The appearance of North Korea’s military spy chief Kim Yong-chol at rare inter-Korean military talks on Wednesday has left many observers wondering what message Pyongyang wanted to convey through sending the hawkish figure.Some analysts argued that the head of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, well-known for spearheading provocations against the South, attended the talks to show Pyongyang’s resolve to reconcile and improve cross-border relations.Others said that the appearance of the spy chief

GENEVA ― The World Health Organization said Tuesday the Ebola infection rate could soon reach 10,000 a week as world leaders prepared to hold talks on the crisis at the United Nations.WHO assistant director general Bruce Aylward, describing his figures as a working forecast, said the epidemic “could reach 5,000 to 10,000 cases per week by the first week of December.”The latest death toll is 4,447, from 8,914 recorded infection cases, Aylward said as the worst-ever Ebola outbreak spirals in the t

PARIS ― French economist Jean Tirole is a master of game theory and industrial organization, who on Monday added a Nobel prize to a gleaming heap of honors for his work.The 61-year-old was hailed by the Nobel Economics Prize jury as “one of the most influential economists of our time” for his analysis of big companies, market power and regulation.The professor at the Toulouse School of Economics has long been tipped as a potential economics laureate, an award that has been largely dominated by e

Homeplus, one of South Korea’s largest grocery chains, will have to explain during a parliamentary inspection what seems like an intentional leakage of its customers’ private information to third parties.Its alleged wrongdoings come at a time when public criticism is growing against the country’s weak security protection systems, following a series of information theft, leaks and monitoring.Homeplus executives, including chief executive Do Sung-hwan, as well as its multinational owner U.K.-based

Steered by North Korean defectors and activists, civic groups and their anti-Pyongyang leaflets have long goaded the Kim regime into fury at what it calls an act of hostility. The two Koreas traded fire Friday after the North began shooting heavy machine guns, apparently aiming at balloons launched by two organizations which were filled with flyers denouncing the communist regime, $1 bills, mini radios and other items.  A group of North Korean defectors living in South Korea sends balloons carry

‘K-fiction’ series of short contemporary stories published in Korean-English bilingual editions

PARIS ― Just over 20 years ago, three physicists working in two laboratories in Japan cracked a problem that had stumped rivals for decades ― how to prise blue light from a semiconductor.The feat paved the way to a low-energy source of light for illuminating homes, buildings, computers and mobile phones.On Tuesday, it earned Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura the 2014 Nobel Physics Prize, and a flow of tributes for providing the world with a weapon against global warming.By the time

PARIS ― Generations of scientists have pored over a seemingly basic but ultimately complex skill: how are humans able to find their way from one spot to another?Little by little, the fog of mystery is beginning to dissipate, thanks to work revealing the key areas in the brain that enable us to orientate ourselves and navigate.On Monday, the 2014 Nobel Prize for Medicine went to a trio of scientists who identified the brain cells essential to this task.In the early 1970s, John O’Keefe, a British-

With Korean universities continuing with their early admission programs for 2015, the nonrefundable application fees for higher education institutes have become topic of discussion as the sky-high fees deal a significant financial blow to poor students.A total of 24 colleges across the country are currently charging 80,000 won ($74) or more for each applicant, according to Education Ministry data recently revealed by Rep. Han Sun-kyo of the Saenuri Party. The data showed that students had to pay

The 17th Asian Games Incheon 2014 that ended on Saturday surprised the world ― not just for its spectacular K-pop performances or medals dominated by China, but because of an unprecedented visit by top officials from North Korea.The North Korean delegation consisted of the three confidants to North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un. They are known as the secretive state’s political and military heavyweights who buttress the leadership of the young ruler, who took over the reclusive regime in De

Daum Communications and Kakao Corp. have joined forces and are looking ahead to an era in which everything is connected to the Internet.After five months of consolidating the two entities and their corporate cultures, the newly merged 12 trillion won ($11 billion) company will henceforth be called Daum Kakao.With a new black-and-white logo and the new slogan “Connect Everything,” Daum Kakao chief executives Choi Sae-hoon and Lee Sir-goo say the company aims to grow as a platform service provider

On Oct. 1, South Korea will enforce a revised law governing the sales and subsidies of mobile devices such as smartphones in an effort to eradicate long-standing malpractices by telecommunications operators.Consumers will no longer be discriminated against on the basis of age, place of residence or monthly subscription plan when using their existing mobile phones, buying a new phone or switching their mobile carriers.Everyone, regardless of their class and status, will be entitled to a subsidy s

HONG KONG ― Pro-democracy protesters wearing surgical masks and holding up umbrellas to protect against tear gas expanded their rallies throughout Hong Kong on Monday, defying calls to disperse in a major pushback against Beijing’s decision to limit democratic reforms in the Asian financial hub.Police officers tried to negotiate with protesters camped out on a normally busy highway near the Hong Kong government headquarters that was the scene of tear gas-fueled clashes that erupted the evening b

Interim opposition leader Rep. Moon Hee-sang proposed high-level talks with the ruling Saenuri Party on Sunday, to end the ongoing political deadlock over the special Sewol bill.The ruling party refused, putting the opening of Tuesday’s plenary session as a precondition for any new negotiation with the New Politics Alliance for Democracy.The Saenuri Party’s rejection is likely to put the already-embattled NPAD in a catch-22.How well the party can escape its predicament will depend largely on Moo

Japan’s Kosuke Hagino won his fourth swimming gold but China ruled the pool as they shot out to a big lead on the medals table at the Asian Games Thursday.Hagino, 20, put in a strong final freestyle leg to add the 400 metres medley to his 200m medley, 200m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle titles in Incheon.“That was hard work, I felt like I could be in a bit of bother,” Hagino told reporters. “I didn’t expect to feel that tired but I kept it together somehow. Obviously the freestyle (leg) did bail