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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S. Korea condemns N. Korea's decision on Kaesong wages
South Korea formally condemned North Korea Monday for unilaterally revising regulations on the minimum wage for its workers at an inter-Korean industrial complex in the North's border town of Kaesong.At the weekend, the North announced its decision to remove the 5-percent on-year cap for wage increases for its 53,000 workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex."It is regrettable that the North has violated the inter-Korean agreement on the operation of the joint venture," unification ministry spok
Dec. 8, 2014
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N. Korea 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 (KCNA) 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.It is unusual for a two-star
Dec. 8, 2014
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China not invited to 3rd death anniversary of Kim Jong-il
China is unlikely to send a delegation to next week's third death anniversary of North Korea's former leader, Kim Jong-il, because it has yet to receive a formal invitation from Pyongyang, a diplomatic source with knowledge of the North Korea-China relations said Monday. Kim Jong-il, whose iron-fist rule and pursuit of nuclear weapons stoked regional tensions for more than a decade, died of heart failure on Dec. 17, 2011 at the age of 69, passing power onto his youngest son and the current leade
Dec. 8, 2014
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U.N. Security Council to take up North Korean human rights issue
The U.N. Security Council is expected to take up North Korea’s human rights problem as early as later this month as 10 council members signed a letter calling for adding the issue to its agenda, the U.S. human rights envoy said Friday.Australia, the United States and South Korea were among the countries that signed the letter to the council’s president earlier in the day, one more than the nine countries needed to put an issue on the 15-member council’s agenda, Amb. Robert King said during a Woo
Dec. 7, 2014
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North Korea scraps wage ceiling for Gaeseong workers: state media
North Korea has removed the legal limit for wages paid to its workers at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, the North’s propaganda site said Saturday, a move that could cause tension with South Korea, which co-runs the industrial park with the reclusive regime.The North revised the Act on Gaeseong Complex laborers late last month, scrapping the upper ceiling for workers’ wages, according to Uriminzokkiri, one of the country’s major propaganda sites.The site also said that raises will be set every
Dec. 7, 2014
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N.K. leader still crafting his image
After the end of the three-year mourning period for his father this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to seek a distinct leadership image and focus on economic reconstruction, analysts said Sunday.The communist state is to mark the third anniversary of the death of late strongman Kim Jong-il on Dec. 17, after which the current leader could put forward his own governing principles, as his father established his own military-first policy, the analysts said.The inexperienced leader
Dec. 7, 2014
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Ebola travel ban in Pyongyang takes toll on Chinese tour firms
Chinese travel firms specializing in tours to North Korea have been bearing the brunt of dwindling revenues as the North continues to ban all foreigners from visiting the country due to fears over the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, according to a Chinese state media report on Saturday.Reclusive North Korea began barring foreign tourists from entering the country on Oct. 23 and required all foreigners visiting the North to be put under quarantine for 21 days as a precaution against the spread
Dec. 7, 2014
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Nuclear envoys of China, Japan discuss N. Korea
BEIJING (Yonhap) ― The top nuclear envoys of China and Japan met in Beijing on Friday to discuss ways to resume the long-stalled talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, China’s foreign ministry said Friday. The talks in Beijing between Wu Dawei and his Japanese counterpart Junichi Ihara came as a top U.S. diplomat handling North Korea is on a three-nation visit to South Korea, Japan and China. Wu and Ihara “exchanged views on promoting denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and restart
Dec. 7, 2014
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S. Korea mulls incentives for N. Korea to resume family reunions: official
South Korea's Park Geun-hye administration is willing to provide North Korea with appropriate incentives if needed for the reunion of separated families, a senior government official said Sunday. The official stressed it is a "very important issue associated with the government's responsibility." The majority of people with families on the other side of the heavily-fortified border due to the 1950-53 Korean War are now in their 80s or 90s. "If we fail to resolve the problem, it means the gov
Dec. 7, 2014
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North Korea calls claims of its Sony Pictures hacking 'false rumor'
North Korea on Sunday denied claims that it had hacked into Sony Pictures, calling the allegations a "false rumor" spread by South Korea.The U.S. film company had come under cyber attack late last month after a series of threats from North Korea for its comedy movie "The Interview," in which the CIA plots to assassinate the country's young leader Kim Jong-un."The South Korean group, keen on serving its master, groundlessly linked the hacking attack with the DPRK and floated the 'story about the
Dec. 7, 2014
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N. Korea denies carrying out hack attack on Sony Pictures
