Most Popular
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[H.eco Forum] H.eco Forum calls for transition to clean, carbon-free energy
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[Exclusive] LACMA admits it needs further research on donated Korean paintings
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Russia likely offering N. Korea technology aid to expand threats to US, others: Pentagon official
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[Bridge to Africa] Africa-Korea partnership: Why it matters for future
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[Herald Interview] Korean adoptees embark on journeys to find roots
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[Graphic News] Medical tourists visiting Korea reach record high
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‘Gimflation’ in S. Korea as dried seaweed prices grow on rising global demand
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Revote on Marine probe bill to be held next week
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Yoon to resume diplomatic activity via 3-way summit with Japan, China
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Illit’s agency sues Ador CEO Min Hee-jin for defamation
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Rodman yet to meet with Kim, but says game is on
Dennis Rodman may not get to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on his latest visit to the country, but he said that won't stop him from coming back on Kim's birthday next month to hold an exhibition game with other former basketball stars.On the night before he was due to leave Pyongyang, Rodman told The Associated Press on Sunday that he had not yet had a meeting with Kim. The flamboyant Hall of Famer said that he didn't expect to meet the leader every time he comes to North Korea, and
Dec. 23, 2013
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Rumors of asylum seekers persist
After the recent execution of Jang Song-thaek, the uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, rumors of his close associates seeking asylum overseas persist, despite Seoul’s repeated denials.Media reports say one of Jang’s confidants fled the North to China with crucial intelligence about the development of Pyongyang’s nuclear program and Kim’s secret overseas funds. Others say dozens of North Korean officials and their families are being questioned by the Korean embassy in China after they cross
Dec. 22, 2013
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Young N.K. defectors find unlikely home
The kids call him “uncle,” but he’s more of a mom and dad rolled in one. From one child that he began caring for in 2006, Kim Tae-hoon’s brood has grown to nine boys, all defectors from North Korea who have found their first real experience of family in his house. As a single, 37-year-old raising nine youngsters, he’s a novelty in this conservative society. Local media have dubbed him “Bachelor Mom,” and he’s something of a celebrity, appearing on a popular TV lecture series to talk about life w
Dec. 22, 2013
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Inter-Korean factory park tough sell to outsiders
The two Koreas took an initial step Thursday to open their jointly run factory park to overseas investors, but the compound in North Korea remains a tough sell despite its cheap labor, foreigners who toured the complex said. North Korea allowed about 30 foreign government officials, central bankers and diplomats to tour the industrial complex in Gaeseong. The foreigners were in Seoul, South Korea, for a conference of the Group of 20 countries.The visit occurred a week after North Korea executed
Dec. 22, 2013
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Seoul 'confirms' woman interviewed by N. Korean media is former defector
Seoul has confirmed Saturday the veracity of a recent North Korean media report about a redefector who expressed contempt for her life in South Korea. The unification ministry, in charge of handling inter-Korean policies, said that judging by her name, age and other personal information provided by Pyongyang, Choi Kye-soon indeed had lived in the South for about two years as she said in the broadcast. Immigration records show the 64-year-old Choi as having had arrived in South Korea in Dec
Dec. 21, 2013
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North Korea unlikely to conduct nuclear test for several months
North Korea is not likely to conduct another nuclear test anytime soon, a U.S. institute said Friday, citing recent satellite images that showed ongoing construction work at the only known nuclear test site in the reclusive country. The assessment by 38 North, a website by the U.S. Korea Institute of Johns Hopkins University, comes as recent satellite images showed construction work underway to build new a tunnel at the nuclear test site that can be used to detonate another fissile device. T
Dec. 21, 2013
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Seoul warns N.K. against strike threat
North Korea threatened to “unsparingly” retaliate against South Korean conservatives’ recent anti-Pyongyang rallies in a fax message to Seoul on Thursday, further escalating tension on the peninsula.Seoul’s Defense Ministry said the North’s powerful National Defense Commission had sent the message to the presidential office of national security through the western coastal military communication line.“The North sent a fax saying that it would mercilessly take unsparing retaliatory action should t
Dec. 20, 2013
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‘Kim Jong-un may be N.K.’s figurehead’
A South Korean lawmaker on Friday raised the possibility of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un having no real power, saying that prominent military figure Choe Ryong-hae is running things in Pyongyang.“Most people think that the recent purging of (Kim’s uncle) Jang Song-thaek was an action to consolidate Kim’s power, but I think he has no real authority,” said Rep. Ahn Hong-joon, the chairman of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. According to Ahn, Choe, the director
Dec. 20, 2013
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N. Korean leader's aunt returned home in Nov. after heart treatment abroad
The aunt of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appeared to have returned to Pyongyang last month after receiving treatment abroad for heart disease, a diplomatic source with knowledge in the matter said Friday. The whereabouts of Kim Kyong-hui, a younger sister of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the father of the current leader, have been a focus of media attention following last week's stunning purge and execution of her husband, Jang Song-thaek. "To my knowledge, Kim Kyong-hui had been rec
Dec. 20, 2013
