By Shin Hyon-heeKorea’s government and companies will open a grain trading company in Chicago next month, speeding up efforts to ensure stable supply and cope with price swings, a source close to the matter told The Korea Herald.The state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp. (aT) said in January it and large local firms will launch the joint corporation this year to establish a national grain proc

By Kim So-hyunPlans to launch a special agency to probe crimes committed by prosecutors and judges face a rough ride in the National Assembly amid a vehement backlash from the prosecution and judiciary circles.The judicial reform package passed a six-person parliamentary subcommittee Thursday. It calls for abolishing the controversial central investigation unit at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office t

Kurt Campbell, Washington’s top diplomat for the Asia-Pacific region, was to meet senior South Korean officials to discuss North Korea and other regional concerns Saturday.Meeting Seoul’s chief nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac and Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Kim Jae-shin, Campbell was expected to talk about Pyongyang’s new uranium enrichment program and the stalled six-nation talks on i

The government will establish a committee dedicated to verifying faults in medical accidents to help settle disputes under a law passed by the National Assembly on Friday. The body will help citizens less knowledgeable of the sophisticated field confront their doctors with the help of a professional third party, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said, welcoming the passage of the medical arbitrat

   The massive earthquake that hit Japan's northeastern region has caused telephone traffic to surge between South Korea and its neighbor that effectively made placing calls impossible, the country's largest telephone operator said Friday.   KT Corp. said that from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. cellular and landline phone traffic shot up 91 times and 41 times, respectively, compared to normal traffic.    Calls

 A powerful earthquake that struck off Japan's northeastern coast on Friday caused all flights bound for Japan to be canceled, the government said.   The flight disruption came hours after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit Japan's Pacific coast, unleashing a tsunami that washed away cars and houses along the coastal areas.   The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said that flight operat

  DAEJEON (Yonhap) -- South Korea is relatively safe from major earthquakes, although there is a need to pay close attention to developments taking place in countries such as Japan, local geological experts said Friday.   Lee Hee-il, head of the geological research division at the state-run Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources (KIGAM), said the country is relatively insulated from the

     TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwanese authorities said Friday that minor tsunamis set off by a massive quake in Japan reached the island's coastline without causing any damage.   Waves around 10 centimetres (four inches) high hit Taiwan's east and northeast coasts in the evening, the central weather bureau said.   The bureau later lifted the tsunami warning, saying it did not expect more and bigger waves.

President Lee Myung-bak departs for the United Arab Emirates Saturday to hold summit talks, attend a nuclear power plant event and visit the South Korean troops deployed in the Middle Eastern country.Upon his arrival in Abu Dhabi Saturday, Lee will head to the eastern town of Al Ain to meet some 130 Korean troops on a two-year mission to help train UAE‘s special forces. The contingent named “Akh,”

     WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama on Friday offered his "condolences" to the people of Japan and said his country stood ready to help them after a massive earthquake and tsunami.   "(First Lady) Michelle (Obama) and I send our deepest condolences to the people of Japan, particularly those who have lost loved ones in the earthquake and tsunamis," he said in a statement.   "The Unite

The whereabouts of the Chinese woman who allegedly took classified information from South Korean diplomats through inappropriate relationships remained unclear Friday, as Seoul prepared to ask for Beijing’s official cooperation in investigating her.Deng Xinming, the 33-year-old housewife at the center of the escalating sex scandal, has not been seen near her house or made contact with acquaintance