South Korea confirmed a new case of bird flu on Saturday, the first outbreak in about five months.The Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said ducks at a poultry farm in Icheon, 80 kilometers east of Seoul, have tested positive for the virulent strain of avian influenza (AI).All 10,900 ducks were culled as a precautionary measure, and the farm has been under quarantine to prevent the virulent virus from spreading, according to the ministry.South Korea has not reported any additional

A North Korean Web site unveiled video footage on Saturday in which its submarine-launched ballistic missile scorches Washington D.C., ratcheting up its provocative acts in defiance of international pressure.The 4-minute long footage, uploaded on the website of dprktoday.com, one of the North's propaganda sites for outside online users, shows an SLBM, after re-entering the earth's atmosphere from outer space, hitting the U.S.' capital.Earlier this month, a U.S. news report said that the North ha

A leading civic group sent anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the inter-Korean border on Saturday amid escalating tensions sparked by the North's nuclear tests and missile launches.The Fighters for a Free North Korea said that it has scattered some 80,000 leaflets critical of the communist regime.The civic group regularly launches big balloons carrying such anti-Pyongyang leaflets in a campaign to spread dissenting messages in the reclusive country.The campaign had irked North Korea in the past, whi

Samsung Group vice chairman Lee Jae-yong met with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang this week and discussed Samsung's businesses in China ranging from semiconductors to car batteries, Samsung officials said Saturday. The meeting between Lee and Wang took place at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound on Friday, the Chinese unit of Samsung said in a statement. Lee and Wang "exchanged views about investment into high-tech industrial sectors, including semiconductor, LCD and car battery," the statement

More than 900 candidates have registered for next month's parliamentary elections, South Korea's election watchdog said.A total of 944 candidates -- 844 men and 100 women -- are set to compete for the 253 seats up for grabs on April 13. The competition rate is 3.7 to one, compared with 4.84 to one in the 2004 parliamentary elections.The remaining 47 seats will be allocated to political parties according to the numbers of votes that they receive overall under proportional representation, the Nati

French air accident investigators recommended Sunday that world aviation bodies draw up new rules requiring medical workers to warn authorities when a pilot's mental health could threaten public safety, after 150 people died when a Germanwings co-pilot deliberately crashed a jet into the French Alps last year.Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz had been treated for depression in the past, and the investigation found that he had consulted dozens of doctors in the weeks before the crash on March 24, 2015. But