Most Popular
-
1
Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
-
2
Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
-
3
Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
-
4
Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
-
5
Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
-
6
Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
-
7
Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
-
8
Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
-
9
‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
-
10
Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
-
N. Korea to hold local elections in July
North Korea said Tuesday that it plans to select deputies to local assemblies in mid-July for the first time since the North's leader Kim Jong-un took power in late 2011. Elections for deputies to provincial, city and county people's assemblies will take place July 19, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. The elections are held every four years, and the number of seats is determined by the population of each area. However, they are widely considered a formality as th
June 9, 2015
-
N. Korea unlikely to close Kaesong complex over wage row
North Korea is not likely to shut down an inter-Korean joint industrial park in the North due to a row over Pyongyang's unilateral wage hike, a South Korean businessman said Monday.The two Koreas have been in dispute for over three months following the North's unilateral move to raise the minimum wage by 5.18 percent for about 53,000 North Korean workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex at the border city of the same name.In what may be a relief to the drawn-out row, the North accepted the Sout
June 9, 2015
-
U.S. believes N. Korea has secret nuclear facilities
North Korea is believed to have secret nuclear facilities unknown to the outside world in addition to those at the country's main Yongbyon nuclear complex, the State Department said in a report.The department's 2015 Report on Adherence to and Compliance With Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments also said that Pyongyang appears to have no intention to comply with its denuclearization commitments. (Yonhap)The Yongbyon complex houses the North's 5-megawatt rea
June 8, 2015
-
Park vows to resolve difficulties over N.Korea nuclear program
President Park Geun-hye vowed Saturday to resolve difficulties posed by North Korea's nuclear program and historical disputes with Japan.Tensions persist on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's provocative actions in recent months, including the launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine.Seoul-Tokyo relations also remain badly frayed largely because of Japan's refusal to atone for its past wrongdoings stemming from its colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. One of the key pen
June 6, 2015
-
N. Korea unlikely to conduct nuclear test until fall: 38 North
North Korea is unlikely to conduct another nuclear test at least until this fall, a U.S. think tank said Friday, citing satellite imagery showing no signs of preparations at the country's underground test site."Recent commercial satellite imagery indicates that North Korea is conducting regular spring construction and maintenance activities at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site," the website 38 North said in a report by analyst Jack Liu."There are no indications of nuclear test preparations at thi
June 6, 2015
-
S. Korea vows countermeasures against N. Korea's SLBM
The Ministry of National Defense said Friday it is working to devise effective countermeasures to counter North Korea's ballistic missiles launched from submarines. Last month, the communist country claimed that it successfully carried out an underwater test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile. It has been a source of concern as its mobile and stealth nature would make it difficult to be detected."We continue to assess its capabilities regarding the SLBM, and we expect the North to take so
June 5, 2015
-
Kim Jong-un may have appointed new defense chief
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may have appointed a new defense chief to replace Hyon Yong-chol, who is believed to have been executed, experts said Friday.The North's Korean Central Television aired documentary footage Thursday that Pak Yong-sik, a four-star military general, saluted Kim Jong-un at an event in late May.Pak, who was promoted to the current post from a three-star general in April, has been often found at the scene of the young leader's field guidances, cementing speculation that
June 5, 2015
-
Park postpones unification meeting with N. Korea due to MERS
President Park Geun-hye postponed a unification committee meeting to focus on containing the outbreak of the MERS virus, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday, underscoring the urgency in tackling the virus that has sparked a widespread public scare across the country."Currently, MERS is a top priority," presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters.His comments came hours after an additional man died from MERS on Thursday to bring the total number of deaths from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
June 5, 2015
-
N. Korea's global trade expands but trade gap widens: report
North Korea's global trade expanded in 2014 from a year earlier, but its trade deficit also widened due to a drop in exports, a report showed Friday.According to the report by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, North Korea's trade came to $7.61 billion last year, up 3.7 percent from a year earlier. The figures did not count its trade with South Korea.North Korea's exports shrank 1.7 percent on-year to $3.16 billion last year, while imports grew 7.8 percent to $4.45 billion over the sam
June 5, 2015
-
Senate resolution calls for N. Korea to allow family reunions for Korean Americans
