Most Popular
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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Govt. asks hospitals to mitigate impact of medical professors' absence
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S. Korea's working-age population to dip nearly 10m by 2044 amid low births
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Doggy patrol team on the move to protect their cities
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S. Korea, China, Japan in talks to hold trilateral summit May 26-27: official
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49 N. Korean athletes to compete in London Olympics
North Korea will field 49 athletes in 11 sports in the upcoming Olympic Games in London, the country's official news agency reported Friday. Thirty-five female and 14 male athletes have so far qualified for the July 27 through Aug. 12 games in women's football, marathon, table tennis, wrestling and weight lifting, the (North) Korean Central News Agency said. The weight lifters and wrestlers ar
June 8, 2012
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Foreigners to get visa-free entry into N. Korea zone
North Korea announced Thursday that foreigners would be allowed visa-free access to a new economic zone near its west coast, along with tax breaks.North Korea and China are jointly developing the Hwanggumphyong and Wihwado zone on two islands in the estuary of the Yalu River that marks their border. Ground was broken last December.“Foreigners and vehicles may enter or leave the zone through the designated route without visa upon presentation of passports or other equivalent pass,” said Pyongyang
June 8, 2012
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N.K. proliferation threatens both U.S. and China: Panetta
The United States and China share responsibility for resolving the issue of North Korea's proliferation activities, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said.On a trip to Asia, Panetta singled out North Korea as a continuing threat, along with the terrorism, not only in Pakistan but in Yemen and Somalia and North Africa."We continue to face the instability of North Korea and the potential for so
June 8, 2012
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Beijing striving to revive momentum for six-party talks
China appears to be striving to revive momentum for the resumption of the multilateral talks aimed at denuclearizing North Korea, while its impoverished ally, hit by severe droughts, is in dire need of outside aid.The U.S. still remains uncertain of Pyongyang’s sincerity about its denuclearization, and stresses “no rewards” for bad behavior while leaving open the possibility of talks.“China, as the host of the denuclearization dialogue, has been raising its voice (for the resumption of the talks
June 7, 2012
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U.S. remains open for talks with N. Korea: Zumwalt
A U.S. diplomat handling Korea affairs said Wednesday that Washington is willing to "constructively engage" with Pyongyang if it ceases provocation.Jim Zumwalt, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, stressed that the U.S. is not interested in talks for the sake of talks."The United States is prepared to engage constructively with North Korea, but its new leadershi
June 7, 2012
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N. Korean leader stages massive children's rally
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- North Korea's young leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday made his second speech at a major public event since taking power in December, addressing a children's rally aimed at winning a new generation's support.About 20,000 young people gathered at Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Stadium for a speech that capped an unprecedented six-day children's festival. The celebrations took p
June 6, 2012
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N.K. air force sharply increases sorties
North Korea‘s air force has sharply increased sorties since mid-May, with some fighter jets flying close to South Korea’s airspace, in what appears to be part of routine exercises, a military source said Wednesday.“Since mid-May, the number of sorties North Korean jet fighters make has risen sharply,” the source said. “Up to 50 sorties have been made a day, and two to three of them approached close to the tactical action line (TAC).”The TAC is an imaginary line that the South established about 2
June 6, 2012
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In N.K., inequality assigned at birth
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the supposed workers' paradise of North Korea, inequality is assigned at birth, a study by a U.S.-based human rights group says.Education, jobs, access to scarce food and health care and even whom you marry all hinge on how loyal your forebears are viewed to have been to the Kim dynasty that took power six decades ago.The study released Wednesday by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea says all adults in the socialist state are categorized as one of three classes:
June 6, 2012
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Prolonged drought major test to Kim
Worst dry spell in decades expected to deepen food shortageThe worst drought in decades is threatening to aggravate already serious food shortages in North Korea, posing a grave challenge to its new leader Kim Jong-un.A series of provocative acts, most recently an April 13 rocket launch, has curtailed foreign aid to the country that depends on outside assistance to feed its 24 million people.An expected food crisis could force Kim to make a choice ― whether to open dialogue with the internationa
June 6, 2012
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Ideological rift deepens among parties
