The navies of South Korea and China will hold joint a naval exercise and military talks this week in China, South Korea’s Navy here said Monday.The navies will hold their fourth joint Search and Rescue Exercise, or SAREX, from Tuesday to Friday this week. The exercise will be held in waters off Ningbo and Shanghai, the South Korean Navy said.The two navies have previously held the SAREX in 2005, 2007 and 2008.South Korea will deploy its 4,500-ton Wang Geon destroyer, and China will send a frigat

The United States is unlikely to provide humanitarian food aid to North Korea this year as it believes food shortages in the communist state have been eased slightly by the autumn harvest, a Seoul official said. The U.S. has been considering an appeal from North Korea for food aid and sent a team in May of this year to assess the needs of the impoverished country, but is withholding its decision because of monitoring concerns. “The U.S. expects North Korea’s harvest volume to increase somewhat t

Wendy R. Sherman, a top U.S. State Department official, arrived in Seoul on Monday evening for talks with South Korean officials to discuss alliance issues.Sherman’s visit to Seoul is her first since being appointed undersecretary of state for political affairs in July.It is part of her three-day trip to Asia ― Tokyo on Sunday, Seoul on Monday and Tuesday and Beijing later on Tuesday.“Ambassador Sherman travels to Seoul on Nov. 21. On Nov. 22, she will meet with a range of senior officials to ex

Decision comes 30 years after Korea started stacking controversial agentPolice have decided to discard the use of controversial 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS) teargas by the end of the year, which was used to disperse protests. Instead, they will utilize less potent agents such as pelargonic acid vanillylamide or capsaicin sprays to reduce health hazards, the National Police Agency said Monday. According to the authorities, there are 4,528 liters of CS teargas liquid, a chemical which can caus

The Air Force was found to have lost two highly classified documents and failed to notify the proper authorities for several months, once again raising concerns over a lack of security within the military. According to information revealed by Rep. Shin Hak-yong of the Democratic Party, Operational Plan 3600-06 and Operational Order 2500 were lost in December 2010 after the then-chief of Air Force Operations Command Lieutenant General Lee Young-man reviewed them. Lee is currently serving as the d

While the parliamentary budget committee started reviewing next year’s budget bill, on Monday speculation was mounting that parties excessively upped the allocation to new roads construction and welfare projects in an attempt to coax voters ahead of next year’s elections.According to the preparatory reports submitted on Sunday, the 15 standing parliamentary committees raised the budget total by 8.65 trillion won ($7.6 billion), 2.7 percent up from the original amount suggested by the government

A sentencing guideline regarding employees of child-care service providers found guilty of sexually abusing adolescents was being drawn up by top court officials on Monday. According to the Sentencing Commission of the Supreme Court, those found guilty of engaging in sexual activity with a minor or teen with disabilities will be strictly punished.The commission also announced its plan to prepare sentencing guidelines regarding those found guilty of sexual abuse against a male teen or adolescent,

NEW YORK (AP) ― It’s tough to keep a pregnancy a secret when you’re in the public eye, and for a while, Beyonce thought the jig was up.“The whole time I definitely was thinking, ‘Everyone knows, everyone can see,’” said the singer before the screening of her new concert DVD Sunday in New York.It became particularly difficult for her to hide the growing baby bump when the Grammy-winner performed for four nights to sold-out crowds at New York’s Roseland Theater in August.

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Acclaimed documentaries from Werner Herzog, Errol Morris, Morgan Spurlock and Steve James have missed out on a shot at the Academy Awards.Herzog’s “Into the Abyss,” Morris’ “Tabloid,” Spurlock’s “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” and James’ “The Interrupters” did not make the short list of 15 documentaries eligible for the feature-length prize at the Feb. 26 Oscars.Among the films that made the list, released Friday by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, are: Joe Berl

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Taylor Swift was crowned artist of the year at the American Music Awards for a second time.“This is so crazy!” the country superstar said after beat such contenders as Adele, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry to capture all three awards that she was nominated for at Sunday’s ceremony, including artist of the year, the show’s highest accolade that she previously claimed in 2009.“I ended up writing the record by myself, so the fact that you would honor it this way, you have no idea what