Most Popular
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Naver’s Line ownership in jeopardy as Japan ups pressure
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South Korea to launch space security center under spy agency
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More med professors to take day off each week while govt. urges them to stay
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Hybe refutes Ador CEO Min's denial of breach of trust
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S. Korea, Japan could consider simplified entry agreement: Seoul official
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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[Today’s K-pop] NewJeans' single teasers release amid intrigue
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N.Korea leader visits east coast military detachment, guides drills
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a front-line military detachment in the East Sea and instructed firing drills, its official media said Monday.The young leader "inspected the defense detachment on Ung Islet ... which is defending an outpost in the East Sea of Korea," the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in an English dispatch, without disclosing the date of the visit, as it often does.The islet is located in waters off its eastern border town of Wonsan, Gangwon Pro
July 7, 2014
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N. Korea to dispatch cheerleading squad to Incheon Asian Games
North Korea said Monday it will dispatch a cheerleading contingent to the upcoming Incheon Asian Games.In a government announcement, the communist country said it will send a cheerleading contingent to the 17th Asian Games along with its athletes.It said the purpose of the contingent is to improve inter-Korean relations and to show Pyongyang's commitment to unification.The latest announcement then said that both North and South Korea should desist from confrontation, and open a new chapter of re
July 7, 2014
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Pyongyang doubles cyber warriors
North Korea has nearly doubled the number of its cyberwarfare operatives to around 5,900 over the last two years, military and intelligence officials said Sunday.Pyongyang has been bolstering its cyberwarfare resources in line with its efforts to strengthen asymmetric military capabilities in recognition of the difficulty of handling South Korea’s advanced conventional weapons systems, analysts said.“We believe that the number of the North’s cyberwarfare agents, which had been estimated at some
July 6, 2014
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New North Korean probe seen as Japanese abductees’ last chance
TOKYO (AP) ― For many families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago, a renewed investigation by the North is most likely their last chance to see their loved ones. The elderly relatives say they are pinning all their hopes on the effort before time runs out.After decades of waiting, they saw a door open in May when Japan and North Korea agreed on a renewed investigation of at least a dozen people Japan believes were abducted. And on Friday, the long overdue investigation bega
July 6, 2014
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N. Korea doubles number of cyber warriors over 2 years: sources
North Korea has nearly doubled the number of elite hackers over the past two years in an effort to step up cyberattacks, military sources said Sunday."North Korea appears to have some 5,900 personnel for cyberwarfare, up from around 3,000 two years ago," a military source said."The communist country operates a hacking unit under its General Bureau of Reconnaissance, which is home to some 1,200 professional hackers," he said, noting that they have been carrying out cyberattacks by establishing ov
July 6, 2014
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N. Korean leader inspects military landing drill
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a military landing drill, warning against any provocations in the southwestern sea border with South Korea, the North's state news wire said Saturday.Kim guided the landing drill by the Korean People's Army's ground, naval, air and anti-air forces on an island, which involved combatants, combat ships, bombers and transport planes, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said in an English-language dispatch without disclosing the date of the inspection.D
July 5, 2014
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Japan approves lifting of some N.K. sanctions
Japan’s Cabinet on Friday formally approved a lifting of part of its sanctions against North Korea as Pyongyang launches an investigation into its abduction of Japanese citizens in the 1970-80s.The decision will ease restrictions on people-to-people exchanges and port calls by North Korean ships for humanitarian purposes such as carrying medical supplies. Up to 30 million yen ($294,000) can be sent and 1 million yen be brought from the communist state without declaration. But the Mankyongbong-92
July 4, 2014
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Japan to lift some N.K. sanctions
Japan plans to lift part of its sanctions against North Korea as their plans are making headway to reopen a probe into the fate of Japanese abductees in the communist country, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday. At their talks in Stockholm in May, Tokyo agreed to relax entry bans for North Koreans and limits on the amount of money to be wired or carried into the communist country and allow port calls by North Korean vessels on humanitarian missions, upon the launch of the investigation. The
July 3, 2014
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N. Korean man defects to western S. Korean island
A North Korean man defected to a South Korean western border island on Thursday and was under investigation by authorities, Joint Chiefs of Staff officers said. “An unarmed North Korean man presumed to be a civilian expressed his will to defect to South Korea early this morning near Baengnyeong Island,” a JCS officer said.“He arrived on the shore of the island in a non-powered wooden boat, and told a Marine on guard duty there that he wanted to stay in the South,” he added.The island is just sou
July 3, 2014
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Kim Jong-un bans Choco Pies as bonus pay
