Most Popular
-
1
Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
-
2
Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
-
3
Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
-
4
Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
-
5
Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
-
6
Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
-
7
Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
-
8
Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
-
9
‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
-
10
Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
-
U.N. resolution on N. Korea nuke test likely to come in March: sources
Any United Nations resolution condemning North Korea for its latest nuclear test will likely not come out until next month at the earliest due to reservations expressed by China over imposing tougher sanctions on Pyongyang, diplomatic sources here said Sunday.Beijing does not want to push forward overly specific sanctions, and is adverse to passing such a motion while South Korea has the rotating presidency at the U.N. Security Council, the sources said.Seoul's delegate has been serving as presi
Feb. 24, 2013
-
N.K. warns U.S. commander against upcoming military drills
North Korea said Saturday it sent a message to the top American military commander in South Korea, warning that upcoming joint military exercises between South Korea and the U.S. would amount to "igniting a war" on the divided Korean Peninsula.Pak Rim-su, the North Korean military's representative at the truce village of Panmunjom, sent the telephone message to Gen. James Thurman, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, saying the peninsula is facing "a grave situation where a war may break out any
Feb. 23, 2013
-
N.K. leader visits military units for three straight days
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw military aerial and paratrooping exercises, Pyongyang's state media reported Saturday, in what was believed to be a visit to troops for the third straight day.The series of visits to military units is seen as aimed at checking the readiness of the armed forces and boosting their morale after the communist nation carried out its third nuclear test earlier this month in defiance of the international community.Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency said that
Feb. 23, 2013
-
Abe vows stronger U.S. ties, says 'Japan's back'
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Japan's new prime minister says he will make his country a stronger U.S. ally and joined President Barack Obama in warning North Korea that its recent nuclear provocations would not be tolerated.After meeting Obama in the Oval Office on Friday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also sent a clear message to China: that while Japan does not want confrontation with Beijing, it won't tolerate challenges to its sovereignty over islands disputed by the two Asian powers.Those regional tensio
Feb. 23, 2013
-
N. Korean nuke test key agenda for U.S.-Japan summit: White House
The United States and Japan will discuss North Korea's latest provocation of conducting its third nuclear test during the upcoming summit talks, the White House said Thursday.The U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet on Friday in Washington. In a conference call with reporters, Daniel Russel, the senior advisor for Asian affairs at the National Security Council, said the leaders of the two countries are expected to exchange opinions on the North Korean issu
Feb. 22, 2013
-
S. Korea, U.S. oppose return of tactical nukes
Both Seoul and Washington expressed their opposition to redeploying U.S. tactical nuclear weapons around the Korean Peninsula amid growing voices among conservatives for a nuclear deterrent against North Korea.Chun Young-woo, senior presidential secretary for security and foreign affairs, said Thursday that the government had never considered the redeployment. “It is not a matter to be reviewed,” he told the U.S.-funded broadcaster Voice of America.“I am doubtful that our nuclear armament or the
Feb. 21, 2013
-
N. Korea refuses to accept S. Korean parliamentary resolution condemning nuke test
North Korea on Thursday refused to accept South Korea's parliamentary resolution condemning its nuclear test.An official source said that it tried to hand over the resolution through the liaison office at the truce village of Panmunjom, but it was turned down by a representative from the North."The North Korean side said he was not told about (accepting) the document," the official claimed citing the reason why the resolution was not delivered.The resolution was passed by the National Assembly o
Feb. 21, 2013
-
N.K. propaganda video shows Obama in flames
PYONGYANG (AP) ― A new North Korean video portrays President Barack Obama and American troops in flames and says the North conducted its recent nuclear test because of U.S. hostility.The video follows a string of critical rhetoric against the United States. Another video posted earlier this month showed an American city being attacked by missiles. The most recent video, posted Sunday by a YouTube account affiliated with a pro-reunification government agency, shows a blazing fire superimposed ove
Feb. 20, 2013
-
US seeks to come up with best possible response to N. Korea's nuclear test
The United States is urging China to help the U.N. Security Council work out effective countermeasures against North Korea's recent nuclear blast that threatens global peace, the top U.S. envoy in Seoul said Wednesday.North Korea has claimed it successfully carried out a nuclear test on Feb. 12, its third since 2006, with a "miniaturized" bomb, prompting the U.S., South Korea and other regional powers to explore ways to further tighten existing sanctions against the North.The U.N. Security Counc
Feb. 20, 2013
-
N. Korea's reform efforts only meager: gov't
