Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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N. Korean leader pays respects to late father on birthday
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un paid his respects to his late father on Sunday to mark the former leader's 72nd birthday, Pyongyang's state media reported. The Korean Central News Agency, monitored in Seoul, said Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in the capital Pyongyang, where the body of Kim Jong-il lies in state. The KCNA said the junior Kim paid his respects before the statues of Kim Il-sung, his grandfather and the founder of North Korea, and Kim Jong-il. The leader place
Feb. 16, 2014
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N. Korean ship seized with arms returning to Cuba
A North Korean ship caught in July while trying to move undeclared Cuban weapons through the Panama Canal left Saturday to return to Cuba, the Foreign Ministry said.The Chong Chon Gang freighter departed from the Panamanian port of Colon with a crew of 32, the ministry said in a statement.The ship got the green light last week to leave Panama after Pyongyang paid a fine of nearly $700,000.Back in July, en route from Cuba, the ship was stopped on suspicion of carrying drugs as it tried to enter t
Feb. 16, 2014
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S. Korean officials arrives in N.K. for family reunions
An advance team of South Korean officials arrived in North Korea on Saturday to help arrange upcoming reunions of separated families, the South Korean Red Cross said.The visit came a day after the two Koreas agreed in a rare high-level meeting to hold the reunions as scheduled despite a dispute over upcoming U.S.-South Korean military drills.The 15-member team, including South Korean Red Cross officials, crossed the border by car into the North at noon to visit Mount Geumgang, a scenic resort on
Feb. 15, 2014
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Crimes against humanity in N.K., U.N. panel finds
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A U.N. panel has found crimes against humanity have been committed in North Korea and will call for an international criminal investigation, the Associated Press has learned.The report, to be released Monday, is the most authoritative account yet of rights violations by North Korean authorities, and is bound to infuriate its unpredictable leader. But justice remains a distant prospect, not least as North Korea's ally, China, would be likely to block any referral to the Interna
Feb. 15, 2014
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Koreas agree to go ahead with family reunions, end slander
The two Koreas agreed Friday to hold a new round of reunions of families separated by the Korean War and halt slander as a first step to building mutual trust. At the second round of the first high-level inter-Korean dialogue since 2007, senior officials from each side also pledged to continue discussions over pending issues, make “active efforts” for better relations and meet again soon. The meeting opened at the truce village of Panmunjeom to iron out differences over South Korea-U.S. military
Feb. 14, 2014
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Ex-U.S. envoy urges N. Korea to free detained American ‘soon’
BEIJING (Yonhap) ― A former U.S. ambassador to South Korea said Friday that he called on North Korea to swiftly release detained American Kenneth Bae during this week’s visit to Pyongyang and expressed “regret” over the North’s cancellation of a U.S. envoy’s visit aimed at securing his release.Donald Gregg, who served as U.S. ambassador to Seoul from 1989-1993 and made a five-day trip to North Korea as head of a U.S. private institute, said he conveyed his call for Bae’s freedom to the North Kor
Feb. 14, 2014
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Institute: More digging at N.K. nuclear test site
WASHINGTON (AP) ― A U.S. research institute said Thursday North Korea has accelerated excavation at a site used for underground nuclear test explosions, though a test doesn’t appear imminent. The findings, based on satellite photographs, were released as Secretary of State John Kerry and his South Korean counterpart warned the North against any possible aggression. The U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies said that the North likely started work last May
Feb. 14, 2014
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Koreas end high-level talks, no details available
South and North Korea ended their high-level talks meant to break an impasse in their relations, Seoul's unification ministry said Friday.The ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, did not say whether the rival Koreas reached a deal on family reunions and the upcoming joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises.The rival Koreas have locked horns over the military exercises that partly overlap with a new round of reunions of separated families set to be held at a North Korean mountain resort
Feb. 14, 2014
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Ex-U.S. envoy urges N. Korea to free detained American 'soon'
A former U.S. ambassador to South Korea said Friday he expressed "regret" to North Korea over its cancellation of a U.S. envoy's visit regarding jailed American Kenneth Bae and urged the North to release Bae "soon.""When we heard that he was not going to be released, I expressed regret and said that I hope he would be released soon," Donald Gregg told reporters upon his arrival at Beijing Capital International Airport after wrapping up a five-day visit to North Korea.Gregg, who heads a U.S. civi
Feb. 14, 2014
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N. Korea‘s food situation better a tad in 2013: WFP
The food situation for North Korean people improved slightly last year thanks to increased food rations and more outside support, a report by the World Food Programme said Friday.According to the WFP report, about 46 percent of North Korean families consumed an “acceptable” level of essential nutrients in the October-December period of 2013.About 17 percent were categorized as having “poor” food consumption, while the rest, about 38 percent, were defined as at the “borderline” level.The report i
Feb. 14, 2014
