Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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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 alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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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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N. Korean soldier makes weeklong journey to reach S. Korea
The teenage North Korean soldier who defected to South Korea this week left his barracks earlier this month and finally crossed the border after a week-long journey, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday.On Monday, the 19-year-old lowest-ranking North Korean enlistee defected to the South through the border in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, 118 kilometers northeast of Seoul. He told investigators that he made the decision after suffering from chronic assaults in the military."He went AWOL on J
June 16, 2015
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N. Korean leader watches nighttime naval firing drill
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed a nighttime firing drill by navy warships and ground artillery sub-units, the North's media said Tuesday, amid its offer for talks with South Korea.The young leader was "pleased" to watch the artillery and warships mercilessly hit their targets, according to the Korean Central News Agency.It said that Kim arrived at an observation post at around 3:00 a.m., but it did not specify the date.The KCNA said that "various types of ground artillery pieces, includ
June 16, 2015
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China appoints new deputy envoy to N. Korea nuclear talks
China has appointed its ambassador to Hungary as the new deputy envoy to the six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program, a diplomatic source said Tuesday.Xiao Qian, the Chinese ambassador to Hungary, is set to succeed Xu Bu, the Chinese deputy envoy to the long-stalled six-nation talks, who has been named as China's ambassador to Indonesia, the source said on the condition of anonymity.The replacement comes as numerous diplomatic efforts to resume the nuclear talks with North
June 16, 2015
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U.S. envoy for N.K. human rights to travel to Geneva, Brussels
The U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues is on a visit to Geneva and Brussels this week for consultations with the United Nations and the European Union, the State Department said Monday.Amb. Robert King was in Geneva on Monday and is scheduled to visit Brussels on Tuesday to attend a policy coordination meeting on the North Korean human rights issue, according to the department and diplomatic sources in Washington.King is scheduled to return home on Thursday.The issue of huma
June 16, 2015
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N. Korea to send two S. Koreans back home
North Korea notified South Korea on Monday of its plan to repatriate two South Koreans, alleged to have illegally entered the communist nation, later this week, the Unification Ministry said.In a fax message, the North said it will send a 59-year-old man, only identified by his surname, Lee, and a 51-year-old woman, surnamed Jin, back to the South on Wednesday via the truce village of Panmunjom that sits on the inter-Korean border, according to the ministry.The North said they "illegally" entere
June 15, 2015
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China urges easing of tension as N. Korea tests missiles
China on Monday urged all parties involved in talks about North Korea's nuclear program to do more in easing tension, a day after North Korea test-fired three short-range missiles into the sea. China's foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang also said nations involved in long-stalled talks on North Korea's nuclear program should find ways to compromise and resume the talks. North Korea test-launched three short-range missiles into the East Sea on Sunday, the latest launch since it claimed last month
June 15, 2015
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N.K. says open to inter-Korean dialogue
North Korea said Monday it was open to fostering trust and restarting dialogue with the South on the 15th anniversary of the two Koreas’ landmark peace declaration. It also unveiled a decision to return home two South Koreans it accused of illegally entering the country. The pair, a 59-year-old man surnamed Lee and a 51-year-old woman surnamed Chin, will be handed over to South Korean authorities at the border village of Panmunjeom on Wednesday, the Unification Ministry said. They went missing o
June 15, 2015
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N. Korea demands action against possible MERS cases in Kaesong zone
North Korea has asked South Korea to take measures to block the cross-border spread of a viral respiratory illness that has killed 16 people in the South in recent weeks, the Unification Ministry said Monday.The communist North is concerned about the possibility of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome spilling over into its territory through the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a major joint venture with South Korea.The North's organ in charge of operating the site, located just north of the inter-Korean
June 15, 2015
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N. Korea says it is open to talks with S. Korea
North Korea said Monday it is open to holding talks with South Korea if certain conditions are met, including the suspension of the South's joint military drills with the United States."If the atmosphere for trust and reconciliation is created, there is no reason not to hold dialogue and talks between the two Koreas," read a statement by North Korea carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.The statement came on the 15th anniversary of a historic inter-Korean summit between then
June 15, 2015
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N. Korean soldier defects to South
A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea via the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone on Monday, citing repeated beatings and poor living conditions in his homeland, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said. The lowest-ranking serviceman purported to be in his late teens crossed the border on foot and tendered his submission at around 8 a.m. at a guard post in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, an official said. No military clash occurred during his defection. “We’ve secured his custody and handed him over