Rival groups clash over N.K. rights bill and leftist lawmakersThe ideological divide between Korea’s two major parties widened Tuesday as key members clashed over a North Korean human rights bill on top of controversy over allegedly “pro-North Korea” lawmakers. Lee Hae-chan, a former prime minister running for chairperson of the main opposition Democratic United Party, precipitated partisan bickering by branding the ruling Saenuri Party’s latest North Korea human rights bill a “diplomatic discou
June 5, 2012
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Pyongyang renews threat against Lee, media
Demands apology for criticism; mentions coordinates of major news outletsThe North Korean military on Monday issued an ultimatum to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and conservative media organizations to choose between a “sacred war of revenge” or issue an apology for criticizing a propaganda event held in Pyongyang.Seoul’s Unification Ministry protested the threat as a serious provocation to the nation’s democratic system. “We send a final ultimatum to the traitors regarding the developmen
June 4, 2012
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N. Korea says it targets S. Korean media for possible attack
North Korea said Monday its military has entered map coordinates of some conservative South Korean media offices as it threatened to strike their headquarters for their alleged insult to North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un.The General Staff of the Korean People's Army said the country's troops have been targeting the Seoul headquarters of the Chosun Ilbo at coordinates of 37 degrees 56 minutes 83
June 4, 2012
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Activist-turned-lawmaker under fire for allegedly calling N.K. defectors 'traitors'
A ruling party lawmaker demanded Monday that one of South Korea's best-known former pro-unification activists and now an opposition lawmaker offer a sincere apology again for insulting him and North Korean defectors as "traitors."Rep. Lim Su-kyung of the main opposition Democratic United Party hurled the insult and other abusive remarks during an impromptu meeting with a defector-turned-college st
June 4, 2012
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Man arrested for alleged cyber terror with N. Korean spy
A Seoul man has been arrested on suspicion of colluding with a North Korean reconnaissance unit in China and distributing game programs infected with malignant codes to South Korea, police said Monday. The man, only identified by his family name Cho, was apprehended after allegedly meeting in September 2009 with several spies, including a man surnamed Kim, from the North's Reconnaissance General B
June 4, 2012
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S. Korea, U.S., Japan agree to expand cooperation to deter N. Korean provocations
South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed to steadily strengthen trilateral defense cooperation to deter provocations by North Korea, Seoul's defense ministry said Saturday.The agreement was reached during a meeting of the three countries' top defense officials held on the sidelines of the 11th Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri La Dialogue, in Singapore, the ministry said.South
June 3, 2012
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Spy arrests fuel ideological disputes
South Korea unveiled two cases of North Korean spies in less than a week, fraying the nerves of opposition politicians who prioritized reconciliation with Pyongyang or even once worked for pro-communist organizations. The National Intelligence Service said Friday that it is investigating a female North Korean defector on suspicion of spying for her homeland. Lee Kyung-ae, 46, who entered Seoul via Thailand late last year, reportedly confessed that she was an undercover agent for the North’s mili
June 1, 2012
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Seoul to pressure N.K. over detainees
South Korea plans to increase diplomatic pressure on North Korea over human rights issues, including the case of three people from the South believed to have been held in the communist nation for decades, a senior official said Friday.The move could further exacerbate the already frayed relations between Seoul and Pyongyang. An immediate focus of the campaign is expected to be on the case of Shin Suk-ja and her two daughters who are believed to have been held in the North since 1987, a year afte
June 1, 2012
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Seoul, Washington dismiss N.K. claim to be nuclear state
Constitutional revision aimed at political, diplomatic benefits, likely to undermine six-party talksInternational efforts to denuclearize North Korea face a bigger hurdle as the communist state recently codified its atomic-armed status, which analysts see as a move to enhance its leverage in future negotiations. Pyongyang’s state-run website on Wednesday unveiled the text of its recent constitutional revision, which added “nuclear-armed state” to its preface.“National Defense Commission Chairman
May 31, 2012
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Concerns mount over N. Korea spies
The arrest of two South Koreans on charges of attempting to hand over sensitive military equipment to North Korea has sparked fears about other possible hidden spies who pose a serious security threat.The revelation on Wednesday is expected to add fuel to the ongoing controversy over leftist politicians in the Unified Progressive Party who were involved in pro-North Korea organizations in the past. The two businessmen are accused of attempting to divulge advanced military technologies to the Nor
May 31, 2012
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Two arrested for trying to leak military technologies to N.K.
Police on Wednesday arrested two businessmen on suspicion of having attempted to hand over advanced military technologies to North Korea. They were acting under the direction of a North Korean agent based in northern China, the Seoul District Police Agency said. The technologies allegedly leaked include electronic jamming devices that could neutralize Seoul’s global positioning systems.They also
May 30, 2012