be unsuccessful.   The South Korean government decided to close the

North Korea's defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons has pulled China "deeper into the mire," a newspaper published by China's ruling Communist Party said Saturday, as Beijing is under pressure to do more to curb Pyongyang's aggression.   North Korea's Jan. 6 nuclear test and Feb. 7 launch of a long-range rocket have drawn international condemnations and fanned fears that the isolated country is moving ahead with the advance of its nuclear and missile programs.    China is North Korea's top trading

    Samsung Electronics Co. said Saturday it plans to release its mobile payment system Samsung Pay in major markets, including China, next month, speeding up its efforts to expand the presence of the platform amid the rise of rivalry services.   Samsung Pay, first released in South Korea and the United States last year, boasts around 5 million users.   The South Korean tech giant said the service will kick off in China next month, adding that it is also preparing to launch in Australia, Brazil,

The South Korean military said Saturday it has completed collecting debris from the three-stage rocket North Korea launched earlier this month, successfully collecting two pieces of debris presumed to be from the launch.   "It is difficult to collect other debris as they are dispersed in small pieces throughout the water. We believe there are no more significant debris left," a military official said.   On Feb. 7 North Korea launched a long-range rocket carrying an Earth observation satellite in

   NEW YORK -- Harper Lee, one of America's most celebrated novelists whose masterpiece about racial injustice "To Kill a Mockingbird" was read by millions, has died, her publisher said Friday. She was 89.   A spokeswoman for Harper Collins in New York said Lee passed away peacefully late Thursday. The Pulitzer-winning author shunned the spotlight and spent her final years living in seclusion in Monroeville, Alabama, where she was born.   "To Kill a Mockingbird" is considered one of the great cl

South Korea's military said on Saturday observers heard an explosive sound near the country's northernmost frontline island of Baengnyeong, adding it possibly came from a Northern military drill.   "We detected a sound which is presumed to be from the North's coastal artillery around 7:20 a.m.," a military official said, adding the police also made an urgent announcement to the islands' residents a few minutes later.      South Korean fishing boats were also requested to return to their ports fo

Leaders of the rival parties are set to meet Saturday to speed up their negotiation on deadlocked bills, as they inched toward a compromise this week amid growing public frustration.Floor leaders of the Saenuri Party and The Minjoo Party of Korea will meet along with Assembly speaker Rep. Chung Ui-hwa in a follow-up to their Thursday breakthrough to push forward some of the contentious bills. National Assembly speaker Rep. Chung Ui-hwa talks with representatives of the rival parties Thursday. Yo

　 Leaders of the rival parties are set to meet Saturday to speed up their negotiation on deadlocked bills, as they inched toward a compromise this week amid growing public frustration.　Floor leaders of the Saenuri Party and The Minjoo Party of Korea will meet along with Assembly speaker Rep. Chung Ui-hwa in a follow-up to their Thursday breakthrough to push forward some of the contentious bills.　The Minjoo Party has yielded their position and agreed to put to a vote the bills on easing regulatio

Main opposition the Minjoo Party of Korea leader Rep. Moon Jae-in on Tuesday announced he would step down as chairman before the April general election kicks off. He has chaired the post since February last year.In a New Year press conference, Moon vowed to hand over his power to the election committee headed by Kim Jong-in. He also reiterated that he would forgo his bid for the election and demanded a coalition with other opposition groups, including the People’s Party led by Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo

North Korea has started broadcasting its own loudspeaker propaganda across the border in response to Seoul’s resumption of its own similar campaign following Pyongyang’s hydrogen bomb test, officials said Monday.  　“The North Korean military is broadcasting (a loudspeaker campaign toward the South) at multiple locations,” South Korea’s Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told reporters. The broadcasts reportedly include messages promoting its leader Kim Jong-un and criticism of President Par

  Swedish police arrested a man early Sunday as he allegedly tried to smuggle a migrant into the country aboard a rubber dinghy, the first such case since Sweden imposed systematic ID checks, police said.   "This is the first arrest in southern Sweden for suspected human trafficking since the ID checks were introduced"  on January 4 for travellers arriving from Denmark, police spokeswoman Kim Hild said.   A Norwegian sea rescue team had observed the dinghy leaving the Danish town of Helsingor an

  French President Francois Hollande and other dignitaries held a special ceremony Sunday to honor all those killed in Islamic extremist violence around Paris in 2015 - a year when the European way of life was targeted time and again with deadly consequences.    At least one attacker is at large, and France's top security official acknowledged Sunday that authorities don't know his whereabouts. The country is under a state of emergency after attacks Nov. 13, and a police station was attacked Thu