Troubling Images

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Images captured by a U.S. commercial satellite early this monthreveal active movements at North Korean nuclear and missile sites, includingshipments of construction materials.

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This is a satellite photo of North Korea's nuclear test site in Kilju, North Hamgyong Province shot earlier this month.Coal mine vehicles which increased in number since mid-2013 are spotted busily moving about while new soil has been laid on snow covered ground.It's believed the North is digging a new tunnel.At the west coast Dongchangri missile site in Cholsan, North Pyongan Province, cranes and construction materials are detected for the renovation of a support structure and launch pad.The moves are believed to imply the North is seeking to launch a rocket longer than the Unha-3 long range rocket fired at this site in December 2012.Construction materials to build a new assembly building are also found in satellites photos at the east coast missile launch site in Hwadae County, North Hamgyong Province.The photos are released by 38 North, a U.S. blog on North Korea. The group says the construction movements spotted at the nuclear and missile sites point to Pyongyang's intent to bolster its testing capabilities.But it says it's unlikely the regime will conduct a nuclear or missile test in the immediate future.The latest photos underline the strong need to resume the six-nation talks on the North's nuclear issue.

2. NK Parliament

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North Korea will convene the Supreme People’s Assembly, it’srubberstamp parliament, on April 9th for the first time since theouster of Jang Song-thaek. High-level reshuffles are expected.

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North Korea will hold the first meeting of its newly structured 13th Supreme People's Assembly on April 9th.State run North Korean news outlets all announced the convening of the parliament.

[Soundbite] Korean Central TV : "The first session of the 13th Supreme People's Assemblywill be convened in Pyongyang on April 9th, 2014."

The Supreme People's Assembly is the highest decision making body as stated in the North's Constitution. At the meeting, the members are expected to conduct appointments of key posts in Cabinet and the National Defense Commission and also hold budget deliberations and revise the Constitution.A vice chairman post has been vacant at the National Defense Commission since Jang Song-thaek was executed.Two commission members also failed to be elected in the recent parliamentary elections. A major reshuffle at the defense commission appears inevitable.Some pundits forecast 86 year-old Kim Yong-nam, who is the current parliamentary leader, may step down and Kim Jong-un himself could also serve as the chief of the assembly.

[Soundbite] JEONG SEONG-JANG (Sejong Institute) : "Kim Jong-un could revise the Constitutionso he can directly represent the state unlike his grandfather Kim Il-sung, who served aschairman of the Supreme People's Assembly."

Ahead of the parliament meeting, North Korea will likely convene a meeting of all of its ruling party's central committee members to realign the party structure and make replacements as part of final efforts for an overall reshuffle.

3. Agency Tax Probe

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Korea’s largest entertainment agency SM Entertainment is undergoinga tax probe. The agency is suspected of failing to report its income earnedoverseas.

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SM Entertainment is Korea's leading entertainment company that manages the nation's top celebrities.It posts over185 million U.S. dollars in annual sales, about half of the amount is earned overseas.The Seoul Regional Tax Office dispatched dozens of investigators to the agency's headquarters on Tuesday.They seized the agency's accounting records of the past five years.The dispatched investigators include those who specialize in international transactions.That's because SM is suspected of having concealed its income that had been earned through overseas concerts.The tax authorities are analyzing the agency's overseas business data.A high-ranking official from the National Tax Service said that the probe was launched because SM is suspected of having failed to report millions of dollars in its overseas revenues.Sources say the National Tax Service had already conducted a preliminary investigation using information from an agency insider.SM denies it has dodged any taxes.

[Soundbite] NAMGUNG CHEOL (SM Entertainment) : "The allegation of tax evasion is groundless.We’ve received routine tax investigations since 2009."

The National Tax Service decided to conduct the investigation in a swift manner because of SM's reputation as "the cradle" of top Korean celebrities.

4. Court Under Fire

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A female military officer made took the extreme decision to end herlife after experiencing sexual harassment at the hands of her superior. Themilitary court is under fire for its apparent leniency in the sentencing.