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N. Koreans swear loyalty to leader following bloody purge
In a continuing procession of loyalty pledges, more North Korean officials and ordinary people have sworn loyalty to their leader Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang's state-run radio reported Friday, in what could be the North's latest attempt to drum up support for the young leader following the bloody purge of his uncle.The North Koreans said they will faithfully "follow the ideology and leadership of the Marshall of Paektu bloodline" in a series of allegiance letters addressed to the leader, according to
Dec. 20, 2013
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N. Korea threatens to strike South 'without notice'
North Korea has threatened to strike South Korea in response to conservatives' anti-Pyongyang rallies here on the second death anniversary of its leader Kim Jong-il earlier this week, a senior military official said Friday. The North's powerful National Defense Commission on Thursday sent a fax to South Korea's National Security Council through the western coastal military hotline to threaten to strike the South "without notice," the official said. The latest threat came after several conservat
Dec. 20, 2013
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S. Korea offers to hold road show for Kaesong complex
Officials of the two Koreas discussed Thursday sustainable development of their joint factory park as global financial officials toured the enclave, a symbol of inter-Korean detente.Internationalization was a key topic of the rare inter-Korean meeting in the North's border city of Kaesong, where the factory park is located. The meeting was the first of its kind since September.The meeting drew keen media attention as it came following the shocking purge and execution of North Korean leader Kim J
Dec. 19, 2013
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Rodman in NKorea to prep for game on leader's Bday
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman arrived in North Korea on Thursday to meet leader Kim Jong Un and put the finishing touches on plans to bring 12 ex-NBA players to Pyongyang for a Jan. 8 exhibition game marking the leader's birthday. Rodman said the game is on track despite the recent execution of Kim's uncle in a dramatic political purge.Rodman's visit comes less than a week after North Korea announced the execution of Jang Song Thaek, an unprecedented fall from grace for one of the most powerful
Dec. 19, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Rodman visits Pyongyang in wake of purge
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman made his third visit to North Korea on Thursday, drawing keen attention as he is the first high-profile American allowed to stay in the reclusive country in the aftermath of the chilling execution of Kim Jong-un’s uncle. Rodman is trotting into the secretive society thanks largely to his special relationship with Kim, who recently surprised the international community by staging a harsh political purge involving his uncle Jang Song-thaek. South Korean and U.S. spy a
Dec. 19, 2013
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Koreas hold talks on boosting joint factory park
Officials of South and North Korea met Thursday in the North’s border city of Gaeseong to discuss ways to further develop their joint factory park, the Unification Ministry said.The working-level talks, the first since last week’s execution of leader Kim Jong-un’s uncle Jang Song-thaek, could help gauge whether the North is serious about the cross-border project.The sides are expected to discuss how to enhance travel, communication and customs clearance for South Korean factory managers, the thr
Dec. 19, 2013
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‘Jang’s confidants, N.K. bigwigs escape to China, some have info on N.K. nuke’
Former confidants of Jang Song-thaek, the recently executed uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, have escaped en masse to China, a local daily reported Thursday. Some of them reportedly are in possession of key information, including inside knowledge about Pyongyang’s nuclear program.According to the Segye Ilbo newspaper, some 70 people have escaped the communist country in the wake of Jang’s execution last Thursday. Among the escapees are Jang’s former aids, military personnel, diplomats a
Dec. 19, 2013
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Purge puts N.K. rights issue back in spotlight
The issue of the dire human rights conditions in North Korea has resurfaced after the recent execution of Jang Song-thaek, the uncle of leader Kim Jong-un.Some South Korean lawmakers called for a prompt passage of a bill on North Korean human rights, which has remained pending at the National Assembly due to political bickering since the first legislative move began in 2005.Seoul’s National Human Rights Commission on Wednesday sent to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights a l
Dec. 18, 2013
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Late N. Korean leader handpicked aide to his son and successor
The North Korean military's top political officer has become a confidant to leader Kim Jong-un with the blessing of Kim's late father and long-time leader Kim Jong-il, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.Choe Ryong-hae, a former provincial chief of the ruling Workers' Party, appears to have secured a position deemed as the country's new No. 2 following the recent execution of the current leader's uncle, Jang Song-thaek.Choe was sitting next to the young leader Kim Jong-un at Tuesday's
Dec. 18, 2013
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U.S. blacklists Myanmar entities for ties with N. Korea
In a new measure aimed at blocking illicit arms trade between North Korea and Myanmar, the Obama administration imposed sanctions Tuesday on a Myanmar military official and three Myanmar firms.The Treasury said its action does not "generally target" the Myanmar government as it targets those linked to the Southeast Asian nation's Directorate of Defense Industries (DDI), "which has been involved in purchasing military equipment and related material from North Korea."“The revenues from these conti
Dec. 18, 2013
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S. Korea, U.S. discuss 'all possible scenarios' on N. Korea
South Korea and the United States agreed Tuesday to step up joint efforts to prepare for "all possible scenarios" associated with North Korea, according to a senior South Korean official.In high-level strategic talks here, the allies noted the possibility that North Korea will take additional provocative steps due to possibly increased instability following the execution of Jang Song-thaek, who held the No. 2 post in the North Korean leadership."Accordingly, (the two sides) agreed to the need to
Dec. 18, 2013