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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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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S. Korea, China, Japan in talks to hold trilateral summit May 26-27: official
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Park’s opaque N.K. policy under fire
In the wake of cross-border military talks Wednesday, disputes broke out over the background to the discussions and the proposal for a restart of high-level dialogue. The plan for the talks came to light that morning, thanks to a news report that a military meeting may take place “as early as today” and the South had already offered a second round of consultations between senior security advisers. But the unification and defense ministries repeatedly refused to confirm the report, even after the
Oct. 21, 2014
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Restart of high-level talks key to inter-Korean ties: minister
South Korea's point man on North Korea emphasized the importance of another round of high-level contact between the two sides on Tuesday, saying it could put inter-Korean relations into a fresh phase."If the South and the North hold talks, almost all issues can be resolved," Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-Jae said in a lecture here to a meeting of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation.He voiced hope that Pyongyang will return to the bargaining table as it had agreed to do.The Nor
Oct. 21, 2014
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S. Korean entrepreneurs to visit Kaesong this week
A group of 37 South Korean business leaders working abroad will visit the Kaesong Industrial Complex this week to sound out the feasibility of potential businesses there, the unification ministry said Tuesday.They belong to the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, which campaigns for the reunification of Korea."They plan to make a one-day trip to the Kaesong complex on Wednesday," the ministry said.They will check business conditions there, it added.More than 120 South Korean small
Oct. 21, 2014
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N. Korea's ceremonial head of state in Beijing ahead of foreign trips
North Korea's ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong-nam, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, en route to rare foreign trips to some nations in Africa and the Middle East in the latest sign of active diplomacy by the ed North.The 86-year-old Kim, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, was greeted by the North's ambassador to China, Ji Jae-ryong, as he arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport. He made no remarks before he was whisked away by car.The North's official Korean Ce
Oct. 21, 2014
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N. Korea urges U.S. to end 'hostile' policy
North Korea called on the United States Tuesday to terminate its "hostile policy" toward the communist country, saying it is the root cause of the failed talks on ending Pyongyang's controversial nuclear weapons program.Tuesday marks the 20th anniversary of the 1994 signing of a landmark bilateral deal, known as the Agreed Framework, which called for Pyongyang to freeze and ultimately drop its nuclear program in exchange for two proliferation-resistant light water reactors for power generation,
Oct. 21, 2014
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N. Korean defectors to testify at U.N. on gulags
Two North Korean defectors said Tuesday they will visit the United Nations next week to join a forum on political prison camps in the communist nation.The forum to be hosted by the Washington-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) comes as the U.N. General Assembly is scheduled to discuss the North Korean human rights issue next week.In the event on Wednesday (local time), the two defectors -- Jung Gwang-il and Kim Yong-soon -- plan to introduce their experiences of the Yodok con
Oct. 21, 2014
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Samsung Engineering enters U.S. LNG plant market with design contract
Samsung Engineering Co., one of South Korea's leading builders, has made its first foray into the U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) market by securing a US$5 million design contract for a plant in Texas, industry sources said Tuesday.The basic front-end engineering design (FEED) contract, to be formally signed with Texas LNG within the month, is for the construction of a plant in Brownsville, near the Mexican border, that can process some 2 million tons of gas per year.The contract also grants Sa
Oct. 21, 2014
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N. Korean nuclear capabilities would be much greater without 1994
North Korea could have moved its nuclear capabilities more significantly forward to a point where it could produce dozens of nuclear bombs a year had Pyongyang not been stopped by a 1994 nuclear freeze deal, the then-U.S. negotiator said Monday.Robert Gallucci, who negotiated the Agreed Framework deal with Pyongyang that defused the first North Korea nuclear crisis, made the case during a seminar commemorating the 20th anniversary of the landmark agreement that committed Pyongyang to suspending
Oct. 21, 2014
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Assembly speaker seeks China's help to resolve NK nuke issue
South Korea's National Assembly speaker asked a former top Chinese diplomat Monday to help resolve the ongoing diplomatic standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons program, saying it is a key issue for regional peace.Chung Ui-hwa made the request to former Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan during a luncheon with members of a forum of political leaders from both sides."For peace in Northeast Asia, the North Korean nuclear issue must be resolved first," Chung said during the luncheon inside t
Oct. 21, 2014
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N. Korea vows to bolster nuclear capabilities, citing Panetta's memoir
North Korea said Monday it would bolster its nuclear capabilities "both in quality and quantity" to counter the newly-disclosed nuclear war plan of the United States.North Koreans realize how wise their communist regime has been in beefing up nuclear deterrence against Washington's growing threats, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary.It cited a recent disclosure by former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. He said in his memoirs published ear
Oct. 20, 2014
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N. Korea hails labor force to woo Chinese firms
In an apparent bid to lure Chinese investors, North Korea has publicized somewhat detailed information about its workforce during an annual trade with China, boasting of a well-educated pool of labor. The North's National Economic Development General Bureau released a booklet to show off its labor force at the five-day trade fair, which ended on Monday in the Chinese border city of Dandong. According to the booklet, North Korea's total population stood at 24.34 million as of last year. About 12.
