Thousands of rescuers used heavy machinery and shovels Thursday to clear mud and search for survivors after huge landslides and flooding killed at least 39 people in South Korea.Three others were reported missing in the wake of the massive rains that have pounded Seoul and surrounding areas since Tuesday. It was the heaviest rainfall in South Korea this year.Among the dead were 10 college students

A South Korean Catholic charity group delivered 100 tons of flour to North Korea on Thursday, following the resumption of South Korea's flour aid to the impoverished North earlier this week, officials said.Four South Korean trucks carrying 100 tons of flour crossed the heavily fortified border on Thursday morning to deliver the aid to North Korea to help ease the country's chronic food shortages,

Campaign guidelines on the upcoming Seoul referendum on free school meals are so ambiguous that they will likely cause confusion for both sides of the poll.The National Election Commission set guidelines for the vote Thursday which allow campaigners to guide citizens to participate in the vote, but bans them from actively encouraging them to vote. The concepts of “guiding to participate in the vot

South Korea is considering sending anti-malaria supplies to North Korea, an aid group here said Wednesday, indicating Seoul’s softening stance toward its northern rival.The Seoul government is positively considering the group’s request to approve sending two items of ultrasonic diagnostic equipment to the North, the Korean Sharing Movement said. Charity groups here need government approval to send

The ruling Grand National Party set to work on legal measures to guarantee comensation for the victims of the savings bank scandal.GNP members of the special committee met with Financial Services Commission Chairman Kim Seok-dong and Financial Supervisory Service Governor Kwon Hyouk-se on Wednesday to discuss the revision of related laws and the legislation of a special law, officials said.“The go

Ieodo is not a disputed territory and both South Korea and China are aware that this submerged rock in the East China Sea cannot be claimed by either side, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. The ministry unofficially announced its position as news reports unveiled China had recently renewed its territorial claim over Ieodo by demanding South Korea halt its work to hoist a sunken commercial s

President Lee Myung-bak said Wednesday that Korea could not guarantee the safety of Japanese lawmakers if they visit Ulleung-do, the closest they can get to Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo, over which Japan claims sovereignty.Lee made the remarks in a Cabinet meeting after he was briefed by the Foreign Ministry about the controversial plan of four Japanese lawmakers, according to presidential

Seoul National University will position women security guards on campus for the first time in its history in an effort to strengthen campus security for female students and faculty. With the rising number of female students and faculty, the school decided to employ two female security guards, the university said Thursday. “There is an increasing number of female students returning home at night af

North Korea's military commands 195,000 troops trained to launch various types of terror attacks on South Korea, a defector said Wednesday.The number includes 110,000 troops in the special forces, 40,000 in air and naval brigades, 10,000 charged with cyber terrorism, and 5,000 in the Reconnaissance General Bureau, North Korea's top intelligence agency, said Kim Seong-min of the NK People's Liberat

Police are investigating more than 100 cases of online trade in homemade explosive materials, brought to light after Norway’s shooting spree perpetrator used homemade explosives in his recent terrorist attacks, officials said Wednesday.“Local police are investigating individuals who have either sold poisonous or explosive materials online or have postings related to the two on their cafes or blogs