Most Popular
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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Defense chiefs of US, Australia, Japan decry NK-Russia military cooperation
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North Korea ratchets up peace offensive
North Korea appears to have set out to step up its peace offensive since its leader Kim Jong-un displayed his willingness to hold a summit with South Korea and put cross-border relations back on track in his New Year address.State media on Friday churned out articles and editorials backing up the young ruler’s speech, in which he said talks could reopen even at the highest level “if Seoul truly seeks to improve relations through dialogue” and “the atmosphere and environment are ready.”Uriminzokk
Jan. 2, 2015
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‘N.K. leader’s sister weds son of Choe Ryong-hae’
Kim Yo-jongThe younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was married last year to a son of Choe Ryong-hae, one of Kim’s closest aides, sources said Friday.“As far as I know, Kim Yo-jong, deputy director of the Workers’ Party, got married to a son of the party’s secretary, Choe Ryong-hae,” said a source based in China.Choe is thought to be the most powerful official in the communist nation behind leader Kim.Choe has two sons and a daughter, according to another source.The second son, Choe
Jan. 2, 2015
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NK leader's sister weds son of Choe Ryong-hae: sources
The younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was married last year to a son of Choe Ryong-hae, one of the closest aides to Kim, sources said Friday."As far as I know, Kim Yo-jong, deputy director of the Workers' Party, got married to a son of the party's secretary Choe Ryong-hae," said a reliable source based in China.Choe is known to be the most powerful official in the communist nation behind leader Kim.Choe has two sons and a daughter, according to another source.The second son, Choe
Jan. 2, 2015
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N. Korean leader makes New Year visit to orphanage
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, accompanied by his younger sister, visited an orphanage in Pyongyang on New Year's Day, calling for special care for orphans, the North's official news agency reported Friday.Kim "visited the Pyongyang Baby Home and Orphanage on January 1 to give New Year blessings to the children," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, adding that the visit was made right after his national New Year's address. The choice of an orphanage as his first public outing of the ye
Jan. 2, 2015
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S.Korea activist to launch 'Interview' DVDs into N.Korea
A South Korean activist said Thursday he plans to launch a series of balloons across the border into North Korea carrying copies of a film which has enraged its leadership. Former defector Park Sang-hak said the balloons would carry a total of 100,000 copies on DVDs and USB memory sticks of "The Interview," a comedy about a fictional plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The giant balloons, which are used by private groups in the South to float anti-regime material across the hea
Jan. 1, 2015
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N.K. leader says open to summit with South Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Thursday he was open to a summit with South Korea and willing to mend cross-border ties as his country strives to head off international pressure over its military ambition and human rights record. In his nationally televised New Year address, he said high-level talks could be restarted including at the top level “if Seoul truly seeks to improve relations through dialogue.” “If the atmosphere and environment are ready, there is no reason not to hold highest-l
Jan. 1, 2015
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U.S. places sanctions on N. Korean firm
The United States has imposed sanctions on a North Korean firm as well as entities from China, Iran and other nations for involvement in proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. State Department said.The North’s Ryongaksan General Trading Corp. was on the list of entities and individuals slapped with sanctions under the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act, according to a State Department notice to the Federal Register.The notice, dated Tuesday, did not provide further
Jan. 1, 2015
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N. Korean leader's speech arouses cautious optimism
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's New Year's Day speech heralds an aggressive peace offensive by his regime in 2015, but it's still early to be optimistic about a landmark breakthrough, experts here said Thursday. Appearing on state television, Kim raised the possibility of summit talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye. "Depending on the mood and circumstances to be created, we have no reason not to hold the highest-level talks," he said. It was the first time for him to talk publicl
Jan. 1, 2015
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N. Korean leader open to inter-Korean summit talks
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Thursday he is willing to hold summit talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye this year with the aim of making a "big shift" in inter-Korean ties. In his New Year's Day address, he said Pyongyang will "make every effort" to advance dialogue and cooperation with Seoul. "Depending on the mood and circumstances to be created, we have no reason not to hold the highest-level talks," he said in the nationally televised speech. He used much of the 30-min
Jan. 1, 2015
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Ex-U.S. envoy calls for clearer communication with China on N. Korea
The United States should make its thoughts on North Korea and the future of the Korean Peninsula more clearly known to China in order to win Beijing's cooperation in resolving a series of problems involving the North, a former American nuclear negotiator said Wednesday. Former Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, who doubled as Washington's chief negotiator for the six-party talks on the North's nuclear program, also said China and the U.S. too often address the issue of North Korea
