Most Popular
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[H.eco Forum] H.eco Forum calls for transition to clean, carbon-free energy
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[Exclusive] LACMA admits it needs further research on donated Korean paintings
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Russia likely offering N. Korea technology aid to expand threats to US, others: Pentagon official
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[Bridge to Africa] Africa-Korea partnership: Why it matters for future
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[Herald Interview] Korean adoptees embark on journeys to find roots
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[Graphic News] Medical tourists visiting Korea reach record high
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Yoon to resume diplomatic activity via 3-way summit with Japan, China
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‘Gimflation’ in S. Korea as dried seaweed prices grow on rising global demand
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Revote on Marine probe bill to be held next week
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Illit’s agency sues Ador CEO Min Hee-jin for defamation
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N. Korea's missile launch unlikely in weeks: experts
A North Korean long-range rocket launch in the next several weeks is technically possible but unlikely, experts here said Wednesday.Although Pyongyang has political reasons to show increased activities in its missile test site, they said, pressing ahead with a high-stakes blast is a different matter."I believe it is technically possible for North Korea to again attempt to launch a multi-stage, Unha-3-type rocket during the December-January timeframe, but I have my doubts it will happen,"Greg Thi
Nov. 29, 2012
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Kim warns against anti-socialist moves in prosecutors’ meeting
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has warned against anti-socialist moves in a letter delivered to a meeting of judges and prosecutors held for the first time in nearly 30 years, the North’s state news media said.“A national meeting of active judges and prosecutors took place at the People’s Palace of Culture (in Pyongyang) on Monday,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in an English-language dispatch released late Monday.In a letter delivered to the meeting, Kim urged judges and prosecuto
Nov. 28, 2012
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Concerns mount over signs of N.K. missile launch
Tension is escalating over North Korea’s suspected preparation for a rocket launch, apparently aimed at raising the stakes in its relations with Seoul’s next government and the Obama administration in its second term. U.S. satellite imagery has captured increased movement at the North’s Sohae launch station in the western town of Dongchang. Analysts say that the possibility is not so high for the North to proceed with the launch but the activity may upend burgeoning hopes for a thaw in cross-bor
Nov. 28, 2012
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U.N. committee slams N.K., Iran on rights
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) ― A key U.N. committee on Tuesday passed resolutions condemning human rights abuses by North Korea, Iran and Syria amid growing Western pressure for action.An annual vote on North Korea was passed by consensus for the first time, with not even close ally China voting against it.A larger number of countries than last year backed a resolution against Syria but a reduced majority passed a condemnation of Iran’s human rights record at the U.N. General Assembly committee.The reso
Nov. 28, 2012
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U.S. gov't keeps mum on N. Korea's possible missile launch
The U.S. government remained guarded Tuesday about multiple reports that North Korea appears to be working toward another ballistic missile test.The U.S. attitude marks a contrast with continued intelligence leaks by South Korean and Japanese officials on Pyongyang's missile activities."I'm obviously not going to comment on intelligence issues,"State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at a press briefing."I'm talking about any intelligence we might have about any DPRK intentions."DPRK s
Nov. 28, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Tongil group shuts biz in N. Korea
Pyeonghwa Motors Corp. has been a symbol of reconciliation between the two Koreas since the Unification Church unveiled its ambitious joint venture with the communist North in 2000. Twelve years later, Tongil Group, the church’s colossal business empire, appears to be retreating from the partnership in favor of more lucrative, less risky sectors like retail and food. Park Sang-kwon, president of the Seoul-based auto company, is seeking to cancel its license for economic cooperation with North Ko
Nov. 27, 2012
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‘Images suggest looming North Korea missile test’
North Korea could carry out a long-range missile test in the next three weeks, suggest new images released by satellite operator DigitalGlobe Inc. showing increased launch site activity.The global provider of commercial high-resolution satellite imagery said Monday that the new pictures showed significant movement at North Korea’s Sohae (West Sea) Satellite Launch Station.“Given the observed level of activity noted of a new tent, trucks, people and numerous portable fuel/oxidizer tanks, should N
Nov. 27, 2012
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N. Korea may launch long-range missile in next two months: source
North Korea may fire off a long-range missile in the next two months, military sources in Seoul said Tuesday, amid speculation that the communist nation is in the final stage of preparations for a launch. Images taken by U.S. satellites showed a marked increase in activity at a North Korean missile launch site in its northwestern tip, suggesting that the country is stepping up preparations for a long-range ballistic missile test.Last week, Japan's Asahi Shimbun reported the U.S. satellites had p
Nov. 27, 2012
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Obama needs new strategy on N. Korea to offset failed denuclearization efforts: expert
In the second term, the Barack Obama administration will face a daunting task of setting a realistic goal in dealing with North Korea, working shoulder-to-shoulder with South Korea's new government, an expert here said Sunday."Denuclearization as a credible U.S. policy objective is dead," long-time Korea specialist Larry Niksch told Yonhap News Agency."The test for the Obama Administration is whether it will formulate a new strategy toward North Korea to replace denuclearization and whether it c
Nov. 26, 2012
