Most Popular
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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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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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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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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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Govt. asks hospitals to mitigate impact of medical professors' absence
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S. Korea, China, Japan in talks to hold trilateral summit May 26-27: official
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N. Korea urges South to halt massive military drill
North Korea again urged South Korea Monday to suspend its ongoing large-scale military drill, claiming that the exercise has sent inter-Korean ties plunging into the worst crisis.The Hoguk defense exercise involving some 330,000 troops has been under way since last Monday with the aim of bolstering its defense posture against growing North Korean threats. The 12-day drill is the largest ever in terms of scale.Calling the exercise "the intensive maneuver to destroy the inter-Korean relations," th
Nov. 17, 2014
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N. Korean leader visits military food factory
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a military food factory, highlighting the importance of modernizing food production, the country's official news agency said Monday.Kim gave field guidance to the Combined Foodstuff-processing Factory Under the Korean People's Army (KPA) Unit 534, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, referring to the military unit in charge of military supply, presumed to be based in the capital of Pyongyang.As is customary, the KCNA did not release the date of
Nov. 17, 2014
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Hyundai Group head gets nod to visit N. Korea
The Unification Ministry on Sunday approved Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun’s trip to North Korea later this week for the anniversary of a suspended mountain tour program.The ministry said it has given the green light to Hyun and her delegation of 22 Hyundai officials to attend Tuesday’s ceremony to celebrate the 16th anniversary of the start of the tour program to Mount Geumgang.The ministry said Hyundai officials have no plan to have separate meetings with North Korean officials, aside
Nov. 16, 2014
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N. Korea's envoy likely to meet Putin next week: Seoul sources
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's special envoy set to fly to Russia is likely to meet the European country's president next week to discuss diverse bilateral pending issues, sources in Seoul said Sunday.Choe Ryong-hae, the senior secretary of the Workers' Party of (North) Korea, will embark on a eight-day trip to Russia on Monday, according to the Moscow's foreign ministry.The planned visit by Kim Jong-un's close aide came as the communist country has launched vigorous diplomatic campaigns in r
Nov. 16, 2014
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N. Korea slams South's plan to buy PAC-3 interceptor missiles
North Korea lambasted South Korea Sunday for seeking to purchase PAC-3 interceptor missiles from the United States, warning Pyongyang will counter Seoul's move with strengthened nuclear deterrence.South Korea is seeking to buy PAC-3 interceptors to upgrade its present PAC-2 air defense system by 2020 to better defend against threats from North Korea. PAC-3 missiles are also a key part of Seoul's plan to build the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system. Early this month, the U.S. government
Nov. 16, 2014
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Pyongyang condemns S. Korea's warning shots at MDL
North Korea on Saturday condemned South Korea for firing warning shots at its soldiers as they approached the military demarcation line (MDL), warning that such "provocations" will "lead to a great war of justice.""Recently the South Korean puppet military...have gone extremely reckless in making provocations in the area of the military demarcation line," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported a statement from the Korean People's Army (KPA)."If they continue the military provocation desp
Nov. 15, 2014
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N.K. leader’s top aide to visit Russia
North Korea plans to dispatch leader Kim Jong-un’s top aide to Russia, Pyongyang’s state media said Friday, in apparent efforts to boost ties with its rare patron amid deepening diplomatic isolation and shriveling outside assistance. Choe Ryong-hae, a secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party, will travel to Moscow “in the near future” as Kim’s special envoy, the Korean Central News Agency reported, without elaborating. Choe’s planned trip comes one week after Hyon Yong-chol, the communist state’s
Nov. 14, 2014
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China opposes 'politicizing' NK human rights issue
China urged the international community Friday not to "politicize" the issue of North Korea’s human rights record, again opposing a U.N. move to hold its young leader accountable for alleged rights violations.The remarks by Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei were the latest signal from Beijing that it would veto any U.N. move to condemn North Korea for its alleged dismal human rights record, as the U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote on a resolution next week against the North's h
Nov. 14, 2014
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Passage of U.N. resolution sure to serve as boon for improving N.K. human rights: advisory panel
Passage of a proposed U.N. resolution that calls for referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court will serve as a great boon for efforts to improve Pyongyang's human rights record, the head of a South Korean presidential advisory panel said Thursday. Hyun Kyung-dae, executive vice chairperson of the National Unification Advisory Council, made the remark during a forum on Korean unification in Washington, stressing that improvement in the North's human rights situation is a precond
Nov. 14, 2014
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Park, Obama discuss Clapper's trip to N. Korea: official
