The United States is set seize control of a midtown Manhattan skyscraper prosecutors claim is secretly owned by Iran, the justice department said, though the ruling is to be appealed.The seizure and sale of the 36-story building, in the heart of New York City on Fifth Avenue, would be "the largest-ever terrorism-related forfeiture," the statement added.A federal judge ruled in favor of the government's suit this week, saying the building's owners had violated Iran sanctions and money laundering

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill Tuesday on extending the South Korea-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement for two years.The bill, H.R. 2449, introduced by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, calls for a rollover of the current accord originally scheduled to expire in March next year. Under the legislation, the current "123 agreement" will be effective till March 2016.It is intended to give Seoul and Washington more time to negotiate

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday called for nations involved in the long-stalled six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program to resume the talks "at an early date.""We must seize the opportunity and continue to move toward a better direction" to further ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Wang said during a conference in Beijing, organized by China, to probe ways to re-start the six-way talks aimed at denuclearizing the North.The one-day "seminar" has been arranged by China

A Chinese joint venture with South Korea's Kia Motors Corp. was ordered to recall a total of 18,135 K5 mid-sized sedans because of faulty wheels, China's consumer quality regulator said Tuesday.Starting Tuesday, Dongfeng Yueda Kia Motor started recalling the vehicles in China that were produced between Sept. 7, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2012, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement posted on its website.In case of an insufficient tire pressure, th

South Korea's antitrust watchdog on Tuesday approved the creditor banks' plan to overhaul troubled builder Kumho Industrial Co. via a debt-to-equity swap, paving the way for them to accelerate the restructuring.Main creditor Korea Development Bank (KDB) and others are seeking to normalize the ailing builder by converting the value of 79 billion won (US$72.8 million) in commercial paper held by its affiliate Asiana Airlines Inc. into equity.The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) concluded that the credi

국내 체류중인 외국계기업 임원들은 보호주의나 노사문제가 북한보다 훨씬 큰 “코리아리스크”라고 최근 코리아헤럴드가 실시한 설문조사에서 밝혔다. 코리아헤럴드는 창립60주년을 맞아 총 103명의 외국계기업 CEO 및 임원들을 대상으로 7월 1일부터 8월 11일까지 이메일 설문조사를 실시했다. 　그 결과 가장 많은 36%의 응답자가 보호주의를 한국 내 기업활동에 있어 가장 큰 위험요인으로 꼽았고 노사문제 (19%)와 언어장벽 (18%) 등이 그 뒤를 이었다. 　반면 북한을 선택한 비율이 8%에 그쳤다. 　하지만 북한리스크를 단독으로 물었을 때에는 여전히 45%의 응답자가 상당한 영향이 있다고 답변했고 영향이 없다고 답변한 비율은 36%였다. 　한국시장의 매력에 대해서는 45%가 성장잠재력을, 22%가 활기 넘치는 문화와 사람들을 뽑았다. 반면 정부의 지원 (6%)이나 인적자원(5%)의 수준에 대해서는 상대적으로 만족도가 낮았다. 　한편 박근혜정부의 “창조경제”나 “경제민주화” 정책을 알고

South Korean milk producers put off raising prices of their products in the face of mounting social pressure and moves by retailers, industry sources said Thursday.Dairy companies have been pushing for adjusting prices, citing a spike in raw milk that they have to buy from producers. Companies such as Seoul Milk and Maeil Dairies had originally said they wanted to mark up prices by 9-10 percent, despite warnings by various consumer groups and the government. Government policymaker cautioned rais

Half of all South Koreans favor maintaining the inter-Korean factory park at Kaesong, even if it entails slight sacrifices, a local poll showed Thursday.The polls conducted by Gallup Korea on behalf of the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies (IPUS) at Seoul National University said 50.4 percent of those surveyed wanted the Kaesong Industrial Complex to be kept in operation. This is a gain from 45.7 percent tallied last year.The factory park, which is home to 123 South Korean companiestha

South Korea lambasted Japan's finance minister Tuesday for his provocative remarks that link the Nazi regime to its constitutional revision and support the visit to its controversial war shrine.During a lecture in Tokyo on Monday, Taro Aso, Japan's finance minister and deputy prime minister, said Japan should learn how Germany's constitution under the Weimar Republic was transformed by the Nazis in the early 1930s before anybody knew what was happening.While his comments suggest that a constitut