All Chinese vessels have left neutral waters in the Han River's estuary between South and North Korea Monday, three days after the South Korean military and United Nations Command started their first joint crackdown in the buffer zone, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.On Friday, four South Korean speed boats with military police teams were sent into the waters that flow from the Han River mouth to the Yellow Sea to drive away Chinese fishing boats that have intruded into the tensely monitored area

A major South Korean aid organization has begun constructing a research center in Myanmar dedicated to studying "post-harvest" techniques as the country is seeking to improve its relatively low productivity in the farming industry.The ground broke for the Post-Harvest Research Institute on June 6 in a small town located in Myanmar's capital city of Naypyidaw. Construction is expected to be completed within 12-14 months, according to the Korea International Cooperation Agency.The institute will b

ORLANDO -- A gunman wielding an assault-type rifle and a handgun took hostages and opened fire inside a crowded Florida nightclub, killing approximately 20 people dead and wounding 42 others before dying in a gunfight with SWAT officers, police said Sunday.Police Chief John Mina also said the shooter had some sort of “suspicious device.'' He said the suspect exchanged gunfire with an officer working at the club around 2 a.m., then went back inside and took hostages. Around 5 a.m., authorities se

SHANGHAI - A blast caused by "home-made" explosives injured four people and sparked a major security alert at the main international airport in China's commercial hub of Shanghai on Sunday, according to the operator and state media.The blast at Pudong Airport occurred near the check-in counter of Terminal Two in mid-afternoon, according to a statement on the official microblog of the Shanghai Airport Authority.The official Xinhua news agency, citing authorities, said a "home-made explosive" blew

South Korea's military police and Coast Guard are considering extending the crackdown on illegal Chinese fishing in neutral waters around the mouth of the Han River for the third consecutive day on Sunday, officials said, as additional Chinese fishing boats are exiting the sensitive area near the inter-Korean maritime border.The Coast Guard said it seized a 50-ton Chinese boat that allegedly caught 45 kilograms of crabs in waters off Yeonpyeong Island, a South Korean territory near the inter-Kor

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that the U.S. should not allow U.S. alliances in Asia to "atrophy" and the top U.S. foreign policy priority in the region should be to counter the threat of North Korea."In East Asia, our allies are desperate for a greater American role. Our top priority must be to counter the threat of a nuclear North Korea. And we must respond strategically to expansionist China's rise, including checking its territorial ambitions," Ryan said in a foreign policy repor

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday made official his endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, saying she is "so qualified" to succeed him."I know how hard this job can be. That's why I know Hillary will be so good at it. In fact, I don't think there's ever been someone so qualified to hold this office," Obama said in a video message.Obama said Clinton has "the courage, the compassion and the heart to get the job done.""I'm with her, I am fired up, and I can't wait t

South Korea on Thursday condemned a recent terrorist killing in Kazakhstan and pledged to continue efforts to root out terrorism in the world.On Sunday, three civilians and three soldiers were killed in a rampage by gunmen in Kazakhstan's northwestern city of Aktobe.Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said Wednesday the attackers were followers of pseudo-religious groups who had received instructions from abroad."Our government cannot hide our shock and concern over the loss of innocent lives

South Korea has implemented a project to build a multi-sports hall in the Bhutanese capital of Thimphu as part of efforts to improve the sports infrastructure in the Himalayan kingdom and enhance friendship between the two countries, government officials said Tuesday.Officials from the state-run Korea Sports Promotion Foundation and the Bhutan Olympic Committee held a groundbreaking ceremony at Jungshina, Thimphu, on May 27 to mark the construction of the hall.Among participants to the ceremony

South Korea and Cuba held their first foreign ministerial talks in Havana Sunday, breaking a decades-long absence of formal diplomatic exchanges between the two sides.   South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se arrived in the Cuban capital a day earlier to attend a summit of the Association of Caribbean States. But the focus of his two-day stay was widely expected to be on relations between South Korea and Cuba, which have yet to establish formal diplomatic ties. Yun is the first South Korean

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that Washington and Beijing "stand firmly" on North Korea's defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons, calling for the North to stop all activities that escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.    Kerry made the remarks at the opening of the two-day U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), which is the highest-level regular dialogue channel between the two countries.   U.S. and China have been at odds over China's aggressive military behavior i

The United States and China on Monday opened annual high-level talks amid tensions over China's aggressive island-building activities in the South China Sea as well as trade disputes between the world's two largest economies.    North Korea was also expected to be on the agenda for the two-day U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED). The talks are the highest-level regular dialogue channel between the two countries.   Representing the U.S. at the talks are Secretary of State John Kerry

Financial institutions around the world should choose between doing business with North Korea and being denied access to the U.S. financial system or severing dealings with the communist nation, the chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee said.Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) made the remark at the end of his two-day visit to Seoul, referring to the U.S. blacklisting last week of the North as a "primary money laundering concern" in a move designed to cut off Pyongyang from the international ban

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Thursday the United States is stronger and safer thanks to the "power of allies," warning that her Republican rival, Donald Trump, would significantly weaken the relationships.In a foreign policy speech, Clinton cited as an example how the U.S., South Korea and Japan worked together to cope with threats from North Korea, a country she called "the most repressive regime on the planet run by a sadistic dictator who wants to develop long-range

South Korea said Thursday that it has developed a new technology to detect the Zika virus within 20 minutes in a joint project with Brazil.Only one or two drops of human blood is needed to check whether he or she is infected with the virus, which spreads primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning."It can be used as conveniently as a pregnancy test kit," the ministry said.Existing DNA tests require an analysis at