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Korean industries gauge impact of Biden's steep tariffs on China
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NewJeans to headline palace show
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Why Korean crime stories typically feature nameless, faceless perpetrators
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Rare mid-May heavy snow warning issued over mountainous areas of Gangwon
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CIO chief nominee to explain allegations at confirmation hearing
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Yoon vows to run country 'rightly' on Buddha's birthday
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Debate on 'no-seniors zones' heats up
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N. Korean defectors tallied at 1,103 worldwide: U.N.
The U.N. refugee agency said in an annual report that there were 1,103 North Korean defectors living as refugees around the world in 2015, down 1,282 from the year before.An additional 230 are currently pending decision on their asylum applications, according to the Global Trend 2015 report by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, while a total of 74 are being assisted by the UNHCR.The report did not specify the distribution of defectors per country. As the figure does not include defectors w
June 21, 2016
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Dispute boils over court hearing on defectors
About two months after fleeing their oppressive homeland, 12 former workers of a North Korean restaurant in China on Tuesday faced a legal debate over the legitimacy of their stay here under state protection. The Seoul Central District Court opened a hearing to review a request by the Lawyers for a Democratic Society, better known as Minbyun, to determine whether the 12 had defected on their own free will and thus whether the government’s current holding of them is lawful. The liberal lawyers’ a
June 21, 2016
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S. Korean envoy rules out bilateral meeting with N. Korea in Beijing
A South Korean nuclear envoy said Tuesday he has "no plans" to hold a bilateral meeting with his North Korean counterpart on the sidelines of a regional security forum in Beijing this week. The annual Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue, which will begin its two-day run from Wednesday, brings together nuclear envoys from six nations involved in long-stalled talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Among those attending the forum are Choe Son-hui, deputy director for North American affairs
June 21, 2016
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N. Korea deploys ballistic missile to east coast: source
North Korea has deployed an intermediate-range ballistic missile to its east coast although there are no signs it's ready for launch, a South Korean government source said Tuesday. (Yonhap)"We have detected signs that the North has deployed what appears to be a Musudan missile," the source said on the condition of anonymity.A South Korean military official said the military is closely watching the situation.Earlier, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported the North is preparing to fire a missile. (Yo
June 21, 2016
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Seoul's spy agency to put 13 N.K. restaurant workers under its protection
South Korea's spy agency has decided not to send a group of 13 North Korean restaurant workers to a state-run resettlement facility as it plans to hold them under its protection, government officials said Tuesday.The National Intelligence Service has notified Seoul's unification ministry that it will put the group of 13 North Koreans who defected to Seoul en masse in April under its protection for their safety."The NIS has notified the government that its decision was made for their security, gi
June 21, 2016
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U.S. rejects N. Korea's threat over detainees
The United States on Monday rejected North Korea's threat to keep detaining two American citizens unless a former detainee stops criticizing Pyongyang, saying the freedom of speech is guaranteed in the U.S. and urging Pyongyang to immediately free detainees.The North's official Korean Central News Agency issued the threat earlier in the day, claiming that Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary who spent two years at a North Korean labor camp, "keeps spouting invectives against the DPRK."After
June 21, 2016
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N.K. warns against Seoul-UNC crackdown in neutral waters
North Korea on Monday lambasted the South’s joint crackdown with the U.N. Command on Chinese boats illegally fishing in neutral waters, threatening another provocation similar to the 2002 scuffle in the West Sea. In its first reaction to the operation, Pyongyang’s state media condemned it as a “military provocation,” saying it will never accept such a “reckless maritime intrusion.” Calling it a “vicious, evil plot,” the official Korean Central News Agency said that the campaign is aimed at escal
June 20, 2016
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Seoul court to hold hearing on N.K. defectors
A local court will hold an unprecedented hearing on Tuesday over the legality of South Korea's holding of 12 North Korean defectors that Pyongyang claims have been abducted by the Seoul government.The Seoul Central District Court will open the hearing in the afternoon in line with a request by an association of progressive lawyers to determine whether the defectors are being legitimately held by the South Korean government.The North Korean women, who worked at a Pyongyang-run restaurant in China
June 20, 2016
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N. Korean traders going all out to receive permits: report
North Korean trading companies are making all-out efforts to get trade permits so they can earn as much foreign currency as possible, a media outlet reported Monday, citing sources in the reclusive country.According to the Washington-based Radio Free Asia, the North's state-run trading firms, as well as state agencies, are competing to broaden their business boundaries as a way to export minerals and herbal plants. 123rfEarlier this year, the United Nations slapped its toughest-ever sanctions ag
June 20, 2016
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N. Korea's nuclear envoy arrives in Beijing for security forum
