South Korea said Wednesday it will host a vice-ministerial defense forum next week largely on North Korea, cybersecurity and anti-terrorism efforts.The three-day Seoul Defense Dialogue, the sixth of its kind, is to open Wednesday at the Westin Chosun hotel in the country's capital, according to the Ministry of National Defense.With the theme "Visions for Security Cooperation in an Age of Uncertainty," the annual conference will bring together government officials and experts from 38 countries an

A Seoul court was to deliver its verdict Wednesday on a former state intelligence agency chief on trial for alleged interference in the 2012 presidential election. Won Sei-hoon, ex-director of the National Intelligence Agency, was indicted in 2013 for running an illicit smear campaign to sway voters in favor of then presidential candidate Park Geun-hye from the conservative bloc. She won the election against her rival Moon Jae-in by a thin margin.The 66-year-old defendant headed the NIS from 200

Pittsburgh Pirates' third baseman Kang Jung-ho, his big league career in limbo following a drunk driving conviction, has signed with a Dominican Republic club.Aguilas Cibaenas, which competes in the Dominican Winter League, announced their signing of Kang on their Twitter page on Wednesday.The winter league season usually starts in late October and Dominican natives, prospects in search of playing time and major league veterans rehabbing from injuries often play there.Kang hasn't dressed for the

HONGSEONG -- South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung will leave for Geneva this week to take part in a debate on local government and human rights organized by a UN panel, officials at the provincial government said Wednesday.An will head to Geneva on Thursday to attend the debate at the UN Human Rights Council on Monday that will focus on the role of local government in the protection and promotion of human rights.The debate comes after the council adopted a resolution on local government and human

One in 3 South Korean maritime experts blame the government for the bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping Co., once the nation's leading shipping company, a poll showed Wednesday.Hanjin Shipping, previously the world's seventh-largest shipper, was put under court protection in September last year as its creditors refused to save the failing company before being declared bankrupt in February.According to the survey of 36 corporate executives, scholars, government officials and journalists, 37 percent of

FC Barcelona's South Korean prospect Lee Seung-woo will move to the Italian side Hellas Verona FC, a source close to the player said Wednesday. The source said Lee decided to join the Serie A outfit on a four-year deal and will complete his medical later Wednesday. Italian media reported that Verona agreed to pay Barca a transfer fee of 1.5 million euros (US$1.79 million), while the Catalans retain a buy-back option on the South Korean for two years. If the transfer is completed, Lee will be the

Two South Korean shipbuilders -- Samsung Heavy Industries Co. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. -- are expected to win a combined $1.5 billion deal, industry sources said Wednesday.According to industry tracker TradeWinds, the Mediterranean Shipping Co. is working on an order for up to 11 container vessels.MSC is close to a deal with Samsung Heavy for up to six 22,000-TEU vessels and is expected to turn to Daewoo Shipbuilding for a further five, the report said. (Yonhap)The deals,

Company workers use about three social networking services on average, mostly to get and share information, but a majority of them feel exhausted by unwanted information and marketing that come with the services, a poll showed Wednesday.Hunet, a provider of career education, surveyed 821 people working for firms with questions about their use of SNS. Results showed that 69.4 percent are tired out from the services, mainly from having to see needless information (27.7 percent) or from excessive a

The average salary of public corporations' CEOs climbed 8.2 percent in 2016 from a year earlier to recover the 200 million-won ($178,000) level in three years, a market tracker said Wednesday.The salary of CEOs of 35 public companies averaged 201.2 million won last year, up 15 million won from the previous year, according to CEO Score.The salary includes the base pay and various benefits. Their average base pay accounted for 61.7 percent of last year's salary. The average salary of public s

About three out of 10 infertility treatments funded partly by the government have been successful, with the number of recipients getting support increasing every year, a report from the health ministry said Wednesday.The report from the Ministry of Health and Welfare to opposition party's Rep. Kim Seung-hee said the government provided fund assistance to 87,155 cases of infertility in 2016, an increase of 35.1 percent from five years ago. The success rate in 2016 was 29.5 percent, similar to 28.

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street, although there is still lingering woes over North Korea's provocations.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.86 point, or 0.04 percent, to 2,365.80 in the first 15 minutes of trading.On Tuesday, North Korea lobbed a ballistic missile over Japan in a move that can sharply raise tensions in Northeast Asia.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics was 0.39 percent up, while SK hynix, a major chi

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has paid his respects to a late victim of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, and instructed the government to fulfill her dying wish to be buried at a state cemetery, officials said.Ha Sang-sook, who died Monday at the age of 90, was forced to serve at an overseas military brothel in 1944 when she was only 16.After Korea was liberated from Japan's 36-year colonial rule in 1945, she lived in China for some six decades. She returned to South Korea only in 2003.On Tuesday ni

WASHINGTON -- North Korea must be met with stronger action if it is to be stopped from triggering a catastrophe on the Korean Peninsula, US experts said Tuesday.The firing of an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan earlier in the day was a rare hostile act that increased the chances of a military confrontation in the volatile region.The United States and South Korea must take decisive action to demonstrate that the regime in Pyongyang will not be allowed to get away with any more prov

North Korea on Wednesday confirmed the firing of an intermediate-range ballistic missile that flew over Japan a day earlier, with its leader calling for more missile tests targeting locations in the Pacific.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watched the launch of the Hwasong-12 missile in a drill aimed at countering ongoing military drills between Seoul and Washington, according to the Korean Central News Agency.He said that the latest firing was "the first step of the military operation of the Kor

Unionized workers of South Korea's public broadcaster MBC on Tuesday voted to go on strike early next month demanding the resignation of its president and CEO over his alleged political meddling in news production, the union said.The union said it took a vote of its members from Thursday to Tuesday to decide whether or not to stage a strike and 93.2 percent of the 1,682 members who took part in the strike voted in favor of it."This is the highest-ever consent rate for a general strike in the uni