The beheading of a British hostage by Islamic State militants was an "act of pure evil," Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday, vowing Britain will do all in its power to bring the killers to justice."This is a despicable and appalling murder of an innocent aid worker. It is an act of pure evil," he said in a statement released by his Downing Street office."We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes."Cameron, who was see

South Korea expressed support Thursday for U.S. President Barack Obama's plan for airstrikes in Syria and expanded strikes in Iraq to defeat the Islamic State militant group.Obama said Wednesday he won't hesitate to take action against the Islamic State in Syria, as he pledged to "degrade, and ultimately destroy" the extremists responsible for beheading two American journalists."South Korea voices its support to the efforts by the international community to defeat the Islamic State militant grou

South Korea's Cabinet on Thursday approved a bill on a free trade agreement (FTA) with Canada ahead of ratification by the parliament, the prime minister's office said. After nearly nine years of talks, including a five-year hiatus, Seoul and Ottawa concluded the FTA in March this year. The two sides expect the deal to help significantly boost bilateral trade by cutting tariffs on a wide range of products including automobiles and meat.During a weekly meeting held in Seoul earlier in the day, th

A Seoul district court on Thursday sentenced a former government intelligence chief to two years and six months in prison for meddling in the 2012 presidential election but stayed the sentence for four years.Won Sei-hoon, former director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), was found guilty of spearheading an online smear campaign in favor of President Park Geun-hye, then ruling party candidate, while heading the agency.The Seoul Central District Court found Won guilty of ordering NIS age

South Korea's central bank is expected to keep the base rate on hold in September as it measures the policy effect of last month's rate cut and watches out for risks of ballooning household debt, a poll showed Thursday.All 16 analysts surveyed by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, forecast the Bank of Korea (BOK) to stand pat on the current policy rate of 2.25 percent at a board meeting on Friday.The latest result comes after the BOK cut the base rate in August for the

The South Korean government announced Thursday it plans to nearly double cigarette prices starting in January as part of efforts to cut the country's high smoking rate that will also include a ban on tobacco advertisements by large retailers."The government will seek to raise cigarette prices by 2,000 won (US$1.93) per pack at the start of next year while also introducing a pricing system where cigarette prices will be pegged to other consumer prices," Health and Welfare Minister Moon Hyung-pyo

The Seoul metropolitan government said Thursday that it will decide whether to allow Lotte Group to open the lower part of a high-rise building late this month after conducting a final safety check.Lotte had originally sought to open the completed lower floors of the 123-story high-rise, which is being built in the southeastern part of the capital, to the public by April. But the city government previously nixed the plan, citing safety concerns as well as possible traffic congestion.In an effort

The floor leaders of the rival political parties plan to meet Thursday in their latest attempt to work out differences over a bill meant to uncover the truth behind April's ferry disaster, officials said.Lee One-koo, floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, was to meet with his opposition counterpart, Park Young-sun, at the National Assembly, officials said, though it remains clear whether they can make progress.The meeting comes weeks after the rival parties' two successive deals on the bill w

South Koreans living abroad will be allowed to file for a national identification card starting in January if they plan to stay in their home country for at least 30 days, the government announced Thursday.The Ministry of Security and Public Administration said starting Jan. 22, 2015, overseas South Koreans may receive resident registration cards to be used in their native country for a stay of 30 days or longer.Previously, South Koreans were not allowed to keep their resident registration here

North Korea has signed a United Nations protocol that protects children from trafficking and sexual exploitation, a U.S.-based media report said Thursday.According to the report by Voice of America, Ja Song-nam, the North Korean ambassador to the U.N., signed the optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday.The protocol, comprised of 17 articles, calls for the prohibition of trafficking of children, child prostitution and child po

South Korea's exports of information-communication technology (ICT) products dropped from a year earlier last month partly on a decrease in shipments to China, the government said Thursday.Outbound shipments of ICT products came to US$14.19 billion in August, down 2.1 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Imports increased 5.9 percent on-year to $6.73 billion, causing the country's trade surplus in the sector to shrink to $7.46 billion fro