The Marines this year will try out new combat uniforms in a revised color scheme that will set them apart from other armed forces, officials said Sunday.   The defense ministry approved the design for the new fatigues late last month, and the new uniforms will be distributed on a trial basis from early September, the officials said. The final version of the uniforms will come after any alterations

 The average number of credit cards held by South Koreans hit a record high last year thanks to a well-established payment system and improving economic conditions, a report showed Sunday.   A total of 114.94 million cards had been issued as of the end of the third quarter of last year, according to the report by the Credit Finance Association.    Given that the number of economically active peopl

North Korea on Saturday renewed its call for an early resumption of dialogue between the divided Koreas, proposing to hold such talks at least within a month.The North earlier proposed "unconditional and early" resumption of talks between the two Koreas to defuse tension that arose after the North's sinking of a South Korean warship in March and then its bombing of a populated South Korean island

South Korea confirmed additional cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) Saturday at three pig farms in cities just outside of Seoul, indicating a failure of nationwide quarantine efforts to contain the highly contagious animal disease.The additional cases now brought to 102 the number of confirmed FMD cases in the country that reported the first confirmed case in the latest outbreak on Nov. 29.The

North Korea on Saturday renewed its call for an early resumption of dialogue between the divided Koreas, proposing to hold such talks at least within a month.The North earlier proposed "unconditional and early" resumption of talks between the two Koreas to defuse tension that arose after the North's sinking of a South Korean warship in March and then its bombing of a populated South Korean island

North Korea's Twitter account was apparently hacked with a string of messages derogatory of leader Kim Jong-il and his heir Kim Jong-un on Saturday, the birthday of the hereditary successor.The five most recent tweets posted in the morning accused the Kims of exploiting their people to enjoy sumptuous lives, and develop nuclear arms and missiles. One tweet called for an uprising to slay the Kims "

A senior U.S. official will travel to China early next week to discuss North Korea and other agenda items with Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to Washington scheduled for later this month, the State Department said Friday."Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt M. Campbell will travel to Beijing, China January 9-11, 2011," the department said in a statement. "Assista

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan  (AFP) - A suicide bomber killed 17 people and wounded another 21 in assassinating a police commander at a public bath in a southern Afghan town on the border with Pakistan, the local government said.A nine-year Taliban insurgency is concentrated in southern Afghanistan, but suicide attacks targeting civilians in public places are relatively rare."A suicide bomber blew up explosives strapped to his chest at a public bath in Spin Boldak," border police official General Abdul