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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New Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office chief vows full-fledged probe into first lady
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Trump may like to 'solve' N. Korean nuclear problem if reelected: ex-official
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U.N. names 3 experts to verify N.K. rights abuses
The U.N. Human Rights Council on Tuesday appointed three experts from Indonesia, Australia and Serbia to conduct a probe into North Korea’s human rights violations. U.N. Special Rapporteur Marzuki Darusman of Indonesia will lead the Commission of Inquiry along with Michael Kirby, a retired Supreme Court justice from Australia, and Sonja Biserko, founder and president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia. The 47-nation body in March approved its first-ever formal inquiry mechanism
May 8, 2013
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Seoul hails China’s suspension of N. Korean foreign exchange bank
China’s decision to end financial dealings with a key North Korean foreign exchange bank is a “significant” step that may severely punish North Korea for its internationally condemned nuclear ambitions, a Seoul official said Wednesday.Bank of China Ltd has shut down the account of North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank, which was hit with U.S. sanctions in March after Washington accused it of helping finance Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.The North’s state-run bank was told its transactions had b
May 8, 2013
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Rodman urges N.Korean friend to free American
Basketball hall-of-famer Dennis Rodman, who forged an unlikely friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on a recent trip, appealed Tuesday for the freedom of an American sentenced to 15 years."I'm calling on the Supreme Leader of North Korea or as I call him 'Kim', to do me a solid and cut Kenneth Bae loose," Rodman tweeted.Bae, whose Korean name is Pae Jun-Ho, was sentenced last week to 15 years of hard labor on charges that he tried to topple the North Korean regime. The Korean-American
May 8, 2013
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Top China bank shuts key N. Korea account
BEIJING (AFP) - The state-owned Bank of China has shut the account of a North Korean bank accused by the United States of supporting the North's nuclear programme, Dow Jones Newswires said Tuesday.The closure would be the first openly acknowledged move by an institution in China -- the North's key backer -- against North Korean interests in the current stand-off, which escalated in February with Pyongyang's third atomic test.But the details of the move were not revealed, and an analyst warned it
May 7, 2013
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U.N. names 3 experts to prove rights abuse in N.K.
The U.N. Human Rights Council on Tuesday appointed three experts from Indonesia, Australia and Serbia to conduct a probe into North Korea’s human rights violations. U.N. Special Rapporteur Marzuki Darusman of Indonesia will lead the Commission of Inquiry along with Michael Kirby, a retired Supreme Court justice from Australia, and Sonja Biserko, founder and president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia. The 47-nation body in March approved its first-ever formal inquiry mechanism
May 7, 2013
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Top China bank shuts key N. Korea account: Dow Jones
The state-owned Bank of China has shut the account of a North Korean bank the US accuses of backing Pyongyang's nuclear program, Dow Jones said Tuesday, citing a statement from the Chinese financial institution.Beijing is Pyongyang's key backer and it would be the first openly acknowledged move by a Chinese institution against North Korean interests in the current stand-off, which escalated in February with Pyongyang's third atomic test."The Foreign Trade Bank of North Korea, the country's main
May 7, 2013
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Seoul to extend low-interest loans to Gaeseong firms
South Korea said Tuesday that it will give 63 billion won ($57.6 million) worth of low-interest loans to companies that pulled out of the inter-Korean industrial complex, as part of its efforts to limit fallouts to the business sector.The Ministry of Unification said the money will come from a special economic cooperation fund. Interest has been set at just 2 percent, which is lower than the key rate of 2.75 percent set by the Bank of Korea.“This is a considerable favor to companies,” a ministry
May 7, 2013
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N. Korea gets info on U.S. aircraft carrier on internet
North Korea appears to have been informed of the deployment of a nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier to the South, through an internet posting a local firm registered to hire temporary drivers to transport U.S. sailors, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday.On Sunday, Pyongyang berated Washington for deploying the 97,000-ton USS Nimitz aircraft carrier around Friday shortly after the end of the allied military exercise, which it criticized as a rehearsal of a nuclear war of incursion.The North’s s
May 7, 2013
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N.K. lifts top combat posture; seen pulling out mid-range missiles
North Korea appears to have lifted its highest combat alert and pulled out two mid-range missiles from the east coast in a move that defused tension after weeks of warlike threats, reports said Tuesday. The Supreme Command of the North Korean People’s Army appears to have removed the No. 1 combat-ready posture around April 30, an anonymous senior government official was quoted as saying by Yonhap News. “We are not fully able to locate the two Musudan missiles that have been moved to somewhere e
May 7, 2013
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Not friends, but not quite foes either
A movie about three North Korean spies dispatched to South Korea on a covert mission is slated for opening in June. Titled “Eunmilhagae, Widaehagae (Discreetly, Greatly),” it is a story about elite agents from the hermit kingdom and people of the South coming to understand one another.“I hope viewers will be moved by the human side of the movie, like how three North Koreans connect with South Koreans,” said Park Ki-woong, who played one of the North Korean spies in the movie. The North Korean s
