Most Popular
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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N. Korean leader calls for full combat readiness
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for full combat readiness and a change in the machinery of his troops, as he chaired a key session of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, Pyongyang's media reported Monday. Kim delivered a "historic speech" at the extended meeting of the party's Central Military Commission, the first of its kind in 10 months, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. He was quoted as saying that the security situations at home and abroad have been graver t
Feb. 23, 2015
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N.K. continues saber-rattling over holiday
North Korea conducted military drills last week to “strike and occupy” South Korea’s northwestern border islands in an apparent show of force ahead of the Seoul-Washington annual defense exercise to begin early next month.According to the North’s state media, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the regime’s top brass including Hwang Pyong-so, director of the general political bureau of the Korean People’s Army, observed the drills. The media did not specify exactly where and when the drills were
Feb. 22, 2015
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Inter-Korean tension feared to last till May
South and North Korea are likely to see their strained relations last at least until May when a bilateral summit could be expected on the sides of a World War II anniversary celebration in Russia, experts on North Korean affairs predicted Sunday.The experts pointed out that the rival Koreas have missed out on "their golden opportunity" for fence-mending, created at the beginning of the new year when they showed eagerness to improve relations.In an effort for a breakthrough in strained inter-Kore
Feb. 22, 2015
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N. Korean leader invited to Bandung meeting in Indonesia in April
Indonesia has officially invited the North Korean leader to an international meeting to be held Jakarta in April although his attendance has yet to be confirmed, government sources said Sunday.Along with leader Kim Jong-un, the Indonesian government has also invited Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's nominal head of state and the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, the sources noted. Indonesia is planning to host the Asian-African Conference from April 22-23 in Jakarta to be fo
Feb. 22, 2015
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North Korean leader inspects island attack training
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected an artillery and landing exercise by front-line units deployed near the Yellow Sea, Pyongyang's media reported Saturday.The drill, joined by artillery forces of the 4th Corp. and island defense units, focused on training for "striking and seizing an island," said the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected an artillery and landing exercise by front-line units deployed near the Yellow Sea, Pyongyang`s
Feb. 21, 2015
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N. Korea in 'heated zeal' of public sports: Pyongyang official
North Korea is in a "heated sporting zeal," a Pyongyang official said, as it encourages its people to take up sports as a means of boosting industrial output and strengthening national defense.North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-un, known as an avid basketball fan, has put great emphasis on promoting sports since he took power in late 2011. The country has recently opened its only luxury ski resort, Masik Pass, as one of his pet projects and hosted former NBA star Dennis Rodman to hold an exhibi
Feb. 19, 2015
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U.S. urges N. Korea to accept U.N. recommendations on human rights
The United States urged North Korea on Wednesday to take steps to improve its human rights record in accordance with recommendations in a landmark U.N. report on the situation.State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) report reflects the international community's "consensus view that the human rights situation in North Korea is among the world's worst.""We urged North Korea to take concrete steps as recommended by the Commission of Inquiry to improve the hu
Feb. 19, 2015
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N. Korea's 'Byeongjin' policy showing modest results: U.S. expert
North Korea's food situation and its overall economy appear to be stable despite increased sanctions on the communist regime -- an indication that Pyongyang's policy of simultaneously pursuing nuclear and economic development is working, a U.S. expert said Wednesday.Scott Snyder, a senior researcher on Korea at the Council Foreign Relations, cited the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) saying in its latest assessment that the North's food production is estimated at 5.94 million tons i
Feb. 19, 2015
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N. Korea slams S. Korean foreign minister over nuke issue
North Korea on Wednesday lashed out at South Korea's foreign minister over his recent meeting with the U.S. secretary of state to enhance cooperation to solve the North's nuclear issue. The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party, said the strengthening of cooperation between Seoul and Washington is aimed at bolstering the United States' efforts to invade the North. The criticism came out after Yun Byung-se, South Korea's foreign minister, met with U.S. Secreta
Feb. 18, 2015
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Landmark U.N. report on N.K. human rights stands strong despite Shin's retraction: Kirby
A landmark U.N. report on human rights abuses in North Korea stands strong despite the recent retraction by a high-profile North Korean defector of some of his accounts of the hardship in the communist nation, the former head of a U.N. investigative panel said Tuesday.Michael Kirby, a retired Australian judge who headed the Commission of Inquiry (COI) established by the U.N. to look into the North's human rights violations, made the remark at a seminar marking the first anniversary of the COI re
