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Rare mid-May heavy snow warning issued over mountainous areas of Gangwon
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S. Korea, Cambodia forge strategic partnership
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New Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office chief vows full-fledged probe into first lady
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Last S. Koreans return from Gaeseong complex
The last seven South Koreans who had negotiated the settlement of accounts on behalf of local businesses at an inter-Korean complex in North Korea returned home Friday, wrapping up a pullout from the zone amid high tensions on the peninsula.The complete withdrawal of workers cast clouds over the fate of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex just north of the heavily fortified border, raising concerns over the possibility of permanent closure.The complex remained the only remaining link between the two
May 3, 2013
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Banks, insurers to offer Gaeseong firms 700 bln won in loans
Financial companies in South Korea will provide troubled local companies at the inter-Korean industrial park with an emergency fund of up to 700 billion won ($636.5 million) to help them avoid cash shortages amid high political tension, the financial regulators said Friday. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) and its executive body the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), have called on financial companies here -- banks, savings banks, insurers and credit card firms -- to offer a special sho
May 3, 2013
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Pentagon report: N. Korea moving toward nuke missile
North Korea “will move closer” to its announced goal of being able to strike the U.S. with a nuclear-armed missile if it keeps investing in tests of nuclear and missile technology, the Pentagon said Thursday in a report to Congress.The unclassified version of the report, which was required by a 2012 law, offered no estimate of when North Korea might achieve that capability. It said the pace of progress will depend in part on how many resources are invested.The report fits an established U.S. int
May 3, 2013
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N. Korea's trade with EU halves in 2012
Trade volume between North Korea and the European Union (EU) more than halved last year from a year earlier after the North sharply cut exports of mineral resources, a news report said Friday.The trade volume between the two sides came to 69 million euros ($90.2 million) in 2012, only 43.4 percent of the 159 million euros recorded the previous year, the Washington-based Voice of America (VOA) reported, citing EU data.The dive came as the North's total exports to the EU shrank to 24 million euros
May 3, 2013
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U.S. urges N. Korea to grant amnesty for jailed Korean-American
The U.S. government called Thursday for the immediate release of a Korean-American man sentenced by North Korea to 15 years of forced labor for unspecified "crimes" against Pyongyang."What we're urging the DPRK (North Korean) authorities to do is to grant him amnesty and to allow for his immediate release,"Patrick Ventrell, deputy spokesman for the State Department, said at a press briefing. He took issue with the lack of transparency in the communist nation's legal system."We've had deep concer
May 3, 2013
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Jimmy Carter denies reports of possible trip to N. Korea
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has no plans to visit North Korea anytime soon, his spokeswoman said Thursday after media reports that he may be seeking an active role in reducing tensions on the peninsula and securing the release of a Korean-American man."President Carter has not had an invitation to visit North Korea and has no plans to visit," Carter's press secretary, Deanna Congilio, told Yonhap News Agency in an email.Earlier, multiple South Korean news outlets reported that Pyongyang h
May 3, 2013
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Seoul to offer W300b rescue package for Gaeseong firms
The Seoul government will offer 300 billion won ($272 million) in emergency relief funds to South Korean firms suffering from liquidity crunches following the suspension of the inter-Korean industrial park in Gaeseong last month.Starting from next Monday, companies can apply through the Export-Import Bank of Korea for the funding, which will be provided in the form of special low-interest loans.The 123 firms were forced to stop their manufacturing operations at the North Korean border town on Ap
May 2, 2013
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Seoul to replace top nuclear envoy
South Korea is set to announce a new team of negotiators on North Korea’s nuclear programs in a shake-up of senior diplomats under the new government, diplomatic sources here said Thursday.Cho Tae-yong, Seoul’s ambassador to Australia, will replace top nuclear envoy Lim Sung-nam who has filled the position since 2011. Lim will be transferred to Britain to lead the South Korean embassy there, according to the sources.“Such a reshuffle for the top nuclear envoy position will take place soon,” sai
May 2, 2013
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N.K. reactor near completion: U.S. institute
WASHINGTON (AP) ― North Korea is nearing completion of a light-water reactor that is primarily intended to generate electricity but which could add to concern over its nuclear program, a U.S.-based institute said Wednesday.Satellite photos, the latest taken this month, show the North appears to be putting finishing external touches to the reactor at its Yongbyon nuclear complex, according to 38 North, the website of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studi
May 2, 2013
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Nuclear envoys from S. Korea, China hold talks amid Gaeseong impasse
The top nuclear envoys from South Korea and China held talks on Thursday, with Seoul and Pyongyang continuing to haggle over the fate of a troubled joint economic venture facing permanent closure.Lim Sung-nam, chief South Korean envoy to the six-party talks on the North's nuclear program, met his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei and discussed a full range of issues on North Korea, a diplomatic source here said. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Lim and Wu reaffirmed efforts f
