Most global investment banks forecast South Korea's central bank to raise its key interest rate this month in a bid to rein in rising consumer prices, a report showed Monday. According to the report...a rate hike may be delayed beyond June if the central bank puts more focus on risks such as the won's appreciation against the U.S. dollar and household debts. The BOK has said it will "consistently"...

When the U.S. intelligence caught Osama bin Laden, the first words that came out from the officer in command was “Geronimo EKIA.” Geronimo referred to the legendary Apache Indian who became a hero to...3 invasion of Iraq where named “DBROCKSTARS” by the CIA. Rafid Ahmed al-Janabi, who lied about Iraq’s possession of WMDs leading to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, was coded “curveball.” Last but not leas...

...hat Korea should seek unification with North Korea at any cost, stressing the need to end Pyongyang's nuclear programs that he said are an obstacle to unification. Lee made the remark in Berlin, the ...ve been tense since Lee took office in early 2008 with a pledge to link aid to the end of Pyongyang's nuclear programs. Their ties plunged further last year because of the North's two deadly attacks ...

Apple Inc., maker of the iPhone, iPad and iMac, overtook search-engine giant Google Inc. to become the world’s most valuable brand, WPP Plc said in a report. Apple’s brand value climbed 84 percent in the past year to $153.3 billion, WPP’s Millward Brown unit said. Google’s brand lost 2 percent to $111.5 billion, ending four years atop the rankings, while International Business Machines Corp. cli...

...clear whether government officials knew the terrorist leader was living inside their country when U.S. commandos killed him in a raid last weekend. ``We don't know whether there might have been some ...twork's local affiliates around the country _ and another one requesting donations to the president's re-election effort. Donilon appeared on ABC, NBC, CNN and Fox. Lugar was on CNN, and Kerry spoke ...

... 32-inch LCD panels also rose $2 from late April, while the price of 46-inch LCD panels stayed unchanged at $319, according to the data. The rise in prices was largely attributed to a climb in China's seasonal demand and slow operation among Japanese panel manufacturers. LCD TV panels account for the biggest portion of revenue for South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Display Co., the world's top two makers of flat-screen display panels. Their prices have been trending lower for the past months on weak TV demand and increased output...

Prosecutors plan to call in around 30 employees of the country's financial watchdog this week to determine whether they intentionally relaxed their inspections of savings banks in return for bribes, sources said Sunday. South Korea's top prosecutor has been widening its probe after the chief and other major shareholders at a suspended savings bank were found to have taken out illegal loans to lo...

The Prime Minister’s Office is set to unveil a road map to reforming the nation’s financial regulatory body, which has been tarnished by a series of corruption scandals involving its staff and distressed savings banks. The reform plan, to be unveiled this week, will aims to reestablish public confidence in the embattled Financial Supervisory Service, which has been harshly criticized for failing...

...ng to the newspaper. These defectors have apparently become a huge headache for the Thai government. The newspaper reported that the Thai authorities have turned down the South Korean administration’s offer to improve the present detention center at the Immigration Bureau or to build a separate center in the popular entry point in the northern region, fearing they might encourage more refugees fr...

...nuclear materials found in Libya in 2004 were highly likely to have been produced by North Korea, U.S.-funded broadcaster Voice of America said Saturday, citing an interview with a former senior offic...ikely to have been made by the communist state. Heinonen made the allegations based on North Korea’s purchase of parts to develop nuclear capabilities, information provided by Pakistan and other piec...

Korean and U.S. ministers of education and science will hold talks to discuss ways to boost personnel and research exchanges, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Sunday. The talks...years. Education and Science Minister Lee Ju-ho will visit Washington Tuesday for the talks with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan from May 11-13. The two ministers will discuss ways to strengt...

...irector of construction of Gwangju Metropolitan Government. Incheon Transit Corp. and Hanam City Development Corp. are respectively managed by Park Gyu-hong, former secretary of the Democratic Party’s Incheon chapter, and Kim Si-hwa, retired speaker of Hanam City Council. City or district public corporations tend to be managed by former councilors of their respective jurisdictions, or their assi...