The South Korean cargo ship freed Friday from Somali pirates in a dramatic rescue operation is heading to a port in Oman under escort of a warship, and its Korean crew members are expected to return home late next week, company officials said Saturday.South Korean Navy commandos rescued all 21 crew members of the 11,500-ton chemical carrier Samho Jewelry seized by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea

WASHINGTON -- The United States Friday expressed satisfaction that China had joined in voicing concerns over North Korea's uranium enrichment program, which could provide an alternative to plutonium for making nuclear bombs."We were pleased ... that the Chinese acknowledging for the first time in the statements that we put out the enrichment program that the North Koreans had and the steps that ne

The South Korean Defense Ministry said Friday it will suggest a date for a preparatory meeting with North Korea next week to arrange the high-level military talks.“The preliminary talks are likely to be held in February if the two sides agree on the agenda and other issues,” said ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok, adding that colonels from the two sides will likely hold the preparatory talks.While a

Are Koreans ready to pay more taxes in return for free school meals, nurseries and medical fees?How to finance “universal welfare” is now haunting the main opposition Democratic Party after it announced a slew of pledges for broader welfare benefits to attract voters in the 2012 general and presidential elections. Party members are facing off over how to finance the 16.4 trillion won ($14.7 billio

The deputy U.S. secretary of state will arrive in Seoul next week to debrief officials on the results of the U.S.-China summit, Washington announced Friday.James Steinberg will also travel to Japan and China to follow up on U.S. President Barack Obama’s meeting with his counterpart Hu Jintao in Washington this week, the U.S. State Department said. Steinberg will arrive in Seoul on Jan. 26.The trip

The Cheonghae Unit, which was deployed in March 2009 to join an international anti-piracy campaign in the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast, has thus far subdued pirate ships on 15 occasions.The unit, consisting of a 4,500-ton destroyer, a helicopter and three high-speed boats, has also escorted hundreds of vessels passing through the waters off Somalia and assisted in their safe navigation. The f

Jan. 15: Chemical freighter Samho Jewelry carrying 21 crewmembers including eight Koreans was captured by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea between Oman and India. Jan. 16: South Korea's Cheonghae Unit dispatched 4,500-ton destroyer Choi Young to the scene. Jan. 18: South Korean troops fire at the Somali pirates as they attempt to hijack a Mongolian vessel. The shootout left three South Korean sol

President Lee Myung-bak expressed appreciation for the successful rescue operation by the country's navy for a South Korean chemical freighter and its 21 sailors seized by Somali pirates and reaffirmed Seoul's resolve not to tolerate any future attacks on South Korean people."Our military carried out the operation perfectly under difficult circumstances," Lee said in a brief statement broadcast li

   WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The United States Thursday welcomed North Korea's proposal for high-level inter-Korean military dialogue to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula after the North's shelling of a front-line island and torpedoing of a South Korean warship last year.   "I think following that, the Republic of Korea agreeing to enter talks with the North Koreans -- clearly, conditions were cr