Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list
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Hybe and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Hybe sublabel Ador, lock horns
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[Pressure points] Leggings in public: Fashion statement or social faux pas?
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Yoo Jae-suk, Yoo Yeon-seok team up in 'Whenever Possible'
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Aging population to drive down Korea's housing prices from 2040: experts
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North Korea holds drills simulating nuclear counterattack against enemy
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U.S. says food aid 'hard to imagine' if N.K. launches satellite
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. State Department said Friday it will be "very hard to imagine" giving planned food aid to North Korea if the communist regime goes ahead with its plan to launch a satellite, a move seen as a disguise for a missile test. "Were we to have a launch, it wo
March 17, 2012
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N.Korea planned rocket launch a 'deal-breaker'
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) _ North Korea plans to blast a satellite into space next month to mark the centenary of the birth of its founder, Kim Il Sung, which the U.S. quickly called a ``deal-breaker'' for a new agreement where the U.S. would exchange food aid for nuclear concessions.
March 17, 2012
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N.K. says will launch ‘satellite’ in mid-April
North Korea said Friday that it would launch a satellite in mid-April to mark the centennial birthday of its late founder Kim Il-sung, a move that experts say is a cover for another long-range missile test.The announcement came despite an agreement on Feb. 29 with the U.S. to temporarily halt its uranium enrichment at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon and put a moratorium on nuclear and missile tests in exchange for 240,000 tons of “nutritional assistance.”North Korea said the Unha-3 rocket c
March 16, 2012
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N.K. says will launch ‘satellite’ in mid-April
North Korea said Friday that it would launch a satellite in mid-April to mark the centennial birthday of its late founder Kim Il-sung, a move that experts say is a cover for another long-range missile test.The announcement came despite an agreement on Feb. 29 with the U.S. to temporarily halt its uranium enrichment at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon and put a moratorium on nuclear and missile tests in exchange for 240,000 tons of “nutritional assistance.”North Korea said the Unha-3 rocket c
March 16, 2012
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Inter-Korean trade surges 36% this year
Despite rising cross-border tension, the trade between South and North Korea surged 36 percent from a year ago to $320 million in the first two months of this year, government data showed Friday.The data provided by the Korea Customs Service indicated that the trade via the inter-Korean industrial complex has not been affected by tensions on the Korean Peninsula.South Korea slapped sanctions on the North in May 2010 in retaliation for the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship earlier that yea
March 16, 2012
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N. Korea says will launch earth observation satellite in April
North Korea said Friday it will launch an earth observation satellite next month to mark the centennial of the birth of the country's founder Kim Il-sung, the late grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un.The announcement came weeks after North Korea agreed to freeze its uranium-enrichment faciliti
March 16, 2012
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N.K. leader orders troops to keep vigilance amid tensions
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered his troops to maintain maximum vigilance as the North‘s fighters and warships hit targets in live-fire military maneuvers, Pyongyang’s state media reported Thursday.His inspection of the drills by the country‘s army, navy and air force came as the communist country repeatedly threatened to launch a “sacred” war against South Korea over Seoul’s defamation of the dignity of Kim and his late father, former leader Kim Jong-il.A South Korean military unit in In
March 15, 2012
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About 130 senior N. Korean officials visit border village
About 130 senior North Korean officials visited the border village of Panmunjom last week as the communist country ratcheted up militaristic rhetoric against South Korea, a South Korean military official said Wednesday.The trips came days after their new leader Kim Jong-un placed his troops in Panmunjeom on alert during his surprise inspection trip to the village straddling the heavily armed inter-Korean border on March 3. Kim, who took over the communist country following the December death of
March 14, 2012
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‘China does not repatriate politically-motivated defectors’
China has never repatriated any politically-motivated North Korean defectors, and has helped them migrate to other countries, including South Korea and the U.S., a Korean politics professor said quoting a Chinese government official.His comment comes as international pressure is growing on China to not repatriate North Korean defectors who might face severe punishment under the Kim Jong-un regime.China has repeated it does not recognize North Korean defectors as refugees but “illegal trespassers
March 14, 2012
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Young N. Korean defectors struggle to adapt
Resettlers hope to play role of ‘bridge’ between two Koreas, contribute to reunificationOne of the challenges facing young North Korean defectors here is that people at large define their identities based on the negative image of the communist state ― poor, uncultured, repressive and isolated.Competing with better educated, well-fed South Korean classmates is another that many of them think is insurmountable. But they feel happy because of the long-cherished freedom they have won.Kang Timothy, a
