The Korean Peninsula was hit by 93 earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.0 or stronger last year, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.A report by the KMA said the latest figure is the highest since the center began to compile data in 1978, and almost double the average of 44.5 quakes a year monitored between 1999 and 2012.No deadly quakes were observed, but a string of minor tremors suggest that the country, known as being relatively safe from earthquakes, needs a comprehensive study on the

South Korea’s largest ecological park will open on Jan. 2 to boost public awareness of the environment and biodiversity, officials said Wednesday.The state-run National Institute of Ecology in Seocheon, South Chungcheong Province, will display some 46,000 specimens from 4,500 plant species and 4,200 specimens from 240 animal species in its Ecorium exhibition center. Some 326.4 billion won ($308 million) has been spent on the construction of the facility on a 1 million-square-kilometer plot of la

SEATTLE (AP) ― China has suspended imports of shellfish from the U.S. West Coast, cutting off one of the biggest export markets for Northwest companies and prompting fears of a months-long shutdown.The Chinese government imposed the ban after discovering that recent shipments of geoduck clams from Northwest waters had high levels of arsenic and a toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning, KUOW public radio reported The Chinese government says the ban that started last week will continue in

Rival political parties in South Korea clashed Monday over the scope of reforming the state spy agency's operations in the wake of the execution of North Korea's No. 2 man.The ruling Saenuri Party said the National Intelligence Service (NIS)'s operations should be enhanced to effectively deal with the security uncertainties on the Korean Peninsula following the North's execution of Jang Song-thaek.The once-powerful uncle and guardian of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was executed last Thursday

The government on Tuesday announced measures to better cope with harmful fine dust amid mounting criticism over its inaccurate forecasts in the past week. The Ministry of Environment is to have a taskforce of 12 experts from concerned ministries to release a fine dust forecast on a daily basis starting as early as next Monday, according to officials. The new plan came as smog blanketed much of the country in recent weeks. The smog level was way off from the calculation by the National Institute

South Korea plans to inform its citizens of fine dust levels twice a day starting early next year to cope with the continued inflow of harmful particles from China, the government said Tuesday.The government has so far issued forecasts when the air quality was measured at levels three or higher in a five-tier rating composed of "good," "so-so," "a little bad," "bad," "very bad," to help people properly deal with high-density fine dust.But starting next Monday, the forecasting service will be pro

The operation rate of the country's nuclear power plants sank to its lowest level in 25 years, as a number of the plants were suspended for faulty parts supplied under fake tests and also underwent regular maintenance work, data showed on Sunday.According to the Korea Electric Power Corp., the operation rate of the country's 23 nuclear power plants stood at 75.2 percent in the first 10 months of the year.Last year, the comparable figure was 82.3 percent, also down 8.4 percentage points from a ye

Korean and Chinese experts are to meet in Beijing next week to discuss measures to fight acrid smog, according to the Ministry of Environment. A taskforce of 10 experts from concerned organizations is to meet with the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection on Dec. 12, to solve problems involving toxic airborne pollutants, particularly ultra fine dust particles. The organizations participating in the project are the Metropolitan Air Quality Management Office, National Institute of Environme

South Korea is on alert over choking smog originating from wintertime coal use in China, which is threatening people’s respiratory and immune systems.The concentration of fine dust particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter, or PM10, increased to more than three times normal levels Wednesday, with Gyeonggi Province recording the highest figure of 268 micrograms per cubic meter. The concentration in the province averaged 55 micrograms on Nov. 22, according to the National Institute of Envi

WARSAW (AFP) -- Fraught UN climate talks revealed growing frustration this week among vulnerable nations and observers with the political stance of emerging economies like China and India in the battle to stave off dangerous Earth warming.As the global balance of economic and political clout shifts, the world of climate negotiations is no longer a simple standoff between developed and developing nations.Some fear a growing divide within the developing bloc will see the voice of poor, climate-vul

The state-run Korea Environment Corp. is to sign a memorandum of understanding on Friday with Water Sanitation for Africa, in an effort to help improve access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in the region, company officials said Wednesday.The agreement, which will be made in Abidjan, Cte d’Ivoire, focuses on cooperation in making environment-friendly policies, infrastructure and welfare services.Water and sanitation levels have been typically poor in Sub-Saharan Africa, with only 31 percen

Environment Minister Yoon Seong-kyu urged developed countries Thursday to provide funds to tackle global challenges stemming from climate change, the ministry said.Yoon made the call at the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in Warsaw, Poland, which brought together representatives from more than 190 countries to debate how to deal with climate change beyond 2020, it said. “Developed countries should express their will to begin suppor