Seoul’s presidential office on Wednesday declined to comment on claims regarding the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement and US military presence here, made in Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear: Trump in the White House.”The book claims that US President Donald Trump intended to send a 180-day termination letter for the FTA, and told Moon that Seoul must pay for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile defense system. According to the book, Trump said that South Korea was “ripping us off” and that

TEHRAN -- The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey met Friday to discuss the future of Syria as a bloody military operation looms in the last rebel-held area of the war-ravaged nation, urging militants to lay down their weapons. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a cease-fire and an end to airstrikes in the northwestern province of Idlib, something that wasn’t immediately accepted by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.  (EPA-Yonhap)Instead, Puti

NEW DELHI -- India's Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a colonial-era law that made gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a landmark victory for gay rights that one judge said would "pave the way for a better future.'' The 1861 law, a relic of Victorian England that hung on long after the end of British colonialism, was a weapon used to discriminate against India's gay community, the judges ruled in a unanimous decision. "Constitutional morality cannot be martyred at the altar of s

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump escalated his messy clash with former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman on Tuesday, referring to the longtime colleague, who had been the top African-American in his White House, as “that dog!”　 　Trump tweeted a barrage of insults Tuesday morning as Manigault Newman continued promoting her White House tell-all and releasing secret audio recordings. Her book paints a damning picture of Trump, including her claim that he used racial slurs on the set of his rea

MILAN (AP) -- A bridge over an industrial area in the Italian city of Genova partially collapsed during a sudden and violent storm on Tuesday, leaving vehicles crushed in the rubble below.　Italian media reported that there were deaths, but Maria Luisa Catalano, a police official in Genoa, said that authorities were still involved in rescue efforts and did not yet know the number of victims or injured.　The disaster occurred on a highway that connects Italy to France and other vacation resorts on

LONDON, (AFP) -- A car crashed into barriers outside Britain‘s Houses of Parliament in a suspected terror attack on Tuesday, injuring a “number of pedestrians” yards from where five people were killed last year.　Police said they had arrested the driver, in his late 20s, and were holding him on suspicion of terrorist offences.　“At this stage, we are treating this as a terrorist incident,” said Scotland Yard, adding that none of the injuries are believed to be “life-threatening”.  Police officers

ANNAPOLIS -- The US state of Maryland held an official ceremony Thursday to honor veterans of the Korean War amid renewed hope for the recovery of fallen troops' remains.Gov. Larry Hogan hosted some 60 veterans from Maryland at his official residence in Annapolis, the first time a US state has held a "welcome home" ceremony for Korean War veterans since the three-year conflict ended in July 1953.Hogan credited his Korean-born wife, Yumi, for making it happen. (Yonhap)"She tells every Korean War

South Korea's foreign ministry said Sunday that it has been providing consular assistance needed to handle the deaths of two South Koreans, whose bodies were found near a Hawaiian beach last week.At around 4:50 p.m. on Thursday (Hawaii time), the two were spotted floating near Keawakapu Beach on Maui. They were immediately sent to a nearby hospital but pronounced dead, a ministry official said. Keawakapu Beach on Maui (YouTube)"The consulate general in Honolulu has learned of the case after it w

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi asked South Korea on Friday to resolve the issue of an advanced US missile defense system deployed on the peninsula.Wang made the request in bilateral talks with his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, in Singapore on the margins of annual ASEAN-hosted sessions, according to a South Korean government official.He cited the need for a "compete resolution" to the matter, a repeat of Beijing's demand, which comes amid a peace mood in Korea.The US military sent

China’s top diplomat said Thursday that an initial draft of a proposed pact with Southeast Asia aimed at preventing fighting in the disputed South China Sea was a “breakthrough” in talks that can progress further without outside interference.China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes four rival claimants involved in the territorial rifts, have been holding sporadic talks for years to craft a “code of conduct,” a set of regional norms and rules aimed at preventing a shoo

Seoul said Thursday it had deployed a warship to Libya in an apparent show of force to secure the release of a South Korean national kidnapped along with three Filipinos in the North African country.The 4,000-tonne vessel, Munmu the Great, which takes part in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, was now on its way to Libya, officials said.In addition to “carrying out its duty of protecting commercial vessels, (the warship) is also preparing for all possibilities including the need for mil

WASHINGTON -- Two bipartisan United States senators have been chosen to co-chair a congressional study group on Korea, becoming the first members of the Senate to join the body.Sens. Brian Schatz and Dan Sullivan will lead the Congressional Study Group on Korea launched in February by the Association of Former Members of Congress, a bipartisan nonprofit. Dan Sullivan (AP)"The Republic of Korea is not only a close friend and ally of the United States, but the alliance itself serves as a linchpin

South Korea’s human rights watchdog said Sunday it plans to conduct a probe into a group defection by North Korean restaurant workers in 2016 amid allegations that some of them were duped into coming to the South.The National Human Rights Commission said it has decided to investigate the case to determine if they came to the South voluntarily or if a state agency was illegally involved in the defection.Along with a male manager, 12 North Korean women who worked at a restaurant, in the eastern Ch

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AFP) -- China has donated 6.86 million euros ($7.95 million) to Cameroon‘s army to boost its “peacekeeping and security operations”, state radio reported Thursday.　The donation was made on Wednesday by China’s ambassador to the central African country, Wang Ying Wu, in a meeting with Defence Minister Joseph Beti Assomo, CRTV reported.　The ambassador told state radio that the grant was intended to help Cameroon‘s army “reinforce its capacities in peacekeeping and security opera

PATNA, India (AP) -- Security forces killed eight Maoist insurgents, including four women, in an exchange of gunfire early Thursday in their stronghold in central India, a police officer said.　 　The two-hour gunbattle took place in a forest in Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh state after security forces encircled the rebel hideout, police officer D.M. Awasthy said.　 　Security forces found the bodies of eight rebels and some rifles and bullet magazines, Awasthy said. 　  Indian Prime Minister Nare