Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
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Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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N. Korea not 'suicidal' enough to attack U.S.: Perry
North Korea could conduct a nuclear test soon with either plutonium-based devices or highly enriched uranium, or with both, "a destabilizing event" that would prevent the United States from returning to negotiations but would not threaten the country, a former U.S. secretary of defense said Wednesday.Pyongyang has vowed to conduct its third nuclear test in retaliation for the U.N. Security Council's resolution condemning its Dec. 12 long-range rocket launch, and there have been a series of signs
Feb. 6, 2013
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Kerry, Yang agree to action against N. Korea's pending nuke test
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, agreed Tuesday that the world's two supreme powers need to work together to deal with North Korea's threats to carry out another nuclear test.The two discussed North Korea and other pending issues over the phone "for quite a while," Kerry's department said."They agreed on the importance of continuing to work to strengthen U.S.-China relations, notably including in the economic, trade and investment sphere. They also dis
Feb. 6, 2013
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N.K. may stage multiple nuke tests
President Lee Myung-bak believes North Korea could detonate multiple devices when it goes ahead with a nuclear test expected in the coming weeks or even days.In an interview published Tuesday in the Chosun Ilbo daily, the outgoing president also acknowledged the huge challenge the international community faces in seeking to wean Pyongyang off its nuclear weapons program.The North has signaled that it will carry out a “higher level” nuclear test very soon, in a defiant response to UN sanctions im
Feb. 5, 2013
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N.K.’s nuke test feared to hamper Park’s hope to engage Pyongyang
If North Korea conducts a third nuclear test, South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye’s pledge for engagement with the communist regime would be revoked, experts said Tuesday, urging Pyongyang to change its policy of confrontation.Tense inter-Korean relations following the North’s two military attacks on South Korea in 2010 have worsened with Pyongyang’s recent threat to carry out a nuclear test. Park has pledged to seek more engagement with North Korea than her predecessor. “If North Korea u
Feb. 5, 2013
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Punggye-ri ideal location for nuclear weapons tests: experts
North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test complex is an ideal place to conduct underground atomic detonations due to its geological features and isolated location, South Korean observers said.Observers in the military and government said Pyongyang selected the region and started constructing the site likely over two decades ago, although the certain date is not known. From the 1990s onward, the South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies have been closely observing the site. The site was used by the
Feb. 5, 2013
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N. Korea threatens ruthless strike back if nuke facilities are attacked
North Korea will "ruthlessly strike" back if the United States launches preemptive attacks on its nuclear facilities, a media report from the isolated communist country said Tuesday.The report by the Minju Chosun, a newspaper published by the North's Cabinet, is the latest in a series of harsh rhetoric the country's state-run media has been unleashing in recent weeks amid signs that it would soon conduct another atomic test.“If the United States and warmongers attack and try to weaken us, such e
Feb. 5, 2013
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Kim Jong-Un and the mystery smartphone
A picture of North Korea‘s Kim Jong-Un with a smartphone has triggered fevered speculation about which brand is favoured by the leader of one of the world’s most repressive nations.The photo released by the North‘s state media showed Kim presiding over a meeting with top national security advisers last week -- a meeting believed to have been focused on Pyongyang’s threat to conduct an imminent nuclear test.It also showed a black smartphone on the table next to Kim‘s arm -- as well as a lit cigar
Feb. 5, 2013
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U.N. Council to take strong action against N. Korea's nuke test
The U.N. Security Council will take “very stern and strong” action should North Korea carry out another nuclear test, Seoul’s top envoy to the international organization warned Monday.In a meeting with reporters, Kim Sook, who holds the rotating UNSC chairmanship this month, said Pyongyang’s third atomic test in its Punggye-ri site in the country’s northeast was imminent.“The stances of the 15 UNSC member states are united and firm. If North Korea carries out another nuclear test, (I) anticipate
Feb. 5, 2013
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N.K. nuclear threats put Beijing to test
As North Korea’s third nuclear test looms large, China is coming under all too familiar pressure to convince its unruly ally to change course or lend impetus to the next batch of international sanctions. Beijing has for decades been propping up Pyongyang by supplying food, fuel and other necessities and providing political backing in the face of its provocations. With stability being its top priority in the region, China’s patronage has also helped boost its clout over its reclusive neighbor.Tho
Feb. 4, 2013
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Seoul, Washington seek strong deterrence against N.K. nukes
South Korea will push for a stronger joint nuclear deterrence strategy with Washington should Pyongyang conduct a third nuclear test, a senior government official said Monday.The two allies agreed last year to forge a “tailored deterrence strategy” by 2014 to cope with increasing threats from North Korea’s nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.“We may have to talk about sure, strong measures when we negotiate with the U.S. (over the deterrence strategy) in the future. We should m
Feb. 4, 2013