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In October last year, a female officer from the 15th Army Division committed suicide.Her diary said that her boss kept sexually harassing her and made her work late at night.The military prosecutors demanded that the perpetrator be sentenced to five years in prison for sexual harassment and harsh treatment. However, the military court eventually sentenced him to two years in jail and four-year probation, even though it recognized all the charges against him.The court said the crime was just a misdemeanor and a first-time offense.The officer's bereaved family strongly rebutted the verdict.

[Soundbite] O SSANG-HAN (Bereaved Family) : "It's unfair. It's very unfair. My daughter would neverbe able to rest in peace if she knew about this."

Some also raise suspicion that the division's night shift records were been forged.The records submitted by the bereaved family were completely different from the documents submitted by the perpetrator.When the court had ordered the Army officials to submit the records, they first said they had deleted them. However, when the deadline to submit any additional evidence passed, they finally presented the documents.

[Soundbite] GANG SEOK-MIN (Officer’s Attorney) : "We must make this clear.The Army must say what it thinks."

The military prosecutors and the perpetrator say they will appeal the case to a higher court.

5. Intimate Apps

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People are spending more time than ever with their smartphones, atwork, on the street, and even sleeping with their phones in bed. Newapplications take this relationship to the next level.

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When you're walking on the street, sipping coffee or taking a restyour smartphone right next you will automatically record the daily moves.Using the data recorded on your phone whether it be your sleep hours, travel distance, appointments or cost of meal, you can easily coordinate your schedule and keep a housekeeping log.

[Soundbite] JEON JIN-SU (SK Telecom ICT Research Institute) : "Situational information of your day provided byyour smartphone will increasingly evolve to the point that your smartphone will recognizelife patterns you are not even aware of."

This smartphone connected to a toothbrush tells you when you're brushing your teeth and at what strength.Phones can also detect and photograph an intruder at the house and alert the owner.Other smartphones can read the user's facial expression and recommend the choice of music.A smartphone now goes way beyond making a phone call or surfing the Net. But it needs to be connected to various daily gadgets to be of great value.

[Soundbite] SIM SU-MIN (Researcher, KT Digieco) : "As all objects are connected to the network, advancedcomputing can interpret accumulated data to provide individually catered service to users in their daily life.Smartphones will become sort of a personal secretary."

As related regulations have been eased, use of smartphones is expected to be further incorporated in various fields of medicine and automobile.

6. Wrapper Hazard

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Taking medication on a regular basis could hold hazards beyond thenormal side effects. You could be swallowing little bits of aluminum packagingfoil along with your pills, leading to serious problems.

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This elderly woman has high blood pressure and angina.She has developed severe pain after taking about a dozen pills at once.

[Soundbite] KIM NAK-SUK (Patient) : "I just took the pills as usual without checking. I didn'tknow the foil was in my mouth. It's hard to notice."

An endoscopic exam showed that the woman had packaging foil in her stomach.Over the past three years, 70 people sought medical treatment after swallowing packaging foil. Most of them were women 50 years old and older with vision problems.

[Soundbite] HA JEONG-CHEOL (Korea Consumer Agency Official) : "Elderly people have many geriatric diseasesand tend to take multiple pills in one go, so they fail to notice the aluminum foil."

All of those who accidentally swallowed the packing foil were trying to take their medication, resulting in their critical conditions that required emergency treatment.The most frequently damaged part of the body was the throat - at 41 percent - followed by the esophagus, the stomach and the intestines.

[Soundbite] Prof. LEE BO-IN (Seoul St. Mary's Hospital) : "The ripped edges are very sharp and canscrape or pierce the esophagus or stomach.It can also cause inflammation in the heart andlungs, resulting even in life-threatening cases."

The Korea Consumer Agency says that pills should be packed in peel-off packaging instead of blister packs to prevent the foil from being swallowed when patients take their medications.

7. Galleries Abloom

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While winter’s chill still seems to be lingering on a bit thisspring, the nation’s art galleries are abloom with spring flowers and brightcolors to mark the change in the season.

