South Korea must maintain full alert at all times for any provocations by North Korea against its western border islands, Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik said Monday, while visiting the isolated regions that have been the target of North Korean attacks. South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island, one of the five islands located near the western maritime border with the North, became the target of Pyongyang’s de

The parliamentary ethics committee has voted to expel Rep. Kang Yong-seok, a rookie lawmaker who was embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal after making controversial remarks last year about anchorwomen and women in general.Should the committee’s decision pass the regular session next month, Kang would become the first lawmaker ever dismissed for ethical reasons.The advisory body of the committe

Chief of staff Yim will likely stay to prepare for inter-Korean summit: observersPresident Lee Myung-bak is expected to replace some of his secretaries in early June as new minister nominees take office and oust several top aides if necessary after the Grand National Party’s national convention on July 4.The National Assembly wrapped up confirmation hearings for the five new minister nominees last

Cheong Wa Dae will push to start the construction of new office buildings for all 80 public corporations within the year, officials said Sunday.The move is meant to spur sluggish local development by moving Seoul-based public organizations to provinces. “Though the construction schedule of the office buildings has so far been delayed due to the merger of some organizations and doldrums in real est

Ruling party hints at parliamentary probeState prosecutors found that President Lee Myung-bak’s confidant and former state auditor Eun Jin-soo violated the law to take part in auditing savings banks last year as they investigated Eun’s alleged involvement in a snowballing savings bank corruption scandal.Eun stepped down as commissioner of the Board of Audit and Inspection Thursday after the prosec

Seoul and Tokyo are discussing whether President Lee Myung-bak should accept his Japanese counterpart’s invitation for a state visit this fall, Lee’s spokesperson said Thursday.Prime Minister Nato Kan extended the invitation during his summit talks with Lee held Sunday in Tokyo on the sidelines of the annual Korea-Japan-China summit.“President Lee said Seoul’s foreign ministry will hold working-le

North Korean defectors here are strongly opposing a government plan to require them to gain approval before making remittances to relatives in the cash-strapped state.They say that the approval process could put them and their loved ones in the North in dangerous situations and make brokers demand more money for delivering funds.They also say that since their remittances are made through “complica

Floor leader meets education minister; reformist calls for easing Pyongyang stanceConflict among ruling Grand National Party legislators over policy directions intensified Wednesday, as the party’s new leaders pushed forward a plan to reduce college tuition fees despite resistance from the old guard. Rep. Hwang Woo-yea, floor leader and acting chairman of the conservative ruling bloc, met Wednesda

A team of U.S. officials arrived in North Korea on Tuesday, the communist state's official media said, a trip intended for consultation on "humanitarian issues" between the two longtime foes.The delegation, led by Robert King, special American ambassador on North Korean human rights, had departed from Beijing hours earlier to arrive in North Korea where it seeks to clarify doubts about Pyongyang's