May 2, 2013
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Seven S. Koreans fail to return from Gaeseong
Seven South Korean staff remaining at an inter-Korean industrial park failed to return home on Thursday as they were still negotiating with North Korean officials over unpaid wages and other issues, a Seoul official said."The gap has closed, but there are lingering differences that will require more talks," said the unification ministry official, who declined to be identified.The two sticking points are the amount of money South Korean companies need to pay North Korean laborers, and the need to
May 2, 2013
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U.S. man detained in N.K. finds friends on Facebook
A Facebook page keeping tabs on Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American detained in North Korea, has been launched, carrying messages of well-wishers from around the world.The webpage, titled “Remember Ken Bae, Detained in North Korea,” was launched last December and carries news reports related to Bae along with messages of support for the 44-year-old American. The page describes itself as “a place for friends to keep updated on a fellow citizen” but claims that it does not represent the official positi
May 2, 2013
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N.K. sentences American detainee to 15 years’ labor
North Korea said Thursday it has sentenced an American citizen to 15 years of hard labor, its toughest penalty ever for a foreigner, for crimes against the state.Observers said the verdict could pave the way for the resumption of dialogue with the U.S., with Pyongyang using the detainee as a bargaining chip. Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American tour operator, was arrested in November in Rason, a special economic zone near the Chinese border. Little information has been disclosed about his charges.H
May 2, 2013
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North Korea sentences American to 15 years’ labor
An American detained for nearly six months in North Korea has been sentenced to 15 years of labor for crimes against the state, the North’s state media said Thursday, a development that further complicates already strained ties between Pyongyang and Washington. The sentencing of Kenneth Bae, described by friends as a devout Christian and a tour operator, comes amid signs of tentative diplomacy following weeks of rising tensions in the region. North Korea had been warning of nuclear war and missi
May 2, 2013
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S. Korea to provide emergency funds to Gaeseong firms
South Korea will provide 300 billion won ($273 million) in emergency relief funds to local companies that have been forced to halt operations at the inter-Korean industrial complex in Gaeseong, the government said Thursday.The money aims to help businesses cover immediate liquidity problems caused by the suspension of operations at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, the Ministry of Unification said.The total includes 63 billion won in low interest loans provided by the inter-Korea cooperation fund
May 2, 2013
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Jimmy Carter seeking trip to N. Korea: sources
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter may soon travel to North Korea as part of his efforts, not always fruitful, to broker the resumption of dialogue and win the release of a Korean-American man detained there, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.But the South Korean and U.S. governments apparently take a dim view of Carter's possible trip to North Korea out of concern that the communist nation may try to exploit it for propaganda purposes.Carter recently sent a letter to Secretary of State John Ker
May 2, 2013
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Seoul seeks progress on Gaeseong row
South Korea said Wednesday it was edging toward a deal with North Korea to ensure the return of the remaining workers at a joint industrial zone that has become a casualty of military tensions.The last South Korean workers had all been due to return from the North on Monday but seven remained to settle unresolved issues such as unpaid taxes and wages for North Korean workers, believed to amount to millions of dollars.“Differences are being narrowed even if the pace is slower than we expected,” a
May 1, 2013
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N. Korea promotes nukes, economy to workers
North Korea encouraged its workers Wednesday to launch a campaign to achieve its new strategic line of pushing for two goals of nuclear armament and economic development.In a commentary to mark May Day carried by the Rodong Sinmun, the North’s communist party newspaper, the communist country said the laborers should “manifest the spirit to fight against the United States and to build a strong nation by fighting for the party’s new strategic line.”During a plenary meeting in March, the North’s ru
May 1, 2013
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‘Moscow could play greater role in North Korea issues’
Russia could play a meaningful role in reining in North Korea should it gain economic leverage by constructing a gas pipeline connecting the two Koreas, said Kent Calder, a U.S. scholar and former government advisor.Calder, the director of the Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies of Johns Hopkins University, noted that for any anti-Pyongyang sanctions to be effective, there should be an economic relationship with the impoverished state.“There is another factor that hasn’t been looked at quit
May 1, 2013
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Pro-Pyongyang group raided over security law breach
South Korean police have raided the office of a pro-North Korean activist group as part of a probe into its alleged violation of the nation's draconian security law, officers said Wednesday.The so-called "sopoong" is a Seoul-based organization formed in 2006 by pro-North activists. The group claims its goal is to call for the reunification of the two Koreas.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) said it has also searched the houses of 10 members of the organization to search and seize relev
May 1, 2013