Another S. Korean confirmed dead in quake

Another South Korean has been confirmed dead in the aftermath of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami, the foreign ministry here said Sunday, raising the country's death toll in the disaster to two.

A 37-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Jeon, was living in the city of Ishinomaki with her Japanese husband when the magnitude-9.0 earthquake hit, the ministry said, adding that her body was found stored in a gymnasium in the city.

On March 14, the ministry said a 40-year-old construction firm worker from South Korea, identified only by his surname Lee, was found dead near a power plant construction site in the northeastern province of Ibaraki.

The quake struck Japan on March 11, unleashing a gigantic tsunami that swept ships, cars and homes away in the worst natural disaster to hit the country in its recorded history. At least 20,000 people have been reported as dead or missing, but media reports say the number could be much higher.

At least 40 South Koreans in the coastal regions of Japan remained out of contact as of Sunday afternoon, the ministry said.

(Yonhap News)