Most Popular
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[Weekender] Geeks have never been so chic in Korea
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[News Focus] Mystery deepens after hundreds of cat deaths in S. Korea
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[KH Explains] Why Korea's so tough on short selling
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NewJeans members submit petitions over court injunction in Hybe-Ador conflict
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N. Korea says it test-fired tactical ballistic missile with new guidance technology
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‘Kim desperately wanted to denuclearize,’ Moon writes in memoirs
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Actors involved in past controversies return first via streaming service originals
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S. Korea's exports of instant noodles surpass $100m for 1st time in April: data
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Korea set to finalize medical school expansion plans
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US military commander in S. Korea during Gwangju uprising dies
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U.S. concerned about North Korea’s starving people: State Department
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The U.S. government expressed worries Monday once again over North Koreans stricken with hunger, amid reports of no improvement in their life under new leadership.Kim Jong-un, in his late 20s, took over power 10 months ago, raising some hopes of meaningful changes in the policy of the communist country, which has long placed a focus on beefing up its military arsenal.But there is no sign that Pyongyang is averting its course, with many of its 24 million people starving
Oct. 17, 2012
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In Sept. meeting, N.K. passed ball to U.S.
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― In a rare meeting in China late last month, North Korea made clear to the United States that it would continue its nuclear programs as long as the U.S. maintains what it termed a hostile policy, a news report said Tuesday.Clifford Hart, the Obama administration’s special envoy to the now-suspended six-party talks, met informally with two senior North Korean officials in Dalian, China, on the sidelines of the Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue.The two-day forum from Se
Oct. 17, 2012
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‘Lee’s North Korea policy has been principled yet inflexible’
Experts call for constant efforts to bring about dialogue and exchangesPresident Lee Myung-bak’s policy toward North Korea has got mixed scorecards as conservatives hail his principled, consistent approach and liberals blame his inflexibility for deepened bilateral animosity.Experts say whoever succeeds him next February will face the tough challenge of trying to resume dialogue and restore ties while maintaining policy consistency to fend off the North’s nuclear ambition that threatens regional
Oct. 17, 2012
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About 4,000 N. Koreans work at construction sites in Kuwait: diplomat
Some 4,000 North Koreans are estimated to be working at major construction sites in a suburb of the Kuwaiti capital and living in military-style camps run by the North's government, a Seoul diplomat said Monday. Impoverished North Korea has recruited its people to work abroad and reportedly kept most of their earnings, one of the few sources of hard currency for the isolated regime. Along with Chi
Oct. 15, 2012
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N. Korea's hunger situation worse than 1990: report
Hunger situation in North Korea this year worsened from the 1990s despite considerable amount of international aid to the communist nation, a Washington-based food institute showed Saturday.The 2012 Global Hunger Index (GHI) published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) said hunger remains a serious problem worldwide, with alarming levels in some countries.North Korea's hun
Oct. 13, 2012
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N.K. soldier deserted for fear of retaliation from boss: lawmaker
The North Korean soldier who crossed the heavily armed border to defect to South Korea last week has stated that he ran away for fear of retaliation after assaulting his superior, a South Korean lawmaker said Friday.Jo Seong-jik, commander of the front-line unit where the defector first showed up after crossing the border on Oct. 2, quoted the soldier as saying that, Rep. Kim Jin-pyo of the main o
Oct. 12, 2012
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Top N.K. military official may have been demoted
A top North Korean military official appeared in public wearing the insignia of the four-star rank, spurring speculation that he might have been demoted from the vice marshal rank awarded to him only a few months ago.The North’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Wednesday carried a front-page photo showing Hyon Yong-chol, chief of the North Korean military’s general staff, wearing a uniform bearing four stars on the epaulets while saluting next to leader Kim Jong-un.They were on a visit to Pyongya
Oct. 11, 2012
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Nuclear envoys to hold talks in Tokyo next week
Nuclear envoys from South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold trilateral talks in Tokyo next week to discuss North Korean nuclear issues, a Seoul official said Thursday. Lim Sung-nam, Seoul’s chief envoy to the six-party talks on ending the North’s nuclear weapons program, will hold talks with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Glyn Davies and Shinsuke Sugiyama, next Wednesday, the foreign ministry official said. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the nuclear e
Oct. 11, 2012
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N. Korean tour suspension incurs losses of W2 trillion
The stalled tour to the North Korean resort of Mount Kumgang has incurred losses of more than 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) to South Korean companies and government for the past four years, a lawmaker said Thursday.According to Rep. Jun Byung-hun of the opposition Democratic United Party, Hyundai Asan Corp., the former operator of the tour, other related firms and a local government have suffered a combined2.3 trillion won in losses since the tour program was suspended in July 2008 and North Kor