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un banned Choco Pies as a form of bonus pay for workers because they contribute to black market activity, according to The Washington Post. North Korean officials gave orders not to hand out Choco Pies, a popular chocolate snack in South Korea. The employers are planning to provide other food as bonuses, like sausages, chocolate or powdered coffee. “The ‘Choco Pie Bonus’ was banned because it helps the black markets thrive. North Korean people got to know about this
July 3, 2014
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N. Korea preparing to try 2 American tourists
TOKYO (AP) ― North Korea said Monday it is preparing to try two Americans who entered the country as tourists for carrying out what it says were hostile acts against it.Investigations into Americans Matthew Todd Miller and Jeffrey Edward Fowle concluded that suspicions about their hostile acts have been confirmed by evidence and their testimonies, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency said in a short report.KCNA said North Korea is making preparations to bring them before a court. It d
July 2, 2014
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Japan voices anger over N. Korea missile launch
BEIJING (AFP) ― Talks between Tokyo and Pyongyang on the abduction of Japanese citizens during the Cold War opened in Beijing on Tuesday, with Tokyo’s envoys giving the North Koreans a diplomatic rebuke over missile launches.Sunday’s test launch of two short-range Scud missiles was “extremely regrettable”, Junichi Ihara, the head of Japan’s delegation, told his North Korean counterpart Song Il-ho as talks got under way at Pyongyang’s embassy in the Chinese capital.Speaking in front of internatio
July 2, 2014
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N.K. seeks closer Russia ties
North Korea is moving to bolster its relations with Russia as it seeks to court outside assistance to help shore up its crumbling economy and reduce its political and economic dependence on China, which has been ratcheting up pressure over its nuclear program. The two countries have been expanding political, economic and cultural cooperation in recent weeks. Ranking Russian officials have visited Pyongyang to discuss an ambitious plan to lay a natural gas pipeline through North Korea to the Sout
July 2, 2014
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Humanitarian aid to N. Korea nearly halves in H1: report
International humanitarian assistance to North Korea tumbled nearly 50 percent in the first half of this year from a year earlier, a U.S. radio report said Wednesday.Citing the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Washington-based Voice of America said North Korea received $19.6 million of humanitarian aid in the January-June period, down 45 percent from the same period last year.The report, however, gave no reason for the on-year plunge.Six countries offered a
July 2, 2014
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Seoul snubs N.K. proposal for halt of military drills
South Korea on Tuesday brushed off the North’s proposal to cease military drills and slander on both sides of the border, calling for a “sincere” resolve to forsake its nuclear program rather than a token peace offensive. The “special offer,” made a day earlier by the National Defense Commission, included a halt of “all military hostilities” and “psychological smear campaigns” starting Friday. “We suggest taking practical measures to bring about a new turning point for reconciliation and coopera
July 1, 2014
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Defense chief vows 'merciless' response if N. Korea attacks
South Korea's newly-appointed defense chief vowed Tuesday to "mercilessly respond" to North Korea in the case of any provocation, instructing troops at the tensely-guarded western sea border to prepare for an effective counterattack. Defense Minister Han Min-koo made the remarks during a visit to the islands of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong in the Yellow Sea just south of the Northern Limit Line, the de facto inter-Korean western sea border. Han, a career soldier and former chief of the Joint C
July 1, 2014
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N. Korea-Japan deal may hurt efforts to end North's nuke program: FM
South Korea's foreign minister said Monday that a recent deal between North Korea and Japan is feared to hamper cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo in resolving the issue of the North's nuclear weapons program.In late May, North Korea and Japan agreed to re-investigate the fate of Japanese nationals kidnapped by Pyongyang decades ago. In return, Japan promised to ease some of its unilateral sanctions on Pyongyang and give humanitarian aid to the reclusive country "at an appropriate tim
June 30, 2014
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N. Korean envoy says not heard of any protest by Japan over
The North Korean envoy to the talks to normalize relations with Japan said Monday that he has not heard anything about protests by Japan against the North's recent ballistic missile launch, seemingly contradicting remarks by Japanese officials. Song Il-ho made the comments upon arrival at Beijing Capital International Airport to represent the North Korean delegation for a fresh round of talks with Japan on Tuesday on the fate of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean agents decades ago.Nort
June 30, 2014
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S. Korean scholars get nod to visit N. Korean palace site
South Korean scholars have been given permission to visit North Korea this week to possibly resume the joint excavation of an ancient royal palace site in the communist state, officials said Monday.Seoul's Ministry of Unification said it gave permission to five people belonging to the Association of Inter-Korean Historians to visit the North Korean border town of Kaesong on Tuesday so they can check the ruins of Manwoldae, a Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) palace.South Korean scholars, during the visi
June 30, 2014
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N. Korea proposes halt to military hostilities
North Korea proposed Monday that the two Koreas stop all military hostilities from this week, in an apparent show of its efforts for peace on the Korean Peninsula ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Seoul.The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the National Defense Commission, the North's top military body, also called on the South to stop slandering against each other from Friday.The defense commission further called on South Korea and the United States to suspe
June 30, 2014