March 14, 2012
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Obama likely to tour border of Koreas
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The White House indicated Tuesday that President Barack Obama will tour the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which separates the two Koreas, during his visit to South Korea later this month.“A visit to the DMZ would be reflective of the president’s commitment to both security on the Korean Peninsula and the need for North Korea to live up to its international obligations, give up its nuclear weapons program and return to the community of nations,” White House Press Secretary
March 14, 2012
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King urges N.K. to stop punishing repatriated people
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The U.S. special envoy on North Korean human rights issues demanded in this week’s U.N. meeting that Pyongyang stop punishing forcefully repatriated defectors.Robert King, attending a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday (local time), shared “deep concerns” about the plight of refugees and asylum seekers from the North, according to a transcript of his remarks released by the State Department“We urge the DPRK to end the punishment and
March 14, 2012
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IAEA soon to inspect N.K. nuke facilities: Ri
NEW YORK (Yonhap News) ― North Korea’s chief nuclear envoy said Monday that U.N. nuclear monitors will soon be able to return to his reclusive country under a recent deal with the United States.“I think (it) will be implemented in the near future. Concrete measures are being constantly taken to fulfill the February agreement,” the North’s Vice Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho told reporters.He was wrapping up a rare visit to the U.S. for an academic forum, reflecting continued dialogue between Pyongy
March 13, 2012
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Tussle in Geneva reveals inter-Korean rift
U.N. envoy presses China to stop repatriation of North Korean refugeesAn unprecedented tussle Monday in Geneva between South Korean lawmakers and a North Korean ambassador over human rights showed how badly inter-Korean relations have recently soured, experts here said Tuesday.At the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, the South’s lawmakers tried to approach So Se-pyong, the North’s ambassador, after he rejected a report by Marzuki Darusman, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North
March 13, 2012
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Lee confidant‘s China visit triggers speculation on N. Korea
Yim Tae-hee, a former South Korean presidential chief of staff, made a two-day visit to Beijing before returning to Seoul on Monday, a source here said Tuesday, raising speculation about his possible contact with North Koreans in the Chinese capital.It was the second time this year that the top aide for President Lee Myung-bak has visited China, following the previous trip early last month. “Yim’s trip to Beijing is verified, but details of his activities in Beijing are not yet known,” the sourc
March 13, 2012
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Food shipment for N. Korea ‘as soon as possible,’ U.S. says
The United States said Monday that it will start sending food to North Korea “as soon as possible,” as its delegation is set to meet officials at the World Food Program (WFP) in Rome later this week.Robert King, the U.S. special envoy on the North‘s human rights, will “talk more about the modalities of this assistance” with WFP representatives, said Mark Toner, the State Department’s deputy spokesman.“But I think, you know, we‘re trying to work out whatever the remaining logistical challenges ar
March 13, 2012
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N. Korean defectors in Japan struggle to adjust to new life
South Korea has been joined by activists around the world in its recent public campaign against China’s forced repatriation of North Korean defectors, but those who have resettled in Japan continue to face difficulties, defectors and activists said Monday.About 200 North Korean defectors currently live in Japan, with about 150 in Tokyo and the rest in Osaka, according to activists here. These defectors were mostly born in Japan during Tokyo’s 1910-1945 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula and
March 12, 2012
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S. Korea military vows tough response to N. Korea attack
South Korea‘s military chief urged the navy Monday to hit back hard against any new North Korean attack, as Seoul strengthens security before a major forum.General Jung Seung-jo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called on sailors to stay alert, saying the North’s navy would increase activities as its frozen ports begin to thaw. “The North can provoke us at any moment... you should seize the opportunity to launch immediate and strong retaliation with all available weapons,” he said during a
March 12, 2012
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Lawmakers appeal for international effort to stop repatriation of N.K. defectors
A group of South Korean lawmakers vowed to step up efforts to stop China’s forced repatriation of North Korean defectors as they visited Geneva to attend a U.N. meeting on human rights.The four-member delegation made the pledge in a meeting Sunday with Park Sang-ki, the ambassador at South Korea’s mission to Geneva in Switzerland, as part of their efforts to draw international attention to North Korean escapees facing repatriation to their home where they could face punishment and even death. “R
March 12, 2012
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S. Korea cautious on N. Korea’s recent nuclear deal with U.S.
North Korea’s recent nuclear deal with the United States is a good indicator of Pyongyang’s current movement, but it is still too early to “conclusively assess” it, South Korea’s point man on North Korea said.North Korea has agreed to freeze its uranium-enrichment facilities and temporarily halt its nuclear and long-range missile tests in exchange for 240,000 tons of U.S. food aid.The North has also agreed to allow the return of monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to its main nu
March 12, 2012