Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Monday proposed holding a citizen poll to settle an ongoing dispute with the opposition party over providing free lunches to all elementary, middle and high school students in the capital.   The proposal comes four days after the opposition-controlled city council proclaimed an ordinance to provide free meals to all elementary school children under its jurisdiction from t

 North Korea has proposed holding talks with South Korea in an official letter, a government official said Monday, after Seoul rejected earlier proposals offered in what officials here called a "unilateral announcement."   In its letter to the Seoul government, Pyongyang again urged early resumption of government-level talks as well as Red Cross dialogue it earlier said will help resume suspended

MANILA (AFP) - Philippine authorities may ban sex on the world-famous beaches of Boracay island after a television crew filmed two naked couples making out in public on New Year's Day, the local mayor said Thursday.The clip showed one pair apparently having sex on the beach and the other locked in a passionate kiss in the water, with the woman's bare breasts clearly shown above the waterline.The ABS-CBN television network said it filmed the apparently Western couples at 2:00 am on New Year's Day

The Justice Ministry said Sunday it will attach restrictions to the revised immigration law to prevent the law's abuse by parents who deliberately give birth overseas to obtain foreign citizenship for their children.South Korea put into effect the revised law from Jan. 1 this year to allow qualified Koreans and foreigners to hold multiple citizenships. The move came after years of debate over fear

 ATLANTA (Yonhap) -- South Korean ambassador Han Duck-soo on Saturday expressed his expectations that the Obama administration will soon present the free trade deal with South Korea to Congress for its ratification by the end of June."I expect the Obama administration will submit the Korea-U.S. FTA to Congress sooner or later so Congress can approve it by the end of June," Han told a forum here ho

 North Korea's external trade fell in 2009 with its economic reliance on China staying significantly high, a report showed Sunday, underscoring the need for Pyongyang to diversify its industry structure and open its market for survival.   According to the report by the Korea Finance Corporation, North Korea's total trade amounted to US$3.41 billion in the cited year, down 10.6 percent from a year

The Marines this year will try out new combat uniforms in a revised color scheme that will set them apart from other armed forces, officials said Sunday.   The defense ministry approved the design for the new fatigues late last month, and the new uniforms will be distributed on a trial basis from early September, the officials said. The final version of the uniforms will come after any alterations

 The average number of credit cards held by South Koreans hit a record high last year thanks to a well-established payment system and improving economic conditions, a report showed Sunday.   A total of 114.94 million cards had been issued as of the end of the third quarter of last year, according to the report by the Credit Finance Association.    Given that the number of economically active peopl

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan  (AFP) - A suicide bomber killed 17 people and wounded another 21 in assassinating a police commander at a public bath in a southern Afghan town on the border with Pakistan, the local government said.A nine-year Taliban insurgency is concentrated in southern Afghanistan, but suicide attacks targeting civilians in public places are relatively rare."A suicide bomber blew up explosives strapped to his chest at a public bath in Spin Boldak," border police official General Abdul