Most Popular
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No plan to let doctors with foreign licenses practice here anytime soon: PM
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Ador CEO's dismissal to be decided on last day of May
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[Graphic News] Beer the most favored alcoholic drink by Koreans
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Science Ministry expresses regret over Japan’s pressure on Naver
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Haeundae Beach to become sand art museum in late May
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Medical professors set to take day off amid protracted walkouts by junior doctors
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Hostilities get out of hand as YouTuber murders another outside courthouse
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Police officer jumps barefoot into drainage tunnel to save man
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Lee Sun-kyun's posthumuous film to hit theaters in August
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State-led adoption system to be established to ensure adoptees' well-being, minimize overseas adoption
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N.K. criticizes S. Korean unification minister's inaugural speech
North Korean main propaganda outlet on Tuesday criticized the inaugural speech by Seoul's unification minister in charge of inter-Korean affairs as a "sophistry" that lacks sincerity.During his inauguration ceremony on Monday, Hong Yong-pyo pledged efforts to open a channel for practical inter-Korean cooperation while maintaining the keynote of its policy to deal sternly with North Korea's misbehavior but exert flexibility if dialogue is a possibility.He also said his ministry will cooperate clo
March 17, 2015
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UN expert demands international action on N.Korea abductions
GENEVA (AFP) – A United Nations rights expert squared off with North Korea Monday by urging the global community to resolve the fate of 200,000 people allegedly abducted by Pyongyang, and refer perpetrators to the International Criminal Court."There is a real sense of urgency to solve this matter once and for all," said Marzuki Darusman, the UN's independent expert on the rights situation in North Korea.Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva Monday, Darusman presented his latest report
March 16, 2015
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N. Korea cited again in U.S. as failed example of denuclearization efforts
North Korea was cited again as a failed example of denuclearization efforts on Sunday as Republican opposition grew to a potential nuclear deal the President Barack Obama administration is negotiating with Iran."In 1994, the United States entered into something called the Agreed Framework to stop North Korea from getting a bomb. They almost immediately started cheating on it. And a mere 12 years later, they detonated their first nuclear weapon," said Sen. Tom Cotton in an interview with CBS."Now
March 16, 2015
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Chinese tours to N. Korea back on track after Ebola ban lifted
Tours by Chinese people to North Korea have been showing signs of getting back on track after Pyongyang lifted its months-long entry ban on foreign travelers imposed as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus, Chinese tour firms said Saturday. North Korea is half a world away from Ebola-hit West Africa, but the reclusive regime closed its doors to foreign tourists last October. The ban, which took a toll on Chinese travel firms specializing in tours to the North, was lifted earl
March 14, 2015
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China urges calm as N. Korea fires missiles
China called for the "relevant parties" to exercise calm and restraint on Friday, a day after North Korea fired seven ground-to-air missiles into the East Sea in apparent show of force against annual military drills between South Korea and the United States.The missiles were launched from the east coast on Thursday evening and landed in the East Sea in a drill supervised by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, South Korea's defense ministry said. North Korea routinely test-fires missiles, but ballis
March 13, 2015
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N. Korea test-fires 7 ground-to-air missiles into East Sea
North Korea has test-fired seven ground-to-air missiles into the East Sea in an apparent saber-rattling against the South Korean-U.S. joint military exercises, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Friday. (Yonhap)Thursday's missile launch came a day before Seoul and Washington wrapped up their combined annual war game Key Resolve, which Pyongyang denounces as a rehearsal for invasion of the communist country."The North Korean military fired multiple rounds of ground-to-air missiles into the East
March 13, 2015
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N. Korean diplomat slams S. Korea, U.S. over human rights abuses
In a rare interview with a Chinese state-run media outlet, a North Korean diplomat in Beijing hit back at South Korea and the United States on Friday for their "extremely despicable conspiracy" to stiffen the response by Seoul and Washington to the North's abysmal human rights situation. North Korea has been in an unusual defensive mode since a landmark U.N. inquiry detailed systematic, widespread and gross human rights abuses in the reclusive state. The North's human rights record was take up a
March 13, 2015
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S. Korea vows stern measure against N. Korea's decision on Gaesong wage
South Korea called on North Korea Friday to stop making unacceptable claims over the Gaesong Industrial Complex and hold talks to resolve pending problems including wage disputes.It's "regrettable" that the North has not responded to the South's proposal that the two sides have talks on Friday, unification ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said at a press briefing."The government can never accept any unilateral system change (on the Gaesong complex) and it will cope resolutely with such a move
March 13, 2015
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Report claims Obama administration 'quietly working to open secret talks' with N. Korea
A U.S. newspaper blog has claimed that the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is "quietly working to open secret talks" with North Korea to eventually normalize relations with the communist regime.Inside the Ring, a Washington Times blog, carried the report citing an unidentified U.S. government source. It added that the move is similar to the secret diplomacy that led to December's announcement that the United States will normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba. No details were give