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It's already spring in art galleries. Exhibition posters and artworks feature bright colors of the spring.Bowls of azalea flowers in this painting seem to satisfy our cravings for happiness.In this painting a man presents a bouquet of roses to a woman, stirring up the feeling of anticipation for a new season.Spring invokes the images of love, vitality, new buds and hope.This spring may be the last one for some terminal cancer patients. So this artist included these images of spring in her paintings to give hope and encouragement to cancer patients.The artist tried to communicate the greatness of all living things and importance of love through the images of seeds, sprouts and green grass.

[Soundbite] KANG SEUNG-AE (Artist) : "I paint in the hope that we would love everyoneand each become a light in this dark world."

Traditional folk paintings have undergone modern interpretations.In this exhibition a world of imagination and happiness is expressed vividly in trees with blooming flowers, air balloons brimming with flower buds, and children at play.Enjoy the spring early by visiting art galleries featuring the works that illustrate the bright, new season.

8. Entertainment News

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Singer Lim Chang-jung’s new song is sweeping the music charts; he’sstill going strong after 20 years. This and more on today’s entertainment news.

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Singer Lim Chang-jung has released a new song after a five-year hiatus.He wrote the lyrics to the title track in his 12th album, which topped the major music charts in Korea as soon as it was released.He is planning to hold a seven-city concert tour in May, which will kick off in Seoul.Singer Kim Jang-hoon is to host a special exhibition on comfort women in Shanghai.Kim plans to show materials that expose people to the gravity of the military sex slave issue at the Shanghai Dokdo Art Show scheduled to open in mid-April.He is also looking to hold a joint international exhibition with the countries that suffered the same wartime atrocities of sexual slavery, such as China, Australia, and the Philippines.

9. Quelling Swelling

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Swelling on various parts of the body candevelop as you get older. Koreans are especially susceptible to this because oftheir high sodium diet. Let's look at ways to keep swelling to a minimum.

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People sometimes experience swelling around their eyes or on their faces in the morning. In the evening, the swelling often occurs in the legs or feet. It is nearly impossible to slip a ring on a swollen finger. This condition is called edema. It is sometimes referred to as "pitting", as indentations are left when pressure is applied to a particular part of the body, and even after the pressure is removed. Body swelling is experienced by 20 percent of women right before their periods. People of all ages can experience body swelling. However, chronic edema suggests that you might have a health problem. This man in his 70s sees a doctor for his severe body swelling. His body swells because of the medicine he has taken for a long time to treat complications from a traffic accident. Medicine can cause the body to swell.

[Soundbite] Prof. GU JA-RYONG (Hallym University Medical Center) : "Among common medicine, hormone drugs, painkillersor anti-hypertensive drugs can cause body swelling, as they enlarge blood vessels and increasethe levels of salinity and fluids in the body."

Kidney failure is a typical cause for body swelling. Unusual sensitivity to cold and swelling around the eyes may suggest the possibility of hypothyroidism. Body swelling is also connected with heart failure, hypertension and liver disease. People are advised to see a doctor and receive a medical checkup if body swelling persists. But healthy people can experience frequent body swelling due to their lifestyle and habits.

[Soundbite] HAN GYEONG-IM (Experiences Swelling) : "I took this photo shortly after I woke up. My face looksswollen. My eyes are swollen, too. They look stiff and bloated."

The skin over the eyelids is thin so the areas around the eye can swell with mild irritation. Eye swelling occurs when the eyes are frequently touched or irritated by thick makeup. Korean foods contain sodium levels above the recommended level. If you like salty foods and frequently experience body swelling, it's time to check out your meals and reduce the intake of sodium.

[Soundbite] PARK MI-JA (Dieter) : "I thought I don't eat food too salty. But the testshows that my diet is rather salty. I need to reduce the intake of sodium."

Here are some tips on alleviating body swelling. To relieve the swelling of legs and feet, raise them higher than your upper body when you lie down. It is also good to massage the swollen parts with a shower. To ease swelling of the face, softly massage the chin up and down from the ears to the collarbone about five times. The best way to alleviate the swelling of the eyes in the morning is to chill tea bags or spoons in the refrigerator and put them on the eyelids. Ice packs can also be a good replacement. Gently massage yourself around the eyes. The swelling of the body and face may be a sign that you have a health problem. See a doctor if the symptoms persist. Try lowering your sodium intake and do some simple massages to alleviate the swelling.