Most Popular
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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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Probe of first lady on Dior bag allegations set to begin
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Indonesia’s KF-21 fighter jet deal cut back -- what’s next?
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[KH Explains] Can tech firms' AI alliances take on Nvidia?
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Police seek arrest warrant for med student who killed girlfriend
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[Grace Kao, Meera Choi] Has money displaced romance on dates?
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Local filmmakers criticize ‘The Roundup: Punishment’ monopoly of screens
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Korean battery makers heave sigh of relief over 2-year IRA reprieve
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Over 80,000 millionaires, 20 billionaires in Seoul: report
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Seoul to demand Chinese apology for activist abuse
South Korea plans to demand an apology and other diplomatic steps from China after verifying a claim by a prominent rights activist of abuse during his detention, Seoul officials said Thursday.Kim Young-hwan and three other South Korean crusaders for human rights in North Korea were deported to Seoul last week after 114 days of confinement in China. They were arrested on March 29 on charges of “endangering national security.” Kim said Wednesday that he was tortured, deprived of sleep and forced
July 26, 2012
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N. Korean first lady presumed to have visited South in past
The newly-introduced North Korean first lady has presumably visited South Korea and previously participated in several inter-Korean exchange programs, an analysis of media reports showed Thursday.North Korea disclosed young leader Kim Jong-un's marital status for the first time on Wednesday by confirming that the woman accompanying him at recent public events is his wife, Ri Sol-ju, without elabor
July 26, 2012
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N. Korean military chief fired for ‘uncooperative attitude’
North Korea’s former military chief Ri Yong-ho (Yonhap News)North Korea’s former military chief Ri Yong-ho was dismissed earlier this month because of his “uncooperative attitude” towards leader Kim Jong-un’s drive to tighten his grip on the North’s military, a South Korean lawmaker said Thursday, citing information provided by the South’s spy agency.North Korea announced Ri’s dismissal last week
July 26, 2012
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North Korea confirms Kim is married
North Korea ended weeks of speculation Wednesday by confirming that the mystery woman beside young leader Kim Jong Un at recent public events is indeed his wife, “comrade Ri Sol Ju.” The news was buried in a state TV report about Kim's tour of a new amusement park, delivered casually by a newscaster who gave no details about Ri, including how long she and Kim have been married. This photo released
July 26, 2012
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On NK leader’s marriage, U.S. stresses people’s well-being
N.K. leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju attending to a building dedication ceremony (Yonhap News)The U.S. government extended good wishes Wednesday to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un upon reports that he is married, but put more emphasis on the well-being of the communist nation’s people, straddled with hunger and human rights violations.“Well, we’ve obviously seen the reports. We would alw
July 26, 2012
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Mysterious woman flanking NK leader identified as wife: NK media
North Korean media on Wednesday identified the woman seen accompanying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in a recent series of public appearances as his wife, confirming his marriage for the first time.According to North Korean media including its state TV monitored here, the woman is named Ri Sol-Ju. They reported that Kim and his wife attended a ceremony together to mark the completion of amusemen
July 25, 2012
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Signs of N. Korea economic reform
More experts say that Pyongyang may unveil economic reform measures soonNorth Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un appears inclined toward economic reform as he grapples with a hamstrung economy, international isolation and waning public loyalty.Since he took the North’s helm following Kim Jong-il’s death last December, signs of a desire for change have been detected with his public appearances apparently choreographed to show that he cares about his people in poverty. In recent months, the leader in his
July 25, 2012
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Defector children’s orchestra plays hope
Park Su-nam can neither read music nor play an instrument, but the 19-year-old North Korean defector is a proud member of the Heemang Poongcha Orchestra, along with 75 others who crossed the border to escape poverty and oppression.The orchestra, whose name means Windmill of Hope, was launched earlier this month by the Korean Red Cross to help the teens overcome their scars and adapt to life in the South.“The orchestra will aspire to support young North Korean defectors by helping them get used t
July 25, 2012
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Koreas held talks on joint mining of rare earths
South Korea held talks with North Korea last year on joint development of minerals including rare earths despite high political tensions, it was disclosed Monday.The Korea Resources Corp (KORES) said its staff visited the North for two rounds of government-approved talks with the National Economic Cooperation Federation in September and December.At the meetings proposed by Pyongyang the North hand
July 23, 2012
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Nuclear school, IAEA sign cooperation pact
ULSAN (Yonhap News) ― A South Korean graduate school specializing in nuclear studies has signed a cooperation deal with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency to train experts in atomic power, the school said Saturday.Under the agreement, the International Atomic Energy Agency will recommend students from member nations seeking to build atomic power plants to study at the KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School (KINGS) in South Korea’s southeastern coastal city of Ulsan, according to a KINGS offic
July 22, 2012
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Seoul allows seafood imports from N. Korea
South Korea has recently allowed fish imports from North Korea, government officials said Sunday, a first since it imposed sanctions on the communist state following its deadly military provocations in 2010.Forty tons of scallops, an amount worth $100,000, were shipped through the Port of Sokcho on the eastern border in mid-June upon the request of three South Korean firms, said officials at the unification ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs. It is the first time the South Korean gover
July 22, 2012
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Freed activist renews efforts to help N.K. human rights
Kim Young-hwan, the prominent anti-North Korea activist freed Friday from detention in China, pledged to continue his fight for democracy and human rights in the communist country. Kim, 49, and his three colleagues arrived in Seoul on the same day China expelled them after 114 days of detention. They were arrested on March 29 in the northeastern border city of Dalian apparently for helping North Korean refugees. They were charged with “endangering national security.”“The reality in North Korea i
July 22, 2012
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Inflation, weak currency weigh on N.K.
