South Korea's top Marine commander has offered to resign to take responsibility for the deadly shooting rampage by a marine in his barracks early this month, a military official said Thursday. Marine Corps Chief of Staff Yoo Nak-joon submitted his resignation to Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin on Tuesday, the official said on the condition of anonymity. "Gen. Yoo conveyed his intention to resign at

An Army private first class died in an apparent suicide last Thursday, officials said Wednesday. The 21-year-old PFC, surnamed Lee, was transported to a nearby hospital right after he was found to have hanged himself at an Army regiment-level unit last Monday. He died on Thursday. Investigators are not ruling out the possibility of him opting to take his own life due to mental or physical abuses b

President Lee Myung-bak awarded South Korea's highest order of national security merit to the outgoing chief of U.S. forces in Korea and the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff at a ceremony Wednesday, participants said.   Gen. Walter Sharp and Adm. Michael Mullen were given the Tong-Il Medal of the Order of National Security Merit for their contributions to the defense of South Korea, part

North Korea is supposed to have discharged water from a dam near the border with the South on Wednesday without advance notification, the state water agency said.The water level on the Pilseung Bridge near the border reached 5.8 meters as of 8:25 p.m. and is increasing by 25 centimeters every hour, officials at the Korea Water Resources Corp. said.The bridge near the Imjin River, which flows from

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon pledged to fight “welfare populism” in a city council bill to offer free school meals at all schools in the capital.“If we don’t overcome ‘welfare populism,’ the democracy of our nation cannot move forward,” he noted at the press conference marking the first year of his second term Wednesday.“Seoul citizens have made a wise move to put the free school lunch on referendum and

Global enterprise executives in Korea held the Foreign Investment Advisory Council in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss plans for improvement of the foreign investment environment in the capital.Seoul city, the government and various chambers of commerce officials and heads of multinational corporations gathered in hopes of making Seoul a top global city.“Seoul’s competiveness has advanced greatly ove

President Lee Myung-bak told the newly-elected leadership of the ruling Grand National Party over lunch on Wednesday that he will discuss with them before nominating the new justice minister and the prosecutor-general amid backlash from both ruling and opposition lawmakers against the president’s top candidate.During his first official meeting with the new GNP leader Hong Joon-pyo and other member

North Korea on Wednesday demanded that the South present its plans to dispose of the Seoul-owned assets at the Mount Geumgang resort by July 29, according to a government official.The North also said that should the South make no response by then, it would unilaterally dispose of the assets held by South Koreans.The demand came as a 10-member delegation of Seoul government officials and investors

The government needs to establish a body dedicated to cultural diplomacy using the country’s soft power, a group of foreign affairs experts said Wednesday calling for a related law. At the Korean Public Diplomacy Forum in Seoul, experts said the government had not made the most of the nation’s soft power. “Though the country has seen remarkable economic and technological successes including hostin

The Navy has decided to expand a helicopter landing facility on Ulleung Island and dispatch two more military helicopters to it, according to a lawmaker.The move comes as Seoul seeks to bolster its capabilities to defend the easternmost islets of Dokdo over which Japan has been persistently making sovereignty claims.Rep. Song Young-sun of the minority Future Hope Alliance party said that the Navy

Four North Koreans from the same family have come to share assets left by their late father with their half-brothers and sisters in South Korea under mediation by a Seoul court in the first case of its kind.The North Koreans, surnamed Yoon, had filed a lawsuit against their South Korean stepmother and four half-brothers and sisters in February 2009 demanding they split 10 billion won ($9.35 millio

A photo scavenger hunt is to raise cash for charity in Seoul. The third annual Little Travellers Scavenger Hunt is to raise cash for the Hillcrest AIDS Center Trust. The contest to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS costs 15,000 won to enter ― covering the cost of a Little Traveller doll. The beaded dolls are handcrafted by women at Hillcrest who are affected by HIV/AIDS.The entry fee also covers the