WASHINGTON, May 13 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. point man on North Korea will travel to South Korea next week to discuss North Korea's nuclear ambitions and other issues of mutual concern, the State Department said Friday.   "Special Representative for North Korea Policy Ambassador Stephen Bosworth will travel to the Republic of Korea May 16-18," the department said in a statement. "He will meet with sen

The number of North Korean defectors coming to South Korea topped the 21,000 mark in April in the five months since November last year, government officials said Saturday. According to the Unification Ministry, the number of North Koreans defecting to South Korea came to 21,165 as of April 17.The number of North Korean defectors in South Korea breached the 20,000 mark for the first time in Novembe

A rocket fell just outside a base in Afghanistan, where South Korean aid workers and troops are stationed, early Saturday, but there were no reports of injuries, officials at the Foreign Ministry said. The RPG-7 rocket appears to have landed about 200 meters away from the base in Charikar City in the northern Afghan province of Parwan, according to them. The attack was the seventh one apparently a

The Ministry of Justice will join the European convention on extradition in October to expand international cooperation in arresting and extraditing criminals who flee to European countries. The ministry said that it will sign the Council of Europe’s Convention on Extradition no later than July.Korea’s entry into the convention is expected within 90 days of signing.By joining the convention, Korea

A former soldier who was sexually assaulted by his superior before being discharged has been acknowledged as a patriot of national merit due to lifetime compensation from the state. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said on Friday that the 23-year-old, surnamed Lee, discharged after being sexually abused by the chief of staff in his unit surnamed Oh, suffers post-traumatic stress disor

The number of children diagnosed with early puberty has increased by more than 400 percent in four years.Changes in diet and exposure to environmental hormones were blamed for the sudden increase in the disorder.According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of children diagnosed with precocious puberty was 28,000 in 2010, about 4.4 times 6,400 in 2006. The number of t

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. applied for 1,099 patents last year, industry sources said Friday.The company is the first in the industry to have applied for more than 1,000 patents in one year.During the same period, the world’s largest shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. applied for 844 patents, while Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. made 665 patent applications. According to in

Korean Air announced Friday that it received the top prize for in-flight meals in the 2011 World Traveller Awards.Organized by China’s largest travel magazine World Traveller, the annual event awards carriers that operate routes to China in 10 categories including in-flight meals.Korean Air said that it was selected for the award for its efforts in raising the quality and diversity of in-flight me

The Bank of Korea should be given rights to supervise financial institutions independent of other financial authorities, BOK Governor Kim Choong-soo said Friday.Speaking after the monthly rate review meeting, Kim said that the central bank should be able to conduct independent supervision under “special circumstances.”“(The BOK) means to conduct (independent investigations) when a particular finan

The National Pension Service on Friday said that it will select eight local asset managers to set up 900 billion won ($830 million) fund investing only in Asia. The NPS, the world’s fourth largest pension fund, said that it will start taking bids on May 26 to run the Pan-Asia Fund which will invest in stocks, bonds and commodities of China, India and other Asian countries.“We’re expanding our inve