The South Korean Army has launched an investigation into allegations that a senior male cadet sexually assaulted a junior female officer cadet under the influence of alcohol on campus during a festival last week, military officials said Wednesday.Last Wednesday, about 30 students and professors at the Korea Military Academy had lunch and drank alcohol after a sports event earlier in the day to celebrate Cadet Day. After a female sophomore drank too much and kept vomiting, the senior cadet brough

South Korea's current account surplus narrowed in April from the previous month on smaller trade gains and an increase in foreign investors' dividend repatriation, the central bank said Wednesday.The current account surplus reached US$3.97 billion in April, compared with a revised surplus of $4.93 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.The April reading marked the 15th straight month of a surplus run and

The U.S. has named a woman to command its naval forces in South Korea.The Pentagon announced Tuesday the decision to appoint Capt. Lisa M. Franchetti, who has been selected for promotion to rear admiral, to the position.She is currently serving as military assistant to the secretary of the Navy. It would be the first time that the U.S. will have a female commander for U.S. Naval Forces Korea, according to a defense source here. "Capt. Franchetti has a good reputation in the U.S. Navy and she is

South Korea's main opposition party leader called on the United States Tuesday to help resume the long-stalled six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs, saying he hopes to see the U.S. contribute to easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.Rep. Kim Han-gil, the chief of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), made the remarks in a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Sung Kim. The meeting came a day after Seoul spurned Pyongyang's call for a resumption of the six-nation talks, demand

Laos has sent nine North Koreans who fled their totalitarian homeland through China last month back to China, a senior Seoul official said Tuesday, indicating that they are at risk of being repatriated to North Korea. The nine North Korean defectors, aged between 15 and 23, were deported to China late Monday (local time) after being rounded up by the Lao authorities on May 10, the senior official at Seoul‘s foreign ministry said. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that S

The nuclear safety commission halted the operation of two nuclear reactors Tuesday, while also suspending the scheduled operation of two other reactors for substandard parts used in the reactors.Neither the shutdown of the reactors nor the substandard parts used in them posed immediate threats to public safety, according to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.The commission said it has shut down two reactors -- the Shin Kori Reactor 2 and Shin Wolsong Reactor 1 -- after learning that subs

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, as a slowdown in the yen's depreciation encouraged investors to make risky bets, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 5.25 points, or 0.27 percent to 1,985.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Large-cap chemical makers and heavy industries led the gain, with LG Chem climbing 1.4 percent and Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's largest shipyard, moving up 0.3 percent.The Japanese currency slowed its fast-descend

Samsung Electronics Co. regained its status as the world's largest smartphone seller in the first quarter of the year, dethroning Apple Inc. in terms of revenue, data showed on Tuesday.Samsung sold smartphones worth US$23.62 billion in the January-March period, regaining the top spot lost to the iPhone maker in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the data by market researcher Strategy Analytics.The first-quarter figure is up $952 million from the previous quarter's reading, they showed

Brazilian striker Neymar says he is officially a Barcelona player.Neymar said he signed a five-year contract agreement with the Spanish powerhouse on Monday, two days after announcing that he decided to pick the Catalan club instead of Real Madrid. “I'm sad to be leaving Santos, but it's a great honor to be signing with a club like Barcelona and to be able to play with some of the best players in the world,” Neymar said. The 21-year-old Brazilian will be joining a star-filled roster that already