A fire broke out in a building in central Seoul on Tuesday night. No injuries were reported.　The fire started at around 7:07 p.m. on the fourth floor of the building, unleashing dark plumes of smoke. It was put out about 47 minutes later.   The floor is used for storing clothes. The cause of the fire has yet to be known.　The nearby fire station sent some 30 fire engines along with about 120 firef

 (Yonhap) -- The ruling party's presidential candidate, Park Geun-hye, drew fire again Tuesday for refusing to criticize the legacy of her father and late President Park Chung-hee, under whom eight student activists were executed and subsequently cleared of wrongdoing.On Monday, Park told a local radio talk show the courts gave two verdicts on the infamous "Inhyukdang" incident, saying history sho

The defense ministry will spend 2.7 trillion won (US$2.3 billion) over the next five years to secure tactical weapons to counter threats of North Korea's nuclear and artillery attacks, the state-run procurement agency said Tuesday.The Defense Acquisition and Procurement Agency (DAPA) held a meeting presided over by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and approved the 61.4 trillion won budget for the 201

(Yonhap) -- Torrential downpours in the southern parts of South Korea flooded local farms and houses, leaving two people dead and causing damage across the region, the police and weather agency said Thursday.   An 85-year-old woman, surnamed Yeom, was found dead by alandslide in Boseong, a town in South Jeolla Province, 397 kilometers southwest of Seoul, after being buried in soil for an hour unti

(Yonhap) -- South Korea and New Zealand signed a pact Friday aimed at forging policy and logistical cooperation in the development of Antarctica, Seoul officials said.    The pact was signed between South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, who is on a two-day visit to Auckland, and his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully, the ministry said in a statement.   The agreement "paves the way for

(Yonhap) -- North Korean delegations will visit Russia this week, the North's official news media said Friday, where they are thought likely to discuss economic cooperation with their ally.   Delegations from the DPRK-Russia Friendship Association and the General Bureau of Diplomatic Corps Affairs left North Korea Friday to visit the Amur Region, the (North) Korean Central News Agency said in a br

(Yonhap) -- A possible end to the currency swap line with Japan would not have a significant impact on the financial market here as Seoul has made headway in strengthening its safety net designed to absorb shocks from unexpected global turmoil, analysts said Friday.   South Korea expanded its currency swap line with Japan from US$13 billion to $70 billion last year in a bid to secure foreign excha

(Yonhap) -- North Korea may be preparing to conduct a nuclear or missile test in the near future, a government report submitted during a meeting with ruling party lawmakers showed Friday.   "The defense ministry claimed that the communist country was prepared to carry out tests with little preparation time," said a senior Saenuri official, who declined to be identified.   The party official said w

A South Korean inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency was killed in a rollover accident in central Iran on Tuesday morning, the Islamic Republic’s state media reported. The Islamic Republic News Agency reported that a car carrying him turned over near a heavy water reactor under construction. A Slovakian inspector was wounded in the accident.  By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldm.com)

 A series of cars were stranded on Jeju after heavy rains hit the southern resort island on Saturday. At around 11:05 a.m., six cars carrying some 30 passengers drifted away in surging waters. All of them were pulled out of the cars some 40 minutes after the rescue staff was dispatched to save them.Three other cars carrying a total of nine people were also stranded on the day on two separate locat

(Yonhap) -- North Korea completed construction on a taekwondo center in its capital city to better showcase the merits of the traditional martial art, a state-run newspaper said Saturday.   The Rodong Shinmun, picked up in Seoul, said the center has been built in downtown Pyongyang.   The center houses a training center, library, international conference hall, history museum and other amenities, w

Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo has apparently made up his mind to run in the Dec. 19 presidential election on the ruling Saenuri Party’s ticket, and is weighing whether and when to resign from the gubernatorial post, according to news reports. Following his official announcement for his Blue House bid, other ruling party hopefuls such as Rep. Chung Mong-joon are expected to declare their participa

  (AP) -- Pakistan blocked the head of an airline whose jet crashed near the capital from leaving the country as it began an investigation Saturday into the country's second major air disaster in less then two years.   The Bhoja Air passenger jet crashed Friday as it tried to land in a thunderstorm at Islamabad's main airport, killing all 127 people on board. The small domestic airline, which resu

South Korea announced a plan Friday to provide US$15 billion to the International Monetary Fund, which seeks to expand its lending capacity.The move comes as spring meetings of the IMF and G-20 are under way here. South Korea's finance minister, Bahk Jae-wan, and the Bank of Korea chief, Kim Choong-soo, are attending the sessions.In a joint statement with Australia, Singapore and the United Kingdo

(Yonhap) -- A South Korean civic group held a rally in downtown Paris to urge the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) to formally adopt the East Sea name for the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago, organizers said Saturday.   The Dokdo Network in Seoul said the rally was held in Place Du Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower on Friday with participants made