Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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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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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
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‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
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Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
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North Korea readies massive anniversary celebration
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) – North Korea is holding what is expected to be one of its biggest celebrations ever Saturday for the 70th anniversary of its ruling party's creation, an attention-getting event that is the government's way of showing the world and its own people the Kim dynasty – now in its third generation – is firmly in control and its military a power to be reckoned with.As the clock struck midnight Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un marked the anniversary by paying respect t
Oct. 10, 2015
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U.S. commander says N. Korea capable of firing nuclear missile to homeland
A top U.S. military commander has said he believes North Korea is capable of firing a nuclear missile that can reach the continental United States, but the country's ready to defend against such attacks.Adm. William Gortney, commander of U.S. Northern Command, made the remark at a think tank event Wednesday, saying he agrees with the intelligence community's assessment the North has the ability and technology to put nuclear weapons "on rockets that can range the homeland."It's not the first time
Oct. 9, 2015
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Chinese media sheds light on N. Korea's education system
A Chinese state-controlled newspaper shed light on North Korea's education system on Thursday, ahead of the North's key anniversary later this week. North Korea expanded its universal and state-funded education system to 12 years from 11 years in 2013, offering a free education system which consisted of one year of kindergarten, five years of elementary school, three years of middle school and three years of high school. The People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, carried
Oct. 8, 2015
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Pyeongyang denies role in alleged hacks into Seoul subway operator
North Korea denied an allegation Thursday that it had hacked into a Seoul subway operator last year, calling South Korea's accusation against it a childish political plot.The North is suspected of launching a cyber attack on two operating servers of Seoul Metro, which runs four major subway lines, for at least five months in 2014, according to a lawmaker from the ruling Saenuri Party. North Korea's key propaganda website, Uriminjokkiri, warned that South Korea will face a bigger backlash if it
Oct. 8, 2015
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N.K. official thought to be purged re-appears in public
A senior North Korean official in charge of construction has accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on a visit to a flood-hit city, Pyongyang's media said Thursday, in his first public appearance in a year to quell rumors of his purge.Among Kim's entourage was Ma Won-chun, former director of the design department at the North's powerful National Defense Commission, when the North's leader visited the city of Rason on the North's northeast tip, according to the Korean Central News Agency.Kim
Oct. 8, 2015
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Pyeongyang estimated to have 22 nuclear weapons' worth of fissile material: U.S. institute
North Korea is estimated to be holding up to 22 nuclear weapons worth of fissile material, a U.S. research institute said Wednesday.The Institute for Science and International Security made the estimate in a report, saying that as of last year the communist nation was believed to be holding up to 34 kilograms of plutonium and 240 kilograms of weapons-grade uranium if Pyongyang has two uranium enrichment plants.(The Korea Herald)But the estimate could further increase because Pyongyang could extr
Oct. 8, 2015
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Water shortages in N. Korea not serious enough to hurt joint factory park: Seoul
A drought in North Korea has led to water shortages at an inter-Korean industrial park in the country, but the situation is not serious enough to threaten operations, the Unification Ministry said Wednesday.Rep. Sim Jae-kwon of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy claimed that Kaesong Industrial Park is facing a possible shutdown as the prolonged dry spell has brought about water shortages.He said that there is also an environmental concern as South Korea's plan to secure wate
Oct. 7, 2015
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U.S. senators introduce new N. Korea sanctions legislation
A group of U.S. senators, including presidential hopeful Marco Rubio, introduced legislation Tuesday calling for imposing new sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear program, human rights abuses and cyber attacks.Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) led the introduction of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2015, with Rubio (R-FL) and Jim Risch (R-ID) as co-sponsors, saying the U.S. should not forget "the severe risk posed by the nuclear-armed and increasingly belligerent regime.""The
Oct. 7, 2015
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N.K. rocket launch unlikely this week
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (right) speaks with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken before a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul. (Yonhap)North Korea is unlikely to launch a rocket Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party, Seoul officials and experts said Tuesday, noting that there were no signs yet of Pyongyang’s preparations for any imminent launch.The prediction came as Seoul has been stepping up diplomacy to prevent the communist regim
Oct. 6, 2015
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Kim Jong-un calls for stronger nuclear deterrence in anniversary thesis
