A man in a wheelchair who was airing grievances set off a homemade bomb in a crowded terminal at Beijing's main airport on Saturday evening, injuring himself but no one else, Chinese state media and witnesses said.Order was quickly restored and no flights were affected by the explosion at the airport's main international terminal, state-run China Central Television said on its microblog.  The official Xinhua News Agency said a wheel-chaired Chinese man set off the device outside the arrivals exi

World News July 21, 2013

Police questioned a high school teacher on Saturday on charges of negligence over the drowning deaths of his five students off the country's western beach, police officials said.   The 49-year-old teacher, surnamed Kim, is suspected of negligence while overseeing nearly 200 students attending a summer camp in Taean Beach, about 150 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the officials.  Bodies of the five students were found this week after they were swept away on Thursday by a strong current wh

Social Affairs July 21, 2013

A German brewer has spurned a request by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to open a beer garden and brewery in his isolated communist country, a news report said.   Paulaner Brewery said it did not consider opening a biergarten in North Korea, according to Bild, Germany's biggest-selling daily, on its website on Thursday.   The Munich-based brewery said its capacity is stretched thin because it plans to open beer gardens in 12 new locations, including one in the United States and two others in Ru

North Korea July 21, 2013

South Korea and Australia played to a 0-0 draw in the opening men's match at the East Asian Cup football tournament here on Saturday, as the host country failed to capitalize on a series of opportunities.   At Seoul World Cup Stadium, South Koreans saw their offensive efforts go for naught, as Australian keeper Eugene Galekovic was largely responsible for keeping this a scoreless affair.  Japan and China are the other men's teams in this round-robin tournament, which will end on July 28.   South

More Sports July 21, 2013

South Korean stocks closed 0.47 percent lower Tuesday ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech on monetary policy slated for this week, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.8 points to finish at 1,866.36. Trading volume was moderate at 300 million shares worth 2.9 trillion won (US$2.63 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 405 to 393.Analysts said the market decline came as investors t

July 16, 2013

South Korea will likely collect 10 trillion won (US$8.9 billion) less in taxes during the first half than a year earlier, raising worries that the government might need to draft a second extra budget plan to fill the revenue gap, datashowed Sunday.According to the data submitted by the National Tax Service (NTS) to lawmakers, the government had collected 82.13 trillion won worth of taxes during the January-May period, which is about 9 trillion won less than the same period a year earlier.The tax

July 14, 2013

South Korean stocks shot up nearly 3 percent Thursday as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's dovish comments backing the monetary easing fueled investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency gained sharply against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 53.44 points, or 2.93 percent, to finish at 1,877.60, the highest in 16 trading days. Trading volume was moderate at 327.3 million shares worth 3.93 trillion won (US$3.48 billion) with gaine

July 11, 2013

South Korean stocks closed 0.34 percent lower Wednesday as market uncertainties grew before the release of the minutes of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) June meeting, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.19 points to finish at 1,824.16. Trading volume was low at 264.3 million shares worth 3.2 trillion won (US$2.8 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 521 to 276.  "Global investors are t

July 10, 2013

국토교통부는 아시아나항공 214편 사고와 관련 우리 측 조사관 2명이 10일 오전 0시 20분(이하 한국시간) 미국 워싱턴에 도착해 블랙박스 조사를 시작했다고 밝혔다.    항공·철도 사고조사위원회 조사관과 아시아나항공 B777 기장 등 2명은 이날 미국 국가교통안전위원회(NTSB)의 비행자료 기록장치(FDR)와 조종실 음성 녹음장치(CVR) 조사에 합류했다.   샌프란시스코 현지 합동조사반은 9일 한국조종사협회 측 변호사 입회하에  조종사 2명을 조사한데 이어 이날 현재 나머지 2명의 조종사를 조사중이다.    관제 시스템에 문제가 있었을 가능성도 확인하기 위해 공항 관제사에 대한 조사도 진행중이다. 관제사가 고도과 각도 등의 정보를 적정하게 제공했는지가 조사  대상이다.   조종사 조사 과정에서는 특히 활주로 최종 접근 단계에서 기체 조작과 관련한 사항 등을 확인하고 있다고 국토부는 밝혔다.    조사반은 엔진과 꼬리 동체 부분의 잔해와 파편의 위치를 확인하면서 이를  GPS에

한국어판 July 10, 2013

남북한은 10일 개성공단에서 2차 실무회담을 갖고 개성공단 정상화 방안을 논의했으나 우리측의 재발방지 강조  입장에 북측은 조속한 공단 재가동을 주장하면서 입장 차이를 보였다.    우리 정부는 개성공단 내 종합지원센터에서 열린 이날 회담에서 "누가 보고  들어와도 이제는 더 이상 절대 일방적으로 통행과 통신을 차단하고 근로자를 철수시키는 일은 없겠구나 하고 인정할 수 있는 방안을 제시할 것"을 북측에 요구했다.    우리측 수석대표인 서호 통일부 남북협력지구지원단장은 전체회의 기조발언에서 "무엇보다 개성공단은 안전한 공단이 돼야 하며 자유로운 기업 활동이 보장돼야  한다"고 강조했다고 통일부 관계자가 전했다.    서 단장은 또 "북한 측의 일방적인 공장 가동 중단조치로 입주기업이 입은 피해에 대해 북측의 책임 있는 입장 표명이 있어야 한다"고 거듭 지적했다.    이와 함께 개성공단의 발전적 정상화 방향과 관련, "개성공단의 안정적 성장을 위해서는 외국기업도 투자하고 입주할 수

한국어판 July 10, 2013

국가정보원은 10일 박근혜 대통령이 주문한  자체개혁 방향과 관련, 방첩과 대테러 부분을 강화하고 정치개입의 소지를 없애는  것을 골자로 한 자체 개혁작업에 착수한다고 밝혔다.    국정원은 이날 보도자료를 내 "국정원은 남재준 국정원장 취임 후 국가정보기관 본연의 모습으로 거듭나기 위해 일부 부서 통ㆍ폐합과 조직개편, 인사제도와 업무규정 정비, 인적 쇄신 등 강력한 자체 개혁을 추진해 왔다"고 말했다.    국정원은 "그럼에도 지난 대선 때의 댓글 의혹 등 논쟁이 지속되고 있어, 이를 해소하고 새로운 국정원으로 거듭나기 위해 국정원 내에 자체 태스크포스(TF)를  만들어 제2의 개혁 작업에 착수, 대내ㆍ외 전문가들의 자문과 공청회 등을 열어  개혁방안을 마련하기로 했다"고 주장했다.    국정원은 "남북대치 상황에서 방첩활동과 대테러 활동, 산업 스파이 색출 등 정보기관 본연의 업무는 강화하고 정치개입 등의 문제소지는 없도록 할 것"이라고  밝혔다.  이는 박근혜 대통령이 지난 8

한국어판 July 10, 2013

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said Wednesday it will launch a task force to reform itself amid growing calls for overhauling South Korea's top spy agency at the center of accusations of meddling in domestic politics.   The envisioned reform will be carried out in a way that strengthens the agency's original duties, such as anti-espionage and counter-terrorism activities, while ensuring that there will be no problems of political intervention, the NIS said in a statement.   "Since the i

Politics July 10, 2013

South Korea called onNorth Korea Wednesday to put forward strong safeguards against another unilateral shutdown of an inter-Korean industrial complex that has remained idle for three months.Seoul's demand came at a working-level meeting held in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong, which is a follow-up to weekend talks at the neutral border village of Panmunjom where the two sides agreed in principle to normalize operation at the joint venture.All operations at the Gaeseong Industrial Comple

North Korea July 10, 2013