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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Govt. asks hospitals to mitigate impact of medical professors' absence
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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War plan upgrade reflects N.K. WMD threats, U.S. military shifts
The new wartime contingency plan of South Korea and the U.S. is presumed to address the growing concerns over North Korea’s evolving weapons of mass destruction and likely to reflect changes in the U.S. force structure and strategy, analysts said Thursday.Seoul and Washington reportedly signed the so-called Operations Plan 5015 in June to replace OPLAN 5027, the core wartime plan that laid out detailed procedures for the allied militaries to handle a full-blown war initiated by North Korea’s agg
Aug. 27, 2015
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New war plan to pave way for preemptive strike on N.K.
South Korea and the U.S. have forged an upgraded operational plan that will pave the way for a preemptive strike such as in a contingency case involving the use of weapons of mass destruction, military sources said Thursday. The OPLAN 5015 was formulated last June to replace OPLAN 5027 by the chairmen of the two countries’ Joint Chiefs of Staff. The allies have, since 1974, been assessing their joint defense plan every year, primarily to devise better responses to North Korea’s military threats.
Aug. 27, 2015
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[Newsmaker] War plan upgrade reflects NK WMD threats
The new wartime contingency plan of South Korea and the U.S. is presumed to address the growing concerns over North Korea’s evolving weapons of mass destruction and likely to reflect changes in the U.S. force structure and strategy, analysts said Thursday.North Korea soldiers pledge allegiance in front of the statues of North Korea’s national founder Kim Il-sung and former leader Kim Jong-il on Tuesday. (Yonhap)Seoul and Washington reportedly signed the so-called Operations Plan 5015 in June to
Aug. 27, 2015
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S. Korea, U.S. sign upgraded war plan focused on dismantling N. Korean WMDs
South Korea and the United States have signed an upgraded operational plan that puts a fresh focus on removing North Korea's weapons of mass destruction, a military official said Thursday.In June, the allies signed OPLAN 2015, which will be put into action in case a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, according to the official."The militaries of both countries drew up OPLAN 2015, which replaces OPLAN 5027, with their Joint Chiefs of Staff chairmen signing it in June," the official noted. For
Aug. 27, 2015
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S. Korea to hike military budget to boost readiness
South Korea will sharply increase its military budget for 2016 to enhance the readiness of its armed forces against North Korean threats, the top economic policymaker said Thursday.In a meeting with lawmakers from the ruling Saenuri Party in Seoul, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said the latest standoff with North Korea highlights the need to strengthen the combat readiness of troops near the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas, as well as to cope with the threat posed by Pyongyan
Aug. 27, 2015
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Seoul to send military officials to Beijing parade
South Korea plans to dispatch senior military officials to China’s World War II anniversary parade next week despite lingering controversy over the two countries’ growing security cooperation, military sources said Wednesday. The three-member delegation will be led by Lt. Gen. Chung Kyung-doo, head of strategic planning at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the sources said. Defense Minister Han Min-koo also said he would send three executives including a three-star general at a parliamentary session la
Aug. 26, 2015
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Soldier injured in DMZ mine blast
An Army staff sergeant was wounded in an explosion last weekend of a land mine presumed to have been buried by the South Korean military in the Demilitarized Zone, officials said Wednesday. The incident took place at 11:46 a.m. on Sunday in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, during a scouting mission around an area where the Army intentionally planted mines to deter a possible intrusion by North Korean troops. The staff sergeant, who was wearing galoshes and other protective gear, suffered a slight f
Aug. 26, 2015
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Soldier wounded by S. Korean land mine in DMZ
One staff sergeant has sustained a leg injury after a South Korean land mine exploded in the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday.The mine exploded in the DMZ in the eastern border town of Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, around noon on Sunday as the staff sergeant stepped on it while on a patrol mission with fellow soldiers, the JCS said, without disclosing the identity of the wounded soldier.He fractured his left heel, which requires two or three month
Aug. 26, 2015
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S. Korean military relaxes top-level defense posture at border
The South Korean military Wednesday relaxed its highest-level combat readiness posture it had maintained at the border due to heightened tensions with North Korea, a military source said."The maximum alert order that had come down to the front-line military units is being downgraded," the source said.The front-line soldiers, however, will remain in a tighter readiness posture than normal in consideration of the on-going Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint military exercise with the U.S., the source not
Aug. 26, 2015
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S. Korea to keep military readiness: Defense Ministry
South Korea said Tuesday it will continue maintaining its military readiness until North Korea normalizes its front-line defense level as it takes time for the North to pull back its forward-deployed troops. Earlier Tuesday, after four days of intensive inter-Korean talks, North Korea agreed to lift its quasi-war state of its armed forces starting at noon in return for the South's stoppage of the anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts along the border."Since the North has agreed to withdraw the s