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Kerry urges Korea, Japan to mend ties
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday urged South Korea and Japan to work to overcome historical animosities and improve their relations to better counter North Korean threats and other challenges together. After their talks in Seoul, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Kerry also renewed calls for Pyongyang to demonstrate its commitment to denuclearization through actions. Though Kerry displayed respect for “deeply felt historical differences,” he said that positive relations between Seo
Feb. 13, 2014
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Koreas to reconvene over family reunions
The two Koreas will reopen talks on Friday on the planned reunions of separated families after their first high-level dialogue in seven years ended with no agreement due to differences over upcoming Seoul-Washington military drills, the Unification Ministry said Thursday. The meeting will start at the border village of Panmunjeom at 10:00 a.m., led by Kim Kyou-hyun, vice chief of the South’s presidential National Security Office, and Won Dong-yon, deputy head of the United Front Department of th
Feb. 13, 2014
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Koreas to resume high-level talks this week
South and North Korea will resume high-level talks this week, an official said Thursday, in an apparent attempt to break the deadlock in their relations.The sides will hold the talks at the border village of Panmunjom at 10 a.m. on Friday at the North's request, the official of the unification ministry said.The move came a day after the rival Koreas ended their first high-level talks in seven years without any tangible agreement.The official said the two Koreas are expected to discuss the reunio
Feb. 13, 2014
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No agreement reached at inter-Korean dialogue
The two Koreas failed to reach an agreement during their first high-level talks in seven years on Wednesday due to differences over planned Seoul-Washington military drills.Senior officials from the two sides met at the truce village of Panmunjeom to discuss pending issues ahead of reunions of separate families slated for Feb. 20-25.During the 12-hour marathon talks, the North “constantly demanded” Seoul’s postponement of the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises until after the event. The joint
Feb. 13, 2014
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Japanese PM as unpopular as N.K. leader among S. Koreans: poll
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's favorability among South Korean citizens has dipped to match that of North Korea's young leader, a poll showed Wednesday.The February poll of 1,000 South Koreans by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies saw respondents give Abe an average of 0.99 out of 10, a figure identical to that given to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.The Japanese leader was given 1.65 in the same poll last July and 1.43 last December before his rating dropped to the current level.The p
Feb. 12, 2014
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N. Korea demands pay raise for Gaeseong workers
North Korea has demanded a $30 pay raise for its workers at an inter-Korean industrial complex in exchange for sending more workers, officials at South Korean companies operating in the complex said Wednesday.The base pay of North Korean workers at the Gaeseong complex, named after the North's border city where it's located, was set at a minimum of $67 per month based on an inter-Korean agreement. South Korean companies give a 5 percent raise annually, and each company pays overtime."North Korea
Feb. 12, 2014
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Kerry to visit Seoul for talks on N. Korea
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Seoul this week for talks with his South Korean counterpart on such issues as North Korea and the political situation in Northeast Asia, the foreign ministry here said Wednesday.Kerry will arrive in Seoul Thursday afternoon for a meeting with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, the ministry said. This will be their second face-to-face meeting this year following the first one held in Washington early last month.Security issues involving North Korea are ex
Feb. 12, 2014
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Koreas hold first high-level talks since 2007
South and North Korea began their first high-level talks in seven years on Wednesday, a crucial meeting that could set the tone for inter-Korean ties after months of tensions.The rare talks come four days after North Korea made a surprise offer for a comprehensive discussion on inter-Korean relations as an apparent part of its recent conciliatory overtures toward South Korea.The officials of the Koreas sat down for the talks at the border village of Panmunjom shortly after 10 a.m., South Korea's
Feb. 12, 2014
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U.N. panel to publish final report on N. Korea's human rights next week
Wrapping up its year-long investigation, a special United Nations panel on North Korea's human rights abuses plans to publish a final report on the issue next week, a media report said Wednesday.In March last year, the U.N. launched the Commission of Inquiry, a three-man investigation body led by retired Australian Judge Michael Kirby, and has conducted a probe into the rights situation in the communist country.It was the U.N.'s first attempt to launch such an official investigative mission on t
Feb. 12, 2014
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Chinese diplomats make first visit to N. Korea since purge
A group of Chinese diplomats in charge of Korean affairs visited North Korea last week, marking the first visit by Chinese officials since the high-profile purge of leader Kim Jong-un's uncle about two months ago, a diplomatic source said Wednesday.The Chinese delegation, led by Deputy Director-General of Asian Affairs Xing Haiming, included some diplomats who are working to persuade North Korea to return to the long-stalled multilateral talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear weapons developm
Feb. 12, 2014