South Korea's Marine Corps guards shot at a civilian airplane flying near the tense Yellow Sea border with North Korea, misidentifying it as one of the communist country's military planes, a military source said Saturday. No damage occurred, the source said.   Two soldiers guarding the southern coast of Gyodong Island inIncheon, 80 kilometers west of Seoul, fired their K-2 rifles at theAsiana Airl

North Korea's growing dependence on China, reflected by the launch of new joint economic zones along their border, drives discord among parties seeking to curb North Korea's nuclear weapons drive, experts here said Friday.   Jonathan Pollack, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution,pointed out that China is taking advantage of the flexibleimplementation of the U.N. Security Council resolution

SAO PAULO (AFP) – There is danger the fragile global recovery could collapse unless Europe averts sovereign defaults, the United States gets its fiscal house in order and emerging economies prevent overheating, the IMF warned Friday. "There are very clear risks to the recovery," the International Monetary Fund's research director, Olivier Blanchard, said in Sao Paulo as he presented the Fund's lat

Two non-commissioned officers died on Friday due to an apparent cardiac arrest while undergoing separate physical tests, Army officials said.A 40-year-old warrant officer, identified only by his surname Kang, suddenly collapsed during a 3-kilometer run, part of an annual fitness test at a military base in Cheorwon, about 80kilometers northeast of Seoul, they said.Kang was immediately sent to a nea

In an emotion-charged speech against corruption, President Lee Myung-bak called for a sweeping overhaul of the way the government works, imploring top officials Friday to end long-ingrained irregularities in officialdom.Speaking at a brainstorming meeting that brought together all Cabinet ministers, vice ministers and other top officials, Lee expressed deep frustrations about the bureaucracy, repr

Prosecutors put a former aide to President Lee Myung-bak and state auditor on trial on Friday, accusing him of receiving kickbacks in return for using his influence to help a corruption-ridden savings bank survive inspections by financial regulators.Eun Jin-soo, 50, is suspected of having received 70 million won (US$64,844) from Busan Savings Bank through a broker last year in exchange for lobbyin

Delegation calls for speedy hikes in key rate and currency appreciationA delegation from the International Monetary Fund on Friday advised Korea to take tighter monetary policy and pull up its currency value to tame mounting inflationary pressure.Speaking at a news conference after winding up its two-week inspection of the Korean economic situation, the delegation said it is necessary for Korea to

Expat Living: The Interview is The Korea Herald’s latest page addition. Each week it will profile a foreign resident who has somehow enriched life here. There are many wonderful and notable characters in Korea from all over the world, and this in-depth feature aims to bring you the benefit of the unique insights they have gleaned on their journey. This series celebrates the diverse makeup of moder

The South Korean military has deployed to frontline areas near the Demilitarized Zone tactical surface-to-surface missiles that put the North Korean capital of Pyongyang within their striking range, military sources said Friday.The forward-deployment early this year of the U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile Systems came as concerns were rising that the North could provoke again with its long-range ar

When he decided to run his own business a few years ago, Bryan Hale, a former English teacher at a local middle school, had no idea about the business culture here. What helped him a lot, he said, was the business start-up program offered by the Seoul Global Center, a support center for foreign residents. “The center offered me the education I need to understand the Korean business culture; not to

Ruling party shelves additional tax cut plan, scrambles to cut tuitionThe ruling Grand National Party has gone to great lengths to renew its image, even defying the policies of the current administration, but many still regard its moves with a doubtful eye.In a general meeting held Thursday, a majority of GNP lawmakers agreed to withdraw the additional tax cut plan for corporations, which has so f