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N. Korea warns of another shelling on S. Korean border island
North Korea threatened on Thursday to launch bomb attack on South Korean soil as Seoul prepares to hold events marking the second anniversary of the North's deadly shelling of a South border island two years ago.A memorial service, a naval firing drill and other commemorative events are to take place to commemorate the deaths of two soldiers in the North's artillery bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea on Nov. 23, 2010. The attack, which was the first launched by the North against
Nov. 22, 2012
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Foreign Ministry plans forum of diplomats handling N.K. affairs
The Foreign Ministry plans to host a conference next year for its diplomats handling North Korean affairs at overseas missions, in an effort to facilitate the sharing of intelligence on the North, an official said Tuesday. The ministry has held an annual meeting of its diplomats in charge of issues concerning North Korean defectors, but plans to expand the agenda of the conference to bring together more diplomats handling intelligence on North Korea, the ministry official said. “The planned conf
Nov. 20, 2012
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Seoul urges end to foreigners’ Geumgang tours
South Korea asked North Korea on Monday to stop organizing sightseeing tours for foreigners visiting a scenic mountain resort in the communist country while shutting it out to South Koreans.Cross-border tours for South Koreans to Mount Geumgang on the North’s east coast remain suspended since a South Korean woman tourist was shot to death by a North Korean soldier there in July 2008. Seoul has required a tourist safety guarantee from the North as a condition for resuming the tour program, once a
Nov. 20, 2012
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N. Korea steps up idolizing of leader Kim Jong-un as grip on power grows stronger
North Korea has been stepping up its efforts to idolize leader Kim Jong-un, recent documents show, in an apparent indication that Kim's grip on the communist state has grown tighter.According to the Chosun Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan, on Sunday, the ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang has published a book extolling the extraordinary skills of the young leader.The paper reported that the book describes Kim as a worldly man who is well-versed in international politics and military
Nov. 18, 2012
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Donilon urges N. Korea to mull Myanmar-style reform
President Barack Obama's national security adviser said Thursday North Korea can take lessons from Myanmar's move towards reform and democracy."It's an important example for them (the North Koreans) to contemplate," Thomas Donilon said at a forum on Obama's Asia policy, hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.He emphasized that the leadership of Myanmar, which Washington calls Burma, has adopted a path of reform with a focus on its economy.Just as with Myanmar earlier, North
Nov. 16, 2012
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Ahn urges N.K. to give up nuclear weapons
Independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo called on North Korea Thursday to give up its nuclear weapons and return to six-party disarmament talks as he seeks to boost his image as an advocate for strong national security. “North Korea should give up its nuclear weapons,” Ahn said during a foreign policy briefing at his Seoul office. “(The North) should promptly return to the six-party talks to start processes for resolving nuclear issues.”Earlier this month, Ahn visited front-line barrack
Nov. 14, 2012
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Minister Yu urges N. Korea to embrace change, dialogue
Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik urged North Korea to break a “vicious cycle of sanctions and isolation” by changing course and engaging in dialogue with the South. With leadership shifts taking place across the region, neighbors will have a chance to “break with their passive concept of maintaining the status quo” and reassess their policy so as to help resolve the standoff with the nuclear-armed state and realize the peninsula’s unification, he said in a forum Tuesday.“North Korea must no longer
Nov. 14, 2012
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N. Korea has better harvest but faces food shortages
ROME (AP) ― North Korea increased its production of staple foods for the second year in a row, thanks in part to better use of fertilizers and plastic sheeting to protect crops, but its citizens are still suffering from a serious lack of key proteins and fats in their diets, a U.N. report said Monday.A U.N. team visited all nine agricultural provinces of the communist state in September and October during the main cereal harvest and estimated that even with the increase ― a 10 percent improvemen
Nov. 14, 2012
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Returning to N.K.: Defectors double back
North Korean defectors Kim Kwang-hyok and Ko Jong-nam dreamed of a life free from repression and hunger. Nearly four years later they found themselves at the bottom of the social ladder, suffering from financial difficulties, prejudice and social isolation.That was the “miserable life” in the South the couple described at a news conference in Pyongyang on Nov. 8 after they returned to the North with their 2-year-old son Se-han. According to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency, Kim, 2
Nov. 14, 2012
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N. Korea carries out tests for missiles: think tank
North Korea has conducted motor tests to improve its long-range missiles after a failed launch in April, a U.S. think tank said Monday after reviewing new satellite images.Since the embarrassing flop in April, the communist regime appears to have carried out at least two tests of large motors needed for rockets and worked on a launch platform, the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University said.The institute examined commercial images of the Sohae satellite launch station between April and
Nov. 13, 2012
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U.N.: N.Korea has better harvest but faces shortages
ROME (AP) -- North Korea increased its staple foods production for the second year in a row but its citizens are still suffering from a serious lack of key proteins and fats in their diets, a U.N. report said Monday.A U.N. team visited all nine agricultural provinces of the communist state in September and October during the main cereal harvest and estimated that even with the increase _ a 10 percent improvement over last year _ North Korea will need to import 507,000 metric tons of cereals to m
Nov. 12, 2012