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Yoon, Lee end first talks with differences, agree to meet more
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What is Hybe’s next move?
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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Police to open alleged stalking probe over pastor over Dior bag scandal
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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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[News Focus] Lee tells Yoon that he has governed without political dialogue
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Hopes rise for possible Gaza truce deal
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Shinsegae faces showdown with investors over SSG.com's delayed IPO
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Ex-pro baseball player who killed debtor appeals sentence
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Seventeen shows who is the ‘Maestro’ of K-pop in greatest hits album
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Korea to open final bidding for fighter jets next week
South Korea’s arms procurement agency will begin the final round of bidding for a 8.3 trillion won ($7.2 billion) deal to buy 60 fighter jets next week, following a six-week hiatus due to overpriced proposals, a senior official said Monday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration in early July suspended the bidding for the nation’s largest arms import deal because the bids made by three aerospace giants were higher than the budget approved by the Parliament. Boeing‘s F-15 Silent Eagle, Lo
Aug. 5, 2013
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USFK chief nominee says OPCON transfer needed in 2015
The nominee to become the top commander of American troops in South Korea said Tuesday he supports the transition of wartime operational control (OPCON) as scheduled in 2015, despite Seoul's call for some flexibility on the timeline.The stance by Army Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti reflects a gap between the allies on the appropriate timing for the OPCON transfer in the face of growing threats from nuclear-armed North Korea."I do agree with the timetable. It is a bilateral agreement, Strategic Alli
July 31, 2013
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Allies discuss when to transfer wartime control
Senior defense officials of South Korea and the U.S. discussed the timing of Seoul’s retaking of wartime operational control and North Korea’s increasing security threats during their biannual security dialogue in Seoul Tuesday.The two-day Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue kicked off after Seoul requested in May that Washington review the OPCON transfer, slated for December 2015, amid Pyongyang’s persistent pursuit of nuclear arms and longer-range missiles.South Korea’s Deputy Defense Minis
July 30, 2013
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Korea, U.S. to discuss wartime control transfer plan
Senior South Korean and U.S. military officials will meet this week for a high-level defense meeting in Seoul, the defense ministry said Monday, which is widely expected to address another delay in Washington’s planned transition of wartime operational control to Seoul.The Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Seoul as the two countries are preparing to transfer OPCON to South Korea in December 2015 and draft a new joint military structure. The biannual
July 29, 2013
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Late U.S. general chosen as alliance award winner
The Defense Ministry has chosen former 8th U.S. Army Commander Gen. Walton Walker as the first winner of the Paik Sun-yup Republic of Korea-U.S. Alliance Award, officials said Sunday.The late wartime leader was picked for his dedication to the defense of South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War, the ministry said. His son, Sam Walker, also participated in the war as a company leader.Gen. Walker died in an accident while inspecting front lines in Seoul in December 1950.The award ceremony will ta
July 28, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Two Koreas, U.S. mark Korean War armistice
The two Koreas will hold separate ceremonies to mark the 60th anniversary of the armistice on Saturday with two very different aims. Seoul will use it to honor war veterans from home and abroad, while Pyongyang will seek to strengthen internal unity.The U.S. will also hold a ceremony in Washington, D.C., where President Barack Obama is expected to participate for the first time as an incumbent leader. During its ceremony, Pyongyang is to hold a massive military parade, which its young leader Kim
July 25, 2013
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Korea to resume bidding for fighter jet in August
South Korea’s arms procurement agency said Thursday it will resume accepting bids from three aircraft makers in August to supply 60 fighter jets at a cost of 8.3 trillion won ($7.2 billion), a decision aimed at avoiding further delay of the project.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced the decision in a meeting presided over by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, three weeks after it temporarily stopped the bidding due to the competitors’ expensive price tags. Boeing’s F-15 Silent
July 25, 2013
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Defense Ministry seeks anti-N.K. missile shield
The Defense Ministry submitted a 214.5 trillion won ($192.6 billion) budget request for the 2014-2018 fiscal year to the parliament for deliberation on Thursday, which focuses on beefing up South Korea’s missile program against North Korea’s nuclear and missile weapons.The budget proposal calls for 70.2 trillion won of the total, or 13.7 percent, to be used to purchase a missile shield program, including ballistic and cruise missiles as well as multipurpose commercial satellites and high-altitud
July 25, 2013
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Park calls for end to corruption at elite schools
President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday that English-dominant private middle schools should be stripped of their status as specialized institutions if they are found to be involved in admission fraud and other corruption.The remark came after Seoul’s Younghoon International Middle School was found to have accepted unqualified students in exchange for bribes. After a two-month probe, prosecutors indicted nine officials last week, including the chairman of the school’s board.Unlike ordinary middle sc
July 23, 2013
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Korea to strengthen fight against bullying
The government said Tuesday it will create programs to prevent school violence and bullying, and put them on the regular curriculum by 2017.The country has been grappling with unrelenting violence at schools, which led to a series of suicides by bullied students in 2011. In the wake of the tragic incidents, the Prime Minister’s Office set up a pan-governmental commission to deal with the issue. Under the second version of its comprehensive countermeasures announced on Tuesday with a greater emph
July 23, 2013
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Chun claims seized insurance as inheritance
A confiscated insurance product belonging to the wife of former President Chun Doo-hwan has been purchased with assets inherited from her ancestors, a lawyer representing the couple said Tuesday.As part of efforts to collect a massive fine that the former military dictator owes the state, prosecutors have seized a personal pension insurance policy worth 3 billion won ($2.68 million) that was opened under the name of former first lady Lee Soon-ja.“I came here to pick up a document that can prove
July 23, 2013
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‘Diplomacy, reconciliation only way to handle N.K.’
