South Korea's presidential office said Friday that it is carefully monitoring the North's first party congress in 36 years so it can cope with any unexpected developments.Most South Koreans are taking time off after Seoul designated the day as a temporary national holiday so as to boost domestic consumption, but senior officials in charge of diplomatic and security affairs at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae all reported to work to check on the various pieces of news and intelligence coming

North Korea's sole trade union called for a working level meeting with South Korean counterparts to arrange the inter-Korean football match in August, the communist country's state-run media said Friday.According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the letter sent to the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) suggested holding a meeting in late May in China. The North's General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea (GFTUK), however, said the d

An international human rights group is urging North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to halt forcing its people to engage in forced labor without due compensation, a report by a U.S.-based media outlet said Friday.The report carried by Radio Free Asia (RFA) said the Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Kim calling for an end to mandatory forced labor, and requested that Pyongyang become a member of the International Labor Organization under the United Nations.The move by the New York-headquartered non-g

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on North Korea on Thursday to resolve problems through dialogue and become a responsible member of the international community as the communist nation is set to hold a key national meeting.Ban made the remark to reporters after a visit to Brookland Middle School in Washington, saying sanctions on Pyongyang are aimed more at persuading the North to join the international community, rather than punishing the regime."I hope the North will heed to this and s

North Korea is set to open its first party congress in more than three decades on Friday, a venue expected to focus on bolstering the personality cult of the country's leader Kim Jong-un who has been in power for nearly five years.The congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) comes as North Korea was slapped with tougher sanctions by the U.N. Security Council in March over its nuclear test and long-range rocket launch early this year.North Korea is poised to open the party congress later in

North Korea may carry out a live fire exercise during the key party congress that kicks off Friday as part of its ongoing effort to ramp up tensions and get the people to rally behind its leader, an informed source said.The government insider said there is a chance that Pyongyang could show off an artillery attack against a mockup Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea's presidential office, to participants who have converged on the capital city this week to take part in the critical Workers' Party of Korea

North Korea warned Friday that it will strengthen its nuclear deterrence capability as long as the United States maintains its current policy of hostility toward the communist country.In a statement released by the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK), which handles inter-Korean relations, Pyongyang claimed that Washington provided the cause for triggering the nuclear standoff on the Korean Peninsula.It is perfectly rational to counter nuclear weapons with nuclear weapons, th

North Korea is unlikely to chart a different course on its nuclear weapons program at its key party congress, a newspaper controlled by China's ruling Communist Party said Friday. The state-run Global Times newspaper, however, voiced cautious hope that North Korea may do "pragmatic analysis" about its policy of pursuing both nuclear advances and economic development. North Korea has been gearing up for its first party congress in 36 years, which started on Friday and is expected to display the N

Rescuers are in a race against time to find survivors from a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake as the death toll from Ecuador's strongest earthquake in decades has risen above 400.    On Monday, teams from Ecuador and neighboring countries fanned out across the country's Pacific coastline to look for the dozens of people still missing.    In the port city of Manta, a group of about 50 rescuers working with sniffer dogs, hydraulic jacks and a drill managed to free eight people trapped for more th

Flooding in and around the US city of Houston has killed at least five people and prompted mass rescues, reports said.   With rain wreaking havoc in the Texas city -- the fourth most populous in the country -- Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster in nine counties.   A flash flood watch for Houston will remain in effect until Wednesday morning, with more rain expected Tuesday, the city's Office of Emergency Management warned.    Rain came down at rates as high as four inches an hour

Prosecutors said Tuesday they have launched an investigation into Booyoung Co., a mid-tier South Korean construction company, and its chief over alleged tax evasion.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said the apartment builder is suspected of evading some billions of won in taxes.The probe started after the National Tax Service referred the company and its chief Lee Joong-keun to state prosecutors for an investigation after conducting a tax audit.Prosecutors said they will summon rel