Most Popular
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South Korea confirms North Korea’s latest spy satellite launch failed
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Financially active women bear fewer children, report finds
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Leaders agree to revive 3-way cooperation, reaffirm security efforts
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[Feature] Ignorance about Africa still rampant in Korea
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S. Korea's exports set to maintain growth in May: trade minister
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Aespa breaks silence on Hybe chairman’s remark to ‘crush’ them
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Special counsel bill on death of Marine fails to pass in Assembly revote
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Korea ushers in new space era with KASA launch
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South Korea flies fighters near border over North Korean spy satellite alarm
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S. Korean biz leaders meet with UAE president
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Campbell: 'Subtle change' in China's policy on N. Korea may affect regional security
There are clear signs of a "subtle change" in China's approach toward North Korea, which may affect "the calculus" in regional security conditions, a former senior U.S. official said Thursday."Yes, there's a subtle shift in Chinese foreign policy...Over the short to medium term, that has the potential to affect the calculus in Northeast Asia," Kurt Campbell said at a forum hosted by the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies."You've seen it at the U.N. (Security Council). We've s
April 5, 2013
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Russia condemns 'unacceptable' N. Korea actions
MOSCOW (AFP) -- Russia on Thursday strongly condemned North Korea's actions in the intensifying standoff with South Korea and the United States, saying Pyongyang was showing a "categorically unacceptable" contempt of UN resolutions."For Russia, Pyongyang's neglect of UN resolutions (on nuclear non-proliferation) is categorically unacceptable," foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told reporters.His comments were Russia's sharpest criticism of Pyongyang in the current crisis. Until no
April 4, 2013
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North Korea still far from backing up nuke threats
North Korea's vow to restart its mothballed nuclear facilities raises fears about assembly lines churning out fuel for a fearsome arsenal of nuclear missiles. But it may actually be a sign that Pyongyang needs a lot more bomb fuel to back up its nuclear threats.Despite the bluster, even if Pyongyang started work today on its reactor, it could be years before it completes the laborious process of creating more weaponized fuel. North Korea's announcement, experts say, is also likely an effort to b
April 4, 2013
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N.K.'s Twitter account hacked amid tension
Hackers apparently broke into at least two of North Korea's government-run online sites Thursday, as tensions rose on the Korean Peninsula.The North's Uriminzokkiri Twitter and Flickr accounts stopped sending out content typical of that posted by the regime in Pyongyang, such as photos of North's leader Kim Jong Un meeting with military officials.Instead, a picture posted Thursday on the North's Flickr site shows Kim's face with a pig-like snout and a drawing of Mickey Mouse on his chest. Undern
April 4, 2013
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N.K. moves missile to east coast
Military tension reached a new high on the Korean Peninsula Thursday as North Korea was seen moving an intermediate-range missile to its east coast and the U.S. unveiled its plan to deploy a key missile defense asset to Guam.Berating Washington for its recent deployment of strategic military assets such as the B-2 and F-22 stealth warplanes, Pyongyang’s military said it officially informed the White House and Pentagon that it had “final approval for merciless operations” against the U.S.Seoul of
April 4, 2013
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N.K. threatens to shut down Gaeseong complex
North Korea on Thursday threatened to close a joint industrial park in Gaeseong one day after it barred South Koreans’ entry, fueling concerns about their possible detention.Pyongyang’s official media said its Wednesday decision resulted from Seoul’s conservative politicians and news outlets “speaking nonsense that we would not be able to do anything with the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.” “Military provocations against the complex mean a self-destruction of the traitor forces,” a spokesman of th
April 4, 2013
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Work under way at N.K. reactor: U.S. institute
WASHINGTON (AP) ― North Korea has already begun construction at a closed plutonium reactor that it vows to restart, and it could be back in operation sooner than expected, a U.S. research institute said.Pyongyang announced its plans Tuesday, the latest in an almost daily string of threats toward the U.S. and South Korea since it faced international censure over its latest nuclear and missile tests. North Korea warned early Thursday that its military has been cleared to wage an attack on the U.S.
April 4, 2013
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Kerry due in Seoul next week on N. Korea
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Seoul next week as part of his first regional trip since taking office, his department said Wednesday.North Korea is expected to be high on the agenda, along with bilateral and other global issues, in his meeting with senior South Korean officials there.Kerry plans to visit Northeast Asia from April 12 to 15, “starting in Seoul on April 12th, in Beijing on April 13th and in Tokyo on April 14th, and then coming home on t
April 4, 2013
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Korea requests U.S. waive jurisdiction of GI
South Korea’s Justice Ministry said Thursday that it has sent a request to the U.S. Forces Korea to relinquish jurisdiction over one of its soldiers allegedly involved in a BB gun shooting incident in downtown Seoul last month.The 26-year-old staff sergeant, surnamed Lopez, is accused of shooting the BB gun at pedestrians and leading police on a high-speed car chase in the crowded multicultural Itaewon district in Seoul on March 2, leaving one South Korean police officer injured.As part of legal
April 4, 2013
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Seoul denies report of N.K. demand for S. Koreans' withdrawal from Kaesong
The Unification Ministry on Thursday denied a media report alleging North Korea's demand for the withdrawal of South Korean workers from the Kaesong Industrial Complex by April 10, saying the report was based on misunderstanding of a notice from the North. (Yonhap News)
April 4, 2013
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N. Korea tells S. Korean workers to pull out of Kaesong complex
North Korea has demanded the withdrawal of all South Korean managers and staff from the Kaesong joint industrial zone by next week, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Thursday.The personnel should leave the complex, which lies 10 kilometers inside North Korea, by April 10, Yonhap said without quoting any sources.The South Korean Unification Ministry said it had received no such formal notification.As of Thursday morning, there were 823 South Korean citizens in Kaesong, the ministry said.