U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye discussed the recent trip to North Korea by U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper when they met earlier this week on the sidelines of a regional summit, an official said Thursday. Park and Obama held a one-on-one meeting in Beijing Tuesday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The meeting came just three days after Clapper made a secret trip to Pyongyang and brought two detained Amer
Nov. 14, 2014
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More N.K. rights action urged
With North Korea showing signs of change following a milestone U.N. report, the world should continue to heap pressure on the communist regime to improve its human rights record, a panel said Thursday. Dozens of policymakers, experts and activists around the world discussed the current human rights situation in North Korea and ways to generate practical improvement at the 4th Chaillot Human Rights Forum hosted in Seoul by the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification. Among the key spea
Nov. 13, 2014
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S. Korean businessmen demand removal of N. Korea sanctions
A group of South Korean businessmen involved in inter-Korean economic cooperation called on the government Thursday to lift its sanctions on North Korea in order to help ease their hardships.Seoul imposed the so-called May 24th Measure on Pyongyang in 2010 for its deadly attack on a South Korean warship that left 46 sailors dead, suspending almost all inter-Korean economic projects except for the Kaesong Industrial Complex.In a rally held in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, the businessmen claimed th
Nov. 13, 2014
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U.N., U.S. officials say NK human rights issue at crucial juncture
Two of the most iconic figures in global efforts to improve North Korea's human rights record stressed Thursday that the world should seize this year's rare chance created by a Commission of Inquiry (COI) report."I firmly believe that the international community should seize this unique opportunity and momentum ... to help make a difference in the life of the people in North Korea, including victims, and to ensure the accountability of those responsible for serious violations of human rights," M
Nov. 13, 2014
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S. Korea to host Int'l forum on N. Korean human rights
A major forum on the North Korean human rights problem will open here later Thursday, joined by a U.N. special rapporteur and a senior U.S. envoy, with the communist nation facing heavy international pressure over the matter.The fourth Chaillot Human Rights Forum will be held for two days with the theme of "North Korean Human Rights and Happiness for a Unified Korea," according to the state-funded Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU).In the first session, Marzuki Darusman, U.N. specia
Nov. 13, 2014
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Cuba comes up with revision to proposed U.N. resolution on N.K. human rights
Cuba has come up with a revision to a proposed U.N. General Assembly resolution on North Korea's human rights record that drops a call for referring Pyongyang to the International Criminal Court, a source said Wednesday.Cuba, which has friendly ties with North Korea, said that leaving in the part about North Korea's referral to the ICC could set a bad precedent for other developing nations, an argument seen as aimed at drawing support from Africa, according to the source.Cuba plans to submit the
Nov. 13, 2014
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U.N. may adopt N.K. resolution next week
A U.N. General Assembly committee is expected to hold a vote as early as next week on a proposed resolution calling for referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court for human rights violations, a diplomatic source said Tuesday.The source said, however, that there was also the possibility of U.N. member nations sympathetic to North Korea, such as China, putting forward a revised draft to tone down the resolution, especially the part about the referral to the ICC.“We expect the North
Nov. 12, 2014
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N. Korea bashes Seoul for massive military drills
North Korea lashed out at South Korea Wednesday for its large-scale annual military drills and vowed harsh retaliation, claiming that the exercises are aimed at launching a nuclear war against the communist country.The South Korean military on Monday kicked off the Hoguk defense exercises involving some 330,000 troops with the aim of bolstering its defense posture against growing North Korean threats. The 12-day drill is the largest ever in terms of scale.“The rehearsal is a preliminary war, nuc
Nov. 12, 2014
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N.K.'s freeing of detainee will not affect U.S. policy: envoy
North Korea's recent release of two American detainees will not affect the United States' push to denuclearize Pyongyang and improve the human rights situation in the communist nation, the U.S. special envoy on North Korean human rights issues said Wednesday."We are very happy that American citizens who had been detained in North Korea have been released when Director of National Intelligence (James) Clapper was there," Robert King said in a meeting with reporters.He said, however, that the rele
Nov. 12, 2014
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Opposition moves bill limiting anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaign
The main opposition party on Wednesday proposed a bill requiring government approval to send propaganda leaflets to North Korea as part of efforts to help ease simmering inter-Korean tensions. The move by the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) comes as South Korean activists' sending of balloons with anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border has been a source of inter-Korean rows and tensions.Pyongyang has urged Seoul to block such activities, while Seoul insists it has no legal ground
Nov. 12, 2014
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Obama, Xi agree to 'complete' denuclearization of N. Korea
.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping renewed their commitment to a "complete denuclearization" of North Korea, saying that the North's defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons will not succeed. "President Xi and I reaffirmed the commitment of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and we agreed that North Korea will not succeed in pursuing nuclear weapons and economic development," Obama told reporters during a press conference with Xi after the
Nov. 12, 2014