The Korea Herald

Health minister nominee will not raise cigarette prices excessively

PoliticsSept 16, 2011

Health and Welfare Minister-nominee Rim Che-min indicated Thursday that he will not seek to raise cigarette prices excessively during his term.In the National Assembly’s confirmation hearing Thursday,Rim said tobacco prices are closely related to everyday lives of ordinary people. Asked by Rep. Jeon
Crimes involving U.S. servicemen on the rise: report

Social affairsSept 16, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- The number of crimes involving U.S. servicemen stationed in South Korea has steadily risen over the last four years, while most of them evaded arrests, a police report showed Friday. Criminal cases committed by American military personnel totaled 377 last year, up from 19
Feathers in amber reveal dinosaur diversity

ScienceSept 16, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — In science fiction, amber preserved the DNA that allowed rebirth of dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. In real life, amber preserved feathers that provide a new image of what dinosaurs looked like."Now, instead of scaly animals portrayed as usually drab creatures, we have solid evid
Top presidential aide offers to resign over savings bank scandal

PoliticsSept 15, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- Senior Secretary to President for Public Relations Kim Du-woo offered to step down on Thursday over allegations he had ties to a lobbyist at the center of a corruption scandal involving a troubled savings bank.Kim submitted his resignation to Presidential C
S. Korean religious leaders to meet Kim Jong-il next week

North KoreaSept 15, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- The heads of South Korea's seven largest religious orders are scheduled to travel to Pyongyang next week to hold a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, a rare suprapartisan move aimed at promoting a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations, sources said Thursday.Th
GNP turns to Na for mayoral race

PoliticsSept 15, 2011

Lawmaker fast narrowing opinion poll gap with liberal candidate ParkRep. Na Kyung-won of the Grand National Party is once again gaining momentum as the party’s likely candidate for next month’s race for Seoul mayor as the polls show her catching up with potential candidate Park Won-soon.According to
S. Korea proposes talks with Japan over comfort women

PoliticsSept 15, 2011

South Korea proposed an official bilateral discussion with Japan to address issues concerning former “comfort women” who were forcibly taken by its army for sexual slavery during World War II, officials said Thursday.It is the first time for Seoul to make such a proposal to the Tokyo government, whi
Three-way talks on gas pipeline speed up

PoliticsSept 15, 2011

South and North Korean officials visit Moscow simultaneouslyThe project to pipe Siberian gas through North Korea to South Korea, which is expected to be economically beneficial for all three countries, is shaping up as South and North Korean officials visit Moscow for working-level talks.Constructio
S. Korea, Colombia commit to concluding trade fact this year

Foreign affairsSept 15, 2011

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos pledged Thursday to significantly boost relations between the two countries and seek an early conclusion of a free trade agreement.The leaders agreed during summit talks in Seoul to upgrade their half-century-old relatio
Loss of power threatens communications networks

Social affairsSept 15, 2011

With some cities including Wonju, Gangwon Province, without power for more than 40 minutes Thursday, outages left telecommunications companies hoping their emergency generators could hold out.The power cuts began to occur at 3:30 p.m. According to the Korea Electric Power Corp., the power plants wer
Blackouts shut banks, businesses, schools

Social affairsSept 15, 2011

People trapped in elevators; banking services stop; college application delayedRare power outages that struck across the nation Thursday halted businesses and hampered people’s daily activities.The blackouts hit right before the entrance application deadline for prospective Kookmin University studen
Heat wave to continue until Friday

Social affairsSept 15, 2011

The heat wave, cited as of the causes for Thursday’s widespread power outage, is to continue through Friday, according to the state weather agency.The Korea Meteorological Administration said that as a high-pressure system has settled over the nation, the temperatures surged with those in some south
U.S. spy plane to begin flights near DMZ

DefenseSept 15, 2011

The U.S. is poised to start flying a spy plane near the Demilitarized Zone to acquire further intelligence on North Korea, a report said.In an article dated Monday, the Stars and Stripes, a U.S. military newspaper, quoted U.S. Air Force officials as saying the U.S. was negotiating with South Korea t
Military to assign more women to combat duties

DefenseSept 15, 2011

The military will place female officers in more combat duties that have so far been closed to them, a senior official said Thursday.Boo Jae-won, head of the personnel planning bureau at the defense ministry, said 12 combat branches will be open to female soldiers from 2012 to 2014.“We will open up a
Health minister nominee won’t raise cigarette prices excessively

PoliticsSept 15, 2011

Health and Welfare Minister-nominee Rim Che-min indicated Thursday that he will not seek to raise cigarette prices excessively during his term. In the National Assembly’s confirmation hearing Thursday, Rim said tobacco prices are closely related to everyday lives of ordinary people. Asked by Re