April 4, 2013
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N. Korea again blocks access to industrial zone
North Korea blocked access to its joint industrial zone with South Korea for a second consecutive day on Thursday, an AFP journalist near the border between the two countries said.About 40 vehicles were waiting to cross the border to go to the Seoul-invested Kaesong complex but turned around after a loudspeaker announcement that crossings to the North were prohibited, he said.A total of 526 South Koreans and 421 vehicles had planned to cross the border into North Korea on Thursday, the Unificati
April 4, 2013
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N. Korean defector in South crosses western sea border
A North Korean defector who was living in South Korea crossed the tensely guarded western sea border on a fishing boat he stole, military officials said Thursday, amid high tensions on the Korean Peninsula.The 28-year-old man, only identified as his surname Lee, stole a 9-ton boat on the border island of Yeonpyeong at 10:49 p.m. on Wednesday and sailed across the maritime border called the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea. "The ship was anchored at a port after being used for fishing
April 4, 2013
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U.S. sends THAAD to Guam as N. Korea vows military action
The United States announced Wednesday it is sending an advanced ballistic missile defense system to the western Pacific, as North Korea's military said it received final approval for a nuclear attack."The Department of Defense will deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) Ballistic Missile Defense system to Guam in the coming weeks as a precautionary move to strengthen our regional defense posture against the North Korean regional ballistic missile threat," the Pentagon said i
April 4, 2013
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N.K. bars entry to Gaeseong
Pyongyang on Wednesday blocked South Koreans from entering a joint factory complex just north of the heavily fortified border, prompting Seoul to warn that it would take military action should its workers’ safety be compromised. The North’s Central Special Direct General Bureau informed Seoul early in the morning that it would only allow the departure of South Korean officials and employees from the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. The Unification Ministry urged immediate renunciation of the decisio
April 3, 2013
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N. Korea nuclear quagmire deepens
North Korea’s escalating nuclear threat is posing a trickier conundrum to Seoul and Washington, prompting calls for a big change in their strategy for deterrence and denuclearization of the communist foe.During a key parliamentary session Sunday, Pyongyang adopted a policy of concurrently pursuing economic development and nuclear armament. On Tuesday it unveiled a plan to restart the 5-megawatt graphite-moderated nuclear reactor in Yongbyon.The communist state already defined itself as a nuclear
April 3, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Gaeseong last remaining link
Founded under the agreement signed between South Korea’s Hyundai Asan Corp. and the North Korean government in 2000, the Gaeseong Industrial District is the largest inter-Korean economic project to date.More than 53,000 North Korean workers are employed by 123 South Korean companies that recorded a combined output of nearly $47 million in goods in 2012.In addition, provided that the industrial district is allowed to be developed fully according to the plans laid out by the two sides, it will gro
April 3, 2013
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Seoul to launch project to halve suicide rate
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday it will launch a project to curb the city’s high suicide rate with a goal of cutting the number of victims in half by 2020.South Korea is notorious for having the highest suicide rate among the countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, with an average of 33.5 people per 100,000 taking their lives in 2010. It is far higher than averages of 23.3 for Hungary and 21.2 for Japan, which came in second and third, according t
April 3, 2013
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21 accused of making fake designer goods worth W3.5b
Some 21 local people have been arrested on suspicion of producing and selling counterfeit designer goods with a retail value of 3.5 billion won ($3.13 million), the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday.After three months of an intensive crackdown this year, the city’s special judicial police booked the suspects on charges of violating the trademark law and seized their fake goods.It is the first time that the city’s police have brought the violators to face criminal charges. The investig
April 3, 2013
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DAPA to pick new fighter jet supplier by June
South Korea’s plan to buy new fighter jets is expected to be finalized by June, with negotiations currently underway between the state arms procurement agency and three competitors over pricing, a senior official said Wednesday.Lockheed Martin with its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Boeing with its F-15 SE Silent Eagle and Europe’s multinational defense group EADS with its Eurofighter have been bidding since late 2010 for the8.3 trillion won ($7.3 billion) contract to supply 60 advanced jets to repl
April 3, 2013