A transgender father of four has been given a two-year jail term for abusing his children who refused to call him "mom," a local court here said Wednesday.The 31-year-old man, identified only by his last name Oh, was charged with starving and beating up his four children -- one born to his first ex-girlfriend and three to the second one, whom he lived with from 2006 until last year. His second ex-

South Korea has hired tens of thousands of foreign English teachers to meet the increasing demand for English education. Little is known, however, about North Korea’s interest in the subject.But news reports say that North Korea recently requested that a Canadian relief agency send English teachers. The Mennonite Central Committee will select two English teachers and send them to North Korea to te

  South Korea will take tougher steps to deal with illegal Chinese fishing activities in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to better preserve the country's marine resources, the government said Thursday.   The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said more boats and personnel will be assigned to cope with illegal fishing in the Yellow Sea up until the end of April, when Chinese b

   WASHINGTON -- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will likely visit North Korea next month to broker rapprochement in U.S. relations with the reclusive communist state, which have chilled over the North's nuclear and missile programs and other provocations, a diplomatic source here said Wednesday.   "It is highly likely that ex-President Carter will travel to North Korea in about a month as the

North Korea warned Wednesday it is ready to launch fire over a plan by South Korean activists later this week to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border from a western border island.Speaking to a reporter of the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), an unidentified North Korean commander denounced such psychological warfare against his communist regime as "an act of war," warning that

Ideological tensions are have been reignited over a ban on corporal punishment at schools as some educational offices resist the “indirect punishment” system recently announced by the government.The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced a revised education law on Friday which bans physical punishment but allows schools to adopt other disciplinary measures.Since the corporal punis

Seo Min-jung, just admitted into a doctoral program in Japan, decided to leave for the earthquake-hit country despite the concerns of her family. Her course at the University of Tsukuba in a small town near Tokyo commences in April. Even though the repeated reports about the natural disasters and the leakage of radioactivity from a nuclear power plant in Fukushima frighten her and her family from

North Korea’s trade with South Korea was at about half the value of its trade with China in 2010, as the divided Koreas’ political relations worsened.The two Koreas exchanged $1.91 billion worth of goods last year, up 14 percent from 2009, the Korea International Trade Association said Wednesday.However, trade between the North and China jumped 32 percent on-year to slightly over $3.46 billion, in

WASHINGTON ― The war in Libya will hinder international efforts toward North Korea’s nuclear dismantlement as North Koreans reflect on Moammar Gadhafi’s decision years ago to abandon his nuclear weapons, a scholar said Tuesday.“The latest developments in Libya will have a strong effect on North Korea,” Ruediger Frank, a professor at the University of Vienna, Austria, said in a contribution to the

SYDNEY (AFP) ― “I want to see glitter and sequins and feathers,” shouts American actress Lily Tomlin as she pumps up revelers ahead of Sydney’s famous and irreverent Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.“I want to see you basking in your own glory!” she yells as the gay pride parade, an annual event which has enjoyed a growing international profile in recent years, kicks off under rainy skies.Comedian Tomlin was a celebrity guest at this month’s Mardi Gras and one of thousands of foreigners joining what h

Travel has become a booming business in China as economic growth has lifted incomesSHANGHAI (AFP) ― A crescendo of voices builds on a typically bustling day in the Shanghai headquarters of Ctrip.com as staff put together hundreds of tourist trips. It is the sound of China’s travel boom.Call after call comes in to Asia’s largest travel call center from mainly Chinese consumers, but also international travelers booking flights, hotels and tour packages for anywhere from Hong Kong to Havana.“You’re