North Korea denied involvement Sunday in a cyber attack on Sony Pictures, but praised it as a "righteous deed" potentially carried out by its supporters to protest against a film featuring its leader Kim Jong-Un. "The hacking into the Sony Pictures might be a righteous deed of the supporters and sympathizers with the (North) in response to its appeal," the North's top military body, the National Defense Commission, told the state-run KCNA news agency. "The Interview" -- a comedy film by Sony in
Dec. 7, 2014
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N. Korea's Ebola travel ban takes toll on Chinese tour firms
Chinese travel firms specializing in tours to North Korea have been bearing the brunt of dwindling revenues as the North continues to ban all foreigners from visiting the country due to fears over the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, according to a Chinese state media report on Saturday.Reclusive North Korea began barring foreign tourists from entering the country on Oct. 23 and required all foreigners visiting the North to be put under quarantine for 21 days as a precaution against the spread
Dec. 6, 2014
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N. Korea scraps wage ceiling for Gaeseong workers: state media
North Korea has removed the legal limit for wages paid to its workers at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, the North's propaganda site said Saturday, a move that could cause tension with South Korea, which co-runs the industrial park with the reclusive regime.The North revised the Act on Gaeseong Complex laborers late last month, scrapping the upper ceiling for workers' wages, according to Uriminzokkiri, one of the country's major propaganda sites.The site also said that raises will be set every
Dec. 6, 2014
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U.S. movie about killing N.K. leader will likely be 'blockbuster'
A soon-to-be-released comedy film about a plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will likely be a "blockbuster" thanks to the strong protests Pyongyang has raised about it, the U.S. human rights envoy said Friday.The North has expressed strong anger about the movie, "The Interview," which tells the story of two Americans journalists who land an interview with the North's leader in Pyongyang but are then recruited by the CIA to kill him."It will probably be a blockbuster when it comes out t
Dec. 6, 2014
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U.N. Security Council to take up N.K. human rights issue
The U.N. Security Council is expected to take up North Korea's human rights problem as early as later this month as 10 council members signed a letter calling for adding the issue to its agenda, the U.S. human rights envoy said Friday.Australia, the United States and South Korea were among the countries that signed the letter to the council's president earlier in the day, one more than the nine countries needed to put an issue on the 15-member council's agenda, Amb. Robert King said during a Woo
Dec. 6, 2014
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U.S. presses N.K. on denuclearization
The top U.S. nuclear envoy called on North Korea Friday to show “serious commitment” toward denuclearization if Pyongyang wants to resume the long-stalled six-party talks aimed at ending the North’s nuke program.Sung Kim, the new special representative for North Korea policy, was in Seoul as part of his three-nation Asian tour that includes stops in Japan and China. The tour is aimed at discussing ways to reopen the six-party talks on denuclearizing the North.“North Korea needs to demonstrate th
Dec. 5, 2014
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N. Korean defector gets 2 years for security law breach
A North Korean defector was sentenced to two years behind bars on Friday for trying to pass on information about fellow defectors in South Korea to Pyongyang authorities.A local court in this southeastern city said it found the 45-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Kim, guilty of gathering information on about 20 defectors in South Korea and attempting to send it to the North.She was indicted on charges related to South Korea's strict National Security Law that bans South Koreans, in
Dec. 5, 2014
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N. Korean leader visits military unit to lead winter drill
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a military unit to instruct ongoing winter training, calling for thorough preparations "to fight," Pyongyang's state media said Friday.During his visit to Unit 1313 of the Korean People's Army, the young leader was briefed on "the situation of the new year combat and political drill," and then guided a firing exercise, according to the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).It is the second time that Kim visited the military unit after the communist
Dec. 5, 2014
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N. Korea blasts plans by Christian group to light X-mas tree tower near border
North Korea's state-controlled religious organization on Thursday blasted a plan by a South Korean Christian group to light a giant Christmas tree-shaped tower near the inter-Korean border.The (North) Korean Council of Religionists (KCR) said the decision by the conservative Christian Council of Korea (CCK) to erect a tree tower on top of Aegibong, a front-line hill in Gimpo, west of Seoul, aims to use religion to fuel confrontation.The warnings carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) a
Dec. 4, 2014
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N.K. conducted low-yield nuke test in 2010: China professor
A Chinese professor has claimed that North Korea conducted a “low-yield underground nuclear test” in May 2010, possibly backing a claim by North Korea that it succeeded in carrying out a nuclear fusion reaction at that time. Wen Lianxing, the professor who leads a research group on earthquakes and physics at the Beijing-based University of Science and Technology of China, said the North’s claimed nuclear test yielded a 2.9-ton blast with a margin of error of 0.8 ton.The claimed nuclear test was
Dec. 4, 2014