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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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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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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Kim Jong-un visits fish farm without defense chief
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a fish farm under the military, the North's media said Friday, without the presence of the North's defense chief, who was allegedly purged late last month.North Korea executed Defense Minister Hyon Yong-chol in late April over his disloyalty and disrespect to Kim, South Korea's spy agency said Wednesday, in the latest sign of Kim's reign of terror.If confirmed, it would mark another high-profile public execution by the North. In late 2013 Kim ordered the e
May 15, 2015
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N. Korea launches 2nd day of firing drills
North Korea launched a firing drill near the tensely patrolled western maritime border with the South for a second consecutive day on Thursday, the South Korean military said. The artillery drill began at around 7:10 p.m. near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), but none of the artillery rounds landed on the south side of the sea border, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. "We are closely monitoring the North Korean military's drills, keeping a tight guard against any provocations," the JCS s
May 14, 2015
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News of N. Korea's purge seems to be blocked on China's Baidu
The news of the purge and reported execution of North Korea's defense minister, Hyon Yong-chol, was not searchable on China's dominant search engine Baidu Thursday, suggesting that China's Internet authorities might have blocked it. Searches by Yonhap News Agency for "Hyon Yong-chol" or "North Korea's Hyon Yong-chol" on the Baidu portal site produced no results as of 3:40 p.m. on Thursday. However, a search of "defense minister" produced some results for news about Hyon. South Korea's i
May 14, 2015
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‘Kim’s brutality could threaten regime’s security’
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s continued executions and purges of senior officials could foment angst and resentment among the country’s elite, and eventually threaten the security of his regime, analysts said Thursday.The execution last month of Hyon Yong-chol, the chief of the North’s Korean People’s Armed Forces, for “dozing off at a military event and talking back” to Kim, underscored the brutality of the dictator. Hyon’s death might have unnerved top officials, by opening up the possibil
May 14, 2015
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S. Korea wary of North over alleged defense chief purge
South Korea said Thursday it will closely monitor the political situation in North Korea following reports that its defense chief was purged.North Korea executed Defense Minister Hyon Yong-chol in late April over his disloyalty and disrespect to the North's leader Kim Jong-un, South Korea's spy agency said Wednesday, in the latest sign of Kim's reign of terror.If confirmed, it would mark another high-profile public execution by the North. In late 2013 Kim ordered the execution of his once-powerf
May 14, 2015
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Ruling party urges watertight defense against N.K. provocation
North Korea is highly likely to pursue military provocations toward the South amid growing internal instability, the ruling party chief said Thursday, calling for the military's watertight defense posture.The warning by Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung came after North Korea fired dozens of artillery rounds in a firing drill near the tensely patrolled maritime border in the Yellow Sea on Wednesday.Last week, the North also claimed it test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile in violat
May 14, 2015
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U.S. calls N. Korea's alleged execution of top official 'extreme brutal act'
The State Department said Wednesday North Korea's alleged execution of a top military official, if confirmed, would show "another extremely brutal act" by the communist regime.South Korea's main intelligence agency, the National Intelligence Service, reported to lawmakers earlier Wednesday that the North executed its defense chief, Hyon Yong-chol, late last month with an anti-aircraft gun for showing disloyalty to leader Kim Jong-un. "We've seen the press reports about the execution of North Kor
May 14, 2015
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N.K. executed defense minister: NIS
North Korea executed its defense chief for treason late last month using an anti-aircraft machine gun, lawmakers said Wednesday, citing a National Intelligence Service briefing. The killing of Hyon Yong-chol, minister of the People’s Armed Forces, took place around April 30 at the Kangkon Military Academy in Pyongyang with hundreds including his family in attendance, the agency told lawmakers at a closed-door parliamentary briefing. He was charged with treason for dozing off while Kim was giving
May 13, 2015
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[Newsmaker] North Korean general meets grisly end
Hyon Yong-chol, a once-high-flying North Korean general, ended his dramatic life after he was executed late last month for “dozing off at a military event and talking back” to Kim Jong-un, the leader of the dictatorial regime.Until his execution on April 30, the 66-year-old official served as the chief of the People’s Armed Forces ― equivalent to South Korea’s defense minister. His position was the second highest in the North’s 1.19 million-strong military after Hwang Pyong-so, the director of t
May 13, 2015
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Purges spark doubts on Kim’s power
Speculation is rising over the stability of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s leadership as his frequent execution and purge of senior military and government officials apparently indicate their eroding loyalty toward him.Seoul’s spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, told South Korean lawmakers Wednesday that “skepticism” over Kim’s leadership is spreading among power elites in the communist state.“As Kim Jong-un’s distrust toward core senior officials has been deepening, he is strength
