The U.S. forces stationed here had an unused, Seoul-contributed defense fund of more than 600 billion won ($567 million) as of January, though the amounted declined from five months earlier, government data showed Thursday.The unspent defense cost for United States Forces Korea  came to 621 billion won as of the end of January, down some 90 billion won from the end of August in 2013, according to the data by the foreign ministry.The amount of unspent fund at end-January accounted for about 77 pe

Financial authorities said Thursday they will intervene to prevent top financial company executives from walking away with retirement payments way out of proportion, a measure that follows public outrage against astronomical wages and compensation packages that went to corporate leaders last year.Records showed that Park Jong-won, former president of Korean Reinsurance Co., received 15.9 billion won ($15 million) in retirement benefits, which is 245.5 times an average annual salary of company em

A soldier with "mental health issues" killed three people and wounded 16 before turning the gun on himself Wednesday at Fort Hood, the US military base devastated by a deadly 2009 shooting rampage.Base commander Lieutenant General Mark Milley said the gunman, who served in Iraq in 2011, was being treated for depression and anxiety, and being checked for possible Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.All of the dead and wounded were military personnel. At least four of those injured were hospitalized in

The office of President Park Geun-hye said Thursday it has opened a page linked to its website to collect suggestions and opinions on deregulation, one of Park's top priorities in efforts to spur South Korea's slowly recovering economy.Anyone can file recommendations, suggestions or whatever opinions they have about government regulations by clicking on a banner on Cheong Wa Dae's website at www.president.go.kr. The government will take a look at those views and get back to the writers with answ

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization plans to provide $400,000 to North Korea to help eradicate the rapidly spreading foot-and-mouth disease there, a U.S. radio report said.The Voice of America reported Wednesday the U.N. body was considering a proposal to North Korea over the infectious animal disease that broke out near Pyongyang in early January, citing the FAO's Chief Veterinary Officer Juan Lubroth.The FAO also plans to send quarantine officials to North Korea after finalizing its aid

Two paintings worth millions of euros by the French artists Paul Gauguin and Pierre Bonnard, stolen in London in 1970 then abandoned on a train, have been recovered in Italy.Gauguin's "Fruit on a table or small dog" and Bonnard's "Woman with two chairs," which were stolen from a family house in the British capital, were recovered from an Italian factory worker who had hung them in his kitchen for almost 40 years.The Gauguin painting is worth between 10 and 30 million euros ($13 and $41 million)

Three government officials were shot dead on Wednesday in Thailand's insurgency-stricken south -- among them a woman who was then beheaded, police told AFP.The trio, a village chief and two women assisting him, were gunned down as they drove on a remote road after attending a meeting in a notorious security 'Red Zone' in Yala province, a hotbed of the insurgency."One woman was shot and then beheaded, while another woman and a man were also shot dead," said Police Lieutenant Virasak Suwannadecha

Crisis-hit Ukraine took the first step Wednesday toward granting more powers to the regions in line with Western wishes but stopped well short of creating the federation sought by Russia.The announcement came as Russia continued to mass tens thousands of troops along Ukraine's eastern border following a vow by President Vladimir Putin to use "any means necessary" to protect the interest of his compatriots in the neighboring ex-Soviet state.Ukraine's new Western-backed government said it would li

French President Francois Hollande approved a new Cabinet Wednesday that includes his ex-companion Segolene Royal as minister of environment and energy.The new government was named after discussions between new Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Hollande, and follow a crushing defeat for their Socialist Party in municipal voting last week.Royal's return to government follows a long period in the political wilderness. She ran an unsuccessful campaign for the presidency in 2007, losing to Nicolas Sar

Lufthansa canceled almost 900 domestic and intercontinental flights on Wednesday, after the pilots' union started a three-day strike in a wage dispute with Germany's largest airline.The carrier expects to cancel about 3,800 flights through Friday, affecting more than 425,000 passengers, airline spokeswoman Barbara Schaedler said. Lufthansa Cargo and its budget airline Germanwings were also affected by the strike, which the company estimates will cost it “tens of millions” of euros (dollars).The

Samsung General Chemicals Co., an unlisted unit of South Korea's Samsung Group, said Wednesday that it will merge with Samsung Petrochemical Co., another unlisted subsidiary.The merged company, to be named Samsung General Chemicals, will be launched on June 1, with shareholders to get 2.14 Samsung General Chemicals shares for each Samsung Petrochemical share they have.The announcement came two days after Samsung SDI Co., the world's largest maker of TV displays and smartphone batteries, said it