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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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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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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U.S. envoy signals bilateral meeting with N. Korea
A top U.S. diplomat handling North Korea said Friday that Washington could hold a bilateral meeting with Pyongyang to discuss possible steps toward denuclearization, but the North's regime has shown "no interest" in making efforts that could eventually lead to the resumption of the long-stalled six-party talks. Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, also emphasized a "strong consensus" among five nations that include China and Russia, which are also members of the six-
Dec. 12, 2014
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Korean-American faces summons over alleged pro-NK talk shows
A Korean-American woman will be summoned later this week to face questioning by police for allegedly making pro-North Korean remarks during a series of on-stage talk shows, police said Friday.Shin Eun-mi, 53, who has been temporarily banned from leaving the country during investigation into the case, will appear before the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) in central Seoul at 5 p.m. Sunday, they said. The move comes after local conservative civic groups filed a complaint against Shin and H
Dec. 12, 2014
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ASEAN remains adamant against N. Korea's nuclear program
A group of 10 Southeast Asian countries remains firm against North Korea's nuclear weapons program as it poses a grave threat to regional peace, but has a reserved attitude toward action on Pyongyang's human rights conditions, officials said Friday.All members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have diplomatic ties with both South and North Korea, but traditionally, ASEAN had more tilted toward Pyongyang in the past as several countries shared a historic experience of socialis
Dec. 12, 2014
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S. Korean firms demand end to N. Korea sanctions
A group of South Korean firms involved in now-suspended inter-Korean economic cooperation called on the government Friday to lift sanctions on North Korea and restart a tour program to Mount Kumgang on the communist nation's southeast coast.Representatives from the embattled companies claimed that South Korea has suffered a total of 15.8 trillion won (US$14 billion) in economic loss over the past four years due to the so-called May 24th Measures, as they held a joint rally with some progressive
Dec. 12, 2014
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Missile defense systems around N.K. could change China's thinking
The deployment of ballistic missile defense systems around North Korea by the United States and its allies could be an effective way to change China's strategic thinking about Pyongyang, a U.S. congressional report said.The Congressional Research Service made the point in a recent report, "North Korea: U.S. Relations, Nuclear Diplomacy, and Internal Situation," saying Beijing would find it not in its national interest if provocative actions by the North lead to increased military deployments in
Dec. 12, 2014
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Young N.K. defectors share ordeals in U.S.
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) ― Two young North Korean defectors spoke of tragic ordeals they went through before and after fleeing the communist nation Wednesday as the State Department hosted a special Human Rights Day event to promote awareness of how much Pyongyang mistreats its own people.The event marked the first time that the department has invited North Korean defectors to speak on International Human Rights Day.U.S. officials attending the event included Amb. Robert King, special envoy for North
Dec. 11, 2014
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N. Korea seen to lift Ebola travel ban in Q1 of next year
North Korea is expected to lift an Ebola-related entry ban on foreign tourists sometime during the first quarter of 2015, according to a Beijing-based tour agency Thursday. North Korea began barring foreign tourists from entering the country in late October and has required all foreigners visiting the North to be put under quarantine for 21 days as a precaution against the spread of Ebola. "The latest information we currently have from our contacts is that the temporary suspension of tours to No
Dec. 11, 2014
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N.K. shows no signs of preparations for nuclear test: think tank
North Korea is showing no signs of preparing to conduct a nuclear test, despite its threat to do so in anger over a U.N. General Assembly resolution on its human rights violations, a U.S. think tank said Wednesday.The website 38 North made the assessment, saying commercial satellite imagery shows that there has been "low-level activity" at the North's Punggye-ri underground nuclear test site for the past four months."It is unlikely that North Korea will conduct a nuclear test in the next two to
Dec. 11, 2014
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N. K. to have 20 nuke bombs by 2016: U.S. expert
North Korea would possess some 20 nuclear bombs by 2016, and it could conduct several rounds of detonation tests to miniaturize nuclear warheads, a renowned U.S. nuclear scientist said Wednesday."North Korea is presumed to have the capability of producing some four nuclear bombs per year, and it appears that the North will possess some 20 nuclear bombs by 2016," Siegfried Hecker, a research professor at Stanford University who visited the North's Yongbyon nuclear complex in 2010, was quoted as s
Dec. 10, 2014
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Residents to seek injunction against anti-N. Korea leaflets
Dozens of South Korean residents near the inter-Korean border plan to seek a court injunction against the scattering of anti-North Korean leaflets across the border, saying the activity threatens their safety, their legal representatives said Wednesday.South Korean activists have frequently launched balloons carrying these leaflets across the border to criticize the North Korean regime. Pyongyang has urged South Korea to stop the activities, but Seoul has refused, citing freedom of speech. Minby
