U.S. forces in Korea deployed to U.S.-Japan joint military exercisefor the first time everThe first-ever deployment of U.S. Forces Korea personnel in a U.S.-Japan joint exercise is fueling opinion that the U.S. military’s plans to increase strategic flexibility of its overseas units are taking effect.From Jan. 24 until Monday, 150 USFK personnel belonging to the 8th Army took part in the annual U.S.-Japan exercise Yama Sakura in Japan for the first time.The development has been interpreted by so

Tough vetting could drive former veterans to run as independentsThe ruling Saenuri Party on Monday began its candidate nomination process for the April 11 parliamentary election, hoping to find new faces who can help the party turn its flagging fortunes around. For five days until Friday, it will accept applications from those wishing to run in 245 district constituencies under its banner. Vetting of the applicants will begin on Feb. 16, party officials said. Formerly the Grand National Party, i

Koreans spend more than 12 million won ($10,430) on medical treatments in their last year of life, a national research center reported Monday. According to a study of 209,004 subscribers who died in 2010 by Health Insurance Policy Research Institute, a think tank under the National Health Insurance Corporation, men spend an average of 12.8 million won in medical fees in the year before their death. Women spend 12.1 million won during the same period. Teens spend the highest amount of 17.8 millio

TORONTO (Yonhap News) ― Hundreds of years after European migrants traveled to North America seeking refuge and opportunity, groups of North Korean defectors have begun to resettle in Canada, with many calling the city of Toronto their new home. Canada accepted 83 North Korean refugees in 2011, double the number of the previous year. Heo Tae-seop is a North Korean defector who has been living in Toronto since May. For people like Heo, the consequences of attempting an escape can be severe. Those

China’s economic expansion would be cut almost in half if Europe’s debt crisis worsens, a scenario that would warrant “significant” fiscal stimulus from the nation’s government, the International Monetary Fund said. Based on the IMF’s “downside” forecast for the global economy, China’s growth could drop by as much as 4 percentage points from the fund’s current projection, which is for 8.2 percent this year, the organization said in a report released Monday by its China office in Beijing. The out