Jan. 1, 2015
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U.S. imposes sanctions on N. Korean firm
The United States has imposed sanctions on a North Korean firm as well as entities from China, Iran and other nations for involvement in proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the State Department said. The North's Ryongaksan General Trading Corp. was on the list of entities and individuals slapped with sanctions under the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act, according to a State Department notice to the Federal Register. The notice, dated Tuesday, did not provide further
Jan. 1, 2015
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South Korean to drop Sony film in North by balloon
SEOUL (AP) -- A South Korean activist says he will launch balloons carrying DVDs of Sony's ``The Interview'' toward North Korea to try to break down a personality cult built around dictator Kim Jong Un. The comedy depicting an assassination attempt on Kim is at the center of tension between North Korea and the U.S., with Washington blaming Pyongyang for crippling hacking attacks on Sony Entertainment. Pyongyang denies that and has vowed to retaliate. Activist Park Sang-hak said Wednesday he wil
Dec. 31, 2014
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S. Korea to offer US$620,000 in N. Korea aid via UNESCAP
South Korea said Wednesday it will provide North Korea with US$620,000 in aid through the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).In 2006, the unification ministry, which is in charge of Seoul's ties with Pyongyang, signed a deal with the Bangkok-based agency to cooperate in a "technology assistance" project worth a total of $4.17 million.The UNESCAP has been working to help North Korean officials learn skills in technology-related sectors such as the environment,
Dec. 31, 2014
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Park vows to work for unification with N. Korea
President Park Geun-hye pledged Wednesday to lay the groundwork for potential unification in the new year amid continuing tensions on the Korean Peninsula."I will open the path toward unification by laying substantial and specific groundwork for unification ... by ending a seven-decades-long division," Park said in a New Year's video message uploaded on YouTube and posted on her Facebook page.The Korean Peninsula was divided into the capitalistic South and communist North after its liberation fr
Dec. 31, 2014
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N. Korean sites go back online after days of disruptions
North Korea's major websites are back online Tuesday, after days of outages that came amid Washington's threat of a "proportional" action against Pyongyang over its alleged cyber-attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. North Korea's main propaganda websites, including Uriminzokkiri and Ryugyong, have been stable for more than 12 hours since Monday afternoon. Those websites, whose servers are located in China, had been unstable since Nov. 23, when the North's Internet was completely down. Me
Dec. 30, 2014
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N. Korea slams military intel pact by regional powers
North Korea lashed out at South Korea, the United States, and Japan on Tuesday for signing a deal on sharing military information on the communist nation. Under the pact that went into effect this week, South Korea and Japan will share intelligence via the U.S., especially on the North's nuclear weapons and missile activities. Uriminzokkiri, the North's main Internet-based mouthpiece, described it as a "grave military provocation." The agreement is aimed at "crushing our republic to death m
Dec. 30, 2014
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Seoul offers high-level talks with N. Korea
South Korea on Monday proposed high-level talks with North Korea to discuss the issues of separated families, humanitarian aid, economic cooperation and joint projects that could help lay the groundwork for unification. Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae said he had sent a message to Kim Yang-gon, director of the North’s United Front Department, which is in charge of cross-border affairs, through a border telephone channel. Ryoo requested that they meet next month in Seoul, Pyongyang or elsewher
Dec. 29, 2014
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Sony's PlayStation back online after Christmas hack
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Sony's PlayStation reported that its network was back online and claimed that it had been attacked, three days after it and Microsoft's Xbox went down in an outage.An allegedly coordinated Christmas day hack brought down the gaming consoles, both hot gifts for the holiday season, although Xbox has been working at near full capacity since Friday."PlayStation Network and some other gaming services were attacked over the holidays with artificially high levels of traffic designed
Dec. 28, 2014
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N.K. Internet outages continue amid hacking row
With its Internet networks continuing to suffer outages for the sixth straight day, North Korea placed the blame on the U.S. and stepped up its verbal attacks over the weekend amid a hacking row involving the film “The Interview.” As of midday, a number of propaganda websites remained down, including Uriminzokkiri (Among Our People), Ryugyong and Ryomyong. They have servers in Shenyang, Dandong and other Chinese cities. The website of the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North newspaper based in Japan, came
Dec. 28, 2014
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Major N. Korean websites remain unstable for 6th day
North Korea's major websites suffered disruptions Sunday for the sixth straight day following Washington's warning of a "proportional" action against Pyongyang's alleged cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. The homepage of the North's main propaganda organ Uriminzokkiri and two other sites whose servers are based in China were inaccessible Sunday morning. North Korea's official portal site Naenara, whose server is based in Berlin, can be accessed only intermittently. But the websites
Dec. 28, 2014