Most Popular
-
1
Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
-
2
40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
-
3
[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
-
4
N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
-
5
Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
-
6
Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
-
7
[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
-
8
From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
-
9
Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
-
10
S. Korea, China, Japan in talks to hold trilateral summit May 26-27: official
-
N. Korea rebuilds Pyongyang to welcome new leader
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- The sprawling site, which buzzes in the shadow of a giant bronze statue of North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, looks at first like a high-security military installation. Scores of soldiers march through a zone sealed off by green mesh fencing and checkpoi
March 31, 2012
-
U.S. discussing next steps on N. Korea: State Dept.
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The United States is talking with its allies and others about what to do if North Korea launches a long-range rocket in mid-April in defiance of repeated warnings, an official said Friday. Mark Toner, deputy spokesman for the State Department, said it is a matter o
March 31, 2012
-
N. Korea renews its commitment to go ahead with rocket launch
North Korea on Friday reiterated its commitment to launch a long-range rocket next month in the latest public rejection of international pressure. The North has claimed that the launch set between April 12 and 16 is designed to put an earth observation satellite into orbit. S
March 30, 2012
-
Japan orders destruction of N. Korean rocket if necessary
This March 28, 2012 satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe shows North Korea's Tongchang-ri Launch Facility on the nation?s northwest coast. (AP-Yonhap News)Japan's defence minister said Friday he had issued an order to shoot down a North Korean rocket if it threatens the nation's territory, a pla
March 30, 2012
-
N.K. readies rocket fuel as U.S. halts aid
The U.S. and North Korea appear to be heading toward another stalemate as Pyongyang quickens preparations for a long-range rocket launch in breach of their recent agreement on nuclear and missile tests.A senior U.S. defense official said Wednesday that Washington had been forced to suspend its planned provision of food aid to the impoverished state, which is sticking to its launch plan despite growing international opposition. “We have been forced to suspend our activities to provide nutritional
March 29, 2012
-
U.S. House panel approves bill on N. Korean human rights
A U.S. House committee passed a bill Wednesday calling for bipartisan efforts to address North Korea‘s human rights violations and bring a wave of openness to the communist society.Less than five minutes after the beginning of a mark-up session, the House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously approved the legislation on extending until 2017 the authority of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2014 and passed it on to the entire House.The existing act, last reauthorized in 2008, is meant to put
March 29, 2012
-
US: Debris from NKorea rocket risks casualties
Debris from a rocket launch planned by North Korea next month could cause casualties, a senior U.S. military official said Wednesday. Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asia-Pacific Security Affairs Peter Lavoy said North Korea has indicated the rocket will be launched southward, but the U.S. lacks confidence about the rocket’s stability and where the impact will be. He said it is probably intended to land somewhere close to the Philippines or maybe Indonesia. He said South Korea and th
March 29, 2012
-
North Korea begins fuelling rocket: report
North Korea has begun fuelling a rocket for a launch that the West considers a missile test, a Japanese newspaper reported Thursday, citing a source "close to the government" in Pyongyang."The launch is coming closer. The possibility is high that the launch date will be set for April 12 or 13," the
March 29, 2012
-
Rocket plan breaks spirit of food aid deal
Negotiations with Pyongyang must be much tougher and clearer on languageTwo weeks after initially surprising the world with an agreement on Feb. 29, North Korea again surprised everyone by announcing it will launch a “satellite” to celebrate Kim Il-sung’s birthday. This will likely scuttle the leap day deal and the sliver of optimism stemming from the agreement and DPRK Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Ri Yong-ho’s visit to New York in early March. It is interesting that the Feb. 29 deal seems
March 28, 2012
-
Accordionists challenge perceptions of N.K.
