Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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N. Koreans defect via West Sea
Three North Korean residents defected to the South by riding on a boat over the West Sea, authorities said Tuesday.This is the latest in a series of defections by North Koreans, particularly among its elites, including Thae Young-ho, who had been a high-ranking diplomat dispatched to the UK, earlier this month.Intelligence authorities said that the residents were found by the sea patrol as they passed through the waters near Incheon on a small fishing boat.The defectors immediately expressed the
Aug. 23, 2016
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N. Korea lays land mines near border to prevent defection by soldiers: sources
North Korea was seen laying anti-personnel mines along its side of the inter-Korean border, presumably to block potential defection by its own soldiers, a government source said Tuesday."The North Korean military was witnessed burying land mines on the northern side of a bridge in Panmunjeom last week," the source said. The small bridge known as the Bridge of No Return is located within the truce village and spans the military demarcation line between the two Koreas.It was the first time North K
Aug. 23, 2016
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'North Korea may have produced plutonium for 2-4 nukes'
North Korea is estimated to have produced enough weapon-grade plutonium for about two to four more nuclear weapons than previously assessed, the US-based Institute for Science and International Society said Monday.The institute based the speculation on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s recent evaluation of the communist country’s nuclear capacity.In the Aug.19 report, the IAEA said Pyongyang appears to have unloaded fuel from its 5-megawatt electric reactor at its main Yongbyon nuclear fa
Aug. 23, 2016
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Pyongyang orders diplomats' children back home: spy agency
North Korea recently ordered the children of its diplomats stationed overseas to return home, intelligence sources said Tuesday, adding that this likely didn't lead to the latest defection of a high-ranking Britain-based official and his family.According to the sources, the National Intelligence Service told a closed door session of parliament's intelligence committee that Pyongyang has ordered all diplomats' children aged 25 and above to return home, in an apparent bid to block potential defect
Aug. 23, 2016
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N. Korea urges allegiance to Kim Jong-un ahead of youth congress
North Korea urged its young people to pledge allegiance to leader Kim Jong-un three days before a rare youth congress, a state-run daily said Tuesday, as the country moves to solidify its one-man rule through support from the youth.In an editorial on Tuesday, North Korea's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun said the 9th Congress of the Kim Il-sung Youth League which opens on Friday is the start of a new history for young Korean heroes, claiming that "now is the most golden time for the youth movement.
Aug. 23, 2016
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NK leader obsessed with erasing executed uncle's legacy: source
North Korea's leader seems to be obsessed with erasing all remaining vestiges of his uncle Jang Song-thaek, who he executed in 2013 for treason, a source familiar with the North's affairs said Tuesday.The North's leader Kim Jong-un has reacted sensitively to anything related to Jang, ordering overseas restaurants' names to be changed and the dismantling of a folklore theme park in Pyongyang, according to the source.Kim has ordered his officials to change facilities named "Haedanghwa," which mean
Aug. 23, 2016
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N. Korea threatens pre-emptive nuke strike over Seoul's military drill
North Korea on Monday threatened to mount a "preemptive nuclear strike" on South Korea and the United States as the allies kicked off their annual military exercise aimed at countering Pyongyang's potential aggression. The command and control exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian, began its two-week run on Monday, involving tens of thousands of South Korean and US forces.This year's drill came amid unusually heightened inter-Korean tensions following the defection of a London-based North Korean senior
Aug. 22, 2016
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North Korea likely to carry out provocation to counter defection, UFG: gov't
North Korea may carry out some sort of provocation following the high profile defection of a senior diplomat and as the joint South Korea-U.S. drill gets underway, a government source said Sunday."There is a considerable chance that the North confronted with difficulties may implement some sort of provocation to help rally its people and consolidate the regime's hold on power," an official at Seoul's unification ministry said. Such a move can also divert attention from Pyongyang's other troubles
Aug. 21, 2016
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North Korean media silent on high-profile diplomat's defection
North Korea's state-run media that caters to its domestic audience has remained silent on the defection of a senior diplomat, Pyongyang watchers here said Sunday.Newspapers, TV and radio stations in North Korea did not mention Thae Yong-ho whatsoever, even though the Korean Central News Agency, Pyongyang's official news wire, blasted Seoul for using the diplomat to fuel anti-DPRK propaganda and create dangerous friction between the two Koreas. The KCNA generally focuses on broadcasting Pyongyang
Aug. 21, 2016
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North Korea blasts largest-ever South Korean artillery drill as provocation
North Korea on Sunday blasted the largest ever artillery drill conducted by South Korea's military as a grave provocation that is endangering regional peace.Uriminzokkiri, North Korea's main Internet-based media and propaganda Web site, said the exercise carried out along the demilitarized zone that separates the two countries on Thursday is an unacceptable challenge to the DPRK and showed that the war monger in Seoul will only respond to merciless force.DPRK is the abbreviation of North Korea's