Dec. 10, 2014
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N. Korea may conduct nuke test unless talks resume: China scholar
North Korea "wouldn't hesitate" to follow through on threats to carry out its fourth nuclear test unless long-stalled talks on the North's nuclear program resume, a Chinese scholar warned Wednesday. The comments by Li Kaisheng, a researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, were published by the Global Times newspaper run by China's ruling Communist Party as a top U.S.diplomat handling North Korea was scheduled to arrive in Beijing later in the day for talks with his Chinese counterpar
Dec. 10, 2014
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[Graphic News] International aid to North Korea falls
Humanitarian aid to North Korea fell sharply over the past decade as nuclear saber rattling and consequent sanctions worsened the international perception of the country, a report by a state-run think tank said Tuesday.In the first 11 months of this year, the amount of aid reaching the communist country stood at $28.3 million, a tenth of the more than $301 million that flowed into the North in the early 2000s, the Korea Development Institute’s monthly North Korean report showed. The report is ba
Dec. 9, 2014
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N.K. claims survival of young deported defectors
North Korea on Tuesday claimed the nine young defectors who were repatriated from Laos while fleeing their repressive homeland last year are not only alive but leading a “happy life,” in attempts to quell speculation that some of them had been executed. Uriminzokkiri TV, a North Korea propaganda broadcaster, aired a video depicting the lives of the youngsters who the communist regime argues were once “enticed and kidnapped” by South Korean authorities. In the clip, four students are seen taking
Dec. 9, 2014
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S. Korea reviewing NK move over Kaesong workers' wages
South Korea is scrutinizing North Korea's unilateral decision to amend a number of wage-related clauses at the jointly operated Kaesong Industrial Complex, an official said Tuesday. As soon as a review of the North's demands are finished, the government will take appropriate steps, the unification ministry official told reporters."We are in the process of reviewing and analyzing the contents revised by the North," he said on background.The South and the North have an agreement over 49 items in p
Dec. 9, 2014
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Int'l aid to N. Korea falls sharply over past decade as country's image worsens: report
Humanitarian aid to North Korea fell sharply over the past decade as nuclear saber rattling and consequent sanctions worsened the international perception of the country, a report by a state-run think tank said Tuesday.In the first 11 months of this year, the amount of aid reaching the communist country stood at US$28.3 million, a tenth of the more than $301 million that flowed into the North in the early 2000s, the Korea Development Institute (KDI)'s monthly North Korean report showed. The repo
Dec. 9, 2014
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Park calls N.K. threat to the world
President Park Geun-hye said Monday that Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear arms is the “most destabilizing” factor on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, and also poses a serious threat to world peace.Speaking at the World Policy Conference in Seoul, Park also vowed to flesh out her “Eurasia” initiative as a platform to create new growth engines and build regional trust. The initiative calls for the linking of energy and logistics infrastructure across the continent “I can’t help but mentio
Dec. 8, 2014
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N.K. replaces Air Force chief
North Korea has replaced its air force chief, Pyongyang’s state media confirmed Monday, as leader Kim Jong-un inspected a major aviation unit.The Korean Central News Agency identified Lt. Gen. Choe Yong-ho as commander of the air and anti-air forces of the Korean People’s Army, while calling his predecessor Col. Gen. Ri Pyong-chol a “responsible worker” at the Workers’ Party of Korea.Ri led the air force until recently, according to earlier reports by the KCNA. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, w
Dec. 8, 2014
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Unification minister visits U.S. for N.K. policy coordination
Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae left Monday for his first trip to the U.S. since taking office, seeking to intensify bilateral coordination on North Korea policy with the top ally and other international agencies. During a weeklong stay, he is scheduled for a series of consultations with senior Washington officials and lawmakers such as Acting Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman; Marco Rubio, a Florida senator and member of a congressional subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific affairs; and Rep. E
Dec. 8, 2014
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Korean-American writer speaks about N. Koreans’ ignorance of outside world
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) ― North Koreans are so oblivious of the outside world that even some children of elite families believe that Korean is spoken in the rest of the world, a Korean-American writer said Sunday of her experiences in the North.Suki Kim, who spent six months teaching English at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology in 2011, made the remarks in an interview with CNN broadcast Sunday. She has recently released a book, “Without You, There Is No Us,” based on her unique experie
Dec. 8, 2014
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Official says unification to become 'magic bullet' to Koreas
A senior South Korean presidential aide said Monday that unification between the two rival Koreas could become a "magic bullet" to a nuclear row and other issues on the Korean Peninsula.Ju Chul-ki, senior presidential foreign affairs secretary, also said a successful denuclearization of the divided peninsula could give a boost to international efforts to make a world free from nuclear weapons."The six-nation talks should be resumed and South and North Korea should pursue direct talks to lay the
Dec. 8, 2014