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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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Speaker floats dual citizenship as solution to falling births
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N. Korean leader inspects special forces unit
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected a feared special forces unit, ordering them to strike at “lightning speed” once war breaks out, state media reported Saturday.The inspection comes at a time of escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula, with multiple threats from the North of an armed response to joint South Korea-US military drills and to UN sanctions imposed after its nuclear test last month.Kim, who holds the rank of Marshal in the Korean People’s Army, told Unit 1973 during a t
March 24, 2013
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Amid tensions, American builds schools in North Korea
GENEVA (AFP) ― Amid mounting military and nuclear tensions with North Korea, an American retiree has gained rare access to the pariah state to build schools in the usually off-limits countryside. Christopher Carpenter, 73, who used to head the U.N. refugee agency in Vietnam, began building schools in North Korea in 2008. “It wasn’t really my idea. The North Koreans contacted me out of the blue by email in 2007,” Carpenter told AFP in Switzerland, where he lives and where his charity, the Foundat
March 24, 2013
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Park ready to widen inter-Korean exchanges without provocations by North
The Park Geun-hye administration will actively engage with North Korea with more support and exchange projects if the communist neighbor strives to follow international norms, a senior official at Seoul's presidential office said Sunday."Support for North Korea and diverse inter-Korean exchange programs will be expanded as long as the North cooperates with peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula by refraining from provocations and joining the international community," said a high-ranking official
March 24, 2013
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N. Korea blasts Foal Eagle exercises as flagrant provocation
North Korea on Saturday blasted the ongoing joint Foal Eagle military drills as a flagrant provocation and made clear it viewed them as a direct threat to its security. The Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said the annual South Korea-U.S. field training exercise that kicked off this month and run through the end of April, involve hundreds of thousands of troops and nuclear weapons. "The U.S. and warmongers (in the South) are engaged in a war dri
March 23, 2013
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N. Korea accuses Japanese prime minister of inciting confrontation
North Korea accused Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of inciting confrontation and taking a leading role in anti-Pyongyang activities, the state media said Saturday. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea said Abe's recent statement that the North is fated for collapse is a sign that the country is blindly following the United States. The Japanese politician made the remark last week on a TV program after harshly attacking the North for detonating its third nuc
March 23, 2013
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N. Korean movie to be shown at Hawaii, Wisconsin int'l film festivals
A North Korean movie that has made its debut in the United States last month will be shown at two more film festivals in the United States, a media report said Saturday. The romantic comedy made jointly by North Korean, British and Belgian film producers has been invited to the Hawaii and Wisconsin film events slated for April, Radio Free Asia said. The movie is set and filmed in Pyongyang, and portrays the life of Kim Yong-mi, a 28-year-old coal miner, who overcomes hardships to fulfill h
March 23, 2013
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N. Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects special forces unit
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a special forces unit and was briefed on its mission and training status, state media reported Saturday. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) monitored in Seoul said Kim, who holds the rank of Marshal in the Korean People's Army, toured the headquarters element of Unit 1973. The visit occurred Friday, with the North's official news wire service stressing there was "profound meaning" in Kim checking of the unit, although it did not elaborate on de
March 23, 2013
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N. K. blasts U.N. human rights resolution against it as 'political'
North Korea on Friday rejected a recent U.N. decision to open a formal investigation into its alleged human rights violations, calling it "an act of political fraud."In Geneva on Thursday, the U.N. Human Rights Council unanimously passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a three-member Commission of Inquiry on North Korean Human Rights for a one-year mission.In a statement released through the state-run Korean Central News Agency, monitored in Seoul, Pyongyang's foreign ministry said
March 22, 2013
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U.N. to launch probe into N. Korea's human rights abuse
A United Nations body voted Thursday to embark on a formal investigation into human rights violations in North Korea, a move viewed as largely symbolic but significant in sending a message to Pyongyang.In a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, the U.N. Human Rights Council unanimously passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a three-member Commission of Inquiry on North Korean Human Rights for a one-year mission. The time of its operation can be extended.It is required to report the resul
March 22, 2013
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Fleet commanders to recommend new military powers for emergencies
With inter-Korean tensions escalating, the South Korean Cabinet approved a revised bill Thursday that allows fleet commanders to recommend instating or lifting a state of united defense to better respond to naval threats.Under the revision, fleet commanders can propose to a mayor or governor of a certain jurisdiction to either issue or lift the united defense situation in times of a security crisis, according to the officials.The United Defense Act stipulates that the chief of the district shall