May 13, 2015
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China says no information on N. Korea's defense chief execution
China said Wednesday that it has "no information" about the reported execution of North Korea's defense minister. South Korea's intelligence agency told lawmakers earlier in the day that the North's defense minister, Hyon Yong-chol, was executed for showing disloyalty to the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. "I have seen media reports, but we have no information on that," China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying replied, referring to the reported purge. If confirmed, it will mark another
May 13, 2015
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N.K. executes defense chief
North Korea executed its defense chief for treason late last month with an anti-aircraft machine gun, Seoul’s National Intelligence Service said Wednesday. The killing of Hyon Yong-chol, minister of the People’s Armed Forces, took place around April 30 at the Kangkon Military Academy in Pyongyang with hundreds in attendance, the agency told lawmakers at a closed-door parliamentary briefing. Hyon Yong-chol gave a speech in Moscow, Russia, not too long ago at the 4th Moscow International Security
May 13, 2015
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Korean-American scientist released from prison
A Korean-American scientist was released from prison Tuesday after serving 10 months on a conviction of passing classified information about North Korea to a reporter in a case that has sparked criticism that the U.S. government applied double standards.Stephen Kim, 47, was sentenced in April last year to 13 months in prison for passing information about the possibility of North Korea conducting a nuclear test to a Fox News reporter in 2009. Kim began serving the prison term in July.Kim later go
May 13, 2015
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N. Korea's SLBM test conducted from barge, not from submarine: U.S. expert
North Korea is believed to have conducted the recent test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile from a submerged barge, not from a submarine as claimed by the communist nation, a U.S. expert said Tuesday.Joseph Bermudez, a top North Korea military expert, also said the North appears to have "photoshopped" images of the test to exaggerate progress in its SLBM development, saying the photo released by Pyongyang shows no flame coming from the missile's engine when a "bright pink shadow" was ref
May 13, 2015
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Park warns against N.K. provocation
President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday warned that North Korea’s development of submarine-launched ballistic missiles posed a “grave challenge” to regional peace, as the military stepped up efforts to boost its anti-submarine capabilities to better counter the threat.She also called for “stern punishment” in case of any provocation in the skirmish-prone West Sea, following the communist neighbor’s repeated threats over the weekend to strike South Korean Navy vessels that it claimed were breaching it
May 12, 2015
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China, Russia reaffirm efforts to resume N. Korea nuclear talks
China and Russia have reaffirmed their commitment to the resumption of the long-stalled multilateral talks on North Korea's nuclear dismantlement, according to China's foreign ministry Tuesday. The agreement was made between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting held on the sidelines of a World War II event in Moscow on Saturday, according to a statement posted on the Chinese ministry's website. The joint statement, signed by Putin and Xi, said they "agre
May 12, 2015
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China's trade with N. Korea falls 13 pct on-year in Q1
China's trade with North Korea fell 13 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, as an indication of Beijing's frayed ties with Pyongyang.Beijing's trade with Pyongyang reached $1.1 billion in the January-March period, down from $1.27 billion in the same period last year, according to data by the Korea International Trade Association. It posted a trade surplus of $17.7 million.China's exports to North Korea came in at $563 million in the first quarter, down 15.6 perc
May 12, 2015
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Park holds meeting on N. Korea's missile test
President Park Geun-hye held a rare meeting of top security officials Tuesday to discuss North Korea's recent test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, a South Korean official said.The participants included Park's security adviser, the spy chief, the defense minister, the foreign minister and South Korea's point man on North Korea, spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters.Still, Min did not give any further details of the meeting.The meeting -- the first in a year -- came three days
May 12, 2015
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Pentagon denounces N.K.'s submarine missile test as 'blatant' violation of U.N. resolutions
The U.S. Defense Department on Monday denounced North Korea's test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile as a "blatant violation" of U.N. Security Council resolutions and an example of Pyongyang's unwillingness to comply with international rules."Any type of launch of this nature would violate at least four U.N. Security Council resolutions and it is another example of North Koreans' unwillingness to play by the international rules," Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren said duri
May 12, 2015
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N.K. expected to deploy missile sub in 2-3 years
Powered by a recent underwater test, North Korea will be able to deploy a submarine equipped with a ballistic missile as early as in two years that could pose a grave threat to South Korea, Seoul’s military officials said Monday. The communist country succeeded in ejecting a dummy projectile from a newly developed 2,000-ton submarine through last week’s experiment at a shipyard in the eastern coastal city of Sinpo, a crucial early stage in developing submarine-launched ballistic missiles, the of
May 11, 2015