Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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U.S. urges N. Korea to tone down rhetoric
The United States urged North Korea on Tuesday to tone down its bellicose rhetoric after Pyongyang's top diplomat threatened the communist nation is ready to launch a preemptive nuclear strike against the U.S.Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong made the threat in an interview with Russia's Itar-Tass news agency published on Monday, saying the country "placed its army into the state of its readiness to deliver a preemptive nuclear strike in response to the U.S. hostile activities."It was the latest in a
March 30, 2016
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Pressuring N. Korea to top Obama‘s trilateral summit with Park, Abe
Pressuring North Korea with sanctions will be the No. 1 topic for a trilateral summit that U.S.President Barack Obama is scheduled to hold with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this week, a top American diplomat said Tuesday.The three leaders are scheduled to hold the three-way meeting Thursday on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. The meeting comes as Pyongyang has been ratcheting up tensions with threats of attacks, claims of
March 30, 2016
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North Korea fires short-range missile into East Sea
North Korea on Tuesday fired a short-range missile into the East Sea in another show of force, the South’s military said. The projectile took off at around 5:40 p.m. from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan and flew some 200 kilometers toward the northeastern inland areas, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. A picture released by North Korea’s main newspaper Rodong Shinmun on March 11, claiming the short-range ballistic missile launch test. (Yonhap) “Our military maintains tight readiness posture wh
March 29, 2016
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Park to coordinate N.K. squeeze at nuclear summit
President Park Geun-hye is leaving for Washington on Wednesday to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, where she will also hold a series of talks with leaders of the U.S., China and Japan to coordinate their steps on North Korea in the wake of its new nuclear and missile tests. Park will meet separately with U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. Her schedule also includes a separate trilateral sess
March 29, 2016
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Pyongyang clamping down on people making phone calls with South Koreans
North Korea has been intensifying a "sting operation" to arrest people making contact with South Koreans using mobile phones, especially in border areas near China, sources said Tuesday.Sources familiar with North Korean affairs said that nearly 10 people have been arrested by security forces since the start of the ongoing 70-day campaign to encourage its people to work harder as the ruling Workers' Party gets ready to host its first congress since 1980.The event is expected to allow North Korea
March 29, 2016
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Seoul journalists urged to use caution at China-Pyongyang border
South Korea urged its journalists Tuesday to exercise special caution when reporting near the Chinese border with North Korea amid heightened tensions following the North's nuclear and missile tests, a diplomatic source said.The government sent a letter to local news organizations, urging reporters in the area to pay special attention to their safety and follow Chinese laws, the source said on condition of anonymity.The warning comes after South Korea received intelligence of a possible North Ko
March 29, 2016
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U.N. sanctions to halve N. Korean exports
The latest wave of U.N. sanctions on North Korea following its banned weapons tests may nearly halve the impoverished state's mineral exports, clouding its economy heavily dependent on China, a report showed Tuesday. The U.N. Security Council imposed a raft of tougher sanctions on Pyongyang earlier this month to punish it for the Jan. 6 nuclear test and Feb. 7 launch of a long-range rocket, both of which violated previous U.N. resolutions.The sanctions, agreed upon by Washington and Beijing, inc
March 29, 2016
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Pyongyang uses nuclear development as deterrence
North Korea's push to develop nuclear arms is part of its struggle to establish deterrence against the United States rather than a scheme to launch a preemptive strike on the continental U.S., a prominent American expert said Monday.David Albright, head of the U.S-based non-governmental Institute for Science and International Security, said that the communist regime has been utilizing the process of developing atomic bombs to ensure its deterrence.He made the remarks during his speech on the sta
March 29, 2016
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N. Korea increases drone sorties along western border
North Korea's military has sharply increased drone sorties along the western part of its border with South Korea, a government official said Tuesday."Drone activity has increased sharply around the western part of the frontline as of late," the official said, asking not to be identified. "There is a brisk pace of take-off and landing exercises involving various types of small and bigger-than-medium-size unmanned aerial vehicles," the official noted. Roughly seven or eight drone missions are bein
March 29, 2016
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Pyongyang kicks off preparations for May party congress
North Korea has begun preparations for the ruling party's congress slated for May, picking candidates for provincial delegates, a source said Tuesday.The Workers' Party of Korea plans to hold its first party congress in 36 years in May, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will likely unveil new lines of policies. Seoul's spy agency said that the event is expected to be held on May 7.A source familiar with North Korean affairs said the country started the process to select candidates for delega