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N. Korea internally promoting latest long-range rocket as ballistic missile
North Korea exhibited the fuselage of what is presumed to be the long-range rocket it launched in December, and explicitly called it a ballistic missile, despite its claims to the outside world that the Unha-3 was part of its peaceful space development program, a report said Monday.The report by Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun quoted North Korean sources as saying that the fuselage was displayed under the name “Hwasong-13” among the exhibitions of the country’s missile lineup in an exhibition h
Feb. 4, 2013
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Image shows inside of N.K. nuclear weapons test facility
The Defense Ministry on Monday unveiled an image of the internal structure of an underground site in North Korea presumed to have been used for its second nuclear test in May 2009.The image depicts a spiral-shaped horizontal tunnel with nine doors in the western part of the Punggye-ri test site in the country’s northeast, officials said. It was captured from a documentary film broadcast by the North’s Korean Central TV in September 2010. Ministry officials said the image underscored a “strong, s
Feb. 4, 2013
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N. Korea denounces latest U.N. resolution as grave obstacle to its economic development
North Korea denounced the latest U.N. sanctions imposed for December's long-range rocket launch as a "grave obstacle" to its efforts to rebuild the tattered economy, saying such sanctions won't work and will only harden its resolve to further strengthen its self-defense power.Last month, the U.N. Security Council toughened sanctions on the communist nation for carrying out a long-range rocket launch in December in violation of U.N. resolutions over concern such a firing could be used to develop
Feb. 4, 2013
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Kerry discusses N. Korea with his S. Korean counterpart
New U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his South Korean counterpart Kim Sung-hwan talked over the phone Sunday in which they agreed that North Korea will face "significant consequences" in case of continued provocations.Kerry and Kim agreed on the need to "ensure that North Korea understands that it will face significant consequences from the international community if it continues its provocative behavior," according to Kerry's department.The joint warning came amid reports that Pyongyang's
Feb. 4, 2013
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N. Korea installs two surveillance towers near tense border with S. Korea
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea's military has erected two surveillance towers along the Joint Security Area (JSA) near the border village of Panmunjom to better monitor South Korean military in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a military official said Sunday. The 60-meter-high steel towers equipped with security cameras were set up in December last year inside the North's portion of the JSA, the official said on the condition of anonymity. The towers were erected following the defection of two North
Feb. 3, 2013
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N.K. hints at imminent nuclear test
North Korea said Sunday its leader Kim Jong-un has made an “important decision to defend national security and sovereignty,” furthering speculation about an imminent nuclear test.The young ruler convened an extended meeting of the Central Military Commission to discuss measures to “revere our party’s songun (military-first) revolutionary leadership and bring off a great changeover in increasing military power,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said. During the meeting, Kim reached
Feb. 3, 2013
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Lee calls for preparations against N. Korean nuclear test as pressure mounts on Pyongyang
President Lee Myung-bak has ordered government agencies to be on the alert for a possible nuclear test by North Korea, his spokesman said Sunday, as neighboring countries put pressure on Pyongyang to scrap its plan.Lee made an unannounced visit Sunday to the underground bunker of the presidential compound Cheong Wa Dae, which serves as the national crisis management center, said Park Jung-ha, the president's spokesman.Lee called on all government offices to keep a close tab on North Korea as it
Feb. 3, 2013
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Kim Jong-un makes 'important' decision on protecting sovereignty: report
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made an "important" decision regarding the communist state's security and sovereignty at a military meeting, a news report said Sunday.The report of the military meeting comes on the heels of speculation that North Korea is poised to conduct its third nuclear test. The North has threatened to detonate a nuclear device in retaliation for the U.N. Security Council's resolution condemning its Dec. 12 long-range rocket launch.On Friday, in the latest sign that the com
Feb. 3, 2013
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N.K. threatens 'deadly retaliation' against S. Korea if it imposes sanctions
North Korea on Saturday threatened "deadly retaliation" against South Korea if it takes part in any form of sanctions imposed on the communist country for its December long-range rocket launch."The DPRK is fully ready for both economic and military sanctions and anyone who encroaches upon its dignity and sovereignty even a bit with any form of sanctions will not be able to avoid deadly retaliation," North Korea said in the form a statement issued by its Committee for the Peaceful Reunification o
Feb. 3, 2013
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N. Korea denounces U.S. for approval of S. Korean space rocket
(Yonhap) -- North Korea again rejected the United Nations Security Council's recent resolution condemning its rocket launch Saturday, accusing the United States of having a double-standard for its own space program and South Korea's recent rocket launch. The accusation came three days after South Korea successfully launched its first space rocket, the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, putting a 100-kilogram science satellite into orbit. An unidentified spokesperson for the North's foreign minist
Feb. 2, 2013