PYONGYANG (AP) ― Five teenagers in school uniforms hold accordions. On the wall is a giant painting of the secret mountain hideout of their nation’s founder, Kim Il-sung. Small red stickers on their instruments mark them as gifts from Kim Jong-il.Yes, this is North Korea. But as they grind their accordions into song, what comes out is no somber ode to either of the late leaders. Instead, as more than 1.5 million YouTube viewers already know, it’s one of the poppiest of 1980s pop songs, A-ha’s “T
March 28, 2012
-
Pyongyang criticizes Tokyo for covering up past with rights issues
‘It is an outrageous double standard that they ignored other serious human rights issues and mentioned our human rights.’North Korea on Wednesday strongly denounced Japan, which jointly proposed with the EU a resolution at the U.N. Human Rights Council that condemned Pyongyang’s human rights violations.The UNHRC unanimously adopted the resolution without a vote on Thursday last week, which included condemnation on the North’s abduction of Japanese nationals. “Japan’s scheme to raise our human ri
March 28, 2012
-
Japan readies missile units ahead of N.K. launch
TOKYO (AP) ― Japan’s defense minister on Tuesday ordered interceptor missile units to prepare for North Korea’s rocket launch next month.The ``Unha-3’’ rocket is expected to fly over western Japan after it is launched from a pad on North Korea’s west coast between April 14-16. That has raised concerns that a failed launch, or a falling stage of the rocket, could endanger Japanese lives or property.``We must be fully prepared to protect the safety of our nation,’’ Naoki Tanaka said after issuing
March 27, 2012
-
North Korean leader elected as delegate to key party conference
North Korea’s military has elected leader Kim Jong-un as a delegate to the upcoming Workers’ Party conference, the North’s state media reported Tuesday.The development came amid mounting international pressure on the communist country to call off next month’s rocket launch that Pyongyang claims is designed to put a satellite into orbit as part of its peaceful space program.South Korea, the United States and other regional powers suspect the rocket launch could be a disguised test of the North’s
March 27, 2012
-
N. Korea vows to go ahead with planned rocket launch
North Korea vowed Tuesday to go ahead with its planned rocket launch next month, defying successive warnings from global leaders attending the Nuclear Security Summit now under way in Seoul.The North’s defiant stance, released through its foreign ministry, came after Pyongyang announced earlier this month it would launch a long-range rocket in mid-April to put a satellite into orbit as part of its “peaceful space program.”North Korea “will not give up the satellite launch for peaceful purposes,
March 27, 2012
-
North Korea vows to go ahead with planned rocket launch
North Korea said Tuesday it would go ahead with a widely criticized plan for a satellite launch and called on U.S. President Barack Obama to drop his "confrontational mindset"."We will never give up the right to launch a peaceful satellite, a legitimate right of a sovereign state and an essential st
March 27, 2012
-
N. Korean leader elected as delegate to key party conference
North Korea’s military has elected leader Kim Jong-un as a delegate to the upcoming Workers’ Party conference, the North’s state media reported Tuesday.The development came amid mounting international pressure on the communist country to call off next month’s rocket launch that Pyongyang claims is designed to put a satellite into orbit as part of its peaceful space program.South Korea, the United States and other regional powers suspect the rocket launch could be a disguised test of the North’s
March 27, 2012
-
Obama says U.S. prioritizes North Korean human rights
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― U.S. President Barack Obama said North Korea’s human rights record is a key factor in Washington’s approach to the communist nation.“Improving human rights conditions is a top U.S. priority in our North Korea policy and it will have a significant impact on the prospect for closer U.S.-DPRK ties,” Obama said in response to a question on North Korea, according to the White House. DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.Obama i
March 27, 2012
-
On Cheonan anniversary, Seoul presses N.K. over rocket
South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik pressed North Korea on Monday to call off its planned rocket launch next month that could invite further international sanctions.Kim said a long-range rocket launch is a violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution and a grave provocation to international peace and security. The North announced that it would launch a rocket between April 12 and 16 to put an earth observation satellite into orbit as part of its peaceful space program.However, South Kor
March 26, 2012
-
North Korea to provide school uniforms to students
North Korean authorities plan to supply school uniforms to the country’s students by April 15, marking the centenary of the birth of late founding leader Kim Il-sung, a pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan said Monday. “The chief task of textile industries in 2012 is to provide school uniforms to all students in primary and secondary schools as well as universities by the 100th birthday of founding father Kim Il-sung,” the Choson Sinbo said. Up until the late 1980s, school uniforms were provided
March 26, 2012
-
Japan to deploy Patriot missiles in Tokyo
Japan is to deploy surface-to-air missiles in central Tokyo in readiness for North Korea's planned rocket launch, its defense minister said Monday.The sitting of an anti-missile battery in the densely packed capital city would be in addition to facilities on the southern island chain of Okinawa Naok
March 26, 2012