"It is an extremely cruel and brutal case in which the happily living family members ... were all murdered because of truly selfish reasons," Justice Minister Masako Mori said at a news conference.
South Korea was first and the largest source of children for international adoptions, with the U.S. as their chief destination. Now, some adoptees are returning to South Korea to trace their roots.
A typhoon hit the Philippines on Christmas Eve, displacing tens of thousands of people. And the affected areas are still recovering from typhoons before it.
North Korea threatened the U.S. with a "Christmas gift" should Washington not ease sanctions by the end of the year. The cryptic threat opened the door for speculation.
President Trump downplayed North Korea's threat of a "Christmas present" if the U.S. doesn't roll back economic sanctions by the end of the year. Also, Notre Dame won't hold a Christmas mass.
The country's natural population declined by more than 500,000 this year. A number of factors have led to Japan's plummeting birth rate and a growing demographic crisis.
North Korea has threatened to send a "Christmas present" for the United States if sanctions aren't eased by the end of the year. Trump says he isn't worried about it.