Most Popular
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
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[Kim Seong-kon] Democracy and the future of South Korea
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Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?
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Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
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Seoul says Fu Bao loan 'not going to happen'
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Military searching for land mines swept from N. Korea
South Korean military have found 16 wooden-boxed landmines believed to be washed away from North Korea due to heavy rains, and are searching for similar mines near the heavily fortified border area, the Joint Chief of Staff said Tuesday. Front-line military units in Gyeonggi Province have collected 16 land mines, including 12 empty boxes, in downstream areas of the Imjin River and the Hantan River since mid-August, the JCS said.Officials suspect the mines made their way south due to swollen wate
Sept. 4, 2012
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Navy unveils first Korean-made salvage and rescue ship
The Navy on Tuesday unveiled South Korea’s first indigenously built rescue and salvage ship (RAS), after two years of development for rescue operations at sea.The 3,500-ton ATS-II ship was built to rescue stricken ships and tow away ships damaged because of enemy action or engine failure and to provide aid in the cleanup of oil spills and ocean accidents, the Navy said.The state-run Defense Acquisition and Procurement Agency and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. have jointly developed
Sept. 4, 2012
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Korea to press China to verify torture claims
South Korea will press China to verify claims by a Seoul activist that he was severely tortured while in detention in China as the two sides hold regular talks on consular affairs this week, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. Kim Young-hwan, 49, and three other South Korean activists were released in July after 114 days of detention in China. Since the release, Kim has claimed in Seoul that he had been tortured by Chinese investigators with beatings and electric shocks.The case is expected to lo
Sept. 4, 2012
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N.K. shifting military’s economic control to cabinet
Control of North Korea’s economic projects is being shifted from the military to the cabinet, as the communist country gears up for far-reaching economic reform, a Seoul official said Tuesday.“There has been specific progress (related to the shift),” the Unification Ministry official said on condition of anonymity at a press meeting, referring to the North’s reported moves to strip the military of its grip on leading economic projects in the communist country.“There have been signs related to it
Sept. 4, 2012
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Korea world’s 5th-largest arms exporter
South Korea was rated the world’s fifth-largest conventional arms exporter in 2011 with transfer agreements worth $1.5 billion, according to a report released last week by the Congressional Research Service of the U.S.Between 2004 and 2011, the nation ranked 10th in the world in arms sales with $9.2 billion. It was the eighth-largest importer with $7.3 billion. The U.S. continued to dominate the global market topping the list with $66.3 billion in weapons transfer agreements or a 77.7 percent ma
Sept. 3, 2012
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Renewed military reform plans indicate change in stance on security
Political issues likely to hamper implementationThe Ministry of National Defense renewed its military reform plans this week, giving momentum to measures that have been floating without significant development since 2005.“The plans seem to show that the military’s top commanders have awakened after incidents such as the sinking of the Cheonan to the changes that have occurred during previous administrations,” Kim Dae-young of Korea Defense and Security Forum said. While the Defense Ministry’s pl
Aug. 30, 2012
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S. Korea, U.S. resume typhoon-halted military drill
South Korea and the United States have resumed their annual military exercise, the military said Wednesday, one day after the 12-day drill was temporarily halted due to the onset of the powerful Typhoon Bolaven."Training related to the Ulchi Freedom Guardian 2012 will resume this morning after a pause due to weather conditions on the peninsula," the Combined Forces Command (CFC) said in a statemen
Aug. 29, 2012
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N. Korean soldier’s body washes across the border
The corpse of a North Korean soldier was found floating in Hantan river in Cheolwon County, Gangwon Province on Thursday and has been handed over to the U.N. Command Military Armistice Commission, South Korean military confirmed Sunday.This is the first time a North Korean soldier’s corpse had been carried by a river to the South since September 2010.The North Korean soldier, thought to have died sometime last week during the heavy rains, was found by South Korean troops and the U.N. Command Mil
Aug. 26, 2012
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Korea plans to conduct Dokdo defense drills early next month
The South Korean military plans to conduct regular military exercises in waters near the easternmost islets of Dokdo early next month but they may be delayed because of increased tension over Japan's renewed territorial claims, a military source said Saturday."The Navy has set up a plan to stage the drills to defend Dokdo for four days from Sept. 9," the source said.The plan is pending final confi
Aug. 25, 2012
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Navy’s light torpedo test launch fails
The first test-launch of Hongsangeo, an anti-submarine light torpedo, failed last month, a Navy official said on Thursday. The military had poured more than 100 billion won ($88 million) into its development.The trial was conducted on July 25 in the sea off Pohang City, southeastern Korea. It was launched from the 7,600-ton Sejong the Great-class Aegis destroyer but missed the target located 60 meters under the sea. The Navy lost the track of the weapon. “Failure in trials is not rare before roc
