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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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[Robert J. Fouser] AI changes rationale for learning languages
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
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Seoul warns against further N.K. nuclear, missile tests in 2016
North Korea may stage additional nuclear and missile tests including from a submarine next year, the country’s top military commanders warned Monday, calling for developing a joint response mechanism with the U.S. and airtight readiness posture at all times. In the wake of the abrupt calling-off of the much-touted performance by North Korea’s Moranbong Band last weekend in China, relations between Pyongyang and Beijing may well head further downhill, the military assessed. “We see that we should
Dec. 14, 2015
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Why is N.K. obsessed with Mount Geumgangsan tours?
North Korea is keen on resuming the long-stalled tours to Mount Geumgangsan as they would offer a stable source of hard currency, spur efforts to develop tourism on its east coast and eventually enhance the regime’s political legitimacy, analysts said Monday.North Korean leader Kim Jong-eun inspects a fish farm in Pyongyang last week. (Yonhap)Restarting the tour program was one of the thorniest issues at the rare cross-border talks that broke down Saturday as Pyongyang insisted it should be addr
Dec. 14, 2015
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Pyongyang may continue provocations after canceled concert in China
Strained relations between North Korea and China as seen in the abrupt cancellation of a North Korean concert in China may spur Pyongyang to keep launching military provocations down the road, the Ministry of National Defense said Monday. "Under the possibility that the North Korea-China relations may become alienated following the sudden cancellation of the Moranbong Band's concert, our military will pay special attention to the likelihood of North Korea's strategic and tactical provocations,"
Dec. 14, 2015
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Pyongyang seen rebuffing Chinese efforts before canceling concert
Key Chinese party officials visited a hotel where an all-female band formed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was staying on Saturday, in apparent last-minute efforts to prevent the North from canceling a well publicized concert in Beijing, a diplomatic source with knowledge of the situation said Monday. Organized by the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee, North Korea's Moranbong Band had been scheduled to perform in Beijing on Saturday in what was see
Dec. 14, 2015
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Pyongyang hosts 1st bankers' meeting in 25 yrs
North Korea held its third conference of financial and banking officials over the weekend, resuming the rare event after a 25-year hiatus in what could be an emerging sign that the country's economy has climbed out of the level of subsistence and is gearing up for financial reform. The Third National Conference of Financial and Banking Officials held on Sunday at the People's Palace of Culture in Pyongyang was reported by the (North) Korean Central News Agency and Korean Central TV, monitored i
Dec. 14, 2015
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Seoul to beef up anti-terrorism posture against Pyongyang
South Korea plans to step up its readiness against potential terrorist attacks by North Korea next year as part of broader efforts to guard against the communist country's security threats, the Ministry of National Defense said Monday. "Our military will maintain a firm readiness posture in order to contain and respond resolutely to North Korea's various provocations, including its nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction," read the ministry's 2016 policy plan discussed in a biannual mee
Dec. 14, 2015
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[Newsmaker] N.K. female band cancels Beijing show
Much-anticipated performances in China by a North Korean female propaganda troupe were canceled abruptly Saturday, sparking many rumors including one related to a possible friction between Beijing and Pyongyang over the latter’s nuclear program. The performances by the Moranbong Band were supposed to begin at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing at 7:30 p.m., but they were called off just three hours before. They were scheduled to continue three days from Saturday.Following the
Dec. 13, 2015
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Uncertainties over inter-Korean ties grow
Uncertainties over the prospects of inter-Korean ties rose Saturday as the rare cross-border talks broke down due to differences over a series of pending issues including the stalled tours to Mount Geumgangsan and the issue of families separated by the border. The vice minister-level talks that started amicably Friday turned into a grueling tug-of-war as Pyongyang officials insisted on resuming the lucrative tours to the mountain and linking the issue to the issue of separated families, Seoul of
Dec. 13, 2015
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Chinese state media silent on North Korean band's concert cancellation
China's state-controlled media remained silent Sunday about the sudden cancellation of a series of concerts by an all-female North Korean band formed by the North's leader Kim Jong-un. The Moranbong Band had been scheduled to perform for three days in Beijing starting Saturday, in what was seen as an apparent sign of warming ties between the allies. However, the band abruptly headed home hours before the first concert began. Citing a "relevant department," China's state-run Xinhua News Agenc
Dec. 13, 2015
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North Korean band's performance in Beijing canceled
Performances by North Korea's all-female propaganda band in Beijing were canceled, an official at a Chinese theater where it was to perform said Saturday, with members of the band abruptly heading back to Pyongyang. The Moranbong Band had been scheduled to perform for three days in Beijing from Saturday, in an apparent sign of warming relations between the two countries. "The performance was canceled," said the official at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. The official d
