The defense ministry on Thursday reached an agreement with a state-run science laboratory to borrow the latter’s technical data and patent information to develop military supplies.The ministry signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), under which the ministry will be able to access technical information to manufacture and commercialize products under the military’s non-weapons system.The non-weapons system includes military supplies, su

The South Korean government hopes to coordinate with the North a joint exhibition in Seoul of four different versions of the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), culture ministry officials and civilian organizations engaged in inter-Korean cooperation projects said Thursday.Such an exhibition next year would celebrate the 600th anniversary of when the first volume of the annals was published and promote cross-border exchanges to ease lingering tensions, they said.The annals, known as “Joseo

Israeli security experts urged Korea to join oil sanctions against Iran on a visit to Seoul, calling the country part of an alliance of “bad guys” that they said also includes China, Russia and North Korea. The U.S. this week pressed Korea to adopt tough sanctions on Iranian oil imports, in a bid to weaken the Islamic nation’s nuclear development, which Washington says aims to develop nuclear weapons. Three academics from Israel’s Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies told press at a meeting

Prosecutors searched the offices of key aides of National Assembly speaker Park Hee-tae on Thursday in connection with an alleged vote-buying scheme during the Grand National Party’s 2008 leadership election.The prosecutors are also said to be planning to question Park, but have yet to decide on how to proceed because of his position as National Assembly speaker.In the raid, investigators searched and seized evidence from the offices of Park’s chief secretary for policies, Cho Jeong-man, and chi

Contain carcinogens, hormones, unspecified levels of nicotineElectronic cigarettes may be no alternative to the real thing. The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced Thursday that e-cigarettes contain carcinogens, or cancer causing substances, just as cigarettes with tobacco do. They also contain environmental hormones that could damage the endocrine system. Health authorities asked people to pay extra attention when they choose e-cigarettes as a means to “gradually curb smoking.”A research t

Prosecutors are expected to start summoning key figures implicated in a stock-manipulation scandal as early as next week.Financial regulators on Wednesday filed a complaint with the prosecution against Oh Deok-gyun, head of CNK International, and his sister-in-law, an executive at the KOSDAQ-listed firm, over the stock rigging allegations.The Securities and Futures Commission under the Financial Services Commission also asked the prosecution to investigate six other people including Cho Joong-py

South Korean and U.S. Marine Corps will increase joint exercises and strengthen measures for defending the islands near the northern limit line in the West Sea.On Thursday, Commander of the South Korean Marines Lt. Gen. Lee Ho-yeon and U.S. Marine Corps in Korea Commander Maj. Gen. Michael Regner confirmed that the two forces will conduct the largest joint landing exercise in 23 years during the first half of 2112 as agreed last year.The exercise will combine the joint brigade-level landing exer

A U.S. soldier stationed here will serve a 10-year prison term for the rape of a young Korean woman after an appellate court upheld the initial ruling on Thursday.The Seoul High Court rejected the appeal from the 21-year-old U.S. Army private of the 2nd Infantry Division and stood behind the heaviest sentence given to a U.S. soldier here in ten years.In 1992, a U.S. private was jailed for 15 years in a high-profile rape and murder case.“It is acknowledged that the private was under the influence

Rep. Park Geun-hye, chairwoman of the ruling Grand National Party’s interim decision-making body, vowed to curb family-owned conglomerates’ power by limiting their investment in other companies.“We will seek to tighten the regulation over their growth with mergers and acquisitions through equity investing excessively,” she told reporters during a luncheon Thursday.“Large companies may be the country’s growth engines, but monopolization must be prevented.”Her remarks reflected the council’s effor

A senior Cheong Wa Dae official on Thursday dismissed growing concerns that Seoul’s plan to join Washington’s tougher sanctions against Iran could negatively impact the local economy. He also rejected allegations that Seoul bowed to U.S. pressure to participate in the sanctions, stressing that it is something South Korea decided on as a responsible member of the international community.“The U.S. wants us to take time and gradually reduce the imports in due consideration of the domestic situation