Prosecutors on Thursday rejected a police request to impose an overseas travel ban on Kim Hak-ui, the former vice justice minister involved in an escalating sex-for-favors scandal, news reports said.　Bans against some 10 others implicated in the same scandal were also turned down, according to them.　Police have obtained statements from a woman allegedly hired by a contractor to perform sexual services for the official in 2009 at a country house in Wonju, Gangwon Province. After his name was disc

  North Korea on Thursday called on countries involved in the "nuclear standoff" on the Korean Peninsula to clarify their views on what future actions should be taken that can either lead to war or peace.    In an article carried by the Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, Pyongyang said the world at large should not underestimate the dangers of nuclear war.    "DPRK-U.S. nuclear war goes beyond the two countries," it stressed.   The paper monitored in Seoul then claime

  The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld an earlier ruling by an appeals court to confiscate four dolphins that can allow the marine mammals to be set free into the wild.   Justices confirmed the high court's ruling and sentenced the owner of the dolphins who ran a tourist attraction near Jungmun Beach on southern Jeju, to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. The owner identified only by his surname of Heo, willalso have to pay a fine of 10 million won (US$9,000).   The country's highe

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a military 'information workers' meeting on Thursday, in a move to highlight the importance the country places on the ideological indoctrination of its soldiers.   The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the meeting was attended by workers belonging to all branches of the Korean People's Army (KPA), including its rocket force and officers of various military schools.   The workers have similar roles to political commissars found in many communist count

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently sent a personal letter to South Korean President Park Geun-hye, expressing hope that the two nations will further strengthen their ties, the South Korean presidential office said Tuesday.   In the letter, Xi also suggested the two leaders hold a summit meeting in the near future, saying he looks forward to making a "beautiful blueprint" for their countries' relations, according to the office.   The Chinese president noted that the ties between two countries

The police said Tuesday that they are investigating a man believed to be an official from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) on suspicions of posting articles on Internet sites in an attempt to influence the outcome of last year's presidential election.The 39-year-old man, identified only by his surname Lee, allegedly used nearly 40 different accounts to post around 160 articles that either supported or opposed certain candidates in the December presidential election, according to the polic

제8차 방위비 분담 특별협정이 2013년 만료됨에 따라, 한미는 올해 말까지 2014년 그리고 그 이후 적용될 방위분담금관련 협상을 끝내야 한다. 미국의 재정압박으로 인해 대규모 국방비 삭감이 추진되고 있는 상황에서, 앞으로 있을 협상은 그 어느 때 보다 팽팽한 신경전이 펼쳐질 것으로 예상된다. 전문가들은 북한의 핵 미사일 위협이 증가하고 있는 상황에서 강력한 안보동맹을 유지할 수 있고 양측이 “윈윈” 할 수 있는 타협 방안을 신중히 모색해야 한다고 지적했다. 그들은 또한 안보이슈가 다시 한번 정치적, 감정적 소모전이 되지 않도록 해야 한다고 강조했다.보도에 따르면, 미 행정부는 현재 42 퍼센트의 분담금 비율을 50프로까지 상향조정 해달라고 요청했다고 한다. 전문가들은 일본이 70 퍼센트를 분담하는 것과 비교해, 미국이 일본 수준과 근접하게 올려주기를 원한다고 지적했다.미국의 신미국안보센터의 아시아지역 담당 수석연구원인 패트릭 크로닌은 협상이 잘 이루어지지 않을 경우 북한 억지력