March 21, 2013
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N. Korea’s WMD program making faster progress, U.S. commander says
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs have moved forward faster than expected, especially since the transition of leadership a year ago, a top U.S. military commander told lawmakers Wednesday.“I think that North Korea proceeded at a pace faster than we had anticipated,” Army Gen. Charles Jacoby, head of the U.S. Northern Command, said at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee.His command is tasked with managing the operation of the U.S. homeland missile d
March 21, 2013
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N.K. threatens U.S. bases in Japan, Guam
The North Korean army on Thursday threatened a possible strike against U.S. military bases in Japan, in response to the use of nuclear-armed US B-52 bombers in joint military drills with South Korea.The threat came a day after Pyongyang condemned the B-52 flights as an “unpardonable provocation” and threatened military action if they continue.The Pentagon confirmed that B-52s, taking off from Andersen Air Force base in Guam, had flown over South Korea as part of annual joint exercises that Pyong
March 21, 2013
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N. Korea 'strongly' suspected of masterminding cyber attacks: Seoul official
North Korea is strongly suspected of masterminding the massive hacking attack on the country's major TV stations and banks, a senior government official here said Thursday.On Wednesday, broadcasters KBS, MBC and YTN along with Shinhan, Nonghyup and Jeju banks saw their computer networks entirely halted due to malicious code from unknown hackers, according to the companies and police. "(The government) is closely analyzing the incident with all possibilities open, while bearing a strong suspicio
March 21, 2013
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N. Korea issues air raid alert, orders military to take immediate actions
North Korea issued air raid alerts and ordered its military to take immediate action, the country's state media outlet said Thursday.Korean Central Television, a TV and radio broadcaster, said the alert was issued at 9:32 a.m. with military units and civilians told to take cover. It added that authorities called on the armed forces to take countermeasures to reduce damage.The broadcaster did not say if an attack is under way or expected, indicating it may be a drill. The North has carried out si
March 21, 2013
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N. Korea's WMD program making faster progress under new leader: U.S. commander
North Korea's nuclear and missile programs have moved forward faster than expected, especially since the transition of leadership a year ago, a top U.S. military commander told lawmakers Wednesday."I think that North Korea proceeded at a pace faster than we had anticipated," Army Gen. Charles Jacoby, head of the U.S. Northern Command, said at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee.His command is tasked with managing the operation of the U.S. homeland missile defense system.Among many fa
March 21, 2013
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S. Korea, U.S. fine-tune North Korea sanctions
South Korea and the U.S. agreed Wednesday to push for stern punishment of North Korea but leave the door open for dialogue, as Seoul continued to send conciliatory signals toward Pyongyang despite its increasing threats. Lim Sung-nam, Seoul’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and David Cohen, U.S. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, met in Seoul to discuss country-level sanctions over the North’s nuclear test on Dec. 12.
March 20, 2013
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Korea, U.S. conduct naval drills with nuclear attack submarine
South Korean and U.S. forces have been carrying out naval drills in seas around the peninsula with a nuclear attack submarine as part of their annual exercise, military sources said Wednesday, in a show of power against North Korea’s threat of nuclear attack.The two-month annual field training, called Foal Eagle, has been in full swing to test the combat readiness of the allies, amid high tension on the Korean Peninsula in light of a torrent of bellicose rhetoric by North Korea. It kicked off on
March 20, 2013
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Alarm over N.K. cyber threat
The latest round of electronic break-ins on Wednesday added to tension across the border, rekindling concerns over North Korea’s increasingly sophisticated cyber warfare capabilities. Police launched an investigation after major broadcasters of KBS, MBC and YTN and Nonghyup and Shinhan banks reported a paralysis of their websites and computer networks. The South Korean military notched up its special alert level called INFOCON from 4 to 3. The Korea Communications Commission said malware was use
March 20, 2013
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N. Korea leader Kim Jong-un ordered rocket drill
As North Korea moves to ratchet up tensions on the Korean Peninsula, its leader Kim Jong-un has ordered his military to conduct mobile anti-aircraft rocket and unmanned combat air vehicle exercises, a state media outlet reported Wednesday.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a report, monitored in Seoul, that Kim issued the order to conduct the drills, but did not provide further details, including whether the drills had actually been staged.The report comes after the North warned earli
March 20, 2013
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N. Korea warns of military response to U.S. B-52 bomber
North Korea warned Wednesday that it will take military action should the United States deploy B-52 strategic bombers again on the peninsula."We are keeping close tabs on the activity of the B-52 strategic bomber," a spokesperson for the North's foreign ministry said, according to its official news agency KCNA.If the bomber appears again over the Korean Peninsula, it won't be able to avoid a strong military response, added the unnamed spokesperson.The U.S. sent B-52 bombers based on Guam to Kore
March 20, 2013