Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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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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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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[Music in drama] An ode to childhood trauma
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'The Roundup: Punishment' becomes fastest 2024 film to top 2 mln admissions
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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New head of doctors' association vows war in case of disadvantage to medical professors
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‘Worker’s Party holds the real power in North Korea’
The most powerful organization in North Korea is not the military but the Worker’s Party, according to an internationally famous North Korean defector.“The only entity that actually matters when it comes to decision-making or policy-making is the Organization and Guidance Department,” the poet-laureate Jang Jin-sung said in an interview with U.S. broadcaster NBC.The OGD, a unit of the executive branch of the Worker’s Party, is said to be one of the two biggest power holders within the party, alo
May 19, 2014
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S. Korea mulling sending condolence message to N. Korea over deadly accident
South Korea said Monday that it is considering sending a message of condolence to North Korea over a recent deadly collapse of an apartment building in Pyongyang that has claimed an unspecified number of casualties.A Red Cross official said that an internal review is under way to determine whether to send a message, though he did not say when a final decision will be made.Unification ministry spokesman Kim Eui-do told reporters that the Red Cross will make an appropriate judgment on the case.The
May 19, 2014
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Pyongyang issues rare apology after apartment building collapses
An apartment building under construction in Pyongyang collapsed last week, prompting senior executives to offer a rare public apology, state media and Seoul officials said Sunday. The disaster took place on May 13 in the Pyongchon district, where the construction of the 23-story building was nearing completion, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. No death toll was reported though it described the accident as “serious.”As many as 92 households had already moved in, an official a
May 18, 2014
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Apartment under construction collapses in Pyongyang
An apartment building under construction in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang has collapsed, causing an unspecified number of casualties, the state media reported Sunday. The North's Korean Central News Agency said the accident occurred in the Pyongchon District on May 13 as "the construction of an apartment house was not done properly, and officials supervised and controlled it in an irresponsible manner." An unidentified North Korean official apologizes to local citizens for the collapse o
May 18, 2014
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'Executed' singer alive and well, Pyongyang TV shows
A North Korean singer said to be leader Kim Jong-Un's ex-girlfriend and rumoured to have been executed last year has appeared on state television, apparently alive and well. Pyongyang's state TV showed Hyon Song-Wol, the head of a band known as Moranbong, delivering a speech at a national art workers rally in Pyongyang on Friday. She expressed gratitude for Kim's leadership and pledged to work harder to "stoke up the flame for art and creative work". Her appearance came after months of spe
May 17, 2014
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Korean-American takes sister’s remains from N.Korea
A Korean-American man took his sister’s remains out of North Korea in an unprecedented favor granted by the country, Voice of America reported Thursday. North Korea on Sunday allowed an 80-year-old Korean-American doctor named Pak Moon-jae to take his older sister’s remains from Pyongyang to the U.S. The two siblings were reunited in 1995 for the first time in 44 years, after the production team of a PBS documentary on North Korea informed the younger Pak that his sister was alive. Until then, e
May 15, 2014
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North Korea confirms new provincial party chief
ak Thae-song, a deputy director in North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, has become the party’s new secretary in charge of the western province of South Pyongan, state media confirmed Wednesday. He succeeded Hong In-bom, who was likewise promoted to the post from party deputy director in June 2010. Hong’s new title remains unclear, though he was named a deputy for the country’s rubber-stamp parliament early this year. Pak’s new position came to light as the official Korean Central News Agency rep
May 14, 2014
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N.K. leader inspects Air Force unit again
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited an Air Force unit in the western province of South Pyongan, calling on pilots to master modern flight training equipment and improve the existing gear, state media reported Thursday. The field inspection at the Korean People’s Army’s Air and Anti-Air Force Unit 447 marks at least his third participation in Air Force events in less than a month. The young leader attended a combat flight contest at an air force base last week and guided a flight training
May 14, 2014
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Kerry, Wang discuss N. Korea's threats, territorial tensions
In phone talks with China's foreign minister, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed strong concern over North Korea's threats to carry out further provocations, according to the secretary's office. Kerry and Wang Yi "reaffirmed the U.S. and China's shared commitment to work toward North Korean denuclearization," Jen Psaki, the department's spokeswoman said in a read-out of a phone conversation between them on Monday night (Washington time). But the two sides remained at odds with each ot
May 14, 2014
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Criticism grows over N.K. racist, sexist slurs