Feb. 18, 2015
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China sent no delegation to birthday anniversary of Kim Jong-il
China sent no delegation to the birthday anniversary of North Korea's late leader, Kim Jong-il, China's foreign ministry said Tuesday. North Korea commemorated the birthday of Kim, father of current leader Kim Jong-un, on Monday, with an event named the "Day of the Shining Star." Asked whether China sent a delegation to the North Korean event, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying replied that officials at the Chinese embassy in Pyongyang attended the event. "Yesterday was the Day o
Feb. 17, 2015
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Seoul, Russia to hold talks on N.K. nukes next week
South Korea's top nuclear envoy will visit Russia next week for discussions on resuming the long-stalled six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.Hwang Joon-kook, Seoul's chief nuke negotiator, will depart to Moscow on Monday for a three-day visit to hold talks with Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Morgulov Igor, Russia's top nuke envoy, according to the foreign ministry."They plan to discuss recent developments on the Korean Penin
Feb. 17, 2015
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Park urges N. Korea to embrace reform, dialogue
North Korea should heed a former Mongolian leader's recent call for Pyongyang to embrace reform and openness, President Park Geun-hye said Monday, in the latest push for inter-Korean dialogue.Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, who ruled Mongolia from 1990 to 1997, told local media that security comes from a fat wallet, not nuclear programs, and that North Korea should choose the path of reform and openness if it wants to feed its people.Park said Mongolia, Vietnam and Myanmar are on track for development a
Feb. 16, 2015
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N. Korean businessmen in China struggle to make cash: sources
North Korean businessmen working in northeastern Chinese border cities are struggling to find profitable ways to make money, hit by political ramifications following the execution of leader Kim Jong-un's uncle and a cooling Chinese economy, multiple sources close to the matter said Monday. Since the once--powerful uncle of Kim, Jang Song-thaek, was executed in December 2013 on charges of treason, corruption and others, North Korea has gradually summoned its businessmen in China who are believed
Feb. 16, 2015
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Park urges N. Korea to embrace reform, dialogue
North Korea should heed a former Mongolian leader's recent call for Pyongyang to embrace reform and openness, President Park Geun-hye said Monday, in the latest push for inter-Korean dialogue.Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, who ruled Mongolia from 1990 to 1997, told local media that security comes from a fat wallet, not nuclear programs, and that North Korea should choose the path of reform and openness if it wants to feed its people.Park said Mongolia, Vietnam and Myanmar are on track for development a
Feb. 16, 2015
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N. Korea promotes dozens of military officials on late leader's birthday
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un marked his late father's birthday on Monday with an order to promote dozens of top military officials and a visit to a mausoleum in Pyongyang.Kim conferred the rank of colonel general on Choe Kyong-son, commander of special forces and the title of lieutenant general on So Tae-ha, who represented the North in talks with Japan over Japanese nationals abducted decades ago, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.Twenty-five other military officials were
Feb. 16, 2015
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N.K. ‘most significant source’ of Asian instability
A senior U.S. official called North Korea “the most significant source of instability” in East Asia last week as military tensions continued to rise on the peninsula amid Pyongyang’s hardened rhetoric against South Korea and the U.S.“I believe the most significant source of instability in the region is North Korea and its reckless pursuit of a larger and larger nuclear program and the missiles to deliver those weapons around the world,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a
Feb. 15, 2015
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N. Korea cancels Arirang mass games for 2015: tour agency
North Korea has canceled its annual signature dance and gymnastic performances scheduled for this year, a Chinese tour operator said, amid continued quarantine measures against Ebola. "We have received confirmation from our partners in Pyongyang that the Arirang Mass Games will not be taking place this year," Young Pioneer Tours, a China-based travel agency specialized in trips to the isolated North, said in a brief release posted on its website Saturday.The Arirang Mass Games are highly choreog
Feb. 15, 2015
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U.S.-N.K contact at truce village on decline: USFK official
Contact between North Korea and outside world at the truce village of Panmunjom has been decreasing over the past two decades, partly due to the regime changes in the communist country, an official at United States Forces Korea said Sunday."After Kim Il-sung died, we saw the number of contacts we had at Panmunjom (with North Koreans) be reduced, and after the summit in 2000, we saw it reduced even more," said Stephen Tharp, Chief of Strategic Outreach of the USFK, told Yonhap News Agency."And th
Feb. 15, 2015
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N. Korean assembly chairman to visit Russia this year
The chairman of North Korea's parliament plans to visit Russia this year, a Russian news report said Friday, following the recent news of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's plan to visit the neighbor in May. Choe Thae-bok, chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly, will visit Moscow sometime this year, the Korean-language Voice of Russia said, quoting a high-ranking Russian parliamentary official who attended a banquet celebrating the birthday of former leader Kim Jong-il a day earlier in Nort
Feb. 14, 2015