WASHINGTON -- On a mission to strengthen the South Korea-US alliance, Moon Jae-in’s maiden visit to the US as president began at a place which holds political and military significance. The first stop on his five-day trip was the memorial dedicated to the US veterans of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the 1950-53 Korean War. The battle, also known as Changjin Lake Campaign, raged from Nov. 27 to Dec. 13, 1950 and is considered one of the fiercest battles in the three-year conflict. On Nov.

A new and highly virulent outbreak of data-scrambling software -- apparently sown in Ukraine -- caused disruption across the world Tuesday. Following a similar attack in May, the fresh cyber assault paralyzed some hospitals, government offices and major multinational corporations in a dramatic demonstration of how easily malicious programs can bring daily life to a halt.　Ukraine and Russia appeared hardest hit by the new strain of ransomware -- malicious software that locks up computer files wit

Pinched between the ruling liberals and their conservative rivals dividing the parliament almost evenly, the centrist People‘s Party has been seeking to expand its leverage by acting as a tie-breaking power group.Contrary to its plans, however, the No. 3 party is now on the verge of losing its political momentum altogether over a manipulated election campaign scandal which may go all the way to the top.On Monday, a party member confessed to fabricating a key allegation concerning the first son o

Japanese air bag maker Takata Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection in Tokyo and the US on Monday, saying it was the only way to ensure it could carry on supplying replacements for faulty air bag inflators linked to the deaths of at least 16 people. 　Most of Takata's assets will be bought by rival Key Safety Systems, a Chinese-owned company based in suburban Detroit, for about $1.6 billion.　The company’s executives sought to reassure their customers, suppliers and shareholders in a news conferen

Qatar on Saturday denounced a sweeping list of demands from Saudi Arabia and its allies in an escalating Gulf diplomatic crisis as unreasonable and an impingement on the emirate’s sovereignty.　Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt want Qatar to meet the 13-point ultimatum in return for an end to a nearly 3-week-old diplomatic and trade “blockade” of the emirate.　Qatar has been given 10 days to meet the demands, which apparently includes a call to close down broadcaster Al-Jaz

When former Navy chief Song Young-moo was nominated as the first minister of defense for the Moon Jae-in administration last week, hopes were high that the retired admiral will bring sweeping reforms. In his first meeting with reporters after being nominated, Song laid out his vision with confidence. Describing the current security challenges as being paradigm-shifting, he pledged to “rebuild” the military by eradicating dubious military contracts.But the path for Song’s appointment is likely to

Hundreds of people, many with their eyes fixed on books, hurriedly walked past the main gate of Yeonsei University in Seoul on Wednesday morning to take the “exam of destiny” -- the nation’s very last state bar exam.If their efforts pay off, spanning several years, they will advance to the final round of the three-stage exam -- an interview -- to become a legal professional in the country. Only 50 people will pass this round. Following the exam, which will continue until Saturday, there will be

Before the tragic story of the American traveler to North Korea, Otto Warmbier, made headlines, not many in South Korea knew that several of their compatriots also face the same ordeal in the communist state. It was only last week that the South’s intelligence agency revealed that six South Koreans are currently detained in the North -- three pastors for engaging in religious activities and three for defecting from the North. Despite increased public attention on their safety, following Warmbier

With silver hair and a cheery smile, she stood out amid a torrent of camera flashes. As she delivered her inauguration address, younger diplomats gazed in awe, letting out whoops when she touched on better work-family balance. The number of followers of the Foreign Ministry’s Twitter account surpassed 100,000 following her appointment, with photos of her making her maiden appearance at her office Sunday garnering more than 4,600 retweets.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha formally took office Monda

Amazon’s deal to buy Whole Foods Market injects even greater pressure into the food and grocery sectors at a time when e-commerce is already roiling retailers.The tech giant’s $13.7 billion acquisition of the upscale, niche grocery chain was described as a seismic event by industry analysts, despite Whole Foods’ relatively small size.The deal prompted jokes and semi-serious posts on Twitter about a space-age shopping era with Amazon’s artificial intelligence program Alexa replacing cashiers and

President Donald Trump responded angrily to reports he is under criminal investigation Thursday, deriding a “witch hunt” against him led by some “very bad” people.Trump responded to reports he is personally being investigated for obstruction of justice with a characteristic scorched earth defense: claiming mistreatment of historic proportions and calling into question the probity of his accusers.“You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history -- led by some very

In this March 16, 2016, file photo, American student Otto Warmbier is escorted at the Supreme Court in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP-Yonhap)The father of a comatose American college student released from North Korea said Thursday his son was "brutalized and terrorized" in the communist nation, and he doesn't believe Pyongyang's claim the son fell into a come due to "botulism" food poisoning."What I would say to the North Korean regime, I would say I'm so proud of Otto, my son, who has been in a pa

Steve Scalise, the senior Republican lawmaker seriously wounded in Wednesday’s shooting at a baseball practice near Washington, is a hard-line conservative who opposes abortion, immigration and gun control, and who cleared numerous hurdles to become the No. 3 House Republican.　The 51-year-old congressman from Louisiana was in critical condition after surgery at a Washington hospital for a gunshot wound to the hip. Three other people were shot and two more suffered minor injuries.　The attacker la

When President Moon Jae-in picked Ahn Kyong-whan as justice minister, his apparent lack of ties to established powers and ample experience of advocating human rights made him look like a good fit to reform the country’s law enforcement system. The choice was seen as a reflection of Moon’s determination to overhaul the powerful law enforcement body, which has been criticized for holding too much power with its exclusive rights to indict. But the former head of the nation’s human rights watchdog h

General Electric announced a leadership shakeup Monday as it faces scrutiny after a corporate makeover executed by outgoing chief Jeff Immelt in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis failed to ignite strong growth.　Immelt, 61, will step down as chief executive on Aug. 1, handing the reins to GE Healthcare President John Flannery, a 30-year veteran of the company whose previous roles included country chief in India.　During a conference call with analysts, Immelt said the transition was first disc