South Korea

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North Korea Boots Officials from S. Korea

Relations sour as South demands an end to nuclear program

(Newser) - South Korean officials left North Korea this morning, after receiving their eviction notice from Pyongyang. Relations have soured between the Koreas since the South demanded the North cease its nuclear activities, but the South said it was “undaunted” by the expulsion of its men. “We will deal with...

South Korea to Back UN on North Korea

Seoul shifts gears to join in criticism of human rights record

(Newser) - South Korea is set to vote in favor of a United Nations resolution that criticizes the "systematic, widespread, and grave violations" of human rights in North Korea, the AP reports. The South's new president, Lee Myung-bak, is changing a decade of precedent: earlier administrations have either abstained or been...

South Koreans Turn to Cambodia to Buy Wives

Government decries 'human trafficking' on rise after Vietnam crackdown

(Newser) - A clampdown on marriage brokers in Vietnam has made neighboring Cambodia the new destination for South Korean men seeking to buy wives, the AP reports. About 2,500 Cambodian women have married Koreans this way in the past four years in a process in which men choose from as many...

United Grounds 7 Jumbos
 United Grounds 7 Jumbos 

United Grounds 7 Jumbos

FAA warned of flawed Korean inspections

(Newser) - United Airlines has grounded seven Boeing 747s to check the cockpit instruments that indicate altitude during flight. The decision was prompted by the discovery that equipment at a facility in South Korea where the instruments had been checked were improperly maintained, the Wall Street Journal reports. The FAA uncovered the...

Korea's Kimchi Ready for Lift-Off
Korea's Kimchi Ready for Lift-Off

Korea's Kimchi Ready for Lift-Off

First Korean astronaut will take along staple dish

(Newser) - South Korea spent millions to make sure its first astronaut is well-prepared for his mission—by perfecting a space-safe kimchi, reports the International Herald Tribune. South Koreans put down 1.6 million tons of the national dish each year, and Ko San will blast off April 8 for a 10-day...

'Bulldozer' Prez Takes Helm in S. Korea

Conservative ex-CEO charges into office, pledging reform

(Newser) - Proclaiming that "economic revival is our most urgent task," South Korea's new president took office today. Ex-Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak, a longtime Hyundai exec known as "the Bulldozer," won the office in a landslide but is likely to struggle implementing the reforms he has promised if...

LG Pulls Laptop Model After Battery Melts

Firms chooses caution after 2nd battery breakdown of 2008

(Newser) - LG pulled a laptop model from stores following a report that the battery melted while in use, the AP reports. A company spokesman said it had opened an investigation into the meltdown, adding that the model is no longer in production and is sold only in South Korea.

Woman Orders Clone of Beloved Dog for $150K

Korean company says it's the first commercial order for a cloned canine

(Newser) - A California woman has placed the first order for a cloned dog with South Korean biotech firm RNL Bio, pledging $150,000 for a genetic duplicate of her dead pitbull, Booger, who once saved her from a dog attack, reports the BBC. Seoul National University scientists, who produced the first...

Man Admits Setting Seoul Fire
Man Admits Setting Seoul Fire

Man Admits Setting Seoul Fire

Destruction of 600-year-old monument called 'Korean 9/11'

(Newser) - A 69-year-old man confessed last night to setting the fire that destroyed Seoul's most famous landmark, the 14th-century South Gate.  As South Koreans vented anger and disbelief, calling the loss "the Korean equivalent of 9/11," the arsonist apologized "to my children and the public." Disgruntled...

Taliban: Korea Paid $4M Ransom
Taliban: Korea Paid $4M Ransom

Taliban: Korea Paid $4M Ransom

Commander says Seoul paid millions to release hostages

(Newser) - The Taliban released 21 South Korean hostages five months ago only after Seoul paid at least $4 million in ransom, a senior insurgent commander now claims. Contrary to South Korea's official denial to Newsweek that money changed hands, the commander said freeing the missionaries without recompense "would not have...

