Most Popular
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Over 80,000 millionaires, 20 billionaires in Seoul: report
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Korean battery makers heave sigh of relief over 2-year IRA reprieve
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Young Korean doctors seek plan B: cosmetic dermatology or overseas
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Yoon apologizes over first lady’s Dior bag scandal, but accuses special probe attempt as political maneuvering
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South Korea open to Indonesian proposal to cut KF-21 payments
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Police seek arrest warrant for med student who killed girlfriend
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Coupang earnings hit hard by losses from ailing Farfetch
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[K-pop’s dilemma] Time, profit pressures work against originality
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Girl hanging on bridge, police trying to rescue her both fall off; rescued immediately
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[K-pop's dilemma] Is Hybe-Ador conflict a case of growing pains?
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Cheong Wa Dae says it never used Japan's intel in analyzing NK missiles under Moon
South Korea never used Japan's intelligence in analyzing North Korea's missile launches under the current Moon Jae-in administration, a senior official at the presidential office said Saturday, amid concerns over possible limits in countering the North's threats with the termination of an intel-sharing deal between Seoul and Tokyo. The official made the remark after North Korea fired two projectiles believed to be short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea earlier in the day, marking the s
Aug. 24, 2019
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S. Korea mulling further delay of Dokdo defense drills
South Korea is considering determining when to conduct maritime drills on and around its easternmost islets of Dokdo after watching whether Japan will take the South off a list of trusted trading partners as planned next week, an official said Saturday.The drills, involving the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard, have been held twice a year, usually in June and December, to better fend off possible foreign infiltrations to the rocky outcroppings and the surrounding waters.But this year's
Aug. 24, 2019
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NSC members express 'strong concern' about N. Korea's launch of projectiles
South Korea's top security officials voiced "strong concern" Saturday over North Korea's continued launch of projectiles despite the end of its combined military training with the United States.They urged the North to halt such acts of escalating military tensions on the Korean Peninsula during an emergency session of the National Security Council standing committee, Cheong Wa Dae said.Its members began the meeting at 8:30 a.m., presided over by Chung Eui-yong, chief of the presidentia
Aug. 24, 2019
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N. Korea fires unidentified projectiles into East Sea: JCS
North Korea fired two projectiles presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Saturday, South Korea's military said, ratcheting up tensions even after the end of a joint military exercise between the South and the United States.The projectiles were fired at 6:45 a.m. and 7:02 a.m. from the eastern town of Sondok in South Hamgyong Province into the East Sea, and both flew around 380 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 97 km and a top speed of around Mach 6.5, according to t
Aug. 24, 2019
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Scrapping GSOMIA raises questions about intel-sharing capability, alliance with US
The South Korean government is attempting to ease concerns that the country’s decision to abandon a military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan will weaken its alliance with the US and cooperation in fending off North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. Following Cheong Wa Dae’s announcement Thursday that the General Security of Military Information Agreement with Japan would be scrapped, the presidential office and related ministries here on Friday stressed that the allianc
Aug. 23, 2019
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[Breaking] S. Korea to scrap military info-sharing pact with Japan
South Korea announced its decision Thursday to ditch a bilateral agreement with Japan on exchanging classified military information, citing a "grave change" in security cooperation conditions attributable to Japan's export restrictions. Seoul plans to inform Tokyo of the measure before the Aug. 24 deadline via a diplomatic channel, according to Kim You-geun, deputy director of South Korea's presidential national security office. The government concluded that it
Aug. 22, 2019
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Allies could begin negotiations on defense cost sharing as early as mid-Sept.: official
South Korea and the United States could launch negotiations on sharing the cost for the upkeep of American troops here as early as the middle of next month, an official at Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday.The allies have been bracing for the negotiations on how much Seoul will pay next year for the stationing of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea (USFK), as this year's Special Measures Agreement (SMA), a defense cost-sharing deal, is set to expire at the end of this year. "I predict th
Aug. 22, 2019
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Defense minister dismisses N. Korea’s taunts, highlights strong defense posture
Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said it was not worth listening to North Korea’s criticism of South Korea’s joint military exercises with the United States, and vowed that defense posture would remain strong. At a parliamentary defense committee meeting, Jeong also spoke of the usefulness of the controversial military intel-sharing agreement with Japan. “(The North) is using vulgar words (to criticize us), but I do not feel it is worth responding to its words one by one,&rdqu
Aug. 21, 2019
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S. Korea, US wrap up summertime combined exercise
South Korea and the United States wrapped up their weekslong combined military exercises on Tuesday, raising hopes for a halt in a series of missile launches by North Korea and a possible resumption of nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang.The North has strongly bristled at the Combined Command Post Training and Crisis Management Staff Training, ratcheting up tensions with six rounds of missile or projectile launches and bellicose rhetoric over about three weeks."We've wrapped up t