Two U.S. senators have introduced a resolution calling for family reunions between Korean-Americans and their long-lost relatives in North Korea.Sens. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Mark Warner (D-VA) submitted the "resolution encouraging reunions of Korean-Americans who were divided by the Korean War from their relatives in North Korea" to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.The resolution (S.Res.190) followed a similar House resolution authored by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Rep. Ed R
June 5, 2015
-
N. Korea bashes S. Korea for ballistic missile test
North Korea condemned South Korea on Thursday for its test-firing of a ballistic missile capable of reaching nearly all parts of the communist nation.On Wednesday, the South carried out its first-ever launch of a ballistic missile with a range of more than 500 kilometers as part of efforts to better counter ever-growing nuclear and missile threats by the North. President Park Geun-hye watched the test. The development of the new striking asset came after Seoul and Washington announced their mi
June 4, 2015
-
Seoul to provide quarantine gear to North Korea
South Korea said Thursday it would provide equipment to help detect Middle East respiratory syndrome at a joint factory park in North Korea in a rare reconciliatory gesture.The decision was taken two days after Pyongyang made the request. Seoul will send three heat-sensing cameras shortly to the Gaeseong industrial complex, a Unification Ministry official said. Last November, Seoul had lent the devices, each worth 15 million won ($13,600), to help brace for a possible spread of the Ebola virus a
June 4, 2015
-
S. Korea fails to join railway cooperation body due to N. Korea
South Korea again failed to join an international organization for railroad cooperation, a prerequisite for building a trans-Asian railway, due to opposition from North Korea, the Seoul government said Thursday.It was the second time Seoul sought to join the Organization for Cooperation between Railways since 2003 when the country's first attempt was again thwarted by Pyongyang's opposition, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.New membership with the OSJD requires a u
June 4, 2015
-
JSC chief vows to retaliate against N. Korea's provocations
South Korea's top military officer called for a watertight combat readiness Thursday against North Korea's provocations, vowing to retaliate against them without hesitation, military officials said.Adm. Choi Yun-hee, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the remarks during his visit to a Marine Corps unit on Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, which North Korea shelled in November 2010, killing two soldiers and two civilians."There is the need to thoroughly brace for any blitz provocation
June 4, 2015
-
S. Korea to offer MERS detection devices to N. Korea
South Korea said Thursday it plans to provide North Korea with devices to detect the MERS virus so they could be installed at a joint industrial zone in the North. At the request of the North, South Korea plans to soon install three thermal scanners for those who move in and out of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, where about 53,000 North Koreas workers are employed, said an official at the Ministry of Unification, asking not to be named."The North has recently raised the issue of the MERS outbre
June 4, 2015
-
Koreas launch joint survey of palace site
South and North Korea kicked off this year's joint excavation of a medieval royal palace site in the communist North Thursday despite lingering inter-Korean tensions, Seoul officials said.A ceremony to mark the start of the six-month project was held at the scene in the North's border town of Kaesong, attended by relevant officials and historians from both sides, they said.Kaesong served as the capital for most of the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) and is now home to an industrial complex run by both
June 4, 2015
-
S. Korea voices deep regret over N. Korea's anti-Seoul flak
South Korea voiced deep regret Thursday that North Korea has chided the South for the failure to hold inter-Korean talks, calling on Pyongyang to end its groundless verbal attacks and insults.The North's committee for the peaceful reunification of Korea issued a statement Wednesday that South Korea will not be able to evade responsibility for having strained bilateral relations due to its hypocrisy as it is seeking to pursue both pressure against the North and dialogue with it.Earlier this week,
June 4, 2015
-
Russel says sanctions are to make N. Korea realize 'byeongjin' policy won't work
The United States is using sanctions to get North Korea to realize that the impoverished communist nation cannot rebuild its broken economy while holding onto nuclear weapons, a senior American diplomat said Wednesday."The goal of pressure isn't punishment," Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel said during a seminar on Korea. "It's to bring North Korea's leadership to the realization that their hope of getting the world to accept them as a nuclear power and also provide them with economic
June 4, 2015
-
Seoul warns Gaeseong companies for paying out
The Seoul government has sent warning letters to 18 South Korean firms operating in the inter-Korean industrial complex in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong, after they gave higher wages to North Korean workers despite government guidelines against it.In the letters, the government warned it would take punitive measures such as charging fines based on the law governing inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation, should the firms further contravene its guidelines in the future.The government b
June 3, 2015
-
N. Korea shouldn't blame us for failure to hold joint event: S. Korea
South Korea urged North Korea Wednesday not to blame Seoul for the failure to organize a joint event to mark the 15th anniversary of a historic inter-Korean summit.A preparatory group in South Korea said Tuesday that the North had proposed to separately hold a summit anniversary event in mid-June, in what could be another setback to the already strained Seoul-Pyongyang ties. The North rebuked the South for setting unnecessary preconditions for the event.The Ministry of Unification voiced regret
June 3, 2015