TOKYO (AP) -- The United Nations' official in charge of investigating human rights violations in North Korea said Friday he stands by U.N. findings of widespread abuses there despite recent backtracking by a prominent defector on the details of his life in the North's prison system.Marzuki Darusman said that although defector-turned-activist Shin Dong-hyuk has revised some of the details of his story, it remains for the most part valid and represents the experiences of just one of hundreds of de

South Korea ranked seventh in terms of science and technology capabilities among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2014, the country's ICT ministry said Tuesday, moving a notch up from a year earlier.The country won 12.539 points in the Composite Science Technology Innovation Index (COSTII), hovering above the OECD average of 10.288, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said, citing the research conducted by the Korea Institute of Scie

South Korea was to unveil the results of a field study on Ebola-hit Sierra Leone conducted by its advance team Wednesday as part of its plan to send medical workers there, the foreign ministry said.   The 12-member advance team has returned from Sierra Leone after completing its 10-day field study for a future dispatch of Seoul's medical personnel.    The foreign, health and defense ministries plan to hold a joint press conference later in the day to explain the outcome of the field study and de

A complete skeleton of a small carnivorous dinosaur has been found in southern South Korea, the first such discovery in the country, a state think tank said Monday.   The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage said the fossil was discovered in a Mesozoic geologic formation in Hadong, a county some 470 kilometers south of Seoul, with the skull and the lower jaw intact.   Theropods, or "beast-footed" dinosaurs, are of the same family as the Tyrannosaurus, one of the largest land carnivor

South Korean scientists said Tuesday four meteorites discovered in the southern part of the country earlier this year are estimated to be as old as the solar system.In early March, residents in Jinju, a city some 434 kilometers south of Seoul, found the space rocks that weighed 34 kilograms in total, a rare discovery in the country. Some 312 grams were donated by the owners for analysis.Announcing the results of its months-long analysis, the Korea Basic Science Institute said the rocks appear to

A group of scientists from Korea and the United States have managed to find a new way to treat blockages in the artery that connects the heart and the lungs, officials said Wednesday.Professor Kim Jong-min from the department of biological science at Sookmyung University ― working with scientists from Yale University ― attempted to determine what caused pulmonary arterial hypertension, a disease characterized by increased pressure in the pulmonary artery. The disease, leading to a compromised ca

Traditional oriental treatment of moxibustion can be effective in easing pain caused by chronic diseases like cancer, researchers studying Korean medicine said Monday.Moxibustion, referring to the use of moxa made from dried mugwort in pain management, was shown to be effective in about 75 percent of metastatic cancer patients, said professor Yoon Seong-woo of the Kyung Hee University Korean Medical Center in Seoul.Chronic pain from the fatal disease is considered one of the main hindrances of c

The International Congress of Mathematicians, referred to as the Math Olympics, will open this week in Seoul, South Korea’s ICT Ministry said Tuesday, with some 5,000 visitors from 120 countries expected to participate.“The event will provide a venue where participants can discuss mathematical achievements over the past four years, and find ways for the development of the academic realm for the future,” the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said.The event, which will run from Wednesda

The first South Korean astronaut has left the state-run research institute for personal reasons, the institute said Tuesday, bringing to an end the country's first astronaut program and sparking criticism of government waste.The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said Yi So-yeon sent a letter of resignation by mail and the offer was accepted.She had been on a leave of absence since 2012 to study for an MBA in the U.S.The 36-year-old scientist became the first Korean in space with two Russ

South Korean researchers successfully generated a free-standing RNA membrane with a macroscopic structure, which will help expand its medicinal applications, the Science Ministry said Monday.The RNA membrane can be used for researching how RNA molecules inhibit gene expression, a biological process that scientists study to find cures for various diseases.A team of researchers led by Lee Jong-bum, a professor of biological engineering at the University of Seoul, said they managed to enzymatically

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ― A South Korea-born scientist pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges alleging that he falsified research for an AIDS vaccine to secure millions of dollars in federal funding.Han Dong-pyou, 57, entered his not guilty pleas to four counts of making false statements during his initial court appearance in Des Moines federal court. Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.Han, a former Iowa State University scientist, was released on bond