Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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Defense firm exec gets jail term for leaking military secrets
A local court sentenced an executive of a South Korean defense company to four years in prison Thursday for leaking military secrets to more than two dozen domestic and foreign firms.Last July, the 52-year-old executive, identified only by his surname Kim, was indicted on charges of collecting classified military documents and passing them on to 25 companies at home and abroad between 2008 and June last year.The leaked documents contained information about some 31 defense enhancement projects, i
Jan. 8, 2015
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[Graphic News] Comparison of two Koreas’ military strength
Jan. 7, 2015
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S. Korea to set up ground operations command in 2018
The South Korean military plans to establish a command to be in charge of the Army's ground operations in 2018 as part of efforts to guarantee more efficient and stronger field operations, government sources said Wednesday.Under its comprehensive plan to reform the military structure to ensure more flexible troop management, the government has pushed to merge its 1st and 3rd Armies to create the Ground Operations Command to lead frontline units."At the end of last year, the defense ministry deci
Jan. 7, 2015
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Seoul reports N.K. progress in nuke capability
North Korea’s capability to miniaturize nuclear warheads has reached a “considerable” level, while its long-range missiles are presumed to be capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, according to Seoul’s 2014 defense whitepaper published Tuesday.The biennial policy paper referred to the North Korean regime and military as “our enemy,” the same term it used in 2010 ― the year the North launched two provocations that killed a total of 50 South Koreans including two civilians.The paper also reported
Jan. 6, 2015
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Frenchman indicted for smuggling defense secrets
The prosecution said Tuesday it indicted the former head of the Korean branch of a France-based defense firm without physical detention on the charge of collecting secrets from the Korean military.The 65-year-old suspect, whose name was withheld by authorities, is believed to have illegally acquired military secrets from August 2012 to April 2014, according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. He supposedly received the information from a South Korean defense broker surnamed Kim, a
Jan. 6, 2015
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Favors to defense firms cause big budget waste: state auditor
The military and related public agencies have provided a range of favors to defense companies and failed to properly manage them, leading to pervasive corruption and a huge waste of budget, the state auditor said Tuesday.Announcing the results of a three-month probe from May, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) said the authorities designated defense goods without proper demand analysis and gave preferences to large defense companies for their production, which led to a waste of more than 60
Jan. 6, 2015
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‘Responsibility to protect does not apply to N.K.’
This is the second installment in a special New Year’s series of interviews with preeminent scholars on international politics and security. ― Ed.Recent years have seen growing calls for the international community to more actively intervene to address North Korea’s human rights abuses under the responsibility to protect.Last year, a U.N. investigation report underscored the need to apply the R2P, stressing Pyongyang had “manifestly” failed to fulfill its state responsibility to protect its peop
Jan. 1, 2015
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Park calls for military readiness amid tensions with N. Korea
President Park Geun-hye called on the military Thursday to maintain its readiness, saying robust security is a must to lay the groundwork for potential unification with North Korea. "We should end the history of division by putting an end to the Cold War on the Korean Peninsula," Park said in a New Year's message to the country's 650,000-strong military. The Korean Peninsula was divided into the capitalistic South and communist North after its liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.
