SEOUL (Reuters) – Young and inexperienced, Kim Jong-un is seen as poised to take over North Korea with the death of his father and extend the Kim dynasty’s rule over the reclusive state for a third generation.

Not much is known about the younger Kim, not even his age, though his father, Kim Jong-il, and his autocratic regime had begun making preparations for the son’s transition to power.

SEOUL (Reuters) – Young and inexperienced, Kim Jong-un is seen as poised to take over North Korea with the death of his father and extend the Kim dynasty’s rule over the reclusive state for a third generation.

Not much is known about the younger Kim, not even his age, though his father, Kim Jong-il, and his autocratic regime had begun making preparations for the son’s transition to power.

BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea said on Wednesday it had asked China for security guarantees at its Beijing embassy after the building was hit by a small projectile as tensions run high after the killing of a South Korean coastguard by a Chinese fisherman.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it was unclear what kind of weapon was used to fire the ballbearing-like shot that cracked one of the embassy’s windows on Tuesday afternoon, but that no one was injured.

SEONGNAM, South Korea, Dec 8 (Reuters) – A
boyish-looking South Korean professor is the frontfrunner ahead
of next year’s presidential election, capitalising on a general
disenchantment with the two main political parties, but so far
he has shown no sign he really wants the job.

Ahn Cheol-soo, 49, founder of software company Ahnlab Inc
, is a novice at politics and little is known of his
economic or foreign policy, except that he may be against big
business and signs that he may want to maintain Seoul’s close
ties with Washington.

SEOUL (Reuters) – A senior U.S. official urged energy-starved South Korea to cut imports of Iranian petrochemicals and reduce crude oil imports from the Gulf state, as Washington applies more pressure on Tehran.

Iran’s nuclear ambitions, its claim to have shot down a U.S. spy drone in its airspace on Sunday and last week’s storming of the British embassy in Tehran by protesters have contributed to a sharp increase in tension in the region.

SEOUL, Dec 5 (Reuters) – A senior U.S. official urged
energy-starved South Korea to cut imports of Iranian
petrochemicals and reduce crude oil imports from the Gulf state,
as Washington applies more pressure on Tehran.

Iran’s nuclear ambitions, its claim to have shot down a U.S.
spy drone in its airspace on Sunday and last week’s storming of
the British embassy in Tehran by protesters have contributed to
a sharp increase in tension in the region.

SEOUL, Dec 5 (Reuters) – A senior U.S. official on
Monday said the situation over Iran’s nuclear programme was
becoming increasingly worrying and an urgent diplomatic solution
needs to be found.

The United States and Israel have not ruled out military
action against Iran’s nuclear facilities if diplomacy fails to
resolve a dispute over a programme they suspect is aimed at
developing atomic weapons.

SEOUL, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Secretive North Korea is
expected to register the one millionth cellphone user on its new
3G network by the end of the year, barely four years after
people were thrown into prison camps, or possibly even executed,
for owning one.

Most of the users are in the capital of Pyongyang, home to
the impoverished country’s elite and powerful who have the cash
to splash out for a device and the calling fees.

SEOUL, Nov 10 (Reuters) – After 309 days atop a crane
– sitting out snowstorms, a typhoon and heatwaves — labour
activist Kim Jin-suk came down to earth on Thursday, claiming
victory against one of South Korea’s shipbuilders.

Kim’s case became a cause celebre in Asia’s fourth biggest
economy amid growing worker anger over wage levels and the
government’s business-friendly policies.

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea’s closed economy contracted for a second year in a row last year due to international sanctions, sluggish agricultural production and a slowdown in manufacturing, South Korea’s central bank said on Thursday.

In a report issued by the Bank of Korea (BOK), the North’s centrally-planned economy was estimated to have shrunk 0.5 percent year-on-year in 2010 compared with a 0.9 percent contraction in 2009.