The South Korean military is seeking to add between 1,200 and 2,000 marine troops to its numbers as part of efforts to better defend five northwestern border islands, multiple government sources said Tuesday.The plan to increase the number of marine troops ― which currently stands at around 27,000 ― could lead to the numbers of Army, Navy and Air Force troops also being readjusted, according to th

The South Korean military plans to deploy ship-to-surface cruise missiles with a range of more than 500 kilometers this year on 4,500-ton KDX-II class destroyers operating in the West Sea, a military source said Tuesday.The indigenous Cheonryong missile is capable of attacking key strategic ground targets in North Korea, including its military command posts and surface-to-ship missile bases on the

Thirty-one North Koreans crossed the tense sea border and arrived on a frontline South Korean island at the weekend, but it is unlikely they are defectors, the Seoul government said Monday. The North Koreans, consisting of 11 men and 20 women, arrived on South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island on a 5-ton fishing boat on Saturday. Their ship has been towed to a nearby port city for investigation, the South

Investigators have corroborated charges that a Somali pirate shot the captain of a seized Korean freighter using ballistics evidence, maritime police in Busan said Monday. The evidence includes a bullet removerd from the injured captain and bullet traces on the ship’s wheel house.In addition, the rescued Korean crewmembers of the Samho Jewelry told police that they saw Arai Mahomed shoot the capta

President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that his government will introduce a carbon emissions trading system in a flexible way, taking impact on businesses into account.“The government is planning to introduce the emissions trading scheme at an opportune time after thoroughly sounding out the opinions of industries,” Lee said in his biweekly radio address.“A business that emits greenhouse gases more t

Police to announce probe results todayA Somali pirate, suspected of shooting the captain of a Korean freighter during a naval rescue operation last month, has admitted that he was carrying a firearm while holding him hostage, in a reversal of his earlier position, according to maritime police in Busan.Arai Mahomed, one of the five pirates captured during the naval commando raid in the Indian Ocean

Seoul remains firm that Pyongyang should first show ‘sincerity’Through its continuing overtures for talks with the South, North Korea apparently seeks to be seen taking the initiative to enhance inter-Korean relations that plunged to new lows over two attacks last year, experts here said Sunday.Other motives behind its recent “peace offensive” include creating a mood conducive to the resumption of

YANGON (AFP) -- Myanmar named a key retired general as President on Friday, an official said, as the military hierarchy retained its stranglehold on power in the country's new political system.Thein Sein, who shed his army uniform to contest controversial elections last year, "was elected as the president with a majority vote," a Myanmar official told AFP on condition of anonymity.The former junta

The injured South Korean captain shot by Somali pirates last month was put back on a respirator early on Friday with signs of pneumonia complications, hospital officials said, one day after regaining his consciousness.Seok Hae-kyun, the captain of the Korean freighter Samho Jewelry, sustained multiple gunshot wounds during a Jan. 21 rescue operation in the Arabian Sea and received surgery twice in

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) -- The Obama administration is in talks with top Egyptian officials about the possible immediate resignation of President Hosni Mubarak and the formation of an interim government that could prepare the country for free and fair elections later this year, U.S. officials said. Creation of a military-backed caretaker government in Egypt is one of several ideas being discussed as

BUSAN (Yonhap News) – South Korean crew members of a ship hijacked by Somali pirates last month returned home Wednesday, 13 days after being rescued by the Navy.The seven crew members, including the ship's first officer, Lee Ki-yong, arrived at Gimhae International Airport, 450 kilometers south of Seoul, earlier in the day and plan to head for the local Coast Guard office to help in the ongoing in