Most Popular
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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Naver will consider company benefits in deciding on selling Line shares: CEO
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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Rumors suggest N.K. leader’s brother seeking asylum
Speculation is growing about the whereabouts of Kim Jong-nam, the elder brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, with one rumor suggesting that he is seeking asylum in Seoul in the face of an assassination threat.The ill-fated son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has recently been absent from the public eye. Citing informed sources, local media have reported that Kim has requested asylum through the South’s intelligence channels from a third country. The rumor surfaced on a social
Nov. 1, 2012
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Pollution in Pyongyang worse than in Seoul: report
The average level of air pollutants in Pyongyang was found to be higher than that in Seoul, with other environmental problems also present in the socialist country such as poor water quality and the rapid decline of forests, a report showed Thursday.According to the report compiled by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) together with the North's environment ministry, the average sulfur dioxide concentration in Pyongyang stood at 0.009 parts per million (ppm) in 2008, higher than the 0.
Nov. 1, 2012
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U.N. chief says willing to visit N.K.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday he is mulling a visit to North Korea as part of efforts to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.“As the U.N. secretary-general, I am ready to play every role required to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. I consider visiting North Korea as soon as conditions are met,” Ban said in a speech during the National Assembly plenary session.“I hope North Korea’s new leadership will be a responsible member of the international community by re
Oct. 30, 2012
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N. Korean leader’s wife rumored to be pregnant
The latest photo of Ri Sol-ju, the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has led some to speculate that the hermit kingdom’s first lady is pregnant.North Korea’s state paper Rodong Sinmun on Tuesday published a photo of Ri attending a concert with her husband this week. In the photo, Ri is sporting a visibly rounded belly, and her face appears to be swollen. “Ri’s face is swollen and her body is larger compared to the last time (she appeared in public). She is also wearing a coat which concea
Oct. 30, 2012
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N. Korean leader's wife makes first public appearance in 50 days
Ri Sol-ju, the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, attended a concert with her husband this week, the country's state media said Tuesday, the first time she has appeared in public in more than 50 days.Ri and Kim attended a performance by the Moranbong Band on Monday, which marked the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Kim Il Sung Military University, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).Ri had not appeared in public since Sept. 8, leading to speculation she could
Oct. 30, 2012
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N. Korean leader makes first public appearance in 15 days
(Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who has refrained from public outings this month, made his first public appearance in 15 days, reports said Monday, dissipating speculations over possible problems in the new leadership.The North's Korean Central Broadcasting Station and Radio Pyongyang reported that Kim attended the unveiling ceremony of statues of late leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il that was held to celebrate Kim Il-sung Military University's 60th anniversary.The public appeara
Oct. 29, 2012
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S. Korea activists release anti-North leaflets
PAJU, South Korea (AFP) -- South Korean activists floated anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border with North Korea on Monday, a week after the North threatened military action over a similar propaganda exercise.Around a dozen activists released seven balloons carrying 50,000 leaflets from a park in the border town of Paju, north of Seoul, amid heavy security involving some 100 police officers.There were minor scuffles with local residents who sought to block the balloon launch for fear of Nor
Oct. 29, 2012
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N. Korea starts work on Rason economic zone office
North Korea said Friday it has started to build a management office for a special economic and trade zone to be jointly developed and operated by the North and its strongest ally, China.According to the Korea Central News Agency, dozens of high-ranking officials from the both countries attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the office building of the Rason Economic and Trade Zone Management Committee.The North has been ramping up efforts to develop special economic zones in Rason, the North's no
Oct. 27, 2012
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Senior U.S. diplomat set for talks with S. Korean officials on N. Korea
Kurt Campbell, the top U.S. diplomat on East Asia, is set to arrive in Seoul on Friday for talks with South Korean officials on North Korea and bilateral alliance issues, officials said.The U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs will meet with Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-hyun and Lim Sung-nam, Seoul's chief envoy to the six-nation talks on ending the North's nuclear weapons program, later in the day, officials said. Campbell's visit to Seoul, part of his Asian
Oct. 26, 2012
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Panetta says no signs of N. Korea's imminent nuke test yet
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Thursday that North Korea is apparently planning for another nuclear test but there is no indication of any imminent action."We always get intelligence that they continue to make plans for this, but I have not seen, at least intelligence that I've noted, that indicates that it's imminent," the secretary told reporters.After talks with Panetta in Washington on Wednesday, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said the secretive and unpredictable com
