Late President Hugo Chavez designated Maduro as his successor before he died Tuesday of cancer. Maduro had been Chavez's vice president.The country's 1999 constitution says the National Assembly speaker becomes interim president in the event of a president-elect's death or inability to be sworn in. The constitution also says a presidential election should be called within 30 days.Maduro has been picked as the presidential candidate of Chavez's socialist party.Opposition leader Angel Medina said

A British court Thursday rejected a claim by Samsung Electronics that Apple stole its technology, in the latest round of a global legal battle over patents between the smartphone giants.The district court in London ruled that Samsung has no rights over technology that transfers data over the third-generation mobile network, which has been adopted by some of Apple's smartphones, according to Samsung officials.Similar lawsuits were heard in Japan, the United States and South Korea, with the Japane

North Korea will face psychological warfare by South Korea if the communist country continues with provocations, President Park Geun-hye's defense minister nominee said Thursday.In written answers presented to the National Assembly ahead of his confirmation hearing, Kim Byung-kwan said the South Korean military will "sternly punish the North by employing all means available," including psychological warfare.Kim will undergo a parliamentary confirmation hearing for Park's defense minister on Frid

Newly inaugurated President Park Geun-hye will formally appoint seven Cabinet ministers next week, her spokeswoman said Thursday, amid ongoing conflicts with the main opposition party over how to reorganize her  administration. Park was sworn in as South Korea's first female president on Feb. 25, but she has yet to form her 17-member Cabinet after opposition politicians questioned her intentions to control the broadcasting industry. The absence of a Cabinet has raised worries that it is causing

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's largest shipbuilder, was selected to build nine improved versions of Chang Bogo class submarines for the South Korean Navy, the state arms procurement agency said Thursday.The Defense Acquisition and Procurement Agency (DAPA) said it has chosen Hyundai Heavy Industries to build an upgraded version of the 1,200-ton Chang Bogo submarine, in partnership with Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.The new version of the diesel-electric attack submarine will weigh

Prosecutors investigating a match-fixing scandal in professional basketball said Thursday they plan to seek an arrest warrant for an active head coach for his role in rigging games.Prosecutors in Euijeongbu, north of Seoul, said they have confirmed star coach Kang Dong-hee's involvement in match fixing and can file for a warrant later Thursday.According to prosecutors, Kang allegedly took cash from two gambling brokers on four occasions during the playoffs in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) i

A fugitive South Korean solider has been detained after attempting to sneak into China aboard a cargo ship through the western port of Incheon, military and port officials said Thursday.The 21-year-old sergeant of special forces, whose identity was withheld, covertly entered the port, located west of Seoul, on Saturday after crossing over barbed wire, they said. He then got on board the vessel that was anchored at the port.After hiding in one of the compartments for more than a day, he was appre

작년, 한국 20대 여성의 경제활동참가율이 20대 남성을 처음으로 앞질렀다.7일 통계청과 고용노동부에 의하면, 2012년 20대 여성의 경제활동참가율은 62.9% 기록한 반면, 20대 남성은 62.6%였다.여성의 경쟁력이 크게 향상되고 자기계발 성향이 강해지면서 경제활동참가율이 20대 남성을 앞질렀다고 통계청은 설명했다.또 20대 여성의 결혼 그리고 출산이 늦어진 것도 하나의 요인이었다.그러나 결혼해 아이를 낳고 길러야 하는 시기인 30대 여성의 경제활동참가율은 남성과 여전히 격차를 보였다.2012년, 30대 여성의 참가율은 56% 기록했으며 남성은 93.3%였다.　　<관련 영문 기사>Women in 20s more economically active than menBy Park Hyong-kiThe proportion of Korean women in their 20s currently working or looking for work exceeded that of men in t

A new U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at punishing North Korea for conducting its third nuclear test last month is expected to call for sanctions on the North's uranium-related transactions for the first time, a Seoul diplomatic source said Wednesday.After weeks of bilateral consultations, the United States and the North's last-remaining ally China agreed to the draft resolution, which also calls for mandatory inspections of North Korean ships and planes suspected of carrying banned items

