The dollar and the euro soared against the yen Thursday after the Bank of Japan unveiled an aggressive spending program to get the flagging economy back on track.After its first meeting under new governor Haruhiko Kuroda, the BoJ announced a doubling of the money supply and vowed no let-up in the battle against deflation."We will carry out quantitative and qualitative monetary easing that is unprecedented in its scale and quality," Kuroda told a packed news conference.The yen plummeted, with the

청와대가 4일 박근혜 정권의 국정철학을 반영한 국정 비전과 국정 기조를 발표하면서 정권의 공식 명칭인 ‘박근혜정부’를 붙여서 써야 한다고 명시했다.김행 청와대 대변인은 이날 “박근혜정부는 고유명사”라면서 한 단어이기 때문에 ‘박근혜’와 ‘정부’를 붙여 써야 한다고 말했다. 김 대변인은 이와 관련해 국립국어원에 감수를 받았다고 전했다.김 대변인은 이 자리에서 박정부의 국정비전이 ‘희망의 새 시대’이며, ‘경제부흥’, ‘국민행복’, ‘문화융성’, ‘평화통일 기반 구축’이 4대 국정기조라고 발표했다. 정부 측에서 정권 명칭에 대해 띄어쓰기까지 지적한 것은 처음인 것으로 알려졌다. 네티즌들은 이러한 행보에 대해 트위터를 통해 ‘황당하다’는 반응을 보였다.한 트위터 유저는 “박근혜 정권은 시작하자마자 XX인데, 이리 한가로울 수도 있군요”라고 적었다. 또 다른 유저는 “어지간히 할일 없는 모양. 일 좀 하라”면서 북한이 연일 위협을 하고 있는 가운데 띄어쓰기를 지적하는 정부를 비판했다.한편

정부측은 4일, 북한이 개성공단의 우리 측 인원을 전원철수하라고 요구했다는 보도가 와전된 것이라고 밝혔다. 통일국 당국자는 이날 북한이 완전철수를 요구하지 않고 “남측으로의 귀환만 허용한 만큼 10일까지의 통행(귀환) 계획을 제출하라고 요구한 것"이라고 밝혔다.<관련 영문 기사>Government denies Kaesong complex withdrawal reportsThe Unification Ministry on Thursday denied a media report that North Korea demanded the withdrawal of all South Korean workers from joint industrial complex in Kaesong by April 10.“North did not demand a complete pull-out but requested a plan for a return trip (for South Korean workers),” t

남한에 정착해 살던 탈북자가 어선을 훔쳐 타고 서해 북방한계선(NLL)을 넘어 월북했다.군 당국은 탈북자 이혁철(28)씨가 연평도에서 어선(9t•진흥3호)을 훔쳐 3일 오 후 10시49분께 NLL을 넘어 월북했다고 4일 밝혔다.이씨는 북한을 탈출해 2007년 3월20일 국내에 입국해 정착했다. 그는 2개월 전에 연평도로 들어와 꽃게잡이 어선인 진흥3호에 취업한 것으로 알려졌다. 이씨는 중국으로 탈북했다가 입북하고 또다시 탈북했다가 입북하는 등 한국에 정착하기 전까지 과거 4차례나 탈북과 입북을 반복했던 것으로 전해졌다.군의 한 관계자는 "월북 어선은 연평도 동남방에서 연안을 거쳐 NLL로 향했다"면서 "오후 10시46분께 NLL 남방 900m 지점에 있는 어선을 레이더로 포착했고 즉시 고속정이 출동했으나 이미 NLL을 월선해 추가 조치를 하지 않았다"고 말했다.그는 "어선은 주간에 어업활동을 마친 후 부두에 정박한 상태였다"면서 "꽃게잡 이 선원인 이씨가 밤에 어선을 불법으로 탈취한

North Korea has demanded the withdrawal of all South Korean managers and staff from the Kaesong joint industrial zone by next week, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Thursday.The personnel should leave the complex, which lies 10 kilometers inside North Korea, by April 10, Yonhap said without quoting any sources.The South Korean Unification Ministry said it had received no such formal notification.As of Thursday morning, there were 823 South Korean citizens in Kaesong, the ministry said.

In another blow to Spain's royal family, a court named Princess Cristina, the king's daughter, as a suspect Wednesday in a corruption case involving her husband.The Palma de Mallorca court announced that the 47-year-old princess will be called in for questioning on April 27. She has not been charged with any offense and faces no restrictions on her freedom. Her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, a lead suspect in the investigation, has also not been charged with any crime.The court summons is a first fo

Israeli forces shot and killed a teenage Palestinian protester during a clash in the West Bank late Wednesday, raising tensions already heightened by the death of a Palestinian prisoner and renewed fighting between Israel and Gaza militants.The late night killing capped a day of rioting throughout the West Bank in protest at the prisoner's death from cancer and raised the likelihood of further unrest in the Palestinian territories Thursday.Mohammed Ayyad, a spokesman for the Palestinian Red Cres

A North Korean defector who was living in South Korea crossed the tensely guarded western sea border on a fishing boat he stole, military officials said Thursday, amid high tensions on the Korean Peninsula.The 28-year-old man, only identified as his surname Lee, stole a 9-ton boat on the border island of Yeonpyeong at 10:49 p.m. on Wednesday and sailed across the maritime border called the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea. "The ship was anchored at a port after being used for fishing

Protest tents that laid-off Ssangyong Motor Co. workers had set up in the heart of Seoul were forcibly dismantled on Thursday.Former employees of the country's smallest automaker and civic activists had set up three tents and occupied part of the sidewalk in front of Deoksu Palace, across from Seoul City Hall, in central Seoul since last April, in protest against the company's mass layoffs of its workers in 2009.The Jung-gu ward office under the Seoul Metropolitan Government mobilized some 50 of

The world’s fifth-largest automaker Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors will be recalling 1.9 million vehicles in the United States for malfunctioning brake light switches and airbags, the companies said on Thursday.There were no accidents or injuries due to the defects, but Hyundai said it is conducting the recall to ensure customer safety.“We hope to resolve the issue as soon as possible,” said Chung Jin-haeng, the Hyundai CEO. “We’ll do our best to prevent the situation from escal

The United States announced Wednesday it is sending an advanced ballistic missile defense system to the western Pacific, as North Korea's military said it received final approval for a nuclear attack."The Department of Defense will deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) Ballistic Missile Defense system to Guam in the coming weeks as a precautionary move to strengthen our regional defense posture against the North Korean regional ballistic missile threat," the Pentagon said i