Helicopters drop water; operators race to restore power supply to cooling systemFuel rod cooling pool nearly empty, plant owner saysU.S. officials say No. 4 reactor also in troubleZAO, Japan (AP) ― Military helicopters dumped loads of seawater onto Japan’s stricken nuclear complex Thursday, turning to combat-style tactics while trying to cool overheated uranium fuel that may be on the verge of spe

SEOUL, March 17 (Yonhap) -- Women in the military are no exception when it comes to sexual violence that is rampant in North Korea, which claims it runs one of the world's finest armies, a human rights group said Thursday.It remains unknown how many women serve in the 1.2 million-strong North Korean military, but joining the armed forces is considered an honor even for women in the communist count

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's youngest son and a four-star general Kim Jong Un attends a Lantern Festival concert in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP-Yonhap News)SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea said on Friday it would call its parliament into session in April, with attention focused on whether heir apparent Kim Jong-Un will be further promoted.The fourth session of the 12th Supreme People's Assembly will

(Yonhap News)Lee Si-young, a South Korean actress, isn't just a pretty face. She can now call herself a boxing champion. Lee took the national women's amateur boxing championship in the 48-kilogram division Thursday. At 28 years of age, she was the oldest competitor at the event, which was open to boxers from 17 to34 years old.After dominating Sung So-mi, a high school freshman, in the final, Lee

A recent picture of Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano has brought sympathy from people online. Two pictures of him, one before the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami hit Japan and the other after the quake show how much he has been struggling in the wake of the natural disaster and nuclear crisis. The second picture, taken at a televised briefing, shows his physical fatigue and the effects of th

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (AP) ― They risk explosions, fire and an invisible enemy ― radiation that could kill quickly or decades later ― as they race to avert disaster inside a dark, overheated nuclear plant.The 180 emergency workers at Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi complex are emerging as public heroes in the wake of a disaster spawned by an earthquake and a tsunami.Dubbed by some as modern-day samu

Rocker Kim Chang-wan of the Kim Chang-wan Band is holding a charity concert Friday at V-hall in Seogyo-dong, central Seoul, with fellow rock bands to help Japan’s quake victims. Titled “WHY ON EARTH,” the concert will feature 17 bands including Kim Chang-wan Band, Jang Ki-ha and Faces, Crying Nut, Seoul Electric Band, Yellow Monster, Diablo, Park Gi-young, and nyfish. The bands lined up soon after

Poet shares his view on Korea’s 2008 candle-lit protest and its significancePoet Kim Ji-ha thinks Korea’s 2008 candle-lit protest against U.S. beef imports was a crucial moment in world history.“It was the very first protest that was initiated by the most marginalized in the patriarchal society,” Kim said at a literary circle meeting held at the residence of Swedish Ambassador to Korea in Seoul, T

Korea’s first Ironman ready for new challengeHe is probably one of the fittest men in the world. Park Byung-Hoon, 40, is an Ironman athlete. An Ironman race is an extended version of triathlon sport. The athletes swims 3.8 kilometers, cycle 180 kilometers and then run a full marathon of 42.195 kilometers, without any break.As one can imagine, it is a very demanding sport, so not everyone can pull