Bush: Trade Key to US Recovery
Bush: Trade Key to US Recovery

Bush: Trade Key to US Recovery

Prez urges quick action on international deals, offers help to affected workers

(Newser) - Saying "free trade means good-paying jobs for Americans," President Bush yesterday urged Congress to approve proposed deals with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea, the core of a trade agenda he feels can revitalize a shaky US economy. Bush also offered to help lawmakers reshape benefits for workers who...

Calif. Firm First to Clone Human Embryos

Move could aid development of new stem-cell lines

(Newser) - A California lab has cloned a human embryo, a science first; the researchers stopped short, however, of creating stem cells. Using a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer, the scientists fused DNA from a man’s skin cells with donated egg cells—and created an embryo with cells specific to...

South Korea Bounces Reign of Baby Boys

Girls find new favor as sex imbalance begins to reverse

(Newser) - Shedding an age-old preference for sons, South Korea has in the last two decades become the first Asian country to reverse a large sex imbalance at birth. A radical shift in Koreans' attitude toward female babies—and toward working women—has brought down the rate of sex-selection abortion, the New ...

Right-Wing CEO Wins Korean Presidency

Lee Myung-bak promises harder line with North

(Newser) - Opposition leader Lee Myung-bak, nicknamed "The Bulldozer," has been elected president of South Korea by the largest margin in the country's democratic history. Lee, a former CEO at Hyundai and once mayor of Seoul, won 50.3% of the vote, trouncing his nearest rival, who captured just 26%,...

And Now, South Korea Gets a Word From Its Sponsors

Long a holdout, Seoul legalizes commercials within programs

(Newser) - South Koreans long accustomed to watching uninterrupted boob tube are about to get a jolt of commercial reality—the Korean broadcasting agency has bowed to years of pressure and will at last legalize ads during TV shows. Laws had forbidden even private channels from commercial interruptions, and ads were screened...

Historic Train Crosses Korean Border

Freight service aims to narrow economic gap between countries

(Newser) - The historic first of what will be a regular schedule of freight trains crossed the border from South Korea to North Korea today, marking a major leap forward in the countries' reunification process and a step toward what could be a hugely profitable railway system. The link is part of...

Korea Struggles to Clean Spill
Korea Struggles to Clean Spill

Korea Struggles to Clean Spill

Government declares state of disaster

(Newser) - A crew of 7,000 struggled to contain the worst oil spill in South Korean history today, the New York Times reports. The government declared a state of disaster as volunteers hauled buckets of oil from a 12-mile shore, fighting headaches and nausea from the stench. The coast guard set...

Oil Slick Reaches South Korean Shore

Worst spill in country's history threatens scenic coastline, maritime park

(Newser) - Emergency workers in South Korea are struggling to contain a 12-mile-long oil slick that has reached an ecologically sensitive shoreline on the Korean west coast. The oil spilled when a barge broke loose from the tug that was pulling it, and slammed into a Hong Kong-registered supertanker. The spill threatens...

S. Korea Rushes to Contain Spill
S. Korea Rushes to Contain Spill

S. Korea Rushes to Contain Spill

Spill occurred near ecologically sensitive coastline

(Newser) - South Korea has sent out a fleet of ships to try to prevent 2.7 million gallons of oil that leaked from a supertanker from reaching an ecologically sensitive shoreline, the AP reports. A crane-carrying barge collided with the tanker 93 miles southwest of Seoul, causing the spill. Authorities are...

Foreign Adoptions Down 15%
Foreign Adoptions
Down 15%

Foreign Adoptions Down 15%

US families adopt fewer kids abroad due to strict new policies

(Newser) - US adoptions from abroad have sunk for the third straight year, mostly because China and Russia have tougher policies, AP reports. A drop in adoptions from Haiti and South Korea have also added to the 15% decline since 2004. But a spike in adoptions from Guatemala, Ethiopia, and Vietnam have...

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