Most Popular
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Court refuses injunction on medical school expansion
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Why Korean crime stories typically feature nameless, faceless perpetrators
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Debate on 'no-seniors zones' heats up
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Is NewJeans headed for a long 'break'?
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Jimin of BTS, actor Song Da-eun suspected to be dating, again
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S. Korea, Cambodia forge strategic partnership
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Police raid popera singer Kim Ho-joong's house over hit-and-run suspicions
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[KH Explains] Hyundai-backed Motional’s struggles deepen as Tesla eyes August robotaxi debut
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What's next for the government's push in quota hike?
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Trump may like to 'solve' N. Korean nuclear problem if reelected: ex-official
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N. Korea, China sign accord on sports exchanges for next year
North Korea and China have signed an accord on sports exchanges for next year, a Chinese state-run media reported on Monday, in a sign that the allies push ahead with exchanges despite canceled concerts by an all-female North Korean band. The accord was signed between Son Kwang-ho, vice minister of North Korea‘s sports ministry, and Yang Shuan, deputy secretary of the General Administration of Sports of China, in Beijing on Sunday, according to the report by a newspaper published by the Chinese
Dec. 21, 2015
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Seoul dismisses Pyongyang claim on joint tour program
South Korea rebutted North Korea's claim Monday that it had already promised to guarantee the safety of South Korean visitors in a joint tour program years earlier, saying that the issue remain unresolved.Since 2008, the South has halted an inter-Korean tour program at Mount Kumgang on the North's east coast following the shooting death of a South Korean tourist by a North Korean soldier.Seoul has called on Pyongyang to admit to its responsibility, guarantee the safety of South Korean visitors t
Dec. 21, 2015
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Koreas divided over land use fee at joint industrial park
South and North Korea remain at odds with each other over how much South Korean firms operating at a joint industrial park in the North should pay for land use, government officials said Monday.The two Koreas are in talks over the payment by 124 South Korean firms of land use fees at Kaesong Industrial Complex where about 54,000 North Koreans are working, according to officials at the Unification Ministry.The complex in the North's border city of Kaesong was opened in 2004 as a symbol of inter-K
Dec. 21, 2015
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South Koreans live an average 12 years more than North Koreans: data
South Koreans live 12 years more than their compatriots in the North on average, mainly due to fewer newborn deaths, government data showed Sunday. According to Statistics Korea, the life expectancy of a South Korean stood at 78.2 years for men and 85 for women. Corresponding numbers for North Korea were 66 for men and 72.7 for women. This translates into an average South Korean man living 12.2 years longer than one in the North, while a South Korean woman could expect to live 12.3 years longe
Dec. 20, 2015
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China votes against U.N. resolution on N. Korea rights despite
A newspaper published by China's Communist Party said Saturday that Beijing voted against a U.N.resolution on North Korea's human rights record despite "some domestic pressures," urging Pyongyang to be "grateful" about the Chinese vote. The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court for human rights violations this week. A total of 119 nations voted for the resolution and 19 nations, including China, against it, with 48 absten
Dec. 19, 2015
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Kim Jong-un's aunt removed from major posts: South Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's once-powerful aunt has stepped down from most of her major posts, a South Korean government directory on the secretive neighbor's ruling elites showed Friday The 2015 directory, released by the Ministry of Unification, does not include Kim Kyong-hui's name on the list of the cabinet members, the list of ruling Workers' Party of Korea's secretaries or the party's politburo.In the annual dossier, the 69-year old only retained relatively minor seats as the party's
Dec. 18, 2015
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North Korea likely to seek 'pardon diplomacy,' expert says
North Korea is expected to push for "pardon diplomacy" using a Korean-Canadian pastor sentenced to a life of hard labor, an expert here said Friday.Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute, raised the possibility that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will soon travel to Pyongyang to win the freedom of Lim Hyeon-soo of Light Korean Presbyterian Church near Toronto.Ban, formerly Seoul's top diplomat, confirmed he is in consultations with the North for a visit aimed at helping
Dec. 18, 2015
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UN passes resolution calling for N.K. referral to ICC
The U.N. General Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution denouncing North Korea’s woeful human rights situation and encouraging the U.N. Security Council to refer the case to the International Criminal Court.The resolution involving the ICC referral was endorsed for the second consecutive year, underscoring growing global concerns about what U.N. Human rights chief Zeid Ra‘ad al-Hussein recently decried as “gross” human rights violations.(Yonhap)A total of 119 countries voted for the resolutio
Dec. 18, 2015
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Seoul to keep pushing for improved ties with Pyongyang: minister
South Korea will continue efforts to improve ties with North Korea despite last week's failed talks, Seoul's point man on Pyongyang said Thursday. The two-day high-level talks ended Saturday with no agreements on pending bilateral issues or plans for further talks. The South demanded regular reunions for families separated in the 1950-53 Korean War, while the North insisted the two sides resume tours to Mount Kumgang, a lucrative source of income for the North. "Our government wanted to hold e
Dec. 17, 2015
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North Korea marks Kim Jong-il's death anniversary
