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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S. Korea, Cambodia forge strategic partnership
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Rare mid-May heavy snow warning issued over mountainous areas of Gangwon
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Is NewJeans headed for a long 'break'?
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[KH Explains] Hyundai-backed Motional’s struggles deepen as Tesla eyes August robotaxi debut
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Police raid popera singer Kim Ho-joong's house over hit-and-run suspicions
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Trump may like to 'solve' N. Korean nuclear problem if reelected: ex-official
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New Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office chief vows full-fledged probe into first lady
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N. Korean officials arrive in China for talks with Japan
A four-member North Korean delegation arrived in China on Saturday for talks with Japan on possible repatriation of the remains of Japanese nationals who died in the communist country during World War II.The talks, the first of their kind since August 2012, are scheduled to open on Monday in Shenyang, a major city in northeastern China. North Korean officials said the talks are scheduled to continue for three days."The talks will last three days and the agenda is the issue of the remains of Japa
March 2, 2014
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N. Korea blasts Kerry for calling it 'evil place'
North Korea blasted U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday for calling the communist nation an "evil place" and denouncing its human rights conditions, saying it shows that the United States remains hostile toward Pyongyang.The top American diplomat made the "evil place" remark in an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday, saying the North is "one of the most closed and cruel places on earth." On Thursday, Kerry also criticized Pyongyang for its human rights record that the State Department d
March 1, 2014
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N. Korea rejects call for release of South Korean missionary
North Korea rejected Seoul's call for the release of a South Korean Christian missionary who has been held in the communist country for more than four months, officials said Friday.South Korea had demanded that North Korea quickly release Kim Jong-uk and guarantee his safety before his repatriation to the South, according to the officials at the unification ministry, which handles inter-Korean relations.It was not immediately clear if the North gave a reason for its refusal of the request delive
Feb. 28, 2014
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WFP provides $3.2m emergency aid to N. Korea
The U.N. food agency has provided emergency food aid worth $3.2 million for children and pregnant women in North Korea earlier this month, according to a news report.The World Food Program has given the emergency funding assistance in February, Washington-based Radio Free Asia reported Thursday, citing a spokesman handling North Korean affairs.The U.N. body has said earlier that it will close five out of its seven factories within this month that produce nutritious biscuits due to a lack of fund
Feb. 28, 2014
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U.S. gov't says N. Korea's human rights record still 'deplorable'
The U.S. government said Thursday that human rights conditions in North Korea continued to be "deplorable" last year, as Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated his criticism of what's happening in the reclusive communist nation."Human rights conditions in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea remained deplorable. The government was responsible for extrajudicial killings, disappearances, arbitrary detention, arrests of political prisoners, and torture," the State Department said in its Coun
Feb. 28, 2014
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After missile firing, U.S. urges N. Korea to show restraint
Responding to reports of North Korean missile launches, the United States called Thursday on the communist nation to restrain itself from taking such a provocative step. "We are of closely monitoring the situation on the Korean Peninsula," the State Department's spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, said at a press briefing. "We continue, as we often do, to urge North Korea to exercise restraint and take steps to improve its relations with its neighbors."The North fired four short-range ballistic missiles in
Feb. 28, 2014
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N. Korea test-fires four short-range missiles
North Korea test-fired four short-range missiles into the sea Thursday, Seoul's defense ministry said, in an apparent show of force to coincide with South Korea-US joint military exercises.A ministry spokesman told AFP the missiles, with an estimated range of 200 kilometers, were fired off the east coast of North Korea."Our military will maintain tight vigilance in preparation for additional launches or any military provocation from the North," the spokesman said.North Korea carries out short-ra
Feb. 27, 2014
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N.K. releases video of jailed South Korean missionary
A South Korean missionary arrested in North Korea in October told a news conference staged in Pyongyang on Thursday that he had been working for South Korean intelligence.Kim Jeong-wook, wearing a dark suit and in apparent good health, detailed a number of “antigovernment” activities as he read out a statement.No questions were taken at the event, footage of which was broadcast on South Korean television.Foreigners arrested in North Korea are often required to make a public “confession” which ca
Feb. 27, 2014
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N. Korea, Japan to hold Red Cross talks in March
North Korea and Japan have agreed to hold their Red Cross talks on March 3 in Shenyang, China, to discuss the transfer of the remains of Japanese nationals buried in the communist state and other bilateral issues, Tokyo officials said Thursday.Their Red Cross talks, the first since 2012, came amid Pyongyang’s extensive efforts to forge a “peaceful external environment” with the crucial goal of enhancing the livelihoods of its starving people.In recent weeks, the isolated state has sought to impr
Feb. 27, 2014
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N. Korea fires 4 projectiles believed to be short-range missiles
North Korea fired four projectiles believed to be short-range ballistic missiles off its southeast coast Thursday, a South Korean defense ministry official said.The projectiles were fired from the Gitdaeryeong area on the North's southeastern coast toward the waters beginning at 5:42 p.m., the official said. The projectile is believed to have a range of more than 200 kilometers, the official said.South Korea's military has strengthened vigilance against possible provocations, the official said.
