Most Popular
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
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DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
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Samsung mobile chief, Google device head meet in Seoul
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Ship linked to NK arms shipments to Russia is moored in China: State Dept.
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More med professors to take day off each week while govt. urges them to stay
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North Korea holds more than 138,000 people in detention facilities
North Korea is holding more than 138,000 people in its detention facilities across the country, a private organization on North Korean human rights said Wednesday.The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights said about 130,500 people are being detained in five harsh political prison camps while the others are languishing in at least 182 ordinary detention centers.It also reported serious viol
July 20, 2011
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‘N.K. importing luxury goods as civilians starve’
North Korea’s imports of luxury goods from China almost doubled in a year, a report from China showed Wednesday, indicating the ongoing shopping spree by the elite class of the reclusive regime even as its people are supposedly dying of hunger. According to Beijing customs, quoted by Seoul officials, the total volume of trade between Pyongyang and its last-remaining ally and economic benefactor su
July 20, 2011
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N. Korea imports luxury goods for ruling elites despite food shortages
North Korea has continued its shopping spree for Armani, Gucci and other luxury goods for its ruling elites, a South Korean official said Wednesday, the latest sign that international sanctions on the North have not been fully implemented.The U.N. sanctions imposed on Pyongyang for its nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 ban the communist country from trading in weapons of mass destruction, some conven
July 20, 2011
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Informal markets help N. Korea survive: expert
North Korea has been able to survive unaffected by Arab Spring-style political unrest due to its tolerance for "inconsistencies" like informal markets within a communist state, a top North Korean expert said Tuesday."What makes North Korea still viable and function? We can see all kinds of gaps in this system and one of them is informal markets," Stephen W. Linton, chairman of the Eugene Bell Foun
July 20, 2011
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Seoul moving to approve flour aid to North Korea
South Korea does not ban civic groups from sending flour and other humanitarian supplies to North Korea, an official here said Tuesday, hinting at a new policy direction on aid, which has been banned since the North’s November naval attack. Seoul has been cautious about sending flour to Pyongyang due to its possible use as military provisions. The purported approval indicates South Korea’s softeni
July 19, 2011
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North Korea fakes news photo again
North Korea has been accused of doctoring a news photo to exaggerate damage from recent rains.The image showing pedestrians wading through thigh-high water on a Pyongyang street was released by North Korea’s state run Korea Central News Agency to the Associated Press, as part of their recently-signed licensing deal. The left photo provided by North Korea’s state-run KCNA is believed to have been
July 19, 2011
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‘Photo on North Korea suffering from flood is fake’
A photo that shows Pyongyang residents suffering from heavy rain has been digitally altered, the Associated Press said in a letter to editors and other subscribers Monday afternoon.The news agency asked them to immediately eliminate the photo from their system and archives.“The content of this image has been digitally altered and does not accurately reflect the scene,” the news agency said in a st
July 19, 2011
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Time for U.S. to decide on N. Korea food aid: expert
Dragging its feet on food aid for North Korea, the United States is sending the wrong signal to the international community that the communist nation is not in urgent need of food handouts, an expert said."Taking no decision is really a decision," Roberta Cohen, human rights specialist at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, said in a recent report.She said that a delay in the U.S. decision
July 18, 2011
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Heavy rain feared to deepen N. Korea food shortages
North Korea reported deaths and damage to farmland and homes from heavy rain, sparking concerns as the communist state is already struggling to overcome chronic food shortages that were deepened by floods last year. Downpours hit several provinces from July 12-15, “leaving dwelling houses, public buildings and roads destroyed and causing casualties,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency
July 17, 2011
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N.K. farmers vow to send rice to military
Starving North Koreans have been conducting aggressive campaigns to deliver rice to their 1.2 million-strong active military, the South Korean government said Sunday, as disputes continue over the conditions in the communist state. North Korean farmers vowed to “carry out active campaigns to send more rice to the military” during a July 4 assembly, the Seoul government said, quoting a recently acq
July 17, 2011
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Heavy downpours raise fresh concern about N.K. food shortages
Heavy downpours battered much of North Korea earlier this week, causing casualties and flooding homes, farmlands, and roads, the country's media reported Saturday.The massive flooding raises fresh concern that the North's already serious food shortages may worsen. The North's Korean Central News Agency said that downpours hit many parts of the country from July 12-15, with North and South Hwanghae
July 17, 2011
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Sweden plans to offer medical aid to N.K.
Sweden is planning to send medical aid worth US$2.94 million to North Korea, the Voice of America reported Saturday.The supply of medical aid to the communist state will be made through European relief agencies such as Save the Children U.K., according to the report.The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) said the medical aid to the North is part of its humanitarian assista
July 17, 2011
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S. Korea, U.S. start talks on renewing nuclear accord
Senior South Korean and U.S. diplomats began a new round of negotiations here Thursday on Seoul's pursuit of expanding its peaceful nuclear technology.The two-day meeting, the third of its kind, will focus on fine-tuning the wording of a draft agreement presented in the previous round, according to officials.The existing treaty, signed in 1974, expires in March 2014.South Korea is seeking to revis
July 15, 2011
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‘Unification path can be decided later’
Advisory body vice chief calls for preparations for North Korea’s hard landingThe reunification of the two Koreas has an absolute, significant value that must not be undermined by rash discussions over insignificant details, according to vice chief of Seoul’s presidential advisory body on reunification. The ways and forms of reunification, such as “how much it would cost us to reunite with it can
July 14, 2011
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Coca-Cola, KFC may enter North Korea
Coca-Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken have recently agreed with North Korean officials to open branches in Pyongyang, according to news reports. (MCT)Some 10 executives from the companies visited Pyongyang from July 5-9 on the invitation of the North’s Korea Taepung International Investment Group, a major channel for attracting foreign investment. Sources said their branches will be established as
July 14, 2011
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N.K. supposed to have discharged water from border dam: officials
North Korea is supposed to have discharged water from a dam near the border with the South on Wednesday without advance notification, the state water agency said.The water level on the Pilseung Bridge near the border reached 5.8 meters as of 8:25 p.m. and is increasing by 25 centimeters every hour, officials at the Korea Water Resources Corp. said.The bridge near the Imjin River, which flows from
July 13, 2011
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N.K. calls for S. Korean plans to dispose of Geumgang assets
North Korea on Wednesday demanded that the South present its plans to dispose of the Seoul-owned assets at the Mount Geumgang resort by July 29, according to a government official.The North also said that should the South make no response by then, it would unilaterally dispose of the assets held by South Koreans.The demand came as a 10-member delegation of Seoul government officials and investors
July 13, 2011
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Scholar sees chance for summit with N.K.
Defector Ahn says Chinese model for opening and reform is only way for North to surviveThere are a variety of perspectives on North Korea; some people think the country is never going to give up its nuclear weapons or open up its economy, while others think there will be chances for reunification which the South must seize.A political scientist who spent the first 25 years of his life in the North
July 13, 2011
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Clinton urges passage of FTA with S. Korea
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Tuesday for an end to partisan strife over free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia and Panama."I know two things about trade. It is a polarizing political issue, but done right, it creates American jobs," she said in a speech at the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Conference in Washington.She pointed out the U.S.-South Korea FTA is pr
July 13, 2011
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N. Korea says typhoon caused human casualties, heavy property damage
A powerful typhoon has caused casualties in North Korea and inflicted serious damage on farmland and other industrial facilities, the North's state media said Tuesday, damage that could further worsen the country's chronic food shortages.Typhoon Meari brought downpours and gusts to North Korea last month, destroying about 160 houses and submerging or washing away about 21,000 hectares of farmland,
July 12, 2011