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un instructed the communist country to bolster its nuclear arsenal and war preparations in a special essay to mark an upcoming national anniversary, according to the country's state-controlled media Tuesday.The Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece daily for the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, carried the piece in honor of the 70th anniversary of the party's founding on Oct. 10. The headline read "The Laborious Work of Kim Jong-un: The feat of the party of great comrades Kim
Oct. 6, 2015
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Markets in N. Korea have grown: report
Marketplaces in North Korea have expanded over the span of more than 10 years despite the North's crackdown on them in 2010, a report showed Tuesday, indicating markets' critical role in the North's economy.An analysis of satellite imagery showed that most markets in North Korea have "either grown or remained virtually unchanged" in recent years despite the North Korean regime's crackdown on them, according to the report by Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein, a non-resident Kelly Fellow at the Pacific
Oct. 6, 2015
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N. Korea seems to opt for pure celebration over rocket launch
North Korea is likely to mark its key anniversary with a variety of celebratory events, rather than a provocative act such as a long-range rocket launch, South Korea said Tuesday.North Korea is expected to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea on Saturday without announcing new lines of policies, according to the Unification Ministry."There has been no sign of an imminent rocket launch by the North, including the movement of a missile body," said a
Oct. 6, 2015
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N. Korean rocket or nuclear test around Oct. 10 anniversary impossible: 38 North
Recent satellite imagery shows no signs of North Korea making rocket or nuclear test preparations, rendering it impossible for such a test to happen on or before a key national holiday this week, a U.S. research institute said Monday.Concerns have persisted that the North could conduct such tests around the 70th anniversary on Oct. 10 of the country's ruling Workers' Party in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions after Pyongyang strongly hinted at such possibilities.But commercial satel
Oct. 6, 2015
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Pyeongyang to repatriate S. Korean NYU student
North Korea will repatriate a 21-year-old South Korean student who has been detained there since April, the Unification Ministry said Monday, in what could be a conciliatory gesture by the North to South Korea. Joo Won-moon from New York University. (Yonhap)The communist nation will repatriate Joo Won-moon, a New York University student alleged to have attempted to illegally cross the border from China, through the truce village of Panmunjom at 5:30 p.m. today, according to a ministry official.
Oct. 5, 2015
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Seoul hopes top Chinese official's visit to Pyeongyang will help ease tension
The Unification Ministry voiced hope Monday that a planned visit by a ranking Chinese official to North Korea this week could help ease tension on the Korean Peninsula as the North threatens to conduct a missile or nuclear test.North Korea said Sunday that a Chinese delegation to be led by Liu Yunshan, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, will attend the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea, which falls this Saturday
Oct. 5, 2015
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N. Korea suspected of hacking South's subway operator
North Korea is suspected of hacking into a Seoul subway operator last year for at least five months, a ruling party lawmaker said Monday citing a report submitted by the country's intelligence agency.After hacking into two operating servers of Seoul Metro, which runs Subway Lines 1 through 4, the hackers allegedly broke into more than 210 employee computers and infected 58 with malicious codes, Rep. Ha Tae-kyung of the ruling Saenuri Party said, quoting a report by the National Intelligence Serv
Oct. 5, 2015
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Top Chinese official's visit signals little thaw in ties with N. Korea
A visit by a top Chinese official to North Korea this week for a key anniversary of the North's ruling party signaled little evidence of thaw in strained political ties between the two allies, two Chinese experts told a Hong Kong-based media outlet on Monday.Liu Yunshan, who ranks fifth in China's ruling Communist Party hierarchy, will lead a Chinese delegation that will attend the 70th anniversary of the founding of North Korea's Workers' Party on Saturday. North Korea's state media reported th
Oct. 5, 2015
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U.N. special rapporteur calls for regular inter-Korean family reunions
The U.N. special rapporteur on North Korea's human rights situation has called for regular reunions of families separated since the Korean War, calling the situation "very disconcerting."Special Rapporteur Marzuki Darusman made the appeal in a report to the U.N. General Assembly, stressing that for older generations "even a delay of one or two years means that their chance of seeing their relatives may be lost forever."Since the first-ever summit of their leaders in 2000, the two Koreas have hel
Oct. 5, 2015
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N. Korea says Chinese delegation will attend its key anniversary
A delegation of China's Communist Party will attend a ceremony marking the foundation of North Korea's Workers' Party, North Korean media reported Sunday, amid concerns Pyongyang may try to mark the key anniversary with actions that may very well be taken by the international community as provocations.In a short dispatch from Pyongyang, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said a Chinese delegation headed by Liu Yunshan, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the
Oct. 4, 2015
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Spy agency to file complaint against former chief
The nation’s top intelligence agency is considering filing a complaint with the prosecution against its former chief as he appears to have revealed confidential information he obtained during his leadership from 2006-2008.Former NIS chief Kim Man-bok (Yonhap)Last week, Kim Man-bok, who led the National Intelligence Service during the former Roh Moo-hyun administration, disclosed in a media interview that Roh and former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il were able to talk with each other at anytime
Oct. 4, 2015