About a third of pregnant women in the country chose to have a cesarean section over natural childbirth, a poll showed Sunday.The survey of 951 married women aged between 15 and 44 by the state-run Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs showed that 34.3 percent underwent C-section, while the remaining 65.7 percent chose natural childbirth as the delivery method.C-section was more common among older women and among first-time mothers, the poll found.It also showed that 22.3 percent of thos

The sky-high repair charges for imported cars, which have long angered Korean consumers, will likely fall starting next year, as the government is set to toughen oversight on car importers and other relevant industries through legislation, officials said Sunday.The average repair cost for imported vehicles reached 2.33 million won ($2,145) last year, about 4.3 times the average of 540,000 won for domestic cars, according to industry data.Owners of accident-damaged imports were paid an average of

북한 김정은 체제의 '별(★) 정치'가 주목받고 있다.군수공업에 종사한 인물이나 노동당 주요 인사 등 민간인들에 대한 군 계급칭호가 늘어나고 있는 것이다.북한 조선중앙TV는 지난 11일 국방분야 과학자•기술자 주택단지로 보이는  '은하과학자거리' 준공식 소식을 전하면서 북한 최대 국방과학연구소인 제2자연과학원 최춘식 원장이 중장(우리의 소장)계급을 단 모습을 내보냈다. 장성 군복을 입은 최춘식의 모습이 공개된 것은 처음이다. 최춘식은 국방분야 종사자이긴 하지만 전형적인 과학자 출신 민간인이다.그가 책임자로 있는 제2자연과학원은 로켓•미사일•포 등을 연구개발하며 북한이 '위성 운반로켓'이라고 주장하는 '은하' 계열 장거리 로켓을 만들어낸 곳이다. 최춘식뿐 아니라 현 북한 군수공업의 3인방인 박도춘 노동당 군수담당 비서, 주규창 당 기계공업부장, 백세봉 제2경제(군수경제)위원장도 김정은 체제에서 군 계급 장을 달았다.김정일 국방위원장 사망 이후인 작년 2월 '최고사령관 김정은 명령 제0

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is doling out the ranks of military generals to scientists, ruling party members and other civilians in a move seen as aimed at strengthening his grip on power and reining in the influence of the armed forces, experts said Sunday.On Wednesday, the North's state TV showed footage of Choe Chun-sik, the chief of a science institute, wearing a military uniform with a two-star insignia as it reported on the completion of a housing complex for scientists and technicians

GRAND ISLAND, New York -- The world's oldest man, a 112-year-old self-taught musician, coal miner and gin rummy aficionado from western New York, has died. He was 112.Salustiano Sanchez-Blazquez died Friday at a nursing home in Grand Island, according to Robert Young, senior gerontology consultant with Guinness World Records.Sanchez-Blazquez became the world's oldest man when Jiroemon Kimura died June 12 at age 116.Born June 8, 1901, in the village of El Tejado de Bejar, Spain, he was known for

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's reassurance to the International Olympic Committee that contaminated water leaks from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant are ``under control'' has backfired at home. Just hours before Tokyo was chosen Sept. 7 to host the 2020 Olympics, Abe gave an emphatic speech declaring that radioactive contaminants from the leakage had no impact to waters outside the bay near the plant and ``will never do any damage to Tokyo.'' The Japanese media and opposition

A homegrown torpedo failed to hit the target again in the latest test-firing conducted earlier this month, an official said Sunday, raising questions about possible faulty designs and casting clouds over the prospect of resuming its production.The Navy has test-fired four rounds of the torpedo, named "Hongsangeo," or "Red Shark," since July in waters off the east coast. The first three rounds hit the target, but the final one went off the mark, the official at the Defense Acquisition Program Adm

A south Korean weightlifter saw his national flag raised for the first time in North Korea Saturday after winning gold in an international competition under way in the communist country, The Associated Press reported.Two South Koreans, Kim Woo-sik and Lee Young-gun, were the only competitors in the 85 kilogram category and automatically won gold and silver at the Asian Cup and Interclub Weightlifting Championship in the North, AP said in a report from Pyongyang, the North's capital.During the me

