North Korea again denied its involvement in a cyber attack on Sony Pictures on Saturday and offered to jointly conduct an investigation into the case with the U.S. government, as websites of its major propaganda organs continued to remain unstable. The Federal Bureau of Investigation last week said North Korea was responsible for the Sony hacking, without revealing evidence because of the "protection of sensitive sources." U.S. President Barack Obama said the U.S. would respond "proportionally"

The Labor Ministry has ordered two nuclear reactors under construction to be shut down to look into the cause of a toxic gas leak that killed three workers, a local branch said Saturday. Three workers died Friday apparently after inhaling toxic gas at the construction site of a nuclear reactor in Ulsan, about 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul.The state-run Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power earlier said it suspected nitrogen gas leaked from an underground cable caused the deaths. The ministry said it

"The Interview," the Sony Pictures movie made popular by North Korea's attempts to stop its release, earned about US$1 million in ticket sales on the first day of its theater release, U.S. media reported Friday.The comedy involving a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hit more than 300 independent theaters across the United States on Christmas Day Thursday after Sony reversed a much-denounced decision to cancel its release under threats from hackers.A day earlier, it was release

Access to major North Korean websites remained unstable Saturday for the fifth straight day following U.S. hints at cyber retaliation last week.The homepages of the North's main propaganda organ, Uriminzokkiri, and three other sites whose servers are based in China were inaccessible Saturday morning, since going down on Friday evening. The website of Chosun Shinbo, a newspaper published by the General Association of North Korean Residents in Japan, could be accessed only intermittently. Meanwhil

The former vice president of Korean Air Lines Co. will appear before aviation safety inspectors on Friday to answer questions about forcing a flight crew member to deplane over snack-serving etiquette, the company said Thursday, as an investigation widens over the "nut case" amid public outrage. Cho Hyun-ah has become the focal point of the public anger as the eldest daughter of Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho took issue with an attendant's serving nuts in bags and ordered a senior crew member t

South Korea's nuclear watchdog said Thursday it has approved the full operation of the nation's first nuclear waste disposal facility after test runs and inspections confirmed its safety. Construction of the permanent disposal site for low- and medium-level radioactive waste in Gyeongju, 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was completed in June after seven years, but its operation has been delayed pending the nuclear inspection body's safety assessment. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission

KIEV (AFP) -- A column of 32 tanks and other heavy weapons has entered Ukraine from Russia, the Ukrainian military said Friday, after the latest fighting left five dead and at least 31 injured.Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said a convoy made up of 32 tanks, 16 howitzer cannons and 30 trucks of troops and equipment crossed the border into the rebel-controlled Lugansk region on Thursday.Another column including trucks and three mobile radar stations crossed another border point in the same reg

Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman plans to visit Seoul next week for talks with heads of the firm's South Korean partners, an industry official said Friday.Whitman could also meet with Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co., during her stay in South Korea.Still, HP and Samsung said they had no knowledge of the schedules of Whitman and Lee. (Yonhap)

BRUSSELS (AP) -- Britain is steadfast in its refusal to pay an extra 2.1 billion euros ($2.7 billion) to the European Union budget by next month, setting up a clash with EU officials at a meeting Friday.British Treasury chief George Osborne said before the gathering of EU finance ministers that the demand remained ``unacceptable.'' A recalculation of EU budget contributions has seen Britain's share grow this year. But the scale of the increase was a surprise.The standoff comes at a time of growi

Christopher Hill, former chief U.S. nuclear negotiator with North Korea, says it was his idea to blow up the cooling tower at North Korea's main Yongbyon nuclear complex as a symbol of progress in nuclear negotiations.Hill, who served as chief U.S. delegate to the six-party nuclear talks from 2005 to 2009, recalled the 2008 incident in his memoir, titled "Outpost: Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy," saying he first brought up the idea of destroying the tower with his North Korean coun

MADRID (AFP) - The health of a Spanish nurse who is the first person known to have caught Ebola outside of Africa has worsened, the Madrid hospital where she is being treated said Thursday."Her clinical situation has deteriorated but I can't provide more information," because of the express wishes of the infected nurse, a spokeswoman for the La Paz-Carlos III hospital told reporters.

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Patrick Modiano, a historical novelist haunted by France's painful experience of Nazi occupation and his own childhoodwounds, won the Nobel Literature Prize on Thursday.The Swedish Academy said it wanted to celebrate his "art of memory" in capturing the lives of ordinary people during German rule, which lasted from 1940 to 1944 in France."This is someone who has written many books that speak to each other, that echo off each other, that are about memory, identity and seeking,"

The main opposition party will not renegotiate a bill aimed at uncovering the truth behind April's deadly ferry sinking despite the wishes of family members of the victims, the party's interim chief said Wednesday.On Tuesday, the ruling Saenuri Party and the No. 1 opposition party New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) reached a deal to pass the bill after weeks of wrangling over who should have the right to choose a special counsel for the investigation.The investigation is aimed at determi

YG Entertainment, South Korea's high-brand entertainment agency who has Psy as its client, said Wednesday it will sell new shares worth 61 billion won ($69.7 million) to the investment fund arm of French luxury group LVMH, a move seen as paving the way for expanding its fashion business globally. YG Entertainment said it will issue 1.35 million convertible preferred shares, which are priced at 44,900 won, through a third-party allotment with L Capital Asia, the Asian trading arm of LVMH. The pre

No headway has been made in the national search efforts for people who remain missing from the sinking of a ferry off South Korea's southeast coast in April, officials said Saturday.A team of civilian, military and maritime police divers has continued their search into the sunken ferry Sewol for the 81st day, but no result has been reported for the 11 missing people since June 24, according to officials of the government's disaster response team.The 6,825-ton ferry Sewol, carrying an estimated 4