Jan. 1, 2015
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Uncertainties cloud East Asia security prospects
Uncertainties remain high over the security landscape of East Asia for 2015, as China pushes to increase its geostrategic clout, Japan to secure a greater military role and North Korea to break out of deepening isolation. Hopes still linger that a reconciliatory mood may emerge as the region marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Yet, pessimists forecast another tumultuous year, noting persistent historical and territorial disputes, security rivalries and emergent nationalism. Ab
Dec. 31, 2014
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‘Memory politics contributes to Asia Paradox’
This is the first installment in a special New Year’s series of interviews with preeminent scholars on international politics and security. ― Ed.Lessons from history can help us tackle today’s challenges and prepare for an uncertain future, but when the memories of the past take on political overtones, they can fuel unnecessary nationalism and hamper collective efforts to move forward.According to professor Peter Katzenstein of Cornell University, “memory politics” has contributed to Northeast A
Dec. 31, 2014
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First indigenous salvage ship to be delivered to Navy
South Korea's first indigenous salvage ship at the center of a corruption scandal was delivered to the Navy on Tuesday after passing an operational capability test, military officials said. The 3,500-ton Tongyeong has been at the center of a major controversy following allegations that a number of military officers took bribes from a local company that supplied faulty parts to the ship. The vessel, built in 2012, could not be deployed for rescue operations in the aftermath of April's ferry s
Dec. 30, 2014
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Korea, U.S., Japan sign military intelligence pact
South Korea, the United States and Japan have signed a military pact on sharing sensitive information on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs amid the communist country’s growing security threats to the region, Seoul’s defense ministry said Monday.The pact went into effect Monday after a memorandum of understanding signed last week by South Korean Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo and his counterparts Robert Work and Masanori Nishi was delivered to the U.S. side earlier in the day, the
Dec. 29, 2014
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S. Korea to conduct first missile defense drill next year
South Korea plans to conduct its first missile defense drill in the first half of next year to test the effectiveness of locally developed defense programs in the face of North Korea's missile and nuclear threats, a government source said Monday. South Korea has been developing its own Kill-Chain and Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) systems to better detect and respond to military provocations from the North. "Military authorities are planning our first independent Korean Peninsula miss
Dec. 29, 2014
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Korea, U.S., Japan sign military info-sharing deal
South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will sign a trilateral information-sharing arrangement on Monday to better handle the evolving nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Friday.The arrangement is expected to strengthen the three-way security cooperation that has been lackluster due to historical and territorial feuds between Seoul and Tokyo, and Seoul’s push for a deepened strategic partnership with Beijing.South Korea’s Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo, U.S.
Dec. 26, 2014
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3 workers killed by toxic gas at reactor site
Three construction workers at a nuclear power plant in Ulsan died Friday after inhaling toxic gas, officials said.A decontamination team was dispatched to the Shin-Kori nuclear power plant following the accident at 5:18 p.m.The incident came some days after a group of hackers threatened to “destroy reactors” unless the government shut down three nuclear reactors at the Kori and Wolseong nuclear power plants by Christmas Day. They also told residents near the facilities to leave. The government c
Dec. 26, 2014
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South Korea, U.S., Japan to sign info-sharing pact on North Korean nukes
South Korea, the United States and Japan will sign a pact next week on sharing their military intelligence about North Korea's nuclear and missile programs in the face of Pyongyang's evolving security threats, officials here said Friday. The three counties have been discussing the signing of a memorandum of understanding on sharing military secrets since May when they agreed on the need for such an agreement during their defense ministers' talks in Singapore. The conclusion comes two years aft
Dec. 26, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Japan's push for bigger security role renews
Japan’s push for a greater security role is gaining traction as security hawk Shinzo Abe began his third term as prime minister Wednesday by renewing his push to revise the war-renouncing Constitution.Buoyed by a landslide victory on Dec. 14, the nationalist leader has been seen intensifying his campaign to make Japan a “normal state” with a full-fledged military, which has been hamstrung by the “pacifist” Article 9 of the postwar constitution.In the face of an assertive China and confrontationa
Dec. 25, 2014
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North Korea expands its air force
North Korea has increased the number of its air force troops by 10,000, while reducing that of army soldiers by the same amount, a South Korean government data showed Thursday. The total number of the North's armed forces stood at 1.19 million as of the end of 2013, according to the defense ministry's update of its assessment of the communist nation's military power. "There seems to be no change in the general size of the North Korean military. But it transferred some aviation units in the a
Dec. 25, 2014
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S. Korean relief troops return home after mission in Philippines
South Korean relief troops stationed in the Philippines have returned home after completing their one-year mission to help rebuild the country hit hard by a typhoon last year, the Army said Tuesday.The 297 service personnel of the Araw Unit returned home on Monday from Tacloban after providing medical services and working to prevent the outbreak of epidemics in the city since December last year that was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan the previous month.Their initial six-month mission was extended
Dec. 23, 2014
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Presidential jet to be fitted with anti-missile gear
South Korea's presidential jet will be fitted with anti-missile gear by 2016 under a new project expected to cost more than 30 billion won (US$27 million), government and military officials said Sunday.Under a renewed contract with the nation's flagship carrier, Korean Air Lines Co., a Boeing 747-400 aircraft will be on lease to the presidential office until 2020."Until now, the presidential jet hasn't had its own antimissile gear, but the new jet is expected to be fitted with such gear as the m
Dec. 21, 2014