North Korea is apparently in a bind over what to do with tens of thousands of workers suddenly out of work due to the shutdown of the factory zone, analysts here said Friday.North Korea expelled all South Korean nationals on Thursday from the Gaesong Industrial Complex in the North's border city of the same name and froze factory assets by South Korean firms in retaliation for Seoul's decision to shut down the complex.South Korea shut down the industrial park in response to the North's latest nu

South Korea men's football head coach Uli Stielike is scheduled to return from his vacation next week to begin preparing for the final World Cup qualification stage, the sport's national governing body said Friday.According to the Korea Football Association (KFA), Stielike will arrive back in South Korea next Wednesday, ending his offseason break that lasted for a little over a month.Even during his time off, Stielike attended South Korean matches at the Asian Football Confederation  U-23 Champi

The average crime rate for foreign residents in South Korea is lower than Korean citizens, but the rates for murder and robbery are higher, a public entity under the justice ministry said Friday.The IOM Migration Research and Training Center  recently released a report on its analysis of all 1.85 million crimes committed in South Korea in 2013.Established in 2009, MRTC develops immigration policies and conducts a wide range of research and education projects related to migration development in c

South Korea said Friday it will push for expanding a system for prescreening passengers to keep potential terrorists from entering the country.The move is designed to analyze passenger information before airlines issue boarding passes to restrict potential terrorists and other dangerous passengers from flying into South Korea, the Justice Ministry reported in a meeting with the ruling party.South Korea has been running a test operation of the prescreening system in several airports, including Na

The U.S. Congress plans to pass a strong North Korea sanctions bill Friday, days ahead of schedule, to demonstrate its will to punish Pyongyang for its nuclear and missile tests, a South Korean official said.House leaders moved up the vote to Friday noon (Washington time), reversing an earlier plan to hold a vote on or after Feb. 22, the official told reporters on the condition of anonymity.The North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016 passed the Senate with a 96-0 vote Wednesday, demonstrat

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed "serious concern" over a decision by South Korea to begin formal talks with the United States to adopt an advanced U.S. missile defense system, according to China's foreign ministry on Friday. Wang conveyed the concern to South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se during their meeting in Munich on the sidelines of international talks on Syria on Thursday, the Chinese ministry said in a statement. "Minister Wang Yi expresses serious concern," the stateme

특정 병원에서 C형간염 환자가 계속 발생했다는 신고를 접수하고도 보건당국이 늑장 대처해 비판의 목소리가 나오고 있다.주사기 재사용이 확인된 지방의 한 의원에는 보건당국이 '재사용을 하지 마라'는 하나마나 한 시정명령만 내린 것으로 나타났다.보건복지부와 질병관리본부는 강원 원주시의 '한양정형외과의원'에서 C형간염 항체 양성자 115명을 확인했다고 12일 밝혔다. 이 가운데 101명은 치료가 필요한 RNA양성이었다.문제는 환자들이 보건당국에 C형간염 발생 사실을 비교적 일찍 신고했는데도 역학조사가 제대로 이뤄지지 않았다는 데 있다.환자들은 2015년 4~7월에 '한양정형외과에서 치료를 받고 난 뒤 C형간염에 걸렸다'는 내용으로 신고했다.신고자 대부분은 이 병원에서 '자가혈 주사시술(PRP; Platelet Rich Plasma,혈소판풍부혈장)'을 받았다는 공통점이 있었다. 자가혈 주사시술은 환자의 혈액을 채취해 원심분리한 후 추출한 혈소판을 환자에게 재주사하는 시술을 말한다.그러나 당국

개성공단기업협회는 12일 공단 폐쇄와 관련해 남한 정부의 실질적인 피해 보상을 촉구하고 남북 양측에 공단을 되살리라고 호소했다.개성공단기업협회는 이날 오후 서울 중소기업중앙회에서 개성공단 전면중단 관련 비상총회를 한 후 결의문에서 "정부의 후속 대책으로 기업의 실질적인 피해 보상이 이뤄지길 강력히 촉구한다"고 밝혔다.이어 "남북 양 정부는 남북 경협과 평화공존의 상징인 개성공단을 되살릴 것을 호소한다"고 말했다.협회는 "정부의 엄중한 상황인식을 이해하지만 전시상황도 아닌 상태에서 군사작전 하듯 설 연휴에 개성공단 전면 중단을 결정한 것은 부당한 처사"라고 비판했다.그러면서 "이에 따른 기업 피해에 대해 모든 책임이 정부에 있음을 분명히 한다"고 강조했다.또한 협회는 "정부는 '피해 지원'이라고 하지만 우리는 '피해 보상'이라고 분명히 말한다"고 덧붙였다.아울러 "양 정부는 입주기업의 생존을 위해 원·부자재, 완·반제품 등의 반출을 할 수 있도록 기업대표단의 방북을 허용하길 바란다"고

Tokyo stocks dived more than five percent on Friday morning as a strong yen battered exporters, with the market tracking a worldwide sell-off fuelled by worries about the global economy.The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange plunged 5.34 percent, or 838.74 points, to 14,874.65 at the lunch break, after a one-day trading holiday on Thursday.The broader Topix index of all first-section shares declined 5.55 percent, or 70.25 points, to 1,194.71, putting it on track for its bigge

Japanese government officials on Friday pledged to take "appropriate measures" as the surging yen fuels speculation that the central bank will intervene in currency markets to arrest its ascent.The unit has soared to levels last seen when the Bank of Japan unleashed a second wave of stimulus in late 2014, as part of Tokyo's attempts to stimulate the laggard economy.But plunging equity markets fuelled by fears about the world economy have sent the yen skyward as traders buy investments seen as a

South Korean companies at a jointly run factory park in a North Korean border city urged Seoul Friday to roll out full support measures as their losses from the park's shutdown are unimaginable.On Thursday, North Korea expelled South Korean workers from the Gaesong Industrial Complex and froze the assets of companies operating there, a day after the South suspended operations in retaliation for Pyongyang's rocket launch.   The shutdown of the industrial park, regarded as the top achievement of i

North Korea's fourth nuclear test has drastically raised tensions in East Asia, with regional powers responding to the growing security threat along Cold War lines.South Korea, the United States and Japan have forged a united front in the face of North Korea's nuclear and missile development and called for strong international sanctions against the Pyongyang regime.Following the North's long-range rocket launch earlier this week, the three countries pressed the Kim Jong-un regime further by adop

The nation's top football league said Friday it is mulling over the appropriate punishment for an illegal economic practice banned by the sport's international governing body.An official with the K League said the league office has identified cases of third-party ownership, and that it may convene a disciplinary committee meeting to discuss potential punishments.Third-party ownership refers to a club's sharing of a player's economic rights with third-party sources such as agents, management agen