May 7, 2013
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N.K. says it's poised to strike back against S. Korea-U.S. joint drills
North Korea's military warned Tuesday that it would mercilessly avenge any breach of its territorial sovereignty by South Korea or the United States during the ongoing anti-submarine drills in the Yellow Sea.The Southwestern Front Command of the Korean People's Army said it has directed its troops to immediately strike back in case even a single shell falls in its territorial waters, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.The anti-submarine drill that began Sunday and runs through Friday com
May 7, 2013
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Park vows to make N. Korea 'pay' if it attacks S. Korea
President Park Geun-hye warned Monday North Korea will "pay" if the communist nation launches attacks like its sinking of a warship and shelling of a border island in 2010.Park made the remark during an interview with CBS television broadcast Monday."Yes, we will make them pay," Park said in response to whether South Korea will respond militarily if North Korea launches small-scale attacks like the ones in 2010 that claimed the lives of 50 South Koreans.Park also called for an end to rewarding N
May 7, 2013
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N. Korea removes missiles from launch site: U.S. officials
North Korea has moved two missiles from launch sites on the country's eastern coast, U.S. officials said Monday, signaling lowered tensions following worries Pyongyang was ready to test-fire the weapons.The Musudan missiles had been ready to launch at any moment, but "they moved them," a U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.North Korea's move meant there was no longer an imminent threat of a launch, and Pyongyang would have to make preparations before returning to
May 7, 2013
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South Korea sharply reduces power supply to Gaeseong
South Korea has not disconnected the power to Gaeseong but reduced supplies to a “minimum level” in line with the suspension of the joint industrial park, officials said Monday. The Korea Electric Power Corp. had transmitted 30 to 50 megawatts of electricity to a 100-megawatt plant inside the district via a substation in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. The state-run utility was forecast to turn off the power and linked water supplies after the last seven South Koreans came home last Friday, effectively
May 6, 2013
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Koreas brace for prolonged deadlock over Gaeseong
The stalemate over the suspended industrial park in Gaeseong is expected to continue for some time as neither Seoul nor Pyongyang appears likely to make the first concession.While leaving open chances of dialogue, the Seoul government has refused to back down given that a soft stance could hamper its efforts to rein in an increasingly provocative North Korea.For Pyongyang, appearing weak in the face of South Korean pressure could pose a challenge to its young leader Kim Jong-un, who is striving
May 5, 2013
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North Korea rules out political bargaining over jailed American
North Korea said Sunday it would not invite any leading U.S. figure to seek the release of a jailed American and he would not become a “bargaining chip” in any political negotiations.“Some media of the U.S. said that the DPRK (North Korea) tried to use Bae’s case as a political bargaining chip. This is a ridiculous and wrong guess,” a foreign ministry spokesman told the official KCNA news agency.“The DPRK has no plan to invite anyone of the U.S. as regards Bae’s issue.”The North said Thursday it
May 5, 2013
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N. Korea won't invite U.S. figure over jailed American
North Korea said Sunday it would not invite any leading US figure to seek the release of a jailed American and he would not become a "bargaining chip" in any political negotiations."Some media of the U.S. said that the DPRK (North Korea) tried to use Pae's case as a political bargaining chip. This is a ridiculous and wrong guess," a foreign ministry spokesman told the official KCNA news agency."The DPRK has no plan to invite anyone of the U.S. as regards Pae's issue."The North said Thursday it h
May 5, 2013
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Pyongyang yet to respond to Seoul's demands: official
North Korea has yet to respond to South Korea's demands made at the conclusion of last week's working-level talks to pull out its last remaining workers from a joint industrial zone in the North, including the resumption of communications lines, a Seoul official said Sunday.Seoul paid Pyongyang US$13 million in worker wages, corporate taxes and utility charges on Friday, when the last seven South Koreans who had negotiated the settlement of accounts returned home Friday, completing a pullout fro
May 5, 2013
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U.S. non-profit group to build tuberculosis center in Pyongyang
A U.S. non-profit group plans to build a tuberculosis treatment training center in Pyongyang by the end of this year, a report said Saturday.Christian Friends of Korea (CFK), the non-governmental organization, will visit the North Korean capital in mid-May and start construction work for the center designed to train medical doctors and researchers for tuberculosis treatment and prevention in the North, the Washington, D.C.-based Radio Free Asia reported.The CFK will send a team of 10 technicians
May 4, 2013
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Chronology of N. Korea's suspension of Kaesong industrial complex
The following is a chronology of major events leading up to Seoul pulling the last seven South Korean workers from the Gaeseong complex on May 3.2013March 27: North Korea severs the military hotline with the South, which is used to facilitate cross-border movement of personnel and cargo.March 30: North Korea's General Bureau for the Special Zone Development Guidance threatens to shut down the industrial park.April 3: North Korea bans South Korean workers from entering the park but permits people
May 3, 2013