Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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N. Korean defector in South crosses western sea border
A North Korean defector who was living in South Korea crossed the tensely guarded western sea border on a fishing boat he stole, military officials said Thursday, amid high tensions on the Korean Peninsula.The 28-year-old man, only identified as his surname Lee, stole a 9-ton boat on the border island of Yeonpyeong at 10:49 p.m. on Wednesday and sailed across the maritime border called the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea. "The ship was anchored at a port after being used for fishing
April 4, 2013
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U.S. sends THAAD to Guam as N. Korea vows military action
The United States announced Wednesday it is sending an advanced ballistic missile defense system to the western Pacific, as North Korea's military said it received final approval for a nuclear attack."The Department of Defense will deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) Ballistic Missile Defense system to Guam in the coming weeks as a precautionary move to strengthen our regional defense posture against the North Korean regional ballistic missile threat," the Pentagon said i
April 4, 2013
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N.K. bars entry to Gaeseong
Pyongyang on Wednesday blocked South Koreans from entering a joint factory complex just north of the heavily fortified border, prompting Seoul to warn that it would take military action should its workers’ safety be compromised. The North’s Central Special Direct General Bureau informed Seoul early in the morning that it would only allow the departure of South Korean officials and employees from the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. The Unification Ministry urged immediate renunciation of the decisio
April 3, 2013
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N. Korea nuclear quagmire deepens
North Korea’s escalating nuclear threat is posing a trickier conundrum to Seoul and Washington, prompting calls for a big change in their strategy for deterrence and denuclearization of the communist foe.During a key parliamentary session Sunday, Pyongyang adopted a policy of concurrently pursuing economic development and nuclear armament. On Tuesday it unveiled a plan to restart the 5-megawatt graphite-moderated nuclear reactor in Yongbyon.The communist state already defined itself as a nuclear
April 3, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Gaeseong last remaining link
Founded under the agreement signed between South Korea’s Hyundai Asan Corp. and the North Korean government in 2000, the Gaeseong Industrial District is the largest inter-Korean economic project to date.More than 53,000 North Korean workers are employed by 123 South Korean companies that recorded a combined output of nearly $47 million in goods in 2012.In addition, provided that the industrial district is allowed to be developed fully according to the plans laid out by the two sides, it will gro
April 3, 2013
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Seoul to launch project to halve suicide rate
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday it will launch a project to curb the city’s high suicide rate with a goal of cutting the number of victims in half by 2020.South Korea is notorious for having the highest suicide rate among the countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, with an average of 33.5 people per 100,000 taking their lives in 2010. It is far higher than averages of 23.3 for Hungary and 21.2 for Japan, which came in second and third, according t
April 3, 2013
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21 accused of making fake designer goods worth W3.5b
Some 21 local people have been arrested on suspicion of producing and selling counterfeit designer goods with a retail value of 3.5 billion won ($3.13 million), the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday.After three months of an intensive crackdown this year, the city’s special judicial police booked the suspects on charges of violating the trademark law and seized their fake goods.It is the first time that the city’s police have brought the violators to face criminal charges. The investig
April 3, 2013
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DAPA to pick new fighter jet supplier by June
South Korea’s plan to buy new fighter jets is expected to be finalized by June, with negotiations currently underway between the state arms procurement agency and three competitors over pricing, a senior official said Wednesday.Lockheed Martin with its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Boeing with its F-15 SE Silent Eagle and Europe’s multinational defense group EADS with its Eurofighter have been bidding since late 2010 for the8.3 trillion won ($7.3 billion) contract to supply 60 advanced jets to repl
April 3, 2013
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U.S. expects nuclear energy deal with Seoul
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed hope Tuesday that Seoul and Washington will soon strike a deal on revising the two nations’ civilian nuclear cooperation.After talks with his South Korean counterpart, Yun Byung-se, Kerry warned North Korea to halt a recent spate of rhetoric and actions, and vowed that the U.S. would defend itself and its allies South Korea and Japan from North Korean threats.“I’m very hopeful ― and I think the foreign minister shares this hope ― that this can be reso
April 3, 2013
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S. Korean workers' departure to Kaesong complex delayed
South Korean workers' departure to an inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea's Kaesong was being delayed on Wednesday, as the North has yet to give approval to their cross-border trip, officials here said.The delay came after Pyongyang has threatened to shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex and launch a pre-emptive nuclear war on Seoul and Washington over South Korea-U.S. joint military drills and U.N. sanctions for its latest nuclear test. Officials at the Customs, Immigration and Qu
April 3, 2013
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N. Korean threat to close Kaesong complex not right: minister
North Korea's recent threat to shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex is ratcheting up tensions and making it difficult to maintain the crucial, cooperative link between the two Koreas, South Korea's unification minister said Tuesday.Ryoo Kihl-jae said in an informal meeting with reporters, that both South and North Korea have done their part to steadily build up the complex over the past 10 years."Having maintained it for so long, the proper next step should be to worry about how best to expa
April 2, 2013
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N. Korea military budget accounts for 16% of total outlays this year
North Korea is expected to spend 16 percent of its budget on national defense in 2013, up 0.2 percentage point from the year before, the country's state media said Tuesday.According to the Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the North's ruling Workers' Party, Finance Minister Choe Kwang-jin reported to a meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang on Monday that the money is needed to effectively cope with "indiscriminate" provocations by the United States and its followers.The paper, however,
April 2, 2013
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N.K. vows to restart graphite-moderated reactor in Yongbyon
North Korea said Tuesday it will restart its graphite-moderated nuclear reactor to extract plutonium for nuclear weapons, breaching its 2007 agreement and inviting international criticism. The official Korean Central News Agency said the regime would “adjust and change its existing nuclear facilities” in line with its new two-pronged policy of building atomic arms and boosting the economy, citing a spokesman for the General Department of Atomic Energy. “This applies to uranium enrichment plants
April 2, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Technocrat’s return a sign of reform?