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a landmark mausoleum in Pyongyang on Thursday on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the death of his father. Kim, known to be in his early 30s, assumed power shortly after the death of Kim Jong-il, who had long ruled the communist nation, on Dec. 17, 2011. Kim paid respects at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun at midnight, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, describing the anniversary as the North's "greatest memorial day." The mausoleum
Dec. 17, 2015
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Pyongyang could deploy H-bomb around 2020: 38 North
North Korea's claims of hydrogen bomb development are technically unlikely for now, but the communist nation could deploy a single-stage thermonuclear weapon with a yield of 100 kilotons around 2020, a U.S. expert claimed Wednesday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un claimed last week that the country has become a "powerful nuclear weapons state ready to detonate a self-reliant A-bomb and H-bomb." It was believed to be the first time that Kim has publicly claimed development of an hydrogen bomb, w
Dec. 17, 2015
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Ban says his North Korea visit plan still under discussions with Pyongyang
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that discussions are still under way with North Korea to set up what would be his first trip to the communist nation as U.N. chief. "It's still under discussions with the authorities of DPRK. I sincerely hope that we will be able to find a mutually convenient date as soon as possible. And this is what I can tell you at this time," Ban said in a year-end news conference. Ban also said he's ready to use his role as secretary-general in any way po
Dec. 17, 2015
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China denies media reports of arrests of its citizens in North Korea
The Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang has denied some South Korean media reports that North Korea recently arrested about 100 Chinese citizens living in the reclusive state on alleged suspicions of espionage. A spokesman at the embassy in North Korea said in a statement dated on Wednesday that such media reports are "false" and there were no "so-called spies" among thousands of Chinese people living in North Korea. It is rare for the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang to publicly deny media reports. Th
Dec. 17, 2015
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Pyongyang puts off party congress till Oct. 10
North Korea has postponed a major communist party congress until Oct. 10 next year, according to Pyongyang's state media Wednesday. During a report on leader Kim Jong-un's inspection of a catfish farm, the Korean Central News Agency said the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party will be held on Oct. 10. The KCNA said earlier the event, which would be the first of its kind in 36 years, would take place in early May. The reason for the delay is not yet known. (Yonhap)
Dec. 16, 2015
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China still mum on N. Korean band's abrupt cancellation
China's foreign ministry on Tuesday remained tightlipped on the reason for the sudden cancellation of a concert in Beijing by an all-female band formed by the North's leader Kim Jong-un.North Korea's Moranbong Band had been scheduled to perform in Beijing last Saturday, but abruptly headed home hours before the concert began. China's official Xinhua News Agency attributed the cancellation to unspecified "communication issues." South Korea's intelligence agency told Rep. Joo Ho-young, head of the
Dec. 15, 2015
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Economic gap between two Koreas widens in 2014: data
The economic gap between South and North Korea widened in 2014, with the difference in their trade volumes remaining far apart, government data showed Tuesday. According to data by Statistics Korea, North Korea's nominal gross national income came to 34.23 trillion won ($28.93 billion) in 2014, with that of the South hitting 1,496.6 trillion won, or roughly 44 times larger. GNI is the total value that is produced within a country, which is comprised of the gross domestic product along with i
Dec. 15, 2015
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U.S. expert calls for more serious attention to Pyongyang's H-bomb claims
The United States should more seriously take North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's claims that the country has developed hydrogen bombs, an expert said, pointing out that the international community has often incorrectly underestimated Pyongyang's capabilities. The North's leader made the H-bomb claims last week, saying the country has become a "powerful nuclear weapons state." It was the first time that Kim has publicly mentioned the North's development of an hydrogen bomb, which uses more advance
Dec. 15, 2015
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Seoul warns against further N.K. nuclear, missile tests in 2016
North Korea may stage additional nuclear and missile tests including from a submarine next year, the country’s top military commanders warned Monday, calling for developing a joint response mechanism with the U.S. and airtight readiness posture at all times. In the wake of the abrupt calling-off of the much-touted performance by North Korea’s Moranbong Band last weekend in China, relations between Pyongyang and Beijing may well head further downhill, the military assessed. “We see that we should
Dec. 14, 2015
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Why is N.K. obsessed with Mount Geumgangsan tours?
North Korea is keen on resuming the long-stalled tours to Mount Geumgangsan as they would offer a stable source of hard currency, spur efforts to develop tourism on its east coast and eventually enhance the regime’s political legitimacy, analysts said Monday.North Korean leader Kim Jong-eun inspects a fish farm in Pyongyang last week. (Yonhap)Restarting the tour program was one of the thorniest issues at the rare cross-border talks that broke down Saturday as Pyongyang insisted it should be addr
Dec. 14, 2015
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Pyongyang may continue provocations after canceled concert in China
Strained relations between North Korea and China as seen in the abrupt cancellation of a North Korean concert in China may spur Pyongyang to keep launching military provocations down the road, the Ministry of National Defense said Monday. "Under the possibility that the North Korea-China relations may become alienated following the sudden cancellation of the Moranbong Band's concert, our military will pay special attention to the likelihood of North Korea's strategic and tactical provocations,"
Dec. 14, 2015