Aug. 21, 2016
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Concerns grow over heightened terror threats by Pyongyang against South Koreans
In the wake of the recent defection of a high-ranking North Korean diplomat to South Korea, concerns have grown that Pyongyang may be considering terrorist attacks on South Korean nationals in China and East Asian countries.Last week, Seoul said Thae Yong-ho, a minister at the North Korean embassy in London, defected to the South with his family in the latest development that shows even elite officials are becoming disillusioned with the world's most closed and repressive country. Thae is believ
Aug. 21, 2016
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North Korea calls defected diplomat 'criminal'
North Korea said Saturday that a Britain-based senior diplomat who recently defected to South Korea is a "criminal."Earlier this week, the South announced that Thae Yong-ho, who served as a minister at North Korea's embassy in London, and his family had arrived in South Korea.In its first official response to the high-profile defection, the North accused the South of launching an "anti-DPRK (North Korea) smear campaign and confrontation.""The Park Geun-hye group of traitors in South Korea carrie
Aug. 21, 2016
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Naturally occurring quake detected in North Korea
A magnitude 3 earthquake was detected in eastern North Korea on Saturday, but it appears to be a naturally occurring one, South Korea's weather agency said.The earthquake took place at 12:18 p.m. in areas of North Korea's Gangwon province near the inter-Korean border, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA)."The quake seems to be a naturally occuring earthquake," the agency said.On Thursday, a 2.6-magnitude quake was detected in North Korea's southwestern province of Hwanghae,
Aug. 20, 2016
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N.K., China start repair work on bridge linking their border
North Korea and China on Saturday kicked off a 40-day repair work on a railroad bridge that links the two countries' border cities, a source familiar with the matter said.The source said that the countries started maintenance work on the railway system on the bridge linking North Korea's border city of Sinuiju to China's city of Dandong over the Yalu River."During the repair period, not only trains but also vehicles will not be allowed to cross the bridge," the source said.The bridge, built in 1
Aug. 20, 2016
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N. Korea denounces S. Korea's front-line fire exercise as military provocation
North Korea on Friday slammed South Korean military's largest-ever live-fire exercise conducted to mark last year's inter-Korean artillery clash, denouncing it as a rash provocation. South Korea's military on Thursday carried out the drill along the tense inter-Korean border, involving 49 front-line artillery battalions. It was the military's biggest-ever artillery exercise in size, with about 300 guns being fired in a show of force.It took place two days before South Korea marks the anniversary
Aug. 19, 2016
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NK official running state coffer in Europe disappears: media report
A North Korean official managing money for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Europe has disappeared, raising speculation that he might have defected with a large amount of state funds, a local media report said Friday.Citing anonymous sources, Dong-A Ilbo, a major daily newspaper here, reported that the official in charge of money management for the so-called No. 39 office of the Workers' Party vanished in June.The office is known for running money for Kim's regime.The North Korean official is
Aug. 19, 2016
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NK diplomat directly flew into S. Korea for defection: source
A Britain-based senior North Korean diplomat directly flew to South Korea after expressing his wish to defect to the Seoul government, a source said Friday.Thae Yong-ho, who served as a minister at North Korea's embassy in London, and his family arrived in South Korea late last month without going through a third country, according to the source familiar with the matter.The 55-year-old Thae, known as the No. 2 man at the North's embassy, has become one of the highest-level North Korean diplomats
Aug. 19, 2016
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US Navy secretary to meet S. Korea's defense chief over N. Korean issues
The secretary of the U.S. Navy will meet with South Korea's defense minister on Friday to discuss measures to better counter threats from North Korea, the military said. US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus is set to meet Han Min-koo in Seoul, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement. "The US naval official and South Korea's top defense policymaker will discuss measures to strengthen the bilateral alliance against growing (nuclear and missile) threats from the North and to cooperate on
Aug. 19, 2016
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NK diplomat's defection could lead to even more defections: CSIS
The defection of North Korea's No. 2 diplomat in London will likely prompt the regime in Pyongyang to take oppressive measures to prevent similar cases, which could in return encourage even more defections, a US think tank said Thursday.Thae Yong-ho, 55, minister at the North's mission in London, recently arrived in South Korea with his family, Seoul's Ministry of Unification announced earlier this week without unveiling further details. He is one of the highest-ranking North Korean diplomats to
Aug. 19, 2016
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NK diplomat’s defection blow to Kim regime
A high-ranking North Korean diplomat’s recent defection to the South is expected to have a substantial impact on the Kim Jong-un leadership, but local experts said it may be a stretch to see it as an omen of Pyongyang’s downfall.Seoul’s Unification Ministry on Wednesday announced Thae Yong-ho, a minister based in London, has come to South Korea with his family and is under protection. Thae’s defection is the latest in the recent string of defections by the North’s elite group. The North Korean E
Aug. 18, 2016