This is the sixth in a series of articles to mark the 60th anniversary of the armistice agreement that halted the 1950-53 Korean War. ― Ed.Bruce Cumings, a leading U.S. scholar on Korea’s modern history, said diplomacy and reconciliation was the “only answer” to how to handle North Korea’s nuclear adventurism.During an interview with The Korea Herald, the historian at the University of Chicago also criticized former President George W. Bush’s hard-line policy as the “major cause” of the current
July 23, 2013
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[Graphic News] Korea’s contribution to cost of USFK upkeep
South Korea and the United States will hold a second round of talks in Seoul on Wednesday and Thursday to renew a cost-sharing agreement for American troops stationed here.
July 21, 2013
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U.S. plans to sell advanced mid-range missiles to Korea
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The United States government is working to sell hundreds of advanced, medium-range, air-to-air missiles to South Korea, according to a Pentagon agency.The Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced Friday it has notified Congress of the possible sale to South Korea of 260 AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, as well as related parts, training and logistical support.The estimated cost is $452 million, it added.“The proposed sale will provide the ROK
July 21, 2013
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‘Korea proposed review of OPCON transfer in May’
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Friday they proposed reviewing the transfer of wartime operational control during their talks with the U.S. counterparts since May.“We shared our thoughts with the U.S. Forces Korea commander in early May and conveyed the same message to U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel,” said Defense Ministry deputy spokesman Colonel Wee Yong-sub.Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin further explained to Hagel in their meeting at the Shangri-La Dialogue in June, but used the wor
July 19, 2013
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Another delay in wartime control transfer may serve allies’ interests
Another delay in South Korea’s retaking of wartime operational control from the U.S. may serve mutual strategic interests to maintain stability amid North Korea’s increasing nuclear threats, observers said Thursday.Seoul has recently asked Washington to reassess the timing of the OPCON transfer, slated for December 2015, as security conditions on the peninsula have deteriorated in recent years with Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile development.Concerns have grown that Seoul might not be able to ac
July 19, 2013
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Dempsey says 'some setbacks' in OPCON transfer plan
The Pentagon's top military officer said Thursday there are "some setbacks" in efforts to get South Korea ready for the takeover of wartime operational control(OPCON) of its troops by the agreed-upon date of Dec. 1, 2015.But Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), said he still supports the OPCON transition as scheduled."From a military perspective, the timing of the transfer of wartime OPCON is appropriate," he said in a written answer submitted to the Senate
July 19, 2013
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Navy unveils advanced frigate
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. on Thursday unveiled the South Korean Navy’s second 2,300-ton frigate with improved warfare capabilities against North Korea. A launching ceremony took place at Hyundai Heavy’s shipyard in the southeastern city of Ulsan, attended by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy chief and other senior officials.The locally made frigate is capable of carrying maritime operations helicopters and equipped with advanced radar system, guns, sonar system as well as anti-a
July 18, 2013
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Probe launched to find whether Chun hid funds in insurance plans
Tax officials and prosecutors have launched an investigation into suspicions that assets of former President Chun Doo-hwan might be concealed in diverse insurance products under the names of his family members, relatives and close aides, industry sources said Thursday.The probe is part of intensifying efforts by the government to find concealed assets of the former president who was ordered by a court in 1997 to return to the state coffers the 220 billion won ($196.8 million) he was found to hav
July 18, 2013
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Defense Ministry disbands entertainment squad
The Defense Ministry said Thursday it would abolish its controversial promotion squad of celebrity conscripts following a series of cases of indiscipline that have undermined troop morale and public