March 29, 2016
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Park calls for thorough deterrence against North Korea
President Park Geun-hye on Monday called for airtight defense readiness and “dominant” deterrence against North Korea as the communist neighbor ramped up its threats. In a message to the military, she cheered the soldiers for having maintained “airtight” readiness since Pyongyang’s new nuclear and missile tests early this year, which would make the North “afraid.” “We’re under a graver security situation than ever, but the crisis can become a fresh opportunity depending on how we respond. Now we
March 28, 2016
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Banning distribution of propaganda leaflets to N.K. legal: top court
The Supreme Court said Monday it is legal for the government to ban distribution of propaganda leaflets to North Korea for the sake of preventing retaliatory provocation from across the border.The ruling came after Lee Man-bok, 59, a North Korean defector, filed for compensation against the state, citing “emotional distress” after the government stopped him from dispatching such leaflets.Lee, who defected in 1991, has been working as a missionary and was the first person in South Korea to send a
March 28, 2016
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Kim Jong-un visits commercial area accompanied by wife, sister
North Korea's Kim Jong-un has visited a newly built commercial district and health complex, the North's official news agency reported Monday, in what appears to be a move to show that the leader cares about the livelihoods of ordinary people.According to a report by the Korean Central News Agency, Kim called on officials and employees at the Mirae Shop and a health complex to give good service to customers. The health complex contains bathrooms, a barber's shop, a beauty salon and other faciliti
March 28, 2016
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Restriction on anti-NK leaflet launch lawful
South Korea's top court ruled that it is legitimate for the government to curb activists from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border, citing security issues, official records showed Monday. The Supreme Court in late February turned down a suit filed by Lee Min-bok, 59, seeking compensation from authorities for causing what he called "mental distress" by preventing his leaflet launch.The court said the leaflet campaign can be restricted if it threatens the safety of ordinary people, de
March 28, 2016
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Magnitude 3.0 earthquake hits N. Korea
A 3.0-magnitude earthquake believed to have occurred naturally struck North Korea on Sunday, South Korea's weather agency said.The quake was detected at 6.28 p.m. some 12km southeast of Pyongsong, South Pyongan Province, in central North Korea, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said.Considering the shape and amplitude of the tremor, it doesn't seem to have been caused artificially, the KMA added. (Yonhap)
March 27, 2016
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N.K. ups rhetoric with ‘ultimatum’ to strike Park
North Korea ratcheted up its rhetoric over the weekend, issuing an “ultimatum” to strike Cheong Wa Dae unless President Park Geun-hye offers an “apology” for individual and joint military drills designed to attack Pyongyang’s leadership and other acts of what it calls “treason.” South Korea’s military rebuked the North’s statement, warned against any provocation and urged an immediate halt of “vulgar” remarks against Seoul. The ultimatum issued by the North’s long-range artillery force late Satu
March 27, 2016
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N. Korean labor union blasts U.S., President Park for provocation
North Korea's labor union on Sunday vehemently denounced the United States and South Korea's President Park Geun-hye for carrying out military drills targeting key facilities and the leadership of the communist country."On behalf of all the workers, the U.S. imperialists and the Park Geun Hye group of traitors of South Korea for their heinous moves to get the sun eclipsed, not content with running amuck in the reckless moves to invade the DPRK," the statement released by the spokesman for the Ce
March 27, 2016
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N. Korea unveils video footage showing SLBM attack on Washington
A North Korean Web site unveiled video footage on Saturday in which its submarine-launched ballistic missile scorches Washington D.C., ratcheting up its provocative acts in defiance of international pressure.The 4-minute long footage, uploaded on the website of dprktoday.com, one of the North's propaganda sites for outside online users, shows an SLBM, after re-entering the earth's atmosphere from outer space, hitting the U.S.' capital.Earlier this month, a U.S. news report said that the North ha
March 26, 2016
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Activist group send anti-Pyongyang leaflets amid eased tensions
A leading civic group sent anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the inter-Korean border on Saturday amid escalating tensions sparked by the North's nuclear tests and missile launches.The Fighters for a Free North Korea said that it has scattered some 80,000 leaflets critical of the communist regime.The civic group regularly launches big balloons carrying such anti-Pyongyang leaflets in a campaign to spread dissenting messages in the reclusive country.The campaign had irked North Korea in the past, whi
March 26, 2016
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Detained U.S. citizen admits his crime of espionage: N. Korea
A U.S. citizen detained in North Korea confessed Friday to his crime of espionage in connection with South Korea's spy agency and asked for mercy, the North's state media said. Kim Dong-chul, a 62-year-old U.S. citizen, said at a press conference in Pyongyang that he has been serving as a spy for South Korea by secretly passing on intelligence on the North's party and military to Seoul, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim was detained by the North after being arrested in O
March 25, 2016