British banker Rurik Jutting who is accused of murdering two Indonesian women in his upscale Hong Kong apartment was a cocaine addict who had developed drug-induced fantasies, a court heard Wednesday.   The 31-year-old Cambridge graduate and former securities trader for Bank of America-Merrill Lynch has pleaded "not guilty" to two murder charges, on the grounds of diminished responsibility.    He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, which was rejected by the prosecution.   Since the trial started Mon

North Korea is unlikely to give up  its nuclear weapons program in the absence of all-out international  sanctions on the country, a former presidential advisor said  Wednesday, making his case for tougher actions against Pyongyang.    "Against the current backdrop, North Korea's denuclearization  is surely improbable," Chun Yung-woo, former presidential advisor  for national security, said in a forum hosted by the state-run Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security.    North Korea's wi

A senior North Korean communist party official arrived in Vietnam Wednesday to attend an international conference amid global pressure over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.   Ri Su-yong, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, was seen at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport with several aides after reportedly visiting Dubai. He left Pyongyang on Monday and traveled via Beijing.   Ri, a former North Korean foreign minister, plans to attend the 18th International Meetin

South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday called on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to work together to further expand a bilateral "mutually beneficial" partnership.   During her meeting with OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria, Park noted that South Korea's 1996 entry into the international organization has served as a crucial "stepping stone" to the country's economic advancement.   Gurria, in turn, said that South Korea has emerged as a trustworthy par

International fans of Korean pop music gathered in the South Korean city of Changwon for the final of this year's global K-pop singing and dance competition on Friday.   A total of 15 teams, who topped the preliminaries in the regional competitions in 65 countries around the world, made their last sprint for the top title in the 2016 K-POP World Festival in Changwon.   Changwon is a city located some 398 kilometers southeast of Seoul.    The annual K-pop competition, the largest of its kind, is

For South Korean football club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, this season could have been their most successful one to date.   Gunning for a three-peat, Jeonbuk are currently the leaders in the top-tier K League Classic with an undefeated record of 18 wins and 14 draws. They are just six matches away from finishing the season without a loss, an unprecedented feat since the league started in 1983.   At the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, Jeonbuk are one step closer to reaching the f

Health authorities said Friday they've discovered more than 100 toothpastes containing the same chemicals used in the toxic humidifier sterilizers, though their miniscule amounts pose no harm.   The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it has detected chloro-methylisothiazolinone (CMIT) and methylisothiazolinone (MIT) in 149 products by 10 manufacturers. The ministry reviewed toothpastes by 68 makers.   CMIT/MIT were used in the controversial humidifier sterilizers that have been linked to more

South Korea has confirmed another  case of the Zika virus infection, raising the number of people infected with the virus here to 14, health authorities said Saturday.    A 34-year-old man who recently made a trip to Thailand was confirmed to have been infected with the mosquito-borne virus on Friday, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).    He is presumed to have been bitten by a mosquito during his  stay in the Southeast Asian nation from Sept. 8-16, the cen

North Korea's top diplomat has reaffirmed Pyongyang's "my-way" stance in its nuclear development efforts during his latest speech at the United Nations, blaming what he calls the United States' hostile attitude again for causing the current stalemate, experts said Saturday.   The North also made clear that it will not give in to growing international pressure to dissuade it from pushing forward with its nuclear ambitions, further clouding outlooks for any imminent breakthrough, they predicted.  

South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Saturday it has donated about US$115 million over the past 18 years to its social contribution program in the United States to help children fight cancer.   Hyundai Motor launched the anti-cancer campaign, titled "Hope on Wheels," in 1998, in which $14 is raised every time a new Hyundai vehicle is sold. The automaker's accumulative donation topped the $100 million last year.   Participants called for more efforts to help children fight cancer at

A Seoul court on Saturday rejected a prosecution request to issue a warrant to arrest a former head of the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) who is facing a string of bribery allegations.   On Wednesday, the prosecution filed for a writ to formally arrest Kang Man-soo, 71, on charges of bribery and breach of trust.   The Seoul Central District Court, however, said it is hard to acknowledge the reason and necessity for the detention when Kang's major crime allegations are still disputable.