Aug. 25, 2015
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Draftees extend service amid N.Korea tension
More than 50 South Korean draftees due to finish their military service this week have decided to remain in their combat-ready positions until the ongoing cross-border standoff ends, military officials said Monday.New soldiers salute while attending an induction ceremony at an Army training center in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, Monday. (Yonhap)The Army’s intranet homepage has been swamped with messages of encouragement from Army members for the two soldiers who were injured in an Aug. 4
Aug. 24, 2015
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USFK helicopter crash-lands after tail rotor failure
A U.S. Army helicopter crash-landed here Monday, due to a failure in the tail rotor, but the accident involved no major casualties, authorities said.A helicopter for the 24th Division of the U.S. Army made an emergency landing on a hillside in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, at around 11:40 a.m. with the two pilots showing no outward sign of injury.When the rescue team arrived, the pilots, both of whom work for the U.S. Army, were waiting outside the aircraft for the rescue helicopter from U.S
Aug. 24, 2015
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S. Korea, U.S. mulling timing of B-52 strategic bomber deployment to Korea
South Korea and the United States appear to be in discussion over the timing of a U.S. B-52 strategic bomber and a nuclear-armed submarine's deployment to South Korea, the Defense Ministry said Monday."Keeping close tabs on the crisis situation on the Korean Peninsula, South Korea and the U.S. are flexibly reviewing the timing of the deployment of strategic U.S. military assets,"Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said in a regular briefing.He did not pinpoint the kind of U.S. assets under c
Aug. 24, 2015
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Suspension of S. Korea-U.S. exercise could raise doubts about U.S. commitment: expert
Last week's temporary suspension of the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise in the face of North Korean threats could raise questions about Washington's commitment to the defense of the Asian ally, a U.S. expert said.Dennis Halpin, a visiting scholar at the Johns Hopkins University's U.S.-Korea Institute, made the point in an article to the Weekly Standard magazine on Aug. 21, 2015, saying the suspension was akin to the 1992 cancellation of the then joint exercise Team Spirit."An even momen
Aug. 24, 2015
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U.S. reiterates firm commitment to South Korea's defense
The United States said Sunday it is firmly committed to South Korea's security as South and North Korea were struggling in high-level talks to defuse the worst military tensions in more than two years."We are carefully monitoring the situation. We will continue to coordinate closely with the ROK and remain steadfast in our commitment to the defense of our allies," Gabrielle Price, a State Department spokeswoman, said in comments sent to Yonhap News Agency.Top security officials of the two Koreas
Aug. 24, 2015
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[Graphic News] Watchcon stages
Watch Condition is an alert system operated by the joint forces of South Korea and the U.S. to measure reconnaissance posture for strategic and tactical warning of attack. The allies late Friday raised the Watchcon by one notch to level 2, which will allow them to strengthen stealth and reconnaissance countermeasures over North Korea with its RC-135 snooper aircraft, Aegis destroyers with radar surveillance systems and spy satellites. Watchcon 1 has not been issued since the end of the 1950-53 K
Aug. 23, 2015
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S. Korea, U.S, military chiefs vow strong response to N. Korea provocation
The military chiefs of South Korea and the United States resolved on Saturday to launch powerful counterattacks against additional provocations by North Korea, the military said as inter-Korean tension soars over the North's threats of further attacks.South Korean Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Adm. Choi Yoon-hee and his U.S. counterpart Gen. Martin Dempsey also agreed to seek various measures "to deter North Korea from launching additional threats," an official from the South Korea
Aug. 22, 2015
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S. Korea, U.S. fly 8 combat jets in show of force against N. Korea
Eight South Korean and U.S. fighter jets swept through the sky of South Korea on Saturday, simulating bombings of enemy targets in a show of force against North Korea's threats of additional military action, the South Korean military said.Four F-16 fighter jets from the United States Forces Korea and four South Korean F-15K combat jets joined the overhead combat drill earlier in the day, an official from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. A South Korean F-15K combat jet. (Yonhap)"It was
Aug. 22, 2015
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S. Korea-U.S. exercise resumes after temporary suspension
South Korea and the United States have resumed a joint military exercise after a brief break in the wake of an exchange of artillery fire between the two Koreas, a U.S. official said Friday.The annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, which began Monday, "was suspended temporarily, I believe day before yesterday, in order to allow the U.S. side to coordinate with the ROK side on the actual exchange of artillery fire across the DMZ," Assistant Secretary of Defense David Shear told reporters. "That
Aug. 22, 2015
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Allies step up defense coordination
South Korea and the U.S. stepped up their military coordination Friday to effectively fend off additional North Korean provocations, while attention was being drawn to whether they would apply their joint counter-provocation plan for the first time. Military vehicles move toward a training site in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province on Friday. (Yonhap)South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Adm. Choi Yun-hee and Combined Forces commander Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti have been sharing military intelligenc
Aug. 21, 2015