June 15, 2015
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N. Korean soldier defects to S. Korea via eastern front
A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea through the inter-Korean border Monday, an official from the Ministry of National Defense said. "A North Korean man presumed to be a serviceperson defected to our side earlier this morning," a ministry official said, requesting anonymity."He crossed the border in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, on foot, and expressed his will to defect," he added, noting that he has been under investigation by relevant authorities.Other details including the identity of
June 15, 2015
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N. Korea appears to have appointed new defense chief
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was accompanied by a four-star Army general, presumed to be the country's new defense chief, on his visit to a military event, according to Pyongyang's media Monday.The Korean Central News Agency listed top military figures who were in attendance with Kim at the military's art performance, naming Pak Yong-sik just after Hwang Pyong-so, director of the general political department of the Korean People's Army. The report adds ammunition to speculation that Pak might
June 15, 2015
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N. Korea fires three short-range missiles
North Korea fired three KN-01 short-range missiles into the East Sea on Sunday, ratcheting up tensions on the Korean Peninsula.Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the communist state fired three missiles between 4:21 p.m. and 4:47 p.m. from near Wonsan toward Mayangdo Island. The missiles traveled some 100 kilometers, it said.The North test-fired the same type of missiles in February and May.The provocative move came a day after the two Koreas planned to mark the June 15 inter-Korean declara
June 14, 2015
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S. Korea urges N. Korea to agree to talks
South Korea Sunday called on North Korea to accept its proposal for inter-Korean talks ahead of a key anniversary for the first-ever inter-Korean summit in 2000.South and North Korea signed a landmark declaration on June 15, 2000, after concluding their first summit since the 1950-53 Korean War. The war ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, meaning the two countries remain technically at war.In the declaration, the two Koreas agreed to make joint efforts toward reunification and boost cultu
June 14, 2015
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N.Korea plants landmines in DMZ apparently to prevent soldiers fleeing
North Korea has been planting anti-personnel mines alongside the inter-Korean border for the past couple of months to prevent North Korean soldiers from fleeing to South Korea, a South Korean official said Sunday."Under the order of leader Kim Jong-un, the military has gone all-out to prevent soldiers from going AWOL across the North Korea-China border," the official said, adding the deployment of land mines near the inter-Korean border seems to serve a similar purpose.Last October, the two Kore
June 14, 2015
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Kim Jong-un offers condolences to China ship sinking victims: report
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent his condolences to the victims of the deadly Yangtze cruise ship sinking last week that killed more than 430 people, China's state-run newspaper reported Friday. Kim is among about 20 world leaders who sent their condolences to Chinese President Xi Jinping or Premier Li Keqiang between Monday and Thursday, the People's Daily, the mouthpiece of China's ruling Communist Party, reported. Among those leaders are Queen Elizabeth II and the leaders of Nepal,
June 12, 2015
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Fire breaks out at hotel in Pyongyang: reports
A fire has broken out at a hotel frequented by foreigners in Pyongyang, without any information being provided on casualties or property damage, reports said Friday. On Thursday, a fire occurred at Koryo Hotel in North Korea's capital, one of the most distinguished hotels in the North, and appears to have been extinguished, according to The Associated Press. The report said that a witness saw "fire and lots of black smoke" come from several top floors of the hotel. The hotel, which was opened
June 12, 2015
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N. Korea's crop production may fall 20 pct in drought: S. Korea
North Korea is likely to see its food production fall by up to 20 percent this year from 2014 if a shortage of rainfall continues until early July, a Unification Ministry official said Tuesday. In May, precipitation in North Korea reached 57 percent of the average rainfall recorded between 1981 and 2010, according to the official. In 2014, the North reported its smallest rainfall in 15 years and the United Nations has warned that North Korea is likely to suffer from serious food shortages this
June 9, 2015
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No punishment expected for N. Korea over SLBM
The U.N. Security Council is unlikely to impose new sanctions or issue any formal statement with regard to North Korea's test-launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine, a diplomatic source said Tuesday. The secretive North announced in early May that it has successfully fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile. South Korea sent a letter to the North Korea Sanctions Committee under the U.N. council requesting a probe and punitive action. "North Korea's firing of an SLBM is a violation
June 9, 2015
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N.K. leader inspects Korean War site
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a historic war site and called for the strengthening of anti-U.S. spirit fostered by his grandfather Kim Il-sung, according to its state-run media Tuesday. The North characterizes the Pyongyang compound associated with the 1950-53 Korean War as "holy land," as it was used by the late founding leader as the supreme command post during the war. Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994, is a role model for Kim Jong-un, reportedly in his early 30s. The young leader is
June 9, 2015