Most Popular
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[Weekender] Geeks have never been so chic in Korea
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N. Korea says it test-fired tactical ballistic missile with new guidance technology
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NewJeans members submit petitions over court injunction in Hybe-Ador conflict
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[News Focus] Mystery deepens after hundreds of cat deaths in S. Korea
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S. Korea's exports of instant noodles surpass $100m for 1st time in April: data
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[Herald Interview] Byun Yo-han's 'unlikable' character is result of calculated acting
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[KH Explains] Why Korea's so tough on short selling
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Actors involved in past controversies return first via streaming service originals
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US military commander in S. Korea during Gwangju uprising dies
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[Photo News] Seoul seeks 'best sleeper'
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Ministry seeks to cut number of generals
The Defense Ministry is seeking to curtail the number of active-duty general-level officers to around 400 from the current 440, amid criticism it has failed to fulfill a 2011 reduction plan due to resistance from the top brass.President Park Geun-hye walks with Defense Minister Han Min-koo (second from right), Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Lee Sun-jin (center) and other general-level officers in their new post assignment ceremony at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday (Yonhap).The ministry said it was no
DefenseOct. 29, 2015
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Seoul opts not to declare formal end to MERS
South Korea decided not to formally declare an end to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak Thursday despite almost no risk of more infections in the country, official sources said.The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had originally planned to make the public announcement Thursday, 28 days after the last patient held in quarantine tested negative for MERS.The person whose identity has been withheld for privacy reasons was discharged from the hospital on Oct. 1 after repea
Social AffairsOct. 29, 2015
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S. Korean soldier killed in apparent suicide near border with N. Korea
A South Korean soldier was killed in what could be a suicide with a grenade near the western border with North Korea, military officials said Thursday.The incident took place at around 5 a.m. when the private first class moved about 100 meters away from a guard post where he and his fellow soldier were on patrol duty.The 20-year-old was killed at the scene as a grenade he was holding went off soon after he moved from the guard post.Military authorities presume that the soldier pulled out the gre
DefenseOct. 29, 2015
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Seoul voices regret over Pyongyang's rebukes of history textbook row
South Korea expressed deep regret Thursday that North Korea has lashed out at Seoul for hurting the North's dignity over the South's move to publish state history textbooks.South Korea has recently unveiled its plan to reintroduce state history textbooks for middle and high school students starting in 2017, to address what it calls left-leaning content in the current books.The North has voiced up its criticism against the South's move, claiming that conservative forces in South Korea are maligna
North KoreaOct. 29, 2015
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Korea to step up anti-corruption efforts in arms contracts
The government announced Thursday it will bring in a special inspector and reinforce its auditing body to beef up its scrutiny of state defense procurement deals, which have often been fraught with corruption.The plan is part of an interim result based on the government's on-going probe into the defense procurement sector.As a succession of corruption-ridden transactions were revealed, the government launched a special investigation team a year earlier to look into suspicious procurement contrac
DefenseOct. 29, 2015
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N.K. may suffer severe food shortage next year: S. Korean expert
North Korea may see the volume of its food shortage reach around 1 million tons next year due mainly to a serious drought that hit the North earlier this year, a South Korean expert said Thursday.Next year, North Korea's food shortage may reach the largest since the North's leader Kim Jong-un took power in late 2011, according to Kwon Tae-jin, an expert on the North's agriculture at the GS&J Institute. North Korea needs a minimum of 5.4 million tons of food to feed its people.The average food sh
North KoreaOct. 29, 2015
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N. Korea defector acquitted of espionage charges
The nation's top court on Thursday acquitted a North Korean defector indicted on charges of spying for Pyongyang, citing a lack of evidence. Yoo Woo-seong, 35, was indicted in February 2013 over allegations he collected detailed information on defectors in the South while working at the Seoul city government and relayed it to the North in breach of the country's National Security Law, which prohibits South Koreans from engaging in activities benefiting the North. Upholding a lower court's ruling
Social AffairsOct. 29, 2015
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Korea, Japan should open talks to tackle sex slavery issue: ex-Japan PM
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should make a determination to embark on sincere negotiations with South Korea over the resolution of Tokyo's wartime sex enslavement of Korean women, a former Japanese premier said Thursday.Tomiichi Murayama made the remarks a few days before the leaders from South Korea and Japan will hold their first summit in more than three years next Monday amid diplomatic tension over Japan's sex slaves during World War II.Murayama said that Abe should lead Seoul and Tok
Foreign AffairsOct. 29, 2015
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Beijing-Pyongyang ties improving: Chinese ambassador
Relations between North Korea and China are on the recovery track, helping dissuade Pyongyang from taking provocative acts, Beijing's top envoy in South Korea said Thursday."China and North Korea are engaging in more lively political exchanges, and their relations are improving to some extent," Ambassador Qiu Guohong said in a breakfast forum hosted by a group of Seoul National University graduates.North Korea has neither fired a long-range rocket nor conducted another nuclear test recently, he
InternationalOct. 29, 2015