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s appointment of Park Bong-ju as prime minister apparently reflects his resolve to kickstart the country’s long-overdue economic development. Park was once a symbol of economic reform, having spearheaded an ambitious yet unsuccessful project in 2002 to crank up industries and productivity along with three other specialists, Ro Do-chul, Kwak Pom-ki and Chon Sung-hun. The 74-year-old technocrat cultivated his expertise while studying at an engineering university, ma
April 2, 2013
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North Korea’s parliament overhauls ministers for industrial sector
North Korea’s parliament overhauled most industrial sector ministers while it tapped an economic expert as the country’s new premier, state media outlets said Tuesday, an indication that the North may be seeking to revitalize it sluggish economy.Korean Central Television and Radio Pyongyang said earlier in the day that the Supreme People’s Assembly sacked the vice prime minister Ri Seung-ho, and other ministers in charge of agriculture, natural resources development, city management, land and en
April 2, 2013
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North Korea’s war threats spotlight its untested dictator
If North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s threats to start a nuclear war are an attempt to get the world’s attention, he’s succeeded. The question is why? The answer would go a long way to determining whether war cries emanating from North Korea herald a devastating conflict or, as many analysts say, are just the latest round of provoke- and-retreat behavior driven by the leadership politics in Pyongyang, North Korea’s isolated capital. Even bluster carries risks of misjudgments or accidents if Kim
April 2, 2013
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N. Korea says will restart its 5 megawatt graphite
North Korea on Tuesday said it plans to restart its 5 megawatt nuclear reactor that was shut down under an agreement reached at the six-party talks in 2007, a move that will allow the North to extract plutonium from spent fuel rods. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), citing a spokesman for the General Department of Atomic Energy, said measures will be taken to refurbish the graphite moderated reactor in Yongbyon so operations can resume. The spokesman did not say when the reactor will be
April 2, 2013
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U.S. says no unusual military move in N. Korea, diplomacy still possible
The White House said Monday the deployment of advanced warplanes such as B-2 bombers and F-22 stealth fighters to the Korean Peninsula has helped decrease the possibility of a North Korean miscalculation or provocation."We believe this has reduced the chance of miscalculation and provocation," press secretary Jay Carney said at a press briefing.The U.S. has not seen any unusual military action by North Korea despite its near-daily threats to attack the U.S. and its regional allies, he added."We
April 2, 2013
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U.S. says no unusual military move in N. Korea, diplomacy still possible
The White House said Monday the deployment of advanced warplanes such as B-2 bombers and F-22 stealth fighters to the Korean Peninsula has helped decrease the possibility of a North Korean miscalculation or provocation."We believe this has reduced the chance of miscalculation and provocation," press secretary Jay Carney said at a press briefing.The U.S. has not seen any unusual military action by North Korea despite its near-daily threats to attack the U.S. and its regional allies, he added."We
April 2, 2013
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N. Korea names ruling party member new premier
Pak Pong-ju, who served as North Korea's prime minister in 2003-2007, has been reappointed to the post in a recent government reorganization, the North's media said Monday.Pak's appointment was confirmed by the North's largely rubber-stamp legislature, the Supreme People's Assembly, according to the report by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)monitored in Seoul. The 74-year-old Pak, known as an economic expert, was appointed on Sunday to a standing member of the political bureau of the ruling
April 1, 2013