Criticism is rising on the peninsula and abroad as North Korea continues to churn out a deluge of scathing invectives against the leaders of South Korea and the U.S. and other parts of what it calls hostile forces. Pyongyang’s state media is notorious for vitriolic remarks and warlike rhetoric against the allies. But its tone appears to have grown more hateful, especially since their summit in Seoul late last month, during which U.S. President Barack Obama warned the communist state against a fo
May 13, 2014
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Businessman fined W1m over rail project in North Korea
South Korea has fined a businessman 1 million won ($977) for making an unauthorized contact with North Koreans over a project to build a high-speed railway and a parallel road in North Korea, an official said Tuesday.The unification ministry imposed the administrative penalties in March on the businessman, identified only by his last name Kim, for meeting with North Koreans in China in December for the project, the ministry official said.South Koreans are required to win the government's approva
May 13, 2014
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N. Korea should disappear: Seoul spokesman
Seoul’s Defense Ministry spokesperson Kim Min-seok lashed out Monday at Pyongyang for its repeated denial of responsibility for sending spy drones to South Korea, arguing that the communist state was not a legitimate state.In an unusually strong tone, Kim also said the North that has repeatedly lied to the world should disappear quickly.His remarks came a day after Pyongyang repeated that Seoul’s conclusion that the three drones, found in South Korea’s border regions in March and April, originat
May 12, 2014
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N.K. urges U.S. not to side with S. Korea over drone findings
North Korea has called on the United States not to side with South Korea over the findings of a probe into three drones found crashed near the inter-Korean border.The North‘s army mission at the border village of Panmunjeom on Sunday accused the U.S. of echoing South Korea’s conclusion that North Korea is behind the rudimentary drones that were found in the South in recent weeks.“If Washington pays heed only to what its stooges trumpet, it is bound to be accused of being a senile grandfather try
May 12, 2014
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Speculation rises over standing of N. Korea’s former No. 2 man
Speculation is growing over the political status of Choe Ryong-hae, who had been deemed North Korea’s second-most influential man, as his coveted military post was taken over by a newly emerged figure, though he still appears to boast formidable power in public. The rise of Hwang Pyong-so, the new director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army, sparked a flurry of rumors and analyses that portrayed Choe as the target of a new purge. The announcement marked the latest in a s
May 12, 2014
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North Korea defends racist attacks on Obama
North Korea on Monday defended recent racist attacks on U.S. President Barack Obama by its citizens and officials, calling them "a proper reaction" to slander by the American leader.The North's Foreign Ministry said Obama's comments critical of North Korea during his recent trip to Seoul were "an unpardonable insult" to its people and their resentment at the U.S. is running high."The resentment expressed by individuals of (North Korea) at Obama recently was a proper reaction to him who malignant
May 12, 2014
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South Korea, China to hold high-level security talks this month
South Korea and China plan to hold high-level security talks in Beijing later this month, a diplomatic source with knowledge of the matter said Monday, as Seoul seeks to persuade Beijing to do more in dissuading North Korea from conducting its fourth nuclear test. South Korea's Presidential Security Adviser Kim Jang-soo is scheduled to visit Beijing and hold talks with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi, China's top foreign policymaker, in the fourth week of this month, the source said on the c
May 12, 2014
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U.S. activist on North Korea wins ticket for November congressional election
Suzanne Scholte, a well-known U.S. activist on the North Korean human rights problem, has become a Republican candidate for November's congressional election, according to her campaign website.She will take on Democrat incumbent Gerry Connolly seeking a fourth term in the House to represent Virginia's 11th district where there are relatively many Korean-American residents. "This is time for all of us to come together to preserve what makes America the greatest nation on earth, our Constitution,
May 12, 2014
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N. Korea again denies S. Korea's accusation of drone incursions
Pyongyang on Sunday again denied its involvement in, and called for a joint probe into, the deployment of small drones found crashed near the inter-Korean border, which Seoul has said were sent from North Korea.The denial came three days after Seoul's defense ministry said the three crude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were sent from North Korea, based on an analysis of the drones' global positioning system data. A team of experts from South Korea and the United States found that the drones' de
May 11, 2014
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North Korea threatens to respond mercilessly to South Korean, U.S. provocations
North Korea on Saturday warned it will respond mercilessly to all South Korean and U.S. provocations related to its recent artillery and missile firing exercises.The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, said in an article picked up in Seoul that its military exercises were legitimate preparations to defend itself from outside aggression. It said any moves to challenge such rights can only be seen as moves to crush the country."Any such provocations will be dealt with in
May 10, 2014
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North Korean leader, wife attend air force test event
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju attended a combat flight contest at an air force base in the western region of the country, the communist country's media said Saturday.The Korean Central News Agency report monitored in Seoul said the contest was held for commanding officers of North Korea's Air Force and Anti-Air Force of the Korean People's Army.Kim said the event, held at an undisclosed air field, was aimed at building organizational strength and personal initiative.He g
May 10, 2014