The main opposition Democratic United Party urged President Park Geun-hye Wednesday to accept a deal to end the impasse over her government reorganization bill that has created a deadlock in the running of state affairs.DUP floor leader Park Ki-choon held an emergency news conference to make the appeal, offering to accept a key controversial part of the bill if the president makes three concessions in return.The bill calls for a reorganization of the government's structural layout that would inc

Senior secretaries to President Park Geun-hye will meet every morning to tackle pressing issues in an effort to minimize any negative impact the absence of a new Cabinet could have on state affairs, the presidential spokesman said Wednesday.Presidential chief of staff Huh Tae-yeol will preside over the session to check the day-to-day operations of the government, presidential spokesman Yoon Chang-jung said. Senior secretaries reached the decision in a meeting Wednesday, viewing the Cabinet's abs

North Korea has started submarine drills and stepped up preparations for nationwide military exercises, which may be timed to coincide with annual joint drills by South Korea and the United States set to start next week, military sources said Wednesday.The latest move comes as Pyongyang has ratcheted up its hostile rhetoric against Seoul and Washington as the two allies last week launched a two-month field training exercise called Foal Eagle.Separately, joint forces will conduct computer-simulat

South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed Wednesday to work closely together on dealing with North Korea and to improve relations between their two countries, a presidential spokesperson said.The two leaders reached the agreement when Abe made a phone call to Park to congratulate her for being elected as South Korea's president, presidential spokeswoman Kim Haing said. Park expressed hope for "political leaders (in Japan) to make decisions" on issues rela

작년 국내 거주자의 해외에서 카드 사용금액이 사상 최대치를 기록했다.한국은행이 28일 공개한 “2012년중 거주자의 카드 해외 사용실적” 자료에 따르면, 작년 한국인 또는 장기적으로 국내에 거주하고 있는 외국인들의 국외 카드 사용 금액은 94.4억달러로 2011년 86.2억달러에 비해 9.5% 증가했다.이는 내국인 출국자수가 늘어나면서 카드 해외 사용자수가 증가했기 때문이라고 한국은행은 설명했다.작년 하반기 원화강세로 출국자수가 증가해 내국인 출국자 수는 1천374만명으로 역대 최다를 기록했다.또, 지난 해 비거주자의 국내 카드 사용금액은 48.1억달러로 사상 최대치를 기록했다.한류 문화관광과 의료관광 증가 등으로 외국인 관광수요가 늘어났기 때문이라고 한국은행은 분석했다.(코리아헤럴드 박형기 기자)　　<관련 영문 기사>Credit card transactions hit record high By Park Hyong-kiCredit card transactions by Koreans

캐나다 광산업체인 울프마이닝은 강원도 영월군 상동텅스텐광산 재개발사업을 위해 약 3,000억 (2억6,000억달러) 투자를 최종 결정 단계에 이르렀다고 업계관계자는 말했다.재개발뿐 만 아니라 프로세싱 공장 설립을 위해 투자를 할 예정이라고 전했다.계약이 성사 되면 캐나다 기업으로써 국내 최대 외국인직접투자가 될 수 있을 것이라고 한다.상동은 한때 세계 최대 텅스텐광산이었으며 희유금속인 텅스텡 소재는 특수공구 생산에 주로 쓰인다.투자 귀재인 워렌 버핏의 IMC가 100프로 소유하고 있는 대구텍은 장기적으로 상동 텅스텐 확보를 위해 울프하고 구매계약을 했다. 특수공구사인 대구텍은 울프의 전략적 파트너기도 하다.　(코리아 헤럴드 박형기 기자)　<관련 영문 기사>Woulfe to clinch deal for tungsten project in KoreaBy Park Hyong-kiWoulfe Mining, a Canada-based mining company, is near finalizi