South Korea plans to inform its citizens of fine dust levels twice a day starting early next year to cope with the continued inflow of harmful particles from China, the government said Tuesday. The government has so far issued forecasts when the air quality was measured at levels three or higher in a five-tier rating composed of "good," "so-so," "a little bad," "bad," "very bad," to help people ...

The operation rate of the country's nuclear power plants sank to its lowest level in 25 years, as a number of the plants were suspended for faulty parts supplied under fake tests and also underwent regular maintenance work, data showed on Sunday. According to the Korea Electric Power Corp., the operation rate of the country's 23 nuclear power plants stood at 75.2 percent in the first 10 months o...

WARSAW (AFP) -- Fraught UN climate talks revealed growing frustration this week among vulnerable nations and observers with the political stance of emerging economies like China and India in the battle to stave off dangerous Earth warming. As the global balance of economic and political clout shifts, the world of climate negotiations is no longer a simple standoff between developed and developin...

Environment Minister Yoon Seong-kyu urged developed countries Thursday to provide funds to tackle global challenges stemming from climate change, the ministry said. Yoon made the call at the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in Warsaw, Poland, which brought together representatives from more than 190 countries to debate how to deal w...

The South Korean government said Tuesday that it has found no trace of radioactive materials in any fish or marine products recently caught in the country's neighboring seas. The latest test, conducted late last month, tested 118 samples of 16 species that are most popular in the country, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. "The test conducted in October found no trace of radioac...

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Many of the ills of the modern world ― starvation, poverty, flooding, heat waves, droughts, war and disease ― are likely to worsen as the world warms from man-made climate change, a leaked draft of an international scientific report forecasts. The report uses the word “exacerbate”repeatedly to describe warming’s effect on poverty, lack of water, disease and even the causes of w...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The upcoming UN report on climate change is not likely to rattle US deniers of global warming who hold sway in the halls of power, experts say. A hefty analysis of the latest science on global climate change, the report is packed with recommendations for policymakers. It will be released at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) next week, though most Republican...

South Korean seas are still safe from the radiation leak at a Japanese nuclear power plant, the government said Thursday in an attempt to ease growing public concerns here. A recent radiation check of six areas close to Japan found no or only minuscule traces of induced radioactive materials, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. "The result of an analysis of waters from six sea ar...

The temperature of South Korean waters has risen 1.29 C over the past 43 years, which is about triple the global average in the same period, government data showed Sunday. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said that the sea surface temperature rise was gauged at 207 locations around the Korean Peninsula from 1968 to 2010. In the same period, the world's sea surface temperature rose by 0.4 C, ...

Prime Minister Chung Hong-won has called on the government to take measures to address Koreans’ growing anxiety over a series of leaks of highly radioactive water from the crippled nuclear reactor in Japan. Concerns are growing here after the operator of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant confirmed fresh leaks in addition to its announcement of a leak of 300 tons of contaminated water earlier this ...

The prosecution on Wednesday sought an arrest warrant for a brother-in-law of former President Chun Doo-hwan for allegedly managing properties for the military dictator accused of taking large amounts of bribes while in office in the 1980s. The move was taken as part of the prosecution’s efforts to collect the concealed assets of the former president who was ordered by the supreme court in 1997 ...

An agreement between Seoul and Pyongyang to reopen their joint industrial complex was a welcome sign for inter-Korean relations, but much work is still needed for the two sides to put their relations on a positive footing, a Chinese scholar said Thursday. South and North Korea agreed on Wednesday to reopen the Gaeseong industrial complex in the North’s border city, which was shut down in April a...

WASHINGTON (AP) ― As the world gets warmer, people’s tempers are likely to get hotter, scientists say. A massive new study finds that aggressive acts like committing violent crimes and waging war become more likely with each added degree. Researchers analyzed 60 studies on historic empire collapses, recent wars, violent crime rates in the United States and lab simulations that tested police dec...