Unusual data attributed to costly political events, hoarding supplies, point to further decline of N.K. economyNorth Korea’s rice prices and currency exchange rates have sharply risen in recent months, data showed Sunday, threatening its already crumbling economy. According to Daily NK, a specialized online news outlet, the price of rice in Pyongyang more than doubled from 2,600 North Korean won a kilogram on April 25 to 5,300 won on July 13.The prices also maintained an upward slide in two othe
July 22, 2012
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Seoul denies ordering bombing of Kim Il-sung statue
‘N. Korea bombing plot claim effort to rally its people’North Korea’s claim that it has captured a “terrorist” plotting to blow up a statue of its national founder Kim Il-sung appears to be part of its fledgling leader’s efforts to rally his people around him, experts said Friday.They also noted that the claim reflects the level of insecurity Kim Jong-un feels while striving to tighten his control on the country faltering under poverty and international isolation resulting from its provocative b
July 20, 2012
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N. Korea says will 'fully reconsider nuclear issue'
North Korea said Friday it has no choice but to "fully reconsider the nuclear issue" after strongly condemning South Korea and the United States for attempting to destroy statues of its founding leader Kim Il-sung. The statement by a spokesman at the North's foreign ministry didn't elaborate on what it meant by the reconsideration of the nuclear issue, but concerns persist that Pyongyang may cond
July 20, 2012
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N.K.’s trade with China jumps 28 percent: report
North Korea’s trade with China jumped about 28 percent during the first five months of this year, a state-run think tank here said Friday, proving the North’s heavy reliance on its neighboring ally on the economic front.According to the data by the Korea Development Institute, the two allies’ trade came to US$2.51 billion during the January-May period, up 27.9 percent from the same period a year earlier.The North’s exports to China totaled $1.05 billion during the cited period, up 29 percent fro
July 20, 2012
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Arrested defector ordered by South, U.S. to destroy Kim Il-sung statue: KCNA
A commemorative postal stamp showing statues of former North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung (left) and Kim Jong-il (Yonhap News)A North Korean defector, arrested by the North for allegedly attempting to destroy key communist statues, has said he was ordered by South Korean and U.S.intelligence to launch the attacks, claims flatly denied by Seoul.Earlier in the week, the North said it had arrested Nort
July 20, 2012
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U.S. found N. Korea behind 1987 KAL bombing: dossier
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The U.S. government conducted its own investigation into the mid-air bombing of a South Korean jet in 1987 and concluded it was an act by North Korea, a set of declassified State Department documents shows.U.S. government officials interrogated Kim Hyun-hui, a self-confessed North Korean terrorist responsible for the bombing of Korean Air 858, which killed 115 people, shortly after the incident in November 1987, according to the dossier.Kim, traveling with a fake Japan
July 19, 2012
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China’s repatriation of N.K. defectors against international law: U.N. envoy
JAKARTA (Yonhap News) ― The forced repatriation of North Korean defectors by the Chinese authorities constitutes a violation of international law, a special rapporteur on the situation of the North’s human rights said Thursday, calling on Beijing to cease such actions. “I will visit China soon to make it clear that sending North Korean defectors back to their country is in violation of international law, as they are refugees after all,” Marzuki Darusman, special rapporteur on the Situation of Hu
July 19, 2012
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N. Korean leader gets marshal title
North Korea on Wednesday announced that its leader Kim Jong-un had been given the title of marshal ― the highest military rank after grand marshal held only by his late grandfather Kim Il-sung and late father Kim Jong-il.“A decision was made to confer the title of marshal upon comrade Kim Jong-un, supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army,” the North’s state media said in a “crucial report” broadcast at noon.The report appears intended to show that the fledgling leader is in full control of
July 18, 2012