Most Popular
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Ador CEO denies allegations, accuses Hybe of mistreating NewJeans
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10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
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DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
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Seoul to promote luxurious side of the city
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
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Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
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Samsung mobile chief, Google device head meet in Seoul
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Swedish envoys work to free American held in N.K.
The last thing a European diplomat might expect from a foreign posting is to represent the United States.But that is exactly what Swedish envoys in North Korea do as part of their official duties. Now they are working around the clock to free an American citizen that North Korea finally confirmed on Dec. 21 it had detained.But Kenneth Bae, a 44-year-old Korean-American tour operator, is not likely to be released anytime soon, said Swedish Ambassador to South Korea Lars Danielsson. Danielsson sai
Dec. 30, 2012
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Georgia proffers signature wines
The Georgian Embassy here hosted an event featuring the country’s wine and brandy for prospective Korean importers and the foreign diplomatic community in response to a growing demand here for quaffs from the Caucasus.Georgian Ambassador to Korea Nikoloz Apkhazava also underscored the importance of his country’s wine to Georgian national identity during a tasting Thursday.“It is difficult to describe the importance of wine to Georgians. It is so tied up with our national identity,” Apkhazava sai
Dec. 30, 2012
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Singaporean Embassy donates W3m to local orphange
The Singaporean Embassy and Singapore Club Seoul donated 3 million won ($2,790) to a local orphanage during a year-end reception, Dec. 13. Singaporean Ambassador to Korea Peter Tan and wife Siew Eng visited the orphanage in a day of games, activities and gift-giving.Now in its fourth year, the Singapore Embassy’s annual charity event at the Hye Sim Won Orphanage in the Huam-dong neighborhood of Seoul has become an annual attraction for Singaporean diplomats and the city-state’s growing expatriat
Dec. 30, 2012
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S. Korea to join U.N. Security Council amid deadlock over N.K. rocket
With South Korea set to join the United Nations Security Council in four days, the country could soon take a more active role in getting the international body to punish North Korea for its recent long-range rocket launch, diplomatic sources said Friday.Starting Jan. 1, South Korea will serve as a non-permanent member of the 15-nation council for two years. The council is the U.N.'s top decision-making body, tasked with maintaining world peace.Following North Korea's Dec. 12 rocket launch, Seoul
Dec. 29, 2012
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N.K. suspected of purging two officials for April rocket failure
The list of North Korean scientists and officials named national heroes for contributing to the country’s successful launch of a long-range rocket earlier this month did not include key officials in charge of a botched April rocket launch, prompting speculation over their possible purge.According to recent North Korean media reports, the communist country declared 101 scientists, officials and others national heroes and gave them medals for contributing to its widely celebrated Dec. 12 launch of
Dec. 28, 2012
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S. Korea urges Japan to resolve wartime sex slavery
Responding to Japan's renewed denial of forcing Korean women into sex slavery during World War II, South Korea once again urged Japan Thursday to seek "satisfactory" solutions for the victims.Tokyo's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga indicated earlier in the day that the newly launched Japanese government led by Shinzo Abe may review a 1993 statement issued by its then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono on the matter, saying it is "desirable for experts and historians to study" the issue, a
Dec. 27, 2012
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S. Korea submits formal claim on East China Sea shelf to U.N.
South Korea has submitted an official claim to extend a portion of continental shelf beyond the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the East China Sea to a United Nations body, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday.The South Korean government presented the official document to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) located in New York a day earlier (Seoul time), claiming that the Korean Peninsula's natural prolongation of the continental shelf in the East China
Dec. 27, 2012
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Korea files extended continental shelf claim
South Korea claimed an extended limit of its continental shelf in the East China Sea in a report to the United Nations on Wednesday, upping its ante in a heated race with Japan and China over fisheries and resources deposits. The Foreign Ministry submitted to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf its claim to the edge of the country’s seabed beyond its 200 nautical mile (370 kilometer) exclusive economic zone from the baselines of its territorial waters. The formal report ma
Dec. 26, 2012
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Revised U.S. defense act urges tougher measures against N.K.