Aug. 20, 2019
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[Feature] Seoul takes time mulling renewal of military intel-sharing pact with Japan
Nearly six decades have passed since South Korea and Japan signed a treaty to normalize diplomatic ties in 1965, but their relationship has been fraught since then with continued bitterness over the history of Korea’s colonization. Now, as the relationship of the “frenemies” hits a new low with a budding trade war, Seoul has hinted at scrapping a military intel-sharing pact with Tokyo. But while South Koreans are unified in denouncing Japan’s increased controls on ex
Aug. 20, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Panel confirms widespread use of humidifier disinfectants in military
Humidifier disinfectants, suspected to have been a cause for at least dozens of deaths, were widely used in military barracks and hospitals in the early 2000s, a state-funded agency revealed Monday, raising speculation that a large number of service members could have been exposed to the chemicals.The Special Commission on Social Disaster Investigation said it has confirmed 12 institutions affiliated with the Army, Navy, Air Force and units under the defense ministry had purchased more than 800
Aug. 19, 2019
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Details for Dokdo defense drills yet to be fixed: ministry
South Korea is still reviewing the timing and the scale of semiannual maritime defense drills to be held on and around its easternmost islets of Dokdo, the defense ministry said Monday.This year's drills have been pushed back amid an escalating trade row with Japan stemming from differences over wartime forced labor. South Korea usually stages the drills in June and Dec. to better defend the rocky outcroppings and the surrounding waters.Japan, which has made territorial claims to Dokdo, has prot
Aug. 19, 2019
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Little progress in coming up with alternative service for conscientious objectors
Over a year has passed since the Constitutional Court addressed the need to come up with an alternative form of service for conscientious objectors, but little progress has been made at the National Assembly.According to the Military Manpower Administration on Sunday, as of late July 498 people had submitted applications to defer enlistment, citing religious beliefs. Previously, the authorities had uniformly charged conscientious objectors under the Military Service Act. But since the Constituti
Aug. 18, 2019
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US official to visit Seoul for defense cost-sharing deal before official negotiations begin
Timothy Betts, acting deputy assistant secretary and senior adviser for security negotiations and agreements, will visit Seoul this week to discuss the defense cost-sharing pact, sources said Sunday.Betts, who led the US negotiation team for the 10th defense cost-sharing agreement, will meet with Chang Won-sam, his South Korean counterpart, on Tuesday. Details on the venue and time of the closed-door meeting have not been revealed, but it may be held at a location other than the Foreign Ministry
Aug. 18, 2019
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Seoul yet to decide on sending Cheonghae Unit to Strait of Hormuz
The Ministry of National Defense Ministry said Thursday that it has not yet decided on sending the anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit to the Strait of Hormuz in response to Washington’s request to forge a coalition against Iran’s military activities amid heightened tensions with Tehran.“Sending (Cheonghae Unit) to the Strait of Hormuz has not been decided. … We are considering various ways to protect our vessels in the area, and are closely observing the situation,” the mi
Aug. 15, 2019
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S. Korea to acquire more anti-missile radars, interceptors to counter NK threats
South Korea plans to add two more ground-based anti-missile early warning radars and build three Aegis-equipped destroyers in the next five years in an effort to better detect and intercept incoming missiles from North Korea, the defense ministry said Wednesday.The plan was one of the key projects that the ministry unveiled in its five-year defense blueprint for 2020-2024 amid heightened concerns about North Korea's missile capabilities in the wake of a series of test-firings of what Pyongyang c
Aug. 14, 2019
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Cheonghae Unit sets sail for mission amid speculation of serving in Hormuz Strait
Korea’s anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit on Tuesday embarked on its mission in the Gulf of Aden amid speculation that its final destination may be the Strait of Hormuz.As Washington has been calling for its allies to take part in the “international maritime security mission” in the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tension with Iran, Seoul has been weighing its options. The naval Cheonghae Unit, one of Korea’s military troops deployed overseas, was seen as the most likely t
Aug. 13, 2019
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S. Korea mulling further delay of Dokdo defense drills
South Korea is considering conducting maritime defense drills on and around its easternmost islets of Dokdo later this month, military sources said Monday, far behind its usual schedule amid ongoing diplomatic and trade disputes with Japan.The military "plans to stage the drills at an appropriate time," defense ministry spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo told a regular briefing Monday, adding the authorities are reviewing "the exact schedule and scale."The drills, involving the Navy,
Aug. 12, 2019
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Trump ridicules S. Korea on defense cost-sharing
US President Donald Trump ridiculed South Korea at his reelection campaign fundraiser Friday, saying it was very easy to force Seoul to hike its share of costs for stationing American troops here.According to the New York Post, Trump referred to how as a boy he used to accompany his father to collect rent, saying: “It was easier to get a billion dollars from South Korea than to get $114.13 from a rent-controlled apartment in Brooklyn, and believe me, those 13 cents were very important.&rdq
Aug. 12, 2019
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Allies to conduct summertime military exercise in earnest next week
South Korea and the United States are scheduled to kick off their combined military exercise in earnest next week, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Saturday, despite North Korea's strong complaints against it. The computer-based "Combined Command Post Training" will be conducted for 10 days starting Sunday, which aims to better prepare the allies for the transfer of the wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul and to enhance their strong military readiness, the
Aug. 10, 2019