The No. 1 opposition Democratic Party called Saturday for a thorough investigation into allegations that the nation's chief prosecutor was forced to resign under pressure from the presidential office over a personal matter.On Friday, Prosecutor-General Chae Dong-wook stepped down amid allegations that he has a son born from an extramarital affair.  Chae strongly denied the allegations raised by a local newspaper but resigned hours after Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn ordered an internal investig

The controversial documentary film “Project Cheonan Ship,” whose screening was suspended by a major multiplex chain, recorded a first-day sellout at a theater in Incheon on Thursday. The film challenges the government’s claim that North Korea sunk the Cheonan warship near Baengnyeongdo Island, killing 46 South Korean sailors.Cinema chain Megabox removed the movie from its lineup only two days after the film hit theaters on Sept. 5. over security concerns for moviegoers, claiming it received thre

메가박스에서 상영이 중단된 “천안함 프로젝트”가 인천의 예술영화관인 ‘영화공간주안’에서 12일 개봉되어 개봉 첫날 전석 매진을 기록했다.메가박스는 신분을 밝히지 않은 단체의 강한 항의 및 시위 예고를 받았다며 관람객의 안전 문제를 이유로 영화 개봉 이틀만에 상영을 중단했었다.현재 인천 지역에서 유일하게 “천안함 프로젝트” 상영하고 있는 영화공간주안은 영화 개봉 첫날 총 112석의 입장권이 전부 매진됐다고 전했다.김정욱 영화공간주안 관장은 “다큐멘터리 영화로 개봉 첫날 매진을 기록한 것은 이례적” 이라며 “상영 회차를 늘리고 2개월 이상 장기상영할 계획”이라고 말했다. 2010년 천안함 침몰 사건을 다룬 영화는 북한에 책임이 있다는 정부의 발표에 의문을 제기하여 정치적으로 민감한 문제를 다룬다.(임우정 인턴기자 / 코리아헤럴드)<관련영문기사>‘Project Cheonan Ship’ sold out at Incheon theater　The controversial documentary

The eldest son of disgraced former President Chun Doo-hwan was questioned by prosecutors Friday as part of an ongoing probe into huge slush funds his father stashed away while in office in the 1980s, prosecutors said.The senior Chun, then an army major general, seized power in a 1979 coup. In 1997, he was ordered by the Supreme Court to return to state coffers around 220 billion won (US$196.8 million) he illegally accumulated in bribes while in office from 1980-88.Chun has yet to pay some 167.2

인천에서 발생한 '낙지 살인사건 '의 피고인이 상고심에서 살인 혐의에 대해 무죄 판결을 받았다. 대법원은 "직접적인 증거가 없는 상황에서 제출된 간접 증거만으로는 김씨가 여자친구 윤모(당시 21세)씨를 강제로 질식시켜 숨지게 했다고 볼 수 없다"고 판결 내렸다. 대법원 1부(주심 고영한 대법관)는 12일 여자친구를 살해한 뒤 낙지를 먹다 질 식사한 것처럼 속여 보험금을 타낸 혐의(살인) 등으로 기소된 김모(32)씨에 대한 상 고심에서 살인 혐의에 대해 무죄를 선고한 원심을 확정했다. 간접 증거만으로 유죄를 인정하려면 합리적인 의심이 들지 않을 정도로 사실이 증명돼야 한다는 취지다. 대법원은 "윤씨가 저항한 흔적이 없고 김씨가 보험계약에 관해 구체적으로 알지 못하는 점 등을 고려할 때 낙지를 먹다 질식했을 가능성을 완전히 부정할 수 없다고 판단한 원심 판단이 정당하다"고 밝혔다. 김씨는 2010년 4월 19일 새벽 인천의 한 모텔에서 윤씨를 질식시켜 숨