In the wake of North Korea’s rocket launch, U.S. Congress has passed a defense law modified for next year calling for tougher measures such as the possible construction of a new missile defense base and defense capability assessments. The National Defense Authorization Act contains a raft of policy and funding packages including budgets for military activities, related construction and research and development programs. Its 2013 version worth $633.3 billion requires the federal government to loo
Dec. 24, 2012
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Japanese prefecture warned against Dokdo event
South Korea on Monday warned a Japanese prefecture against holding a controversial event claiming the South’s easternmost islets of Dokdo next February, denouncing the plan as “unacceptable.” Japan’s Shimane prefecture is scheduled to hold the event on Feb. 22, or three days before the inauguration of Park Geun-hye as South Korea’s new president, a move that could lead to a potential flash point between the two nations at a time when Park and Japan’s incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have signa
Dec. 24, 2012
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Park shuns Abe’s early gesture to thaw relations
President-elect Park Geun-hye has turned down a visit by incoming Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s special envoy, heralding a rough ride in the relations between the next governments of the two nations. Shinzo Abe of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party planned to send his congratulatory letter last weekend via former Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga and three other senior members of the Japan-South Korea parliamentarians’ association. But Park’s side “respectfully” declined the meeting due to
Dec. 23, 2012
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U.S. to publish report on Chinese ‘distortion’ of Korean history
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― A United States congressional institute will soon publish a report that might give the wrong impression to the international community of China’s “distortion” of history involving its Northeast Asian neighbor, South Korea, diplomatic sources said Sunday.In the report that would serve as reference material in predicting Beijing’s role in case of a regime collapse in North Korea, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) will first introduce China’s claim that Korea’s anc
Dec. 23, 2012
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Classic Italian films come to Seoul
The Italian Cultural Institute has brought 21 classic and award-winning films that screened at the Venice Biennale to Seoul Art Center in “Venice in Seoul” through Jan. 16.The Italian Cultural Center in Korea, with the Korean Association of Cinematheques and the Venice Biennale Foundation, organized the event which celebrates the 80th anniversary of the Venice Film Festival. Hidden masterpieces from all over the world that have been introduced at the Venice Film Festival over the last 80 years w
Dec. 23, 2012
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New Zealand’s Embassy marks release of ‘The Hobbit’
The New Zealand Embassy in Korea organized a special reception and screening of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” to a packed house of Kiwi expatriates, foreign envoys, friends of New Zealand and Hobbit fans, Monday.About two hundred guests enjoyed New Zealand Rapaura Spring’s Sauvignon blanc and pinot noir imported by Tiwitrade Company and the quintessentially Kiwi green-lipped mussels.“It is a great chance to show off New Zealand and a great way to round off our 2012 Korea-New Zealand Year o
Dec. 23, 2012
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French military attache awarded Legion of Honor
France recognized the 30-year career of Col. Eric Jouin, defense attache at the French Embassy in Korea, by presenting him with the Legion of Honor medal at a reception at the residence of French Ambassador-Designate to Korea Jerome Pasquier, Tuesday.Jouin was awarded the insignia of “Chevalier” in the Order of the Legion of Honor by Brigadier General Franck Reignier, French Defense Ministry’s international relations regional director for East Asia, during the reception.Reignier is in Korea to a
Dec. 23, 2012
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Iranians in Korea celebrate Winter Solstice
Persians around the world have been celebrating Yalda, or the eve of Winter Solstice, since ancient times.It was no different for Iranian diplomats here, as well as the many Iranians who reside in Korea.Iranian Ambassador to Korea Ahmad Masoumifar, other diplomats and their families as well as other Iranian expatriates residing in Seoul celebrated Yalda at the Iranian Embassy here, Thursday.“According to ancient customs, Iranian families celebrate the Yalda night, which is the longest and darkes
Dec. 23, 2012
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Kenyan envoy marks watershed year in Korea ties
This was a watershed year in Korea-Kenya relations and, considering Korea’s Africa ties made a paradigm shift over the past 10 years, that is saying a lot, said Kenyan Ambassador to Korea Ngovi Kitau, assessing a year of major breakthroughs on the occasion of Kenya’s Independence Day, Thursday.It is not hard to understand why, as Korea’s traditional export markets wither amidst a persistent global financial crunch. Korea needs new markets. Kenya, being the largest economy in East Africa, is a lo
Dec. 23, 2012
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Dispute looms over continental shelf claims by Korea, China
China has claimed a greater portion of its continental shelf in the East China Sea in a document it recently submitted to the United Nations, in an apparent bid to raise its stake in territorial rows with its neighbors. The U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf’s website showed on Sunday Beijing’s claim to the edge of its seabed beyond its 200 nautical mile (370 kilometer) exclusive economic zone from the baselines of its territorial waters. The report, filed on Dec. 14, said “g
Dec. 23, 2012
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U.S. to publish report on Chinese distortion of Korean history: sources
A United States congressional institute will soon publish a report that might give the wrong impression to the international community of China‘s distortion of history involving its Northeast Asian neighbor, South Korea, diplomatic sources said Sunday.In the report that would serve as reference material in predicting Beijing’s role in case of a regime collapse in North Korea, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) will first introduce China‘s claim that Korea’s ancient kingdoms of Koguryo (B.C
Dec. 23, 2012
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S. Korea, China overlap claims on East China Sea shelf
South Korea and China made overlapping claims to an extended portion of continental shelf beyond their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) in the East China Sea, with Seoul set to submit its official claim to a United Nations body this week, officials and experts said Sunday.Beijing presented its official document to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) on Dec. 14, claiming that its natural prolongation of the continental shelf in the sea extends to the Okinawa Trough, a
Dec. 23, 2012