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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War of nerves poses threat to two Koreas’ high-level dialogue
The two Koreas are again engaged in a war of nerves against a backdrop of recent military talks, prompting the North to threaten to back out of the planned high-level dialogue and casting a cloud over a long-awaited reconciliation. Seoul has come under fire for flip-flopping on Pyongyang’s initial offer of a military meeting, and how and why the Wednesday event had been set behind closed curtains, among other issues. The communist country’s official media argued late Thursday that it had consist
Oct. 17, 2014
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N. Korea denies attacks against S. Korea at military talks: Seoul gov't
North Korea has held onto its earlier position of not admitting to its responsibility for the 2010 deadly attacks against a South Korean warship and a sea border island at the latest inter-Korean military talks, Seoul's defense ministry said Friday.In March 2010, North Korea torpedoed the South Korean warship Cheonan near the Yellow Sea border, killing 46 South Korean sailors. Months later, it shelled Yeonpyeong Island, leaving four dead, including two civilians. In the wake of the sinking, the
Oct. 17, 2014
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N. Korean leader continues to use cane in another public activity
Oct. 17, 2014
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Will North Korea improve human rights record?
The increasing international pressure on North Korea to improve its human rights record has raised the question of whether Pyongyang will move to change the situation or continue to deny it and criticize what it calls interference in its domestic affairs.Analysts say that the North may seek to make some cosmetic changes to quieten the criticism, but is unlikely to fundamentally remove the deep-rooted inhumane practices that have been revealed through various surveys and statements from victims a
Oct. 16, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Why did N.K. chief join inter-Korean talks?
The appearance of North Korea’s military spy chief Kim Yong-chol at rare inter-Korean military talks on Wednesday has left many observers wondering what message Pyongyang wanted to convey through sending the hawkish figure.Some analysts argued that the head of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, well-known for spearheading provocations against the South, attended the talks to show Pyongyang’s resolve to reconcile and improve cross-border relations.Others said that the appearance of the spy chief
Oct. 16, 2014
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S. Korea to pay 550 mil won for N. Korea's Asiad participation
South Korea said Thursday it has decided to pay 550 million won (US$520,000) in financial support for North Korea's participation in the Incheon Asian Games.The decision was made in anticipation of positive effects to inter-Korean ties, the unification ministry said.The taxpayers' money will be used to cover the transportation costs of the North's 273-member delegation, rental of broadcasting equipment and other expenditures, a ministry official told reporters."We have maintained a position to p
Oct. 16, 2014
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N. Korea calls for self-sufficiency in food
Marking the United Nations-designated World Food Day on Thursday, North Korea called for self-sufficiency in food as it pledged efforts to enhance food security."If (we) put expectations on others, the food problem will never be solved," the Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the North's governing party, said.The country should pursue an agricultural policy that relies on its own technology and mobilizes people's labor, the newspaper said, highlighting self-sufficiency in feeding its people.The newspape
Oct. 16, 2014
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Inter-Korean military talks end without breakthrough
South and North Korea held their first high-level military talks in seven years on Wednesday, but failed to reach agreement on pending issues such as inter-Korean clashes near the tense western maritime border, Seoul's defense ministry said."The two Koreas held the closed-door contact involving military officials from 10 a.m. at the truce village of Panmunjom after North Korea proposed the meeting to discuss the recent exchange of fire between their patrol boats in the Yellow Sea," defense minis
Oct. 15, 2014
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S. Korea proposes high-level talks with North Korea on Oct. 30
South Korea has proposed to North Korea that another round of vice ministerial talks be held on Oct.30 at the truce village of Panmunjom, a government official said Wednesday.The South made the offer on Monday, but the North has not responded to it yet, a unification ministry official told reporters.Seoul hopes to discuss the reunion of separated families and other pending inter-Korean issues. It said the issue of existing bilateral sanctions on Pyongyang can be on the table as well. The two Ko
Oct. 15, 2014
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Chinese diplomat urges swift restart of N. Korea nuclear talks
Long-stalled six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program should be resumed at an early date, a senior Chinese diplomat said Wednesday, amid few signs that Pyongyang will drop its nuclear ambition. Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jianchao also repeated his country's long-held stance that North Korea's nuclear issue must be resolved through dialogue. The six-party talks, involving South Korea, North Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan, were last held in December
Oct. 15, 2014
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Top court upholds 3-year jail term for N. Korean spy
