Most Popular
-
1
Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
-
2
[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
-
3
Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
-
4
Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
-
5
Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
-
6
Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
-
7
Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
-
8
'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
-
9
Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
-
10
Speaker floats dual citizenship as solution to falling births
-
U.S. officials discussing Iran-style sanctions on N. Korea: source
On a trip to Northeast Asia, a couple of senior U.S. officials specializing in economic sanctions have been discussing ways to impose financial restrictions on North Korea as tough as those on Iran, multiple sources said Tuesday.David Cohen, under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, and Dan Fried, the State Department's sanctions coordinator, are due in Beijing following trips to Tokyo and Seoul. The two are in charge of Washington's sanctions worldwide."It is unu
March 20, 2013
-
Obama ‘focused on’ N.K. issue
WASHINGTON ― U.S. President Barack Obama is “very focused on” the North Korea problem as he heads to another volatile region on the other side of the world, the White House said Monday.“I can tell you that the president is very focused on this issue, and that his senior national security team is focused on this issue,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said at a press briefing.He was responding to a question about whether Obama was in close consultations with his South Korean, Chinese and J
March 19, 2013
-
U.N. set to approve inquiry panel on N.K. rights abuses
The U.N. Human Rights Council is poised to adopt a resolution this week to establish its first commission of inquiry into widespread human rights violations in North Korea, a Seoul diplomatic source said Tuesday. The U.N. council is expected to vote on the resolution on Thursday (Geneva time) during its ongoing 22nd session, which will last until Friday, and the planned commission is expected to start its activities from June, the source said on the condition of anonymity. The inquiry mechanism
March 19, 2013
-
Japan seizes nuclear-related materials from N.K. cargo
TOKYO (AFP) ― Japan has seized aluminum alloy rods which can be used to make nuclear centrifuges from a Singapore-flagged ship which was carrying cargo from North Korea, a government spokesman said Monday.The five rods were discovered on the ship during its call at Tokyo port last August and were confirmed to be aluminum alloy through tests conducted over the past six months, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.“The aluminum alloy is extremely strong and can be used in centrifuges, that
March 19, 2013
-
N.K. in the process of introducing digital TV broadcasting
North Korea is currently in the process of introducing digital TV broadcasting as part of its efforts to keep pace with global developments in this field, a Web site run by Pyongyang said Tuesday.The Naenara Internet portal (www.naenara.com.kp) said that after first conducting trial digital broadcasts in 2012, authorities are working on new programs and setting up related support infrastructure. It said such efforts will create an environment conducive for digital broadcasting.The communist coun
March 19, 2013
-
N.K. leader calls for concentrated efforts to build up light industry
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for concentrated efforts to build up the country’s light industrial sector that has direct bearing on the lives of everyday people, state media reported Tuesday.The (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) monitored in Seoul said Kim stressed the importance of the sector in a speech given at the national meeting of light industrial workers held on Monday in Pyongyang. “Kim Jong-un in his speech said that the light industrial front along with the agricultur
March 19, 2013
-
North Korea runs ‘bad news’ trade surplus: economists
After decades in the red, North Korea may be running a trade surplus, according to two economists who warn the breakthrough makes Pyongyang less vulnerable to pressure on its nuclear program.Marcus Noland and Stephen Haggard, both North Korea experts at the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics, say their research suggests the North’s current account went into surplus in 2011.In a posting Tuesday on the institute’s website, they said the improvement had come “largely on
March 19, 2013
-
Revised trade, customs laws give more power to N.K. Cabinet
North Korea revised its trade and customs laws last year to give its cabinet more power over the economy, a copy of the revised laws showed.The booklet on North Korea laws concerning external economic activities, secured by Yonhap News Agency, showed that the country revised its trade laws in April last year, a first since the previous revision in March 2007.The revision newly requires trade institutions and other sub-trade groups to have their monthly plans reviewed and approved by the central
March 19, 2013
-
Military might meets tourist kitsch at DMZ
IMJINGAK (AP) ― Busloads of tourists still show up to gawk at the world’s most heavily fortified border, even as governments on both sides threaten to reduce each other to rubble.Chinese tourists browse through military garb ― child-sized ― in the gift shop. Japanese teens in maroon school blazers flash peace signs and giggle high above a landscape of bright-blue water, drab, brown North Korean hills and seemingly deserted villages. The Koreas’ border can seem a surreal place at the best of time
March 19, 2013
-
Polka-dot dresses the rage in N. Korea: survey