Oct. 20, 2014
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U.S. urges N. Korea to cease provocative actions after border shootout
The United States urged North Korea on Sunday to halt any actions increasing the risk of conflict after the two Koreas exchanged fire across their heavily armed border earlier in the day.The shootout happened as a group of about 10 North Korean soldiers approached the tense border, known as the Military Demarcation Line, and the South fired warning shots toward them after broadcasting messages urging them to turn back.The North fired in return and the South fired back again in the 10-minute inci
Oct. 20, 2014
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Koreas exchange fire near heavily fortified border
South and North Korea exchanged fire across the heavily fortified border on Sunday in the latest clash on the divided Korean Peninsula amid concerns that tensions could scuttle high-level talks between the two sides.There were no reports of casualties or property damage in South Korea, though no details were immediately known about the situation in the North.The incident occurred around 5:40 p.m. when South Korea, after broadcasting warning messages, fired warning shots against about 10 North Ko
Oct. 19, 2014
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Koreas able to hold high-level talks as scheduled: presidential aide
South and North Korea will be able to hold another round of high-level talks as scheduled, a senior presidential aide said Sunday, amid growing worries the recent exchange of fire across the tense border could scupper the meeting.In early October, a high-powered North Korea delegation made a surprise visit to South Korea to attend the closing ceremony of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, agreeing with South Korea's top security officials to hold another round of high-level talks in late October or e
Oct. 19, 2014
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N.K. leader inspects air force drill, encourages athletes
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a drill by fighter pilots, state-run media said Sunday, in his first military-related appearance after a long absence from the public eye.Kim also met the country's gold medalists in the Incheon Asian Games and the World Championships, both held recently, and their coaches, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a separate dispatch.As usual, the KCNA did not clarify the dates and exact locations of Kim's latest inspection tours.The KCNA said he gu
Oct. 19, 2014
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S. Korea fires warning shots against N. K. soldiers approaching MDL: Seoul
South Korean border guards fired warning shots as about 10 North Korean soldiers approached the military demarcation line (MDL) inside the demilitaized zone (DMZ), Seoul's military officials said, adding that there was no exchange of fire. An official at Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the North Korean soldiers stayed around their side of the MDL in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, about 88 kilometers north of the capital city, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The North Koreans neither cro
Oct. 19, 2014
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Subdued mood at N. Korea-China trade fair
North Korea is still showing off its products at an annual trade fair with China, but the number of North Korean business entities attending the event this year was about 30 percent less than last year. The mood is subdued at the five-day trade fair in the Chinese border city of Dandong, reflecting strained political ties between North Korea and China amid Beijing's signals of displeasure with Pyongyang's nuclear ambition. Organizers had said that about 100 North Korean business entities w
Oct. 18, 2014
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N. Korea slams Park for urging Pyongyang to address nuke, human rights issues
North Korea denounced South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Saturday for urging the North to give up its nuclear weapons and improve its human rights, labeling such remarks as an "unpardonable politically motivated provocation." Speaking at a biennial summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting in Milan on Thursday, President Park pressed North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program and show sincerity in addressing its dismal human rights record. North Korea claimed that Park "again made reck
Oct. 18, 2014
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N. Korea slams interference over human rights in its internal affairs
North Korea vowed Saturday to "strongly react" to what it says are hostile forces' attempts to interfere with its internal affairs under the name of human rights, according to the North's state media, amid growing international condemnation of Pyongyang's dismal human rights. North Korea claimed that an anti-DPRK human rights resolution pushed by the European Union and Japan and other "hostile forces" at the U.N. General Assembly is a "typical politicization, selectivity and double standards,"
Oct. 18, 2014
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'N. Korea is losing battle on human rights': U.S. envoy
North Korea is scrambling to control damage from a proposed U.N. resolution on its human rights problem and that's a sign the communist regime is losing the battle, the U.S. special envoy on the issue said Friday. Amb. Robert King, the special U.S. envoy for North Korean human rights issues, made the remark during a speech at a Korea Economic Institute forum, referring to brisk diplomacy Pyongyang has been engaged in to cope with the resolution expected to be adopted later this year. The pr
Oct. 18, 2014