A North Korean nuclear envoy arrived in Beijing on Monday to attend an annual security conference that brings together government officials and scholars from all six nations involved in the long-stalled negotiations about the North's nuclear weapons program.Choe Son-hui, deputy director for North American affairs at North Korea's foreign ministry, did not make any remarks upon her arrival at the Beijing airport. Choe is scheduled to attend the Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue that will start
June 20, 2016
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Korea rebukes N.K. for threatening nuclear attacks
South Korea on Monday condemned North Korea for threatening to carry out nuclear attacks against U.S. military assets in the South, saying that the latest provocation clearly proves that Pyongyang's recent dialogue offer was just a bogus peace initiative.North Korea's National Defense Commission said that its military has long put U.S. bases in South Korea in the range of its precision strike, warning Washington that it has the capacity to carry out nuclear strikes.Seoul's unification ministry s
June 20, 2016
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N.K. slams S. Korea's crackdown on China's illegal fishing
North Korea on Monday slammed South Korea for its operation with the United Nations Command to repel Chinese fishing boats operating illegally in neutral waters between the two Koreas, calling the move a "military provocation."This marks the North's first official reaction to South Korea and the UNC's joint crackdown on Chinese fishing vessels operating in the neutral waters of the Han River's estuary. The only vessels allowed to operate in the area are those manned by military police officers.S
June 20, 2016
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Chinese official's possible visit to N.K. wouldn't improve bilateral ties: expert
Strained ties between North Korea and China would not undergo a turnaround even if Beijing sends a high-ranking official to Pyongyang at a key anniversary next month, an expert at Seoul's think tank said Sunday.North Korea and China will mark the 55th anniversary of the signing of a military treaty on July 11 amid the possibility that Beijing may send a high-ranking official to Pyongyang in return for the latest visit by the North's party official Ri Su-yong to China.Chinese President Xi Jinping
June 19, 2016
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Incheon mayor pledges to institute inter-Korean fish sale system
Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok on Sunday pledged to push for an inter-Korean fish sale system under which South Korean fishermen pay for fish from their North Korean counterparts, and sell them here and elsewhere.The move came as South Korean fishermen have continuously suffered from income losses due to Chinese fishermen illegally operating in South Korean waters near the tense inter-Korean maritime boundary.Yoo made the pledge as he met with some 30 fishermen during his visit to the border island
June 19, 2016
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N.K. leader orders crackdown on those leaking intelligence to S. Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered his public security staff to hunt down and punish those who leak the reclusive state's internal information to South Korea, multiple sources said Sunday.In a directive sent to the security agencies and the people, Kim warned that those who leak any information to South Koreans will be labeled as "spies" and face harsh punishments, including execution by firing squad."I understand that (Kim) has sent a directive to the security agencies and the people,
June 19, 2016
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Interesting to see how Trump presidency would deal with N. Korea: Bruce Cumings
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump could bring a number of "interesting" things to the U.S. presidency, including how the real estate tycoon would deal with North Korea, an American professor said.Bruce Cumings, a University of Chicago professor with deep expertise on Korea, made the remark in a recent article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, noting that Trump has expressed a willingness to hold direct talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un."If Hillary Clinton becomes pr
June 19, 2016
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Some sanctioned vessels spotted sailing outside of N. Korea: media report
Some of North Korean ships separately blacklisted by the United States in the wake of Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests earlier this year have been spotted sailing, a U.S.-based media report showed Saturday.Victory 2, in particular, was detected leaving Nampo port of North Korea on Thursday afternoon and sailing westwards, according to the Washington-based Voice of America (VOA), citing traffic information filed by Marine Traffic, an online vessel tracking program.The vessel was blacklisted
June 18, 2016
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Amb. Sung Kim to visit China for security forum
The U.S. special envoy for North Korea policy will visit China next week for a regional security forum and talks with Chinese officials, the State Department said Friday.Amb. Sung Kim will be in Beijing on June 21-23 for "meetings with Chinese officials and attend the Track 1.5 Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue," the department said in a release.The forum brings together high-level policymakers, defense ministry officials, military officers, and researchers from China, Japan, North and South K
June 18, 2016
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U.N. office intensifying probe into N.K. human rights violation
The U.N. office on North Korea's human rights is intensifying its investigation into Pyongyang's dismal rights record ahead of the first anniversary of its establishment, government officials said Friday.The United Nations opened its field office on June 23 last year in Seoul in a bid to monitor North Korea's human rights violations, recommended by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry's landmark report on the North's rights record.Signe Poulsen, representative of the office, and her colleagues, have b
June 17, 2016
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House committee passes legislation calling for N.K.'s designation as terror sponsor
A U.S. House committee on Thursday passed a bill calling for relisting North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.The legislation (H.R.5208), which was introduced by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) last month, passed through the House Foreign Affairs Committee. It calls for putting the North back on the State Department's list of states sponsoring terrorism, saying the regime "meets the criteria for designation."Specifically, the bill requires the president to review about 20 cases involving North Korea, i
June 17, 2016