South Korea’s military will complete building its own missile defense system by 2015 that is designed to intercept ballistic missiles from North Korea, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday, amid high tensions following the North’s two deadly attacks last year. South Korea, which has ruled out joining the U.S.-led global missile defense system, has gradually built the independent, low-tier missile def

South Korea’s military plans to create a new top commander to coordinate operations of its armed forces as part of its efforts to enhance the interoperability among the Army, Navy and Air Force, the defense minister said Tuesday.A four-star general will be appointed as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a group of military leaders from each branch of the armed services. The vice JCS chair

Ruling and opposition lawmakers raised a total of 47.7 billion won ($44 million) in political donations last year with the ruling party drawing more funds than the competition, the election watchdog said Monday.While the total amount increased by 16 percent from 41.1 billion won in 2009, it came short of the 63.4 billion won collected in 2008 when a nationwide general election was held, according

South Korea censured North Korea on Monday for terminating an exclusive tourism deal with a South Korean company that has been unable to operate in the communist state for years amid strained inter-Korean relations.North Korea said Friday it has terminated exclusive tourism rights for Hyundai Asan at Mount Geumgang, a resort on its east coast, voicing skepticism over the resumption of the joint ve

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will be accompanied by as many as three former heads of state on his visit to North Korea slated for April 26-28, a diplomatic source here said Sunday.Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari will join Carter’s delegation to North Korea, said the source, noting that the group has already been known to include former Irish President Mary Robinson and former Norwe

The Foreign Ministry is reviewing all of its past foreign treaties and agreements for translation errors after taking the blame recently for similar mistakes in a free trade deal with the European Union, an official said Sunday.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has come under fire for making more than 200 errors and omissions in the Korean-language text of the EU deal scheduled to take eff

Korea is working to launch a committee that will deal exclusively with disasters and accidents caused by disasters, such as the radiation leak from a nuclear power plant in Japan, a government official said Saturday.The committee will be set up within the National Science and Technology Commission that governs policies on high-tech industries and investment, Lee Seok-rae, a commission official, sa

The number of Korean high school students choosing to study a second foreign language fell sharply last year, after education authorities decided it was no longer required, government data showed Sunday.According to data released by the state-run Korean Educational Development Institute, the number of high school students learning a second foreign language totaled 596,044 as of April 2010, marking

Teokbokki, a rice cake snack marinated with red pepper paste, was selected as the favorite street food among foreigners. According to a survey by Kyung Hee University’s Institute of International Education of 455 foreigners from 62 countries residing in Korea, teokbokki topped the list with 31.1 percent. It was followed by dakkochi, skewered chicken; sundae, blood sausage; and tempura, deep-fried

North Korea remains adamant that it will never apologize for the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship last year, according to an academic who visited the communist nation this month.South Korea says the North must admit it torpedoed the Cheonan with the loss of 46 lives before dialogue can resume to ease months of tensions. “North Korea says it cannot apologize for what it has not done and thi

South Korean police said Wednesday that North Korea was behind the massive cyber attacks that severely slowed and disrupted dozens of South Korean government and business websites last month.The sites of about 30 key South Korean government agencies, including the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, and financial institutions came under a so-called distributed denial-of-service attack on March 4, w