Oct. 26, 2012
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North Korea patrol boat briefly violates western sea border
A North Korean patrol boat retreated after briefly crossing the west sea border into South Korea on Thursday, the South's military officials said."A North Korean patrol boat crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) and sailed up to 0.36 kilometers into waters east of South Korea's Baengnyeong Island at about 11 a.m. while trying to cracking down on Chinese fishing boats illegally operating there," one of the officials said.The Northern vessel retreated at around 11:07 a.m. after warning signs were
Oct. 25, 2012
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N. Korea's main gulag seems still operational: report
North Korea appears to be still operating one of its largest political prison camps, contrary to media reports that it might have been shuttered, a major human rights group here said based on satellite imagery of the site.The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) issued a report, in partnership with DigitalGlobe, on the reclusive communist nation's notorious gulags.Multiple photos, taken from November 2010 to October 2012, show buildings and activity in Camp 22 in the northeastern cou
Oct. 25, 2012
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N.Korean leader dismissed, purged 31 ranking officials after appointment
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has dismissed or purged 31 senior officials including the former chief of the military's general staff since being anointed heir to his father and longtime leader Kim Jong-il in 2010, a South Korean lawmaker claimed Tuesday.The younger Kim, who took power after his father's death last December, dismissed four members of the Central Military Commission of the North's ruling Workers' Party in September 2010, and purged 27 other ranking officials between 2011 and 201
Oct. 23, 2012
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N. Korea mends nuke test tunnel after flood damage, satellite photo shows
North Korea suffered flood damage at its major nuclear test site but it has made good progress in restoration, security experts said Monday, citing satellite photos."Satellite imagery of North Korea's underground nuclear test site at Punggye-ri in the country's northeastern corner shows that significant repairs have been undertaken to mitigate damage caused by this summer's floods," said James Hardy and Allison Puccioni, analysts at IHS Janes, a London-based security information firm.South Korea
Oct. 23, 2012
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Police block anti-N.K. leaflets to prevent possible armed clash
The military and police blocked civic activists from sending propaganda leaflets over to North Korea on Monday but military tension remained high across the border as they vowed to go ahead with their plans. The Army said it would maintain vigilance for the time being ready to exercise self-defense measures should it see signs of imminent attack from the communist state.A group of South Korean conservatives and defectors were blocked by the police on Monday from entering Imjin Paviliion in Paju,
Oct. 22, 2012
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Three private groups approved to send aid goods to North
Three private aid groups were given approval for their plans to send aid goods to North Korea, Seoul's Unification Ministry said Monday.The ministry said it gave permission to three small private groups, including "Toward Peace in Korea," to ship a total of 200 million won ($181,077) worth of food, nutritional supplements and other aid goods to nurseries and hospitals in the North.The goods will be shipped via either China or the land border between the two countries, it said.Cross-border shipme
Oct. 22, 2012
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Pyongyang says only sea border in West Sea is its own
SEOUL, (Yonhap) -- North Korea repeated its claim Saturday that the only maritime border in the western Yellow Sea is the one drawn by Pyongyang, condemning the South Korean president's recent trip to an island near the border where he urged increased efforts to deter any border violation by the communist nation.South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday said the country's service members must stake their own lives if necessary to safeguard the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a de facto maritim
Oct. 20, 2012
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N. Korea levies $160,000 in taxes on 8 S. Korean firms in Gaesong complex
North Korea has unilaterally imposed hefty taxes on eight South Korean firms operating in the joint industrial complex in the North's border city of Gaesong, a Seoul government official said Friday."Eight out of 123 South Korean companies in the Gaesong complex were slapped with taxes totaling $160,000," the Unification Ministry official said, requesting anonymity.Of the eight firms, one was levied $87,000 and another was ordered to pay $30,000, the official said, adding another firm has already
Oct. 19, 2012
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N. Korean leader's nephew labels him a 'dictator'
In a rare and remarkable interview posted on YouTube, the teenage grandson of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has provided a glimpse into the secretive world of his country’s ruling dynasty.During the interview conducted at the school in Bosnia where he studies, Kim Han-sol, nephew of current leader Kim Jong-un, refers to his uncle as “a dictator” and speaks of his wish to “make things better” for the Korean people.Sporting wide, black-frame glasses, two studs in his left ear and a fashiona
Oct. 19, 2012
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Report: N. Korea ditches secret fund management agency
North Korea's leadership has dissolved a key communist party organization tasked with managing slush funds for the ruling Kim family, a news report said Wednesday.Japan's Kyodo News Service reported Pyongyang has abolished the agency, code-named "Office 38," under the Workers' Party of Korea.It quoted unidentified "sources familiar with North Korean affairs." Kyodo's story has not been confirmed i
Oct. 18, 2012