Oct. 11, 2012
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Romney won't allow N. Korea to exploit six-way talks: aide
Mitt Romney, the U.S. Republican presidential candidate, supports the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program but he wants Pyongyang to stop misusing the often-troubled negotiations, a senior foreign policy adviser to the former Massachusetts governor said Wednesday."Well, his (Romney's) concern is not to let the North Korean nuclear program proceed," Dov S. Zakheim, special adviser on fo
Oct. 11, 2012
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Competition, prejudice drive North Korean defectors overseas
Refugees resettle in Europe, North America either legally or with forged identitiesComing to South Korea in 1995, Steve Kim dreamed of a future free from the suppression and poverty he had long suffered in his communist homeland.Seven years later, life was not as he had hoped. Facing unexpected challenges, the defector decided to leave again for a third country where he could fulfill his aspiration and find genuine peace of mind.“I risked (my life) to come all the way to the South as I hated the
Oct. 10, 2012
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Gaeseong shows gulf between Pyongyang and provinces
GAESEONG, North Korea (AP) ― From here, Pyongyang can seem like a dream.At what passes for rush hour on a Wednesday morning, there are few sounds in Gaeseong’s main traffic circle but the gentle squeak of bicycles and a tinny loudspeaker blaring anthems to Kim Jong-un, the baby-faced ruler who took power after his father’s December death (“The footsteps of our respected General Kim! ... Spreading the sound of a brilliant future!”).Occasionally, a solitary car goes by.There are no nightspots here
Oct. 10, 2012
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U.S. urges N.Korea to stop bragging about its missiles
The U.S. government issued a terse response Tuesday to North Korea’s warning that its missile can reach the U.S. mainland, saying Pyongyang should first take care of its people in need.“Well, certainly, rather than bragging about its missile capability, they ought to be feeding their own people, would be our first comment,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at a press briefing.The communist nation “needs to understand that it will achieve nothing by threats or provocations,” she
Oct. 10, 2012
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N.K. warns U.S. is within striking range
North Korea warned on Tuesday that the U.S. mainland, as well as South Korea, Japan and Guam, are within its striking range in its first response to the recent Seoul-Washington agreement on the South’s ballistic missile range extension.In a statement, a spokesperson for the North’s National Defense Commission called the deal an attempt “to light the fuse of a war by a northbound invasion.”“Our revolutionary, strong military including the strategic rocket force accurately puts within striking ran
Oct. 9, 2012
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N. Korea says missiles can strike U.S. mainland
North Korea said Tuesday it possessed "strategic rocket forces" capable of striking the U.S. mainland, as it responded to a new U.S.-South Korean deal to extend the range of the South's missile systems.In a series of bulletins released on the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the spokesman of the National Defense Commission also said Pyongyang was ready to match any enemy, "nuclear for n
Oct. 9, 2012
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Seoul should stick to 'principle' in NK policies: minister
South Korea should not be swayed by demands from North Korea in its policies dealing with the communist neighbor, the unification minister said Monday, underlining the principle of denuclearization and prevention of any provocations by Pyongyang."I think that (the government) should not pursue policies that unilaterally accept demands by the North," Yu Woo-ik told a parliamentary inspection. "We h
Oct. 8, 2012
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N. Korea's trade with China surges due to U.N. sanctions
North Korea saw its trading volume with China surge at a far higher rate than those with other trading partners last year, a parliamentary report showed Monday, indicating the communist country's rising dependency on China.Trading volume between the North and China reached US$3.54 billion in the first seven months of this year, growing 14.5 percent from the corresponding figure for the same period
Oct. 8, 2012
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N. Korea's trade with China nearly tripled over past 5 years
(Yonhap) -- North Korea's trade with China nearly tripled over the past five years, South Korean government data showed Sunday, underscoring the isolated North's growing economic reliance on its major ally.Trade between North Korea and China stood at US$5.63 billion last year, up 284 percent from $1.98 billion in 2007, Seoul's unification ministry said in a report to the National Assembly.North K
Oct. 7, 2012
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Kim Jong-un urges security agency’s loyalty: KCNA
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called on the country’s security agency to display unshakable loyalty to the country’s sovereignty protection efforts, the state news media said Sunday. “The Ministry of State Security has a very important duty to perform to protect the sovereignty of the country and the nation,” Kim said during his visit to the security agency to pay tribute to a newly-erected statue of his father, late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA
Oct. 7, 2012
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N. Korean soldier defects after killing two superiors
A North Korean soldier on Saturday crossed the military demarcation line to defect to South Korea after shooting dead two of his superiors, officials at Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.The soldier crossed the border at around 12:06 p.m. and expressed his intention to defect to a nearby guard post just south of the heavily fortified border. He is the first to defect across the MDL since March 2010.“Our border guard found him running toward our guard post near the border. With a loudspeaker, we
Oct. 7, 2012