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S. Korea re-elected to U.N. Human Rights Council
South Korea has been re-elected to serve a fourth term on the U.N. Human Rights Council in recognition of its contributions to the protection and promotion of human rights around the world, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.On Wednesday, the U.N. General Assembly in New York elected 18 countries, including South Korea, to serve on the 47-member panel from 2016-2018, the ministry said in a press release.It will be South Korea's fourth term overall and second consecutive term."Our re-election car
InternationalOct. 29, 2015
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Korean indicted for flag burning during protest rally
Prosecutors said Thursday they have indicted a South Korean man on charges of burning the national flag during a rally commemorating the first anniversary of the deadly ferry disaster.The 23-year-old, only identified by his surname Kim, is accused of burning the flag during the April 18 rally in downtown Seoul and damaging a police vehicle, the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office said."I was in a rage after witnessing the government authorities illegally taking the bereaved families to police stat
Social AffairsOct. 29, 2015
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Civic group member arrested over alleged security law breach
A member of a local civic group accused of breaching the anti-North Korea law has been under police probe for allegedly being involved in the group's formation, police said Thursday, the latest since two other members were indicted earlier this month.A key member of the Corean Alliance, based in western Seoul, identified only by his surname Kim, 41, is suspected of being deeply involved in the formation of the group in 2011, the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency said.The group reportedly has bee
Social AffairsOct. 29, 2015
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Korea to cut number of generals
South Korea will reduce the number of its military generals by about a tenth starting next year, a senior government official said Thursday.The Defense Ministry has drawn up a plan to downsize the total number of generals in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps from the current level of about 440 to some 400, the official said on condition of anonymity.The plan is expected to be implemented in stages starting next year."The Defense Ministry is coordinating with the Army, Navy and Air Force
DefenseOct. 29, 2015
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Korea needs to reform gov't, education sectors: McKinsey consultant
South Korea should reform its government and education sectors to remove uneasy business regulations and foster high quality talent in preparing for demographic shifts in the world, a global business consultant said Thursday."If I argue, (the biggest head wind that South Korea faces is) regulation for stickiness," Dominic Barton, global managing director of McKinsey & Co., said in a breakfast meeting in Seoul."There are lots of traditions that need to be challenged, about hierarchy, about the go
PoliticsOct. 29, 2015
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Red Cross to film video messages for separated families
The Korean Red Cross said Thursday it is seeking to make video messages of about 10,000 South Koreans who's families were separated by the 1950-53 Korean War by year-end to deliver to their relatives in North Korea next year.Since August, the Red Cross has been making 10 to 13-minute-long video messages containing greetings from South Korean separated families, and expectations for reunions with their kin in the North and their personal stories.More than 66,000 South Koreans, mostly in their 80s
North KoreaOct. 29, 2015
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Constructive Korea-Japan relations strategic priority for U.S.: State Department
Constructive relations between South Korea and Japan are a strategic priority for the United States, the State Department said Wednesday after the two American allies agreed to hold the first summit of their leaders in more than three years.The planned summit between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would mark the first bilateral summit between the two countries in about three and a half years and could serve as a turning point in their long-frayed rela
Foreign AffairsOct. 29, 2015
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Heritage Foundation report classifies N. Korea as gravest threat to U.S. interests
North Korea poses the greatest threat to the United States, an annual Heritage Foundation report said Wednesday, warning that the communist nation likely has already mastered the technology to put a nuclear warhead on a missile.The 2016 Index of U.S. Military Strength classified North Korea as a "severe" threat to vital U.S. interests, the highest in the five-level threat assessment scale, while putting Russia, China and Afghanistan-Pakistan terrorism in the second-highest "high" threat category
North KoreaOct. 29, 2015
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Villagers stage protest against ricochets from U.S. Rodriguez firing range
A united group of villagers set fire to bundles of straw near the U.S. military firing range in Pocheon on Wednesday in protest against stray bullets from the range.The Rodriguez Live Fire Complex, about 24 kilometers south of the tensely-guarded demilitarized zone, has been a source of grievances to the residents of neighboring towns following a series of ricochets that have come out of the firing range and landed on residential areas.Most recently in October, a 105-millimeter anti-tank shell f
Social AffairsOct. 28, 2015
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Seoul awards honorary citizenship to Berggruen
The city of Seoul awarded honorary citizenship to 17 foreigners including "the homeless billionaire" Nicolas Berggruen on Wednesday in recognition of their contributions to the metropolis.Berggruen, a philanthropist and investor who is known by the nickname because he lives in hotels without owning a house, was one of the awardees of the honorary citizenship of Seoul, the city government said.Berggruen has served as an advisor for the Seoul city's governance and urban reform through cooperation
Social AffairsOct. 28, 2015
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Sweeping partnerships key to post-2015 development era
With a new development agenda taking off over the next 15 years, traditional and emerging donors should join forces alongside the private sector, civil society and other non-state actors to beef up financial sources and leverage inclusive growth, leading international policymakers said Tuesday. The Korea Herald brought together four officials from around the world to explore ways to better implement the Sustainable Development Goals set forward early this year by 193 countries at the U.N. They a
Foreign AffairsOct. 28, 2015