March 13, 2015
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N. Korea spurns S. Korea's call for talks on Gaesong wages
North Korea claimed Thursday its decision to raise wages for its workers at the Gaesong Industrial Complex is a legitimate measure under its sovereignty, dimming hopes of an early resolution to disputes between the two Koreas over the issue.The North's Central Special Development Guidance Bureau, which is in charge of operating the complex, made clear that it is not a matter to be decided through consultations with the South's government.Last month, Pyongyang notified Seoul of its unilateral dec
March 13, 2015
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N. Korea spurns S. Korea's call for talks on Kaesong wages
North Korea claimed Thursday its decision to raise wages for its workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex is a legitimate measure under its sovereignty, dimming hopes of an early resolution to disputes between the two Koreas over the issue.The North's Central Special Development Guidance Bureau, which is in charge of operating the complex, made clear that it is not a matter to be decided through consultations with the South's government. Last month, Pyongyang notified Seoul of its unilateral de
March 12, 2015
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Lawmakers back BBC broadcasts in North
South Korean lawmakers on Thursday expressed support for the BBC’s reported plans to broadcast radio news in North Korea, saying the spread of information would likely help improve human rights standards in the oppressive state.But lawmakers here were divided over whether the BBC should be allowed to broadcast from the South. They also raised doubts about the BBC’s ability to reach listeners in the North as Pyongyang authorities would likely try to block the BBC’s frequencies.“I consider the pla
March 12, 2015
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Peaceful unification only way for uniting Koreas: official
A peaceful unification based on consensus is the only way sought by South Korea to reunify with the North, an official said Thursday, disavowing his earlier remarks indicating Seoul's push for forced unification.Chung Chong-wook, a vice chairman of the presidential committee tasked with preparing for possible unification with North Korea, came under fire after saying in a local speech earlier this week that under the wing of the committee is a separate team preparing for reunification by absorpt
March 12, 2015
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Signs emerge of China-N.K. thaw
Signs of a thaw in relations between China and North Korea are emerging, with Beijing poised to increase exchanges and recently hinting at a possible bilateral summit as Seoul and Washington reaffirm their alliance. Beijing has reportedly decided to let its border provinces increase economic cooperation with the North. Its Jilin and Liaoning provinces have announced they would expand their tour programs to the isolated country.This week, the North resumed tourism programs, bringing scores of Chi
March 11, 2015
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Unification minister nominee open to sending envoy to N.K.
Unification Minister nominee Hong Yong-pyo on Wednesday said sending a special envoy to North Korea could be an option to consider in the efforts to help defrost cross-border ties. At his confirmation hearing, the former presidential unification secretary and college professor apologized for allegations of tax evasion, fake resident registration, plagiarism and other wrongdoings. Expressing regret over strained inter-Korean relations, Hong pledged to explore the “best ways” to bring about a thaw
March 11, 2015
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Minister nominee vows efforts for substantive talks with N. Korea
The nominee to become South Korea's unification minister said Wednesday he will push for "substantive dialogue" with North Korea by upgrading the Korean Peninsula Trust-Building Process, a signature policy of the Park Geun-hye administration.Speaking at his confirmation hearing, Hong Yong-pyo said sending a special envoy to Pyongyang can be an option if needed."(I) will explore various methods to invigorate dialogue and discuss major pending issues," he said. "A special envoy can be considered a
March 11, 2015
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N. Korea, Russia declare 2015 as friendship year: KCNA
North Korea and Russia will mark 2015 as a year of friendship and step up bilateral exchanges in political, economic and cultural sectors, the North's official news agency said Wednesday."The Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation decided to make 2015, in which falls the 70th anniversaries of Korea's liberation and the victory in the great Patriotic War in Russia, as a year of friendship between the two countries," the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a
March 11, 2015
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N. Korea unlikely to conduct nuclear or long-range missile test: 38 North
North Korea is unlikely to test a nuclear device or a long-range missile over the next few months, a U.S. think tank said, citing satellite imagery of tests sites, despite concern Pyongyang could launch provocations in anger over U.S.-South Korea military exercises.Commercial satellite imagery of the North's Punggye-ri nuclear test site and the Sohae Satellite Launching Station shows that only activities associated with maintenance during the winter months are taking place, the website 38 North
March 11, 2015
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S. Korea to punish Gaesong firms accepting N. Korea's wage hike plan
South Korea will penalize its companies operating in an inter-Korean industrial complex if they comply with North Korea's decision to raise wages for North Korean workers there, an official said Tuesday.The government will exert "strong leadership" in handling the issue as it does not want to set a bad precedent for the operation of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North's border town of the same name, the unification ministry official told reporters in a background briefing.Last month, the
March 10, 2015
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Seoul concerned over 'open' launches of anti-N.K. leaflets
South Korea expressed concern Tuesday over civic groups' plans to publicly send leaflets to North Korea, indicating that it will try to block them.Days ago, a group of civic groups announced their plan to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets to North Korea on March 26, the fifth anniversary of the North's torpedoing of a South Korean Navy ship in March 2010. Civic groups involved in the leaflet campaign have often pre-announced their campaigns so their activities could draw media and social attention. S
March 10, 2015