Feb. 27, 2014
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S. Korean missionary jailed in North seeks mercy
A South Korean Baptist missionary who was arrested more than four months ago for allegedly trying to establish underground Christian churches in North Korea told reporters Thursday he is sorry for his "anti-state'' crimes and appealed to North Korean authorities to show him mercy by releasing him from their custody.Kim Jung Wook told a news conference he was arrested in early October after entering the North from China and trying to make his way to Pyongyang with Bibles, Christian instructional
Feb. 27, 2014
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S. Korea to propose Red Cross talks with N. Korea
South Korea plans to propose that the rival Koreas hold Red Cross talks to discuss further reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, an official said Thursday.The two Koreas wrapped up the first temporary family reunions since late 2010 at a North Korean mountain resort on Tuesday as part of their recent deal meant to improve their soured relations.Under the deal, the two Koreas agreed to hold Red Cross talks after staging the reunions to resolve humanitarian issues."We think abo
Feb. 27, 2014
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N. Korea seeks investment from overseas Koreans
North Korea has been revving up efforts to attract investment from overseas Koreans amid difficulties in inviting foreigners to the sanctions-hit country, media reports said Thursday. The communist country has been under tightened international sanctions for its third nuclear test in February last year, which imposed penalties on the North's trade, banking and travel."We are to focus more on the projects that aim to create circumstances where overseas Koreans can successfully make economic trans
Feb. 27, 2014
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Cervical cancer kills more than 1,100 N. Korean women per year
More than 1,100 North Korean women are killed by cervical cancer every year, a recent report showed Thursday, possibly due to a lack of vaccination programs in the communist country.North Korea has a population of 10.09 million women aged 15 years and older who are at risk of developing cervical cancer. Current estimates indicate that every year 1,881 North Korean women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 1,119 die from the disease, according to the report posted on the website of HPV (Human
Feb. 27, 2014
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Kerry says North Korea is 'evil' place
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry described North Korea as an "evil place," urging the international community to pay more attention to what's happening in the secretive communist nation."North Korea is one of the most closed and cruel places on earth. There's no question about it. There's evil that is taking place there that all of us ought to be deeply and are deeply concerned about," he said in an interview with MSNBC television that aired Wednesday.He cited human rights abuses prevalent in
Feb. 27, 2014
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N. Korea reinstates key officials on economic projects with China
North Korea appears to have recently reinstated two key officials in charge of economic projects with China, a diplomatic source said Wednesday, in a sign Pyongyang may try to restore business partnership with Beijing following the purge of leader Kim Jong-un's uncle.Kim Ki-sok and Kim Chol-jin, chief and deputy chief of the North's State Economic Development Commission, had been sacked in connection with the purge and execution of leader's uncle, Jang Song-thaek, in December last year, but have
Feb. 26, 2014
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N. Korea warns against factionalism in ruling party
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has warned against factionalism in the nation's ruling party, its official media said Wednesday, as part of ongoing efforts to reinforce ideology education after the stunning execution of his uncle for treason charges. "(We) failed to learn and root out the emergence of a modern-time faction within the party in advance" despite diverse efforts to set the monolithic control system, Kim was quoted as saying by the North's Korea Central News Agency.He made the remark
Feb. 26, 2014
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N. Korea asks U.N. to help contain FMD
North Korea has asked the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization to help contain the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the communist country, a news report said Wednesday.North Korean officials met with their counterparts from the U.N. agency in Italy on Monday to discuss the issue, a day after Pyongyang made the request to the Rome-based U.N. body, the Washington-based Radio Free Asia said.The U.N. agency plans to quickly send a team of its officials to North Korea to assess the situation,
Feb. 26, 2014
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N.K. patrol boat violates western maritime border
A North Korean patrol boat repeatedly crossed the West Sea border with the South in an apparent show of force at the start of South Korea-U.S. military drills, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday.The incursions took place three times overnight Monday and at one point the North Korean naval vessel had reached 3.7 kilometers inside the South side of the border.No shots were fired and the patrol boat eventually retreated after warnings from the South Korean Navy, Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Mi
Feb. 25, 2014
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Seoul to set up body to prepare unification
President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday unveiled a plan to launch a preparatory committee for reunification to build public consensus and create a blueprint for the unified peninsula.Park recently referred to reunification as an “economic bonanza” for South Korea and neighboring countries with a renewed commitment to laying the groundwork for it.“We’d like to seek a systematic, constructive direction for reunification by launching the committee,” she said during a nationally televised news conference
Feb. 25, 2014