North Korea may be mass producing biological weapons in a research lab that studies agricultural chemicals, Pyongyang Bio-Technical Institute, a US media outlet reported Saturday, citing an academic report. Radio Free Asia cited a report released by Belfer Center of Harvard University’s Kennedy School in October, which says the communist state already has biological weapons and its industrial fa...

A North Korean defector and ex-convict who fled from a mental hospital was caught Wednesday, after 78 days on the run, police said Thursday. According to Naju Police Station, the man surnamed Yoo was caught in Namdong-gu of Incheon on Wednesday. (Yonhap) After serving a jail term for the attempted murder of his half brother, he had been ordered by a court to 10 years of medical treatment for d...

It would be best for the minor opposition People’s Party to merge with the splinter conservative Bareun Party in terms of public support, a poll showed Wednesday. According to a poll by Hankook Research, 19.7 percent of 1,000 respondents said they would support the People’s Party if it joined the Bareun Party, showing a higher figure than the sum of the approval rates each party garnered. Peopl...

The conservative main opposition Liberty Korea Party is moving to sever ties with former President Park Geun-hye, with a disciplinary committee expected to open this week. In their attempt to reform the party, Chairman Hong Joon-pyo and other members have long called for Park to take responsibility for the party’s struggles following the massive corruption scandal that led to her ouster in March...

Kim Ho-sung (Sungshin University) Sungshin University appointed Kim Ho-sung, a professor of media communications, as its 10th president, the school said Monday, filling a vacancy in the top office that lasted nearly eight months. Kim was chosen by the university’s board of directors Friday to succeed Shim Hwa-jin who was removed from office after she was found guilty of embezzlement in February...

Fostering future talent for the new era of the “fourth industrial revolution” is a top priority for Gyeonggi Gov. Nam Kyung-pil. In his pursuit of future-oriented education, the governor has pushed for the renewal of an existing English immersion institute in the province into a new education center, dubbed “Change Up Campus.” “Change Up is a new brand that carries the values of evolution and r...

Internal discord within the minor conservative opposition Bareun Party is intensifying, as a chasm in the party deepens over the idea of a merger with the main opposition Liberty Korea Party. While some Bareun Party lawmakers hope to establish a bilateral panel to push for the merger, others say such a move would be a fatal mistake. At a party meeting Monday, Bareun Party members failed to reac...

Clashes among political parties across the aisle are expected to continue entering the second week of a 20-day parliamentary audit, as they blame each other for disturbing the smooth operation of the audit sessions. The related parliamentary committees on national defense and education, culture, sports and tourism, are expected to discuss the allegations involving the Lee Myung-bak administratio...

North Korea imported $666 million worth of luxury items last year, which takes up 17.9 percent of the year’s total imports, a lawmaker here said Thursday. According to data from the Chinese Customs revealed by Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the Liberty Korea Party, the communist state’s imports of luxury goods increased by $59 million, or 9.8 percent, from 2015. The luxury goods included upmarket elect...

National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun departed for Russia on Wednesday to participate in the Inter-Parliamentary Union that kicks off on Saturday. In his 10-day trip, Rep. Chung will also visit Poland and Slovakia and meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda and President Andrej Kiska of Slovakia in respective countries to discuss various issues including North Korean nuclear weapons and stren...

North Korean special warfare units conducted exercises simulating infiltration of the South Korea-US Joint Combined Forces Command, military sources in Seoul revealed Tuesday. According to multiple sources, North Korean special forces conducted paragliding training on a number of days in mid-September. It was the first time members of North’s special forces are known to have used paragliding equ...

Nearly 7 in 10 criminal offenses committed by members of US forces stationed in South Korea end up with no one being charged by South Korean authorities, a lawmaker said Tuesday. According to government data released Tuesday by Rep. Park Byeong-seug of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, the nonprosecution rate for crimes committed by US military personnel here stands at a whopping 70.7 percen...

Peeping toms are making daily headlines, and many South Korean women fear that there is no escape from their use of hidden cameras. The fear is not just of becoming a victim, but that the footage -- taken in places ranging from subway stations and swimming pools to hotels and public toilets -- may be shared on social media. With the calls rising for stronger measures to grapple the issue, the g...

도널드 트럼프 미국 대통령이 한미 자유무역협정(FTA) 재협상과 관련, 실무진에 “그들(한국인들)에게 이 사람이 너무 미쳐서 지금 당장이라도 손을 뗄 수 있다고 말하라”고 지시한 것으로 알려졌다. 미국 인터넷매체 액시오스는 1일(현지시간) 트럼프 대통령이 지난 9월 초 백악관에서 로버트 라이트하이저 미국 무역대표부(USTR) 대표에게 30일 내에 한국 측으로부터 양보를 받아내라고 명령하면서 이같이 말했다고 보도했다. 도널드 트럼프 대통령 (사진=연합뉴스) 트럼프 대통령은 렉스 틸러슨 국무장관과 제임스 매티스 국방장관, 소니 퍼듀 농무장관 등이 함께 참석한 당시 회의에서 ‘그렇다면 한국 측에 30일의 기한을 주겠다’는 라이트하이저 대표에게 “협상은 그렇게 하는 게 아니다”라며 ‘거래의 기술’을 가르쳤다...

이른바 ‘인육 캡슐’이 최근 3년간 8천500여 정이 밀반입된 것으로 나타났다. 인육캡슐은 사산한 태아나 태반을 말려 분말이나 알약 형태로 만든 것으로, 국내에서 자양강장제 등으로 잘못 알려져 중국으로부터 반입 시도가 끊이지 않고 있다. 3일 국회 기획재정위원회 자유한국당 박명재 의원이 관세청에서 받은 ‘최근 3년간 인육 캡슐 밀반입 유형 및 적발현황’을 보면 2014년부터 올해 6월까지 인육 캡슐 총 8천511정 밀반입됐다. 2014년 6천694정이나 적발된 인육 캡슐은 2015년 1천251정, 지난해 476정 적발됐다. 올해 상반기에도 여행자 휴대품 검사에서 인육 캡슐 90정이 밀반입되다 적발됐다. 인육 캡슐 밀반입 통로는 이전엔 주로 국제우편이었다. (사진=연합뉴스) 2014년 밀반입된 ...