Polka-dot dresses and manual threshing machines were among the hottest consumer products in North Korea last year, according to an annual list compiled by a research analyst in South Korea.The arrival of the boldly-patterned dresses in the top 10 list was down to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un‘s wife, Lee Sol-Ju, who was seen wearing them to public functions on state television.“Young North Korean women are keenly interested in the first lady’s fashion style and try to follow her example” Dong
March 19, 2013
-
N. Korean leader calls for concentrated efforts to build up light industry
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for concentrated efforts to build up the country's light industrial sector that has direct bearing on the lives of everyday people, state media reported Tuesday.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) monitored in Seoul said Kim stressed the importance of the sector in a speech given at a national light industry gathering held in Pyongyang.The official news wire service said the leader made clear that light industry, along with agriculture, is critical for tr
March 19, 2013
-
Pentagon official says U.S. budget cut won’t affect defense of Korea
The U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said Monday his government’s budget cuts won’t affect military readiness in South Korea, as deterrence against North Korea remains a top priority despite fiscal woes. Carter, who is in Seoul as part of his Asia trip, made the remark as Washington moves to strengthen missile defense by 2017 in response to North Korea’s preemptive nuclear strike. “The commitment to the (S. Korea-U.S.) alliance is part of Asia-Pacific rebalance, and we will ensure
March 18, 2013
-
Nominee stresses NIS role in national security
The main task of South Korea’s spy agency is to strengthen the country’s security posture in the face of mounting threats from North Korea, President Park Geun-hye’s intelligence chief nominee said Monday.Nam Jae-joon, a 69-year-old former Army chief of staff who was tapped to lead the National Intelligence Service, said at his parliamentary confirmation hearing that the country is at a critical security crossroads.“The single most important mission for the NIS is to firmly establish readiness t
March 18, 2013
-
Stability of N.K. leader uncertain: U.S. lawmaker
North Korea's recent military threats are worrisome especially as the "stability" of North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-un remains uncertain, a senior U.S. lawmaker said Sunday.Rep. Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said North Korea has the capability to carry out its verbal threats."They certainly have a ballistic missile that can reach U.S. shores," he said, appearing on a CNN program. The Michigan republican did not specify whether he meant the U.S. mainland or c
March 18, 2013
-
U.S. plans stronger missile defense
Washington’s plan to reinforce its missile defense appears to be aimed at staying ahead of increasing threats by North Korea, which officials and analysts see as fast progressing on its path to a nuclear weapons state. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday the Pentagon will install 14 new ground-based interceptors at its bases in Alaska and California by September 2017. That marks a nearly 50 percent increase in the country’s missile defense capability with 30 units currently in place.
March 17, 2013
-
N. Korea to tax businesses in Mt. Geumgang enclave
SEOUL -- North Korea has legislated to levy taxes on foreigners doing business in the tax-free Mount Geumgang tourist zone, a South Korean government report said Sunday, amid concerns that taxes could trigger dispute after a resumption of the long-stalled inter-Korean tourism project there.The newly-inaugurated Park Geun-hye government has expressed willingness to resume inter-Korean ties, which plummeted to the lowest level in decades under the previous Lee Myung-bak government.North Korea adop
March 17, 2013
-
Pyongyang sends congratulatory messages to Beijing amid rumors of diplomatic feud
SEOUL -- North Korea's political leaders recently sent a series of congratulatory message to China's newleadership, state media have reported, amid rumors of diplomatic dispute between the close allies over the North's third nuclear test.The North's Premier Choe Yong-rim sent a message on Saturday to Li Keqiang to congratulate him on his election as China's new premier, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).Choe, in the message, "expressed hope that the Chinese peop
March 17, 2013
-
Three years after naval vessel sinking, N. Korea
Three years after North Korea's deadly attack on a South Korean Navy ship in the Yellow Sea that killed 46 sailors, the communist country has ratchet up tensions and is posing a much greater security threat to Seoul along the sea demarcation line that separates the two Koreas.March 26 marks the third anniversary of the sinking of the corvette Cheonan southwest of Baengnyeong Island. An official investigative team set up by the government said a torpedo, probably launched by a North Korean mini s
March 17, 2013
-
Top diplomats of S. Korea, U.S. discuss N. Korea in phone call
The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States on Saturday vowed to maintain their strong alliance and cooperate to deter North Korean threats during their first phone talks, Seoul officials said.South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shared their opinions about North Korea and regional issues over the phone prior to Kerry visiting Seoul next month as part of his first Asia trip, officials at the foreign affairs ministry said. Kerry will travel
March 16, 2013
-
U.N.: More than 1/4 of N. Korean children malnourished
The United Nations says that more than a fourth of all North Korean children are stunted from chronic malnutrition and fully two-thirds of the country's 24 million people don't know where their next meal is coming from.The U.N. said Friday that its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs found that 2.8 million North Koreans ``are in need of regular food assistance amidst worrying levels of chronic malnutrition and food insecurity.''The OCHA report read out by U.N. spokesman Eduardo d
March 16, 2013