Any efforts by North Korea to reform its moribund economy would continue to remain stymied as the country is unlikely to make any real changes that could pose threats to its communist system, a South Korean government report said Wednesday.The 2013 report on North Korea, published by South Korea's Unification Ministry, said the Kim Jong-un regime's attitude toward reforms and opening its doors to the world is negative. Any future reform drive by the reclusive country may not exceed in scale the
Feb. 20, 2013
-
N. Korean propaganda video shows Obama in flames
A new North Korean video portrays President Barack Obama and American troops in flames and says the North conducted its recent nuclear test because of U.S. hostility.The video follows a string of critical rhetoric against the United States. Another video posted earlier this month showed an American city being attacked by missiles.The most recent video, posted Sunday by a YouTube account affiliated with a pro-reunification government agency, shows a blazing fire superimposed over footage of Obama
Feb. 20, 2013
-
N. Korea threatens to conduct 'final destruction' of Seoul
North Korea threatened to inflict the "final destruction" of South Korea in a United Nations conference, warning of further measures following its nuclear test earlier this month.During a U.N. Conference on Disarmament meeting held in Geneva on Tuesday, North Korea's diplomat Jon Yong-ryong said, "South Korea's erratic behavior would only herald its final destruction," referring to the North Korean proverb, "a newborn puppy knows no fear of a tiger." His country could take further steps in a fol
Feb. 20, 2013
-
N. Korea says tourism 'booming'
SEOUL (AFP) - Foreign tourism is "booming" in North Korea, state media said Tuesday a week after the country triggered global outrage by conducting its third nuclear test.The number of foreign visitors to the North has grown steadily since 2000 and witnessed a surge after 2009, especially in the number of European visitors, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.“The global popularity of tourism to (North Korea) is booming,” the agency said, without providing any breakdown on the number of v
Feb. 19, 2013
-
Moderate conservatives to steer Park’s foreign policy
President-elect Park Geun-hye has completed her foreign and security policy lineup led by moderate conservatives who emphasize a realistic balance between dialogue and pressure in dealing with North Korea.The team led by top presidential security aide Kim Jang-soo has pressed for a major policy shift to normalize inter-Korean ties after five years of chill under incumbent President Lee Myung-bak. The Park team’s new approach promises more flexibility calling for openness and accommodation with t
Feb. 19, 2013
-
Profiles of foreign policy, security team
Kim Jang-soo, National Security Office at Cheong Wa DaeKim Jang-soo has a controversial reputation. While he garnered acclaim for his calm nature and levelheaded yet thorough way of managing key issues, critics call him a “hawk,” voicing concern about his emphasis on strong deterrence and lack of diplomatic experience. Rejecting the tag, the 65-year-old former defense minister branded himself an “owl,” vowing to straddle the volatile line between hawk and dove. “I have a firm belief that we must
Feb. 19, 2013
-
EU tightens sanctions on N. Korea after nuclear test
The European Union agreed a raft of new sanctions on Monday against North Korea in retaliation for the country's nuclear test last week which it condemned again in the strongest possible terms.The measures range from additional financial sanctions to travel bans and asset freezes against individuals and are intended to bolster the international regime against the proliferation of nuclear weapons, a statement said.The number of people subject to a travel ban and asset freeze was put at 26 while t
Feb. 19, 2013
-
China faces growing domestic pressure over N.K. policy
Anti-Pyongyang sentiment in China appears to be escalating in the wake of Pyongyang’s nuclear test last week with Chinese public expressing their displeasure online and offline, calling their neighbor “ungrateful and shameless.”Experts noted the deteriorating public opinion could lead Beijing to reevaluate the strategic value of North Korea and readjust its policy approaches toward it, although it would not shift its basic policy line in the short term.Rare protests condemning the North’s recent
Feb. 18, 2013
-
U.S. House seeks new asset freeze on N. Korea
The United States Congress will push to tighten the screw on North Korea with legislation making the communist nation's access to the global financial system more difficult, diplomatic and congressional sources said Sunday.Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), the chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Relations, is working on a bill aimed at tackling Pyongyang's ability to gain hard currency, according to the sources.The move is part of a series of reactions by the U.S. Congress to North Korea's nucle
Feb. 18, 2013
-
Late N.K. leader first proposed summit with Lee: official
Late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had first proposed an inter-Korean summit in 2009, though the proposal later fell apart as Pyongyang demanded economic aid in return, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was quoted Monday as saying.The proposal was conveyed via Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Lee said in an interview with the Donga Ilbo newspaper last week, according to senior presidential press secretary Choe Guem-nak. Kim attached no conditions to the offer at the time, such as demandin
Feb. 18, 2013
-
Differing estimates stir controversy on N.K. nuke capability
Controversy is brewing over the size of North Korea’s nuclear capability as varying readings put the yield of its nuclear explosion last Tuesday at between 6 kilotons to 40 kilotons.South Korea’s Korea Meteorological Administration and Institute of Geo-science and Mineral Resources detected artificial seismic activity with a magnitude of 4.9 after the detonation. It said the explosive power was between 6 and 7 kilotons based on a model of the U.N.-affiliated Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Feb. 17, 2013