Most Popular
-
1
Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
-
2
New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
-
3
[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
-
4
Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
-
5
Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
-
6
Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
-
7
Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
-
8
[Music in drama] An ode to childhood trauma
-
9
'The Roundup: Punishment' becomes fastest 2024 film to top 2 mln admissions
-
10
New head of doctors' association vows war in case of disadvantage to medical professors
-
N. Korea likely to launch mid-range missile
North Korea looks set to launch a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile instead of a long-range one as it still has to master the related technologies, military officials said Monday."There are no signs of an imminent test firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile by North Korea.But we are closely monitoring any new military activities in the country as it could launch an IRBM at any time if leader Kim Jong-un gives the order," an official at the defense ministry said.This year, Nor
Jan. 30, 2017
-
N. Korea resumes ideological indoctrination of S. Korean abductees: source
North Korea has resumed its indoctrination of South Korean abductees as part of a broader effort by the reclusive regime to tighten control over its people, a local activist group said Monday.According to the Abductees' Family Union that cited sources with contacts in North Korea, Pyongyang has resumed its ideological brainwashing of South Korean prisoners of war, their families and people the regime kidnapped over the years.It said that the first indoctrination courses took place last year afte
Jan. 30, 2017
-
More help needed to deal with NK children born in 3rd countries: foundation
The number of children born in third countries to North Korean defectors has been on the rise requiring the expansion of support provided by society, a public foundation in Seoul said Monday.According to the Korea Hana Foundation, the number of children in South Korea who were born in third countries, like China, reached 1,249 as of 2015, more than the 1,226 kids born in the North who escaped with their parents. In late 2011 there were 608 children born in third countries before they arrived in
Jan. 30, 2017
-
N. Korea using sensors along border to clamp down on defectors
North Korea is employing land-based sensors along its border with China to detect people trying to flee the country, sources in Seoul said Monday.Insiders familiar with the reclusive country told Yonhap News Agency that the North's national security agency has set up unmanned detection devices following orders issued by leader Kim Jong-un. The North Korean leader has stressed the importance of dealing effectively with defectors as quickly as possible. A North Korean restaurant located in China a
Jan. 30, 2017
-
Satellite image shows NK restarts plutonium-producing reactor
Fresh satellite imagery shows that North Korea has apparently restarted its plutonium-producing nuclear reactor, a US website monitoring the communist nation said Friday."Imagery from January 22 shows a water plume (most probably warm) originating from the cooling water outlet of the reactor, an indication that the reactor is very likely operating," the website 38 North said in a report."Currently, most of the river is frozen over except where this water mixes with the river. Currents carry this
Jan. 28, 2017
-
N. Korea airs another encrypted number broadcast
North Korea aired a broadcast of encrypted numbers on Friday, apparently aiming at sending messages to spies operating in South Korea.The coded radio broadcast began at 1:15 a.m. by the North's propaganda radio station Radio Pyongyang. The broadcast lasted for approximately 5 minutes.The announcer then said, "On page 428 number 51, on page 192 number 33, on page 260 number 41," followed by more numbers. (Yonhap)The latest batch of numbers were the same as the broadcast made on Jan. 13.It marked
Jan. 27, 2017
-
N. Korea purging descendants of anti-Japanese guerrillas: defector
North Korea is currently purging the descendants of prominent guerrillas who fought against Japanese colonialists, a former North Korean embassy minister in London who defected to Seoul last year said Friday.During a meeting with officials from the Presidential Committee for Unification Preparation, former North Korean diplomat Thae Yong-ho claimed Kim Jong-un is currently purging the descendants from key posts in Pyongyang.The remark is significant as the descendants played a crucial role in th
Jan. 27, 2017
-
N.K. to hold meeting for exemplary workers on self-reliance
North Korea plans to hold a conference of top performers who are leading efforts to overcome economic difficulties under a new slogan of boosting self-reliance at the end of this year, Pyongyang's state media said Thursday.The central committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea decided to convene a meeting of "Mallima pace-setters" in Pyongyang at the end of 2017, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).Mallima refers to an imaginary horse that can run extreme distances at a very
Jan. 26, 2017
-
Senior N. Korean defector says his sons were reason he fled
The highest-level North Korean diplomat to defect to South Korea said Wednesday he decided to flee because he didn't want his children to live ``miserable'' lives in the North. Thae Yong Ho, a former minister at the North Korean Embassy in London, told reporters that he was lucky to have been able to bring both of his sons to London, unlike other North Korean diplomats who are forced to leave some of their children at home as ``hostages.'' After his sons, now 20 and 27, learned about life
Jan. 25, 2017
-
S. Korea, France agree to collaborate in pressing N. Korea to discard nukes