The Supreme Court on Wednesday confirmed a three-year prison term for a female North Korean spy accused of entering the South while masquerading as a defector.The North Korean woman, identified only by her surname Lee, was convicted of entering the South in December 2012 posing as a defector, violating the National Security Law. The 39-year-old came here to monitor a defector carrying out anti-North Korean activities, prosecutors said, adding that Lee had used a special drug distributed by the
Oct. 15, 2014
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N.K. leader ends 40-day public absence
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has made an on-site visit in his first public appearance in about 40 days, Pyongyang state media reported Tuesday, taming rampant speculation over his physical health and political stature.Kim’s visit to the newly built residential district for satellite engineers and a new energy research institute marked his first “field guidance” trip since attending a concert on Sept. 3. The official Korean Central News Agency did not mention the date of the trip, but it was t
Oct. 14, 2014
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N. Korean leader treated by 'foreign doctors': S. Korean envoy
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who has made his first public appearance in five weeks, has been treated by "foreign doctors" because of an apparent leg injury, the South Korean ambassador to China said Tuesday. North Korea's state media on Tuesday made its first reports of public activity by Kim in more than 40 days, showing photos of the leader with a walking stick. Kim "was suffering from problems in his leg and foreign doctors visited North Korea to treat him," Kwon Young-se told lawmakers
Oct. 14, 2014
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N. Korean leader resumes public activity after 40-day hiatus
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has made his first public appearance in more than a month, quelling rampant speculation over his health or a possible political crisis.Kim gave a "field guidance" at a new apartment complex in Pyongyang for satellite scientists, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Tuesday.It released several photos of Kim, including ones of him beaming a smile and walking with a cane. The country's main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, also carried
Oct. 14, 2014
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S. Korea deploys more weapons to border regions to deter N. Korea
The South Korean military said Monday it has deployed additional weapons to islands near the tense western maritime border to better deal with North Korea's growing threats. The disputed sea border remains a powder keg with the two Koreas fighting bloody battles there in 1999, 2002 and 2009. In the latest incident, both sides briefly exchanged fire last week as a boat from the North violated the Northern Limit Line. Drawn by the U.S.-led United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korea
Oct. 13, 2014
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N. Korea strives to promote its rights claims
With the international community ratcheting up criticism, North Korea is intensifying efforts to defend its human rights record through a U.N. resolution, investigative report and dialogue with its traditional partners. Pyongyang is working on a draft to be presented to the U.N. General Assembly that calls for an end to resolutions that it claims are aimed solely at interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries and deepening confrontation and mistrust in the international community, Seo
Oct. 13, 2014
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‘N.K. leader’s absence intended to get attention’
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) ― North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s prolonged absence from public view could be an attempt by Pyongyang to grab international attention at a time when the United States is focused on other priorities, a former U.S. diplomat said.“North Korea’s not received much international attention over the past few months because of everything going on in the world, Crimea, Ukraine, ISIL,” said Mark Tokola, a former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul said in an interview
Oct. 13, 2014
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Rice: No definitive indications of power transfer in N. Korea
The United States has seen no definitive indications that power in North Korea has shifted from leader Kim Jong-un, White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice said Sunday, amid speculation surrounding Kim’s prolonged absence from public view.Kim has not been seen in public for more than a month, including Friday’s national events marking the founding of the North’s Workers’ Party, spurring speculation and rumors ranging from health problems to a military coup.“Obviously we’re watching very
Oct. 13, 2014
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S. Korea mulls 'appropriate' steps over leaflets
The South Korean government said Monday it is weighing "appropriate" measures to protect its nationals from North Korean threats over the scattering of leaflets critical of the communist regime.The government, however, has no plans to take any forcible measures against the civilian-led spread of such leaflets across the border, according to unification ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol."As we said previously, there is no legal ground or relevant regulation to forcibly block the leaflet scatter
Oct. 13, 2014
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Park says S. Korea's door remains open for dialogue with N. Korea
President Park Geun-hye said Monday that South Korea's door will remain open for dialogue with North Korea, though she warned of a stern response to Pyongyang'sprovocations. The comments underscored her commitment to easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue, despite last week's exchange of fire between the two sides across the tense border."The two Koreas must continue dialogue to reduce tensions and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula," Park said in a meeting of a blue-ribbo
Oct. 13, 2014