Dec. 13, 2015
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Pyongyang blames Seoul after no headway at inter-Korean talks
North Korea accused South Korea Sunday of slandering the communist country, laying blame on the South after their high-level talks ended without an agreement. Their two-day vice-ministerial talks held at a joint industrial part in the North Korean border town of Kaesong failed to produce any breakthroughs Saturday, with both sides pushing for different agenda. The Koreas did not set a date for further talks, casting a cloud over inter-Korean dialogue, which has continued since an agreement be
Dec. 13, 2015
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Koreas resume high-level talks aimed at improving ties
South and North Korea resumed high-level talks on Saturday after an adjournment as they are seeking to explore ways of mending ties following heightened cross-border tension in August. Officials from the two Koreas talk at a meeting held in Kaeseong, North Korea on Friday. (Yonhap)The two Koreas reopened vice-ministerial talks at a joint industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong Saturday morning as they failed to conclude the meeting a day earlier.The rival Koreas appeared to have
Dec. 12, 2015
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N. Korean leader inspects catfish farm
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a catfish farm, calling it a "model and standard farm" for the country's pisciculture, the North's state media said Saturday.It was his first visit to the May 9 Catfish Farm since December last year, when he named it after the day his father and late leader Kim Jong-il visited the farm for the first time. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (Yonhap)"Kim Jong-un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, first chairman of the DPRK National Defense Comm
Dec. 12, 2015
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Koreas hold high-level dialogue
GAESEONG, North Korea -- The two Koreas held a rare high-level meeting Friday in the North Korean border town of Gaeseong, seeking to mend fences worn by a flare-up in military tensions last summer and a perennial standoff over sanctions, stalled tours and other issues. The South’s delegation, led by Vice Unification Minister Hwang Boo-gi, left for the city that houses a joint factory park early in the morning to join his counterpart Jon Jong-su, a vice director of the North’s Committee for Peac
Dec. 11, 2015
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North Korean band leader appears in China after execution rumors
Hyon Song-wol, leader of North Korea's all-female propaganda band, appeared in public Friday, quelling a series of rumors and many media reports that she was executed in 2013. Hyon heads the Moranbong Band, hand-picked by North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-un, who sent the band to Beijing on Thursday for a six-day "friendship" tour, in an apparent move that indicates that once-strained ties between the allies are warming.Upon her arrival Friday morning at a luxury hotel in central Beijing where
Dec. 11, 2015
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Koreas open high-level talks aimed at improving ties
South and North Korea kicked off high-level talks Friday on ways to mend frayed ties following heightened cross-border military tensions in August, government officials said.The vice-ministerial talks began at around 10:40 a.m. at a joint industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong as part of efforts to implement an inter-Korean deal in August on defusing tension.The agenda for the talks has not been revealed publicly, but the rival Koreas are likely to discuss various pending issue
Dec. 11, 2015
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Unification by absorption would spell catastrophe: head of presidential panel
South Korea is seeking unification with North Korea by none other than peaceful means, the head of a presidential panel on unification said Thursday, stressing that unification by absorption could spell catastrophe.Chung Chong-wook, vice chairman of Seoul's Presidential Committee for Unification Preparation, made the point during a Heritage Foundation discussion in Washington, emphasizing that there is "no other rational alternative" to peaceful unification."Unification by absorption will create
Dec. 11, 2015
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U.N. Security Council holds discussions on North Korea's human
The U.N. Security Council held a meeting on North Korea's human rights situation on Thursday, the second time the issue has been discussed at the top global security body after the first such meeting last year.The meeting took place after a proposal for the meeting was passed in a 9-4 vote with two abstentions.Last year, the Security Council held its first-ever meeting on the North's human rights issue after the adoption of a landmark U.N. General Assembly resolution calling for referring the co
Dec. 11, 2015
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White House doubts North Korea's H-bomb development claims
The White House said Thursday it doubts North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's claims that the communist nation has developed hydrogen bombs."We certainly are concerned about the policies and intent and destabilizing actions of the North Korean regime. At this point, you know, the information that we have access to calls into serious question those claims," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a regular briefing of the North's H-bomb claims."But we take very seriously the risks and the threat t
Dec. 11, 2015
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U.S. urges Pyongyang to give up all nuclear weapons, programs after leader Kim's H-bomb claims
The United States urged North Korea on Thursday to completely give up all of its nuclear weapons and programs after leader Kim Jong-un claimed the communist nation developed hydrogen bombs considered more powerful than conventional atomic weapons.During a visit to a historic site for the North's arms industry, Kim said the country has a "powerful nuclear weapons state ready to detonate a self-reliant A-bomb and H-bomb to reliably defend its sovereignty and the dignity of the nation."It was belie
Dec. 11, 2015