South Korea and France agreed Wednesday to collaborate closely in pressing North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programs, holding the two countries' first high-level talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. The high-level consultative talks were held in Paris, France, with each side represented by South Korea's top nuclear envoy Kim Hong-kyun and Political Director of the French Foreign Ministry Nicolas de Riviere. The bilateral talks dedicated to tackling North Korea's nuclear wea
Jan. 25, 2017
-
N. Korea likely to test ICBM ahead of late leader's birthday in mid-Feb.: expert
North Korea is likely to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile to mark late leader Kim Jong-il's birthday on Feb. 16, a researcher on North Korean affairs said Wednesday."Given the North Korean regime's remarks and conditions of its technical preparedness, the North is highly likely to go ahead with an ICBM test firing ahead of the 75th anniversary of Kim Jong-il's birth on Feb. 16," Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute, said in a forum hosted by the institut
Jan. 25, 2017
-
N. Korea rated as world's third most corrupt nation
North Korea is perceived to be the third most corrupt country in the world, following Somalia and South Sudan, the Transparency International (TI) said on Wednesday in its latest annual review on the corruption level of each country.According to the TI's Corruption Perceptions Index 2016, which ranks countries' public sector from zero to 100, the North held the ranking among 176 surveyed countries with a score of 12. Countries with a lower score are deemed to be more corrupt.Somalia and South Su
Jan. 25, 2017
-
NK thought to be boosting coal exports to China ahead of ban: Seoul
A jump in China's coal imports from North Korea in December is probably attributed to Pyongyang's push to increase shipments ahead of Beijing's decision to temporarily suspend the purchase of the energy resource from its neighbor, a Seoul official said Wednesday.Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported on Monday that China imported 2 million tons of North Korean coal in December, up 13 percent from a year earlier, citing China's customs data.The shipments surged even though China's commerce
Jan. 25, 2017
-
NK seeking to advance into Russia's maritime province
North Korea is aggressively seeking cooperation with Russia's maritime province, proposing cooperation between the two countries' ruling parties, a US broadcaster reported, citing a local media. According to PrimaMedia in the maritime province, Rim Chong-il, North Korean consul-general in Vladivostok, paid a call to Valentine Shumatov, a regional chairman of the Russian ruling party United Russia, on Jan. 11, Radio Free Asia said. During the meeting, made at the request of the North, the two sid
Jan. 25, 2017
-
NK holds funeral for aviation body's chief
North Korea's state media said Wednesday that a funeral for Kang Ki-sop, the head of the country's aviation agency, was held in Pyongyang. The memorial service for Kang, director-general of the General Administration of Civil Aviation, was held on Tuesday, with family, party and military officials in attendance, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The media outlet did not mention North Korean leader Kim Jong-un being present at the ceremony or the cause of Kang's death and when he died.
Jan. 25, 2017
-
US should significantly up pressure on NK if initial attempt at diplomacy fails: experts
The United States should significantly bolster defensive and offensive military capabilities, drive up sanctions and take other tough measures against North Korea if yet another attempt at diplomacy fails to persuade Pyongyang to move toward denuclearization, US experts said Tuesday.Joel Wit, a North Korea expert with Johns Hopkins University's US-Korea Institute, made the case in a joint article with Richard Sokolsky, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, arguing wh
Jan. 25, 2017
-
NK may test-fire ICBM from eastern missile site: 38 North
South Korea’s military said Tuesday it has not verified any signs of an imminent test of a long-range missile from North Korea, after a US think tank raised the possibility, citing commercial satellite imagery. A blog run by the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, 38 North, warned Sunday that Pyongyang may fire an intercontinental ballistic missile -- for which the country’s leader Kim Jong-un said preparations were in the “final stage” in his New Year’s address -- from the Kalma sit
Jan. 24, 2017
-
Malaysia bans flights of NK passenger jets
Malaysia has been banning North Korean passenger jets from its airspace as part of its efforts to implement a United Nations Security Council sanctions resolution against the reclusive country.Malaysia's implementation report on Resolution 2270, which was submitted to the UN in August, showed that the country has taken measures to prohibit North Korean flights from landing and taking off from its territory or transiting its airspace. (Yonhap)The report said the last flight by North Korea's flag
Jan. 24, 2017
-
Korea launches advisory body on NK human rights policy
South Korea's unification ministry on Tuesday launched an advisory body to help the government set up its policy on North Korea's human rights in accordance with a law aimed at improving the way Pyongyang treats its people.The 10-member advisory committee will provide recommendations to the government in carrying out its probe into North Korea's human rights abuses and conducting relevant policies, according to the Ministry of Unification. The committee members, mainly consisting of professors,
Jan. 24, 2017
-
Tanzania to import NK doctors due to manpower shortage
A to-be-opened Tanzanian general hospital will reportedly employ dozens of North Korean doctors due to the lack of such manpower in the African nation, a US broadcaster reported Tuesday.The branch school of Kampala International University in Dar es Salaam is scheduled to open the hospital with 1,000 beds in June, Radio Free Asia said, citing a local source. The hospital plans to scout doctors from foreign nations, including the North, Pakistan and Cuba, to make up for the shortage of local doct
Jan. 24, 2017