Aug. 24, 2012
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S. Koreans visit N. Korea to discuss flood aid
South Korean activists on Friday visited North Korea, pledging aid following deadly floods in the communist state, after winning approval for the trip from Seoul’s conservative government.A four-member delegation representing an array of non-governmental organisations in South Korea left for Kaesong city in North Korea, just across the border.“Many North Koreans have been affected by the floods. We will discuss with North Korean counterparts what they need, such as food and medicine,” Lee Yun-Sa
Aug. 24, 2012
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U.S.: Missile defense to cope with North Korean threat, not China’s
WASHINGTON (AP) ― The United States is in discussions with close ally Japan about expanding a missile defense system in Asia, the top U.S. general said Thursday.Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was commenting on a Wall Street Journal report that the U.S. is discussing positioning an early warning radar in southern Japan, supplementing one already in place in the country’s north, to contain threats from North Korea and to counter China’s military.The State Department, h
Aug. 24, 2012
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S. Korea to strengthen retaliation against N. Korea attack
South Korea will mount a much deeper and stronger counterstrike than any before in the event of North Korea launching an artillery attack, a senior military official said Tuesday, as Pyongyang toughens its rhetoric against ongoing annual military drills in the South.South Korea and the United States on Monday began an annual military exercise that will run through Aug. 31, mobilizing some 56,000 South Korean troops and about 30,000 U.S. soldiers. TheCombined Forces Command said it informed the N
Aug. 21, 2012
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JCS moves into new office
The Joint Chiefs of Staff opened its office building Wednesday. This is the first time since the JCS was formed in 1948 that the organization will operate from an independent building.Since the 1970s, the JCS had shared the building occupied by the Ministry of National Defense. Before that the JCS had moved around from the Defense Ministry to Cheong Wa Dae’s satellite building in Jongno-gu and other government buildings. The 187.5 billion won ($166 million) building consists of 10 above-ground f
Aug. 8, 2012
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Defense reform plans meet opposition from retired officers
The Ministry of National Defense’s plans to reorganize the military’s top command structure have once again run into opposition from retired generals.On Wednesday, the association of former top military officers from the three branches of the military distributed a statement opposing the plans to the members of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee, saying that the proposed changes will be ineffective and concentrate too much power on one individual. Under the Defense Ministry’s pla
Aug. 8, 2012
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S. Korea, Cambodia agree on sharing military supplies
South Korea and Cambodia have agreed to share military supplies in peacekeeping and rescue operations as part of efforts to expand military ties between the two sides, the defense ministry here said Tuesday.Lee Seon-chul, the head of the South Korean defense ministry‘s logistics management bureau, and Army Lt. Gen. Chau Phirun, the chief supply officer at Cambodia’s defense ministry, signed the memorandum of understanding on the bilateral logistics cooperation in a meeting in Seoul.Under the agr
Aug. 7, 2012
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South Korea to develop unmanned combat aircraft
By Choi He-suk The South Korean military plans to develop an unmanned combat aerial vehicle, sources said Tuesday.According to reports, the military is pushing plans for a 500 billion won ($442.7 million) project to develop unmanned combat aircraft along with unmanned reconnaissance aerial vehicles.“A project for developing unmanned combat aircraft is in the works along with the unmanned reconnaissance aerial vehicle project. If development goes under way now, deployment could be possible in 202
Aug. 7, 2012
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Korea, U.S. mulling new joint military operation body
South Korea and the U.S. are in talks to create a new joint military operation body to take over some key functions of a soon-to-be-dissolved joint military command, a high-ranking government source said Sunday.The South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command has served as a command structure for joint operation of military forces of the two allies since the 1950-53 Korean War.Both agreed to dissolve the CFC as South Korea plans to retake wartime operational control of its troops from the U.S. in 20
Aug. 5, 2012
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Korea to conduct defense drills near Dokdo
South Korea will conduct military exercises in waters near the easternmost islets of Dokdo later this month to strengthen its defense amid Japan’s renewed territorial claims, a military official said Thursday.The biannual exercise comes at a time when diplomatic tensions between Seoul and Tokyo rose after Japan reiterated its claim to Dokdo in its latest defense white paper, which drew strong protest from Seoul.The last drill was held in February. Dokdo, which lies closer to South Korea in the E
Aug. 2, 2012
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Seoul and Beijing to set up defense hotline
The defense ministries of South Korea and China will establish a hotline communications channel, the Ministry of National Defense announced Tuesday. The nations also signed a memorandum of understanding to increase exchange between their militaries during the second strategic defense talks held in Beijing. The MOU includes clauses regarding working-level talks between defense policy specialists, cooperative search and rescue missions, and overseas humanitarian missions, the Defense Ministry said
July 31, 2012