South Korean prosecutors said Friday they have discovered that some of the five Somali pirates arrested for the hijacking of South Korean freighter in the Arabian Sea last month had participated in the kidnapping of its sister ship last year, which was released after a huge ransom was paid.The five Somali pirates were captured in the South Korean naval commando's Jan. 21 operation to rescue the 11

South Korea on Friday confirmed an additional bird flu case at a farm near Seoul, despite a recent plunge in the number of suspected cases.The farm ministry said tests showed that 30,000 birds at the egg-laying chicken farm in Yeoju, about 100 kilometers southeast of Seoul, were infected with the virulent H5N1 strain of the avian influenza (AI).The farm was quarantined as of Wednesday after a larg

South Korea's stock market operator said Friday it will fine the local brokerage unit of Deutsche Bank a record 1 billion won (US$885,000) fine for violating trading rules.The fine comes two days after Deutsche Securities Korea Co. was banned from some trading activities for six months for placing massive sell orders in the closing minutes of trading on Nov. 11, which sent the benchmark stock inde

Some of the five Somali pirates arrested for the hijacking of South Korean freighter Samho Jewelry in the Arabian Sea in January turned out to have participated in the kidnapping of its sister ship, the Samho Dream, that wasreleased last year after the payment of a huge ransom, prosecutors here said Friday.Two dozen crew members of the Samho Dream were released last November from seven months of c

A Seoul court on Friday ordered Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Mong-koo to pay 82.6 billion won (US$73.1 million) in compensation to his own company for inflicting damage on the top South Korean automaker by unfairly supportingHyundai affiliates.A group of 14 minority shareholders and the NGO Solidarity for Economic Reform had filed a suit against Chung and Kim Dong-jin, vice chairman of Hyundai Mob

South Korea and the United States on Friday conducted a joint air force drill to enhance their coordination in search and rescue for pilots stranded after an emergency bailout on enemy soil, officials said.The drill, held in South Korea's southwestern Jeolla province, is the largest of its kind, mobilizing a pair of HH-60 helicopters, four KF-16, four F-4 and F-5 fighter jets, and six anti-tank A-

A 26-year-old South Korean man died on Thursday when an explosive he had apparently bought on the Internet and tied to his body exploded, police said.The man identified only by his surname, Oh, had complained of his personal woes for four hours at a local police stand earlier in the morning while claiming he was carrying an explosive, according to the police in this eastern port city of Pohang.The

A 114-year-old woman in Guri, currently the oldest living person in South Korea, has asked the national recordkeeping agency to help her seek the world's oldest living person title in the Guinness Book of World Records, alocal government said Thursday.According to the city of Guri, some 15 kilometers east of Seoul, Kim Eom-gok, born on Nov. 7 1897, has reported her identity to the Korea Record Ins

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Severe food shortages are forcing some North Koreans to forage for wild grasses and herbs and causing alarming malnutrition among children, U.S.-based aid groups who recently visited the reclusive country reported Wednesday.Heavy rains and flooding in summer reduced vegetable crops by more than 50 percent in some areas, and a bitter winter has frozen up to 50 percent of wheat and