The doomed ferry, Sewol, exceeded its cargo limit on 246 trips — nearly every voyage it made in which it reported cargo — in the 13 months before it sank, according to documents.

Frustrated relatives of the scores still missing from the capsized ferry Sewol have staged a marathon confrontation with South Korea’s fisheries minister and the coastguard chief.

The official death toll in the South Korea ferry disaster reached 150 today as the grim work of recovering bodies from the submerged vessel continued.

A distress call believed to be the first made from sinking South Korean ferry was made by a boy with a shaking voice, three minutes after the vessel made its fateful last turn.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye has said the captain and some crew members of the sunken ferry committed “unforgivable, murderous acts” in the disaster, which left more than 300 people dead or missing.

The confirmed death toll from South Korea’s ferry disaster rose past 50 yesterday as divers finally found a way inside the sunken vessel, quickly discovering more than a dozen bodies in what almost certainly is just the beginning of a massive and grim recovery effort.

After more than three days of frustration and failure, divers have finally found a way into a submerged ferry off South Korea’s southern shore, discovering more than a dozen bodies inside the ship and pushing the confirmed death toll to 50.

A doomed ferry’s captain delayed evacuation for half an hour after a South Korean transportation official ordered preparations to abandon ship, according to a transcript of the ship-to-shore exchange and interviews with a crew member.

An immediate evacuation order was not issued for the stricken South Korean ferry because officers on the bridge were trying to stabilise the vessel after it started to list amid confusion and chaos, a crew member says.

Strong currents and poor visibility hampered rescuers in the search for 287 passengers still missing more than 24 hours after their ferry flipped on to its side and filled with cold water off the southern coast of South Korea.

A ferry carrying 459 people, mostly high school students, has sunk off South Korea, leaving at least three people dead and nearly 300 missing.

South Korea conducted live-fire military drills today from five islands near its disputed sea boundary with North Korea, despite Pyongyang’s threat to attack.

Five people have been killed and six are missing after an explosion on a cargo ship carrying petrol off the west coast of South Korea.

A South Korean coastguard was killed and another injured today when they were stabbed by a Chinese captain whose boat was stopped for suspected illegal fishing.

Lee Westwood double-bogeyed the final hole of his first round at the Ballantine’s Championship in South Korea to end day one six shots behind leader Damien McGrane.

Ireland’s Damien McGrane claimed the early clubhouse lead at the Ballantine’s Championship in South Korea with a six-under-par round of 66 on the opening day at Blackstone GC.

South Korean troops pushed ahead with naval firing drills today, a day after North Korea warned such exercises would aggravate already high tensions between the rivals following the North’s deadly shelling last month of a frontline South Korean island.

The sound of new artillery fire from North Korea just hours after the US and South Korea launched a round of war games in Korean waters sent residents and journalists on a front-line island scrambling for cover today.

South Korea’s defence minister resigned today amid intense criticism two days after a North Korean artillery attack killed four people on a small island near the Koreas’ disputed frontier.

South Korea’s president pledged today to boost security around islands near the site of a North Korean artillery attack as the North warned of more retaliation for any “reckless military provocations”.

The burnt bodies of two male civilians have been found on an island attacked by North Korea, South Korean officials said.

South Korea’s troops were on high alert today as the government exchanged threats with rival North Korea following the military skirmish that took tensions on the peninsula to new extremes.

A typhoon slammed into South Korea today, killing three people in what is thought to be the strongest tropical storm to hit the Seoul area in 15 years.

A bus fell off an elevated road as it was heading to South Korea’s main airport, killing 12 passengers and injuring another 12, police said today.

A SOUTH Korean naval ship sank near the disputed maritime border with North Korea yesterday, prompting the South’s military to rush vessels to the site to rescue its sailors and raising fears of an attack by the North.

NAVY ships from North and South Korea exchanged fire yesterday along their disputed western sea border, the first such clash in seven years.

Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung has been left out of South Korea’s preliminary squad for the Olympic Games.

South Korea’s largest oil spill reached part of the country’s scenic and environmentally sensitive western shore today, as the Coast Guard battled high waves and strong winds to keep more oil from washing up on beaches.

AN ASIAN Games silver medallist has failed a sex test and will be stripped of her medal.

Flooding that may have killed thousands in North Korea is being ignored because of the country’s pariah status after recent missile launches, a South Korean aid group said today as it prepared to ship aid for victims.

A Chinese cargo ship sank off South Korea’s west coast after colliding with an anchored freighter, leaving at least three crew members on the Chinese ship dead and nine others missing.

Hong Kong’s airport was named the world’s best in survey results announced today.

North Korea today warned that the situation on its divided peninsula was so alarming that “a nuclear war may break out at any moment.”

More than 130 people are feared dead today after a man started a fire on a subway train in South Korea’s third-largest city.

More than 100 people were feared dead today after a man started a fire on a subway train in South Korea’s third-largest city.

The USA, and Blackburn’s favourite adopted World Cup hero, know they are riding the glory wave and that sooner or later there’s a giant reality check about to hit them.

Costa Rica 1 Turkey 1

Costa Rica 1 Turkey 1

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Dozens of Daewoo car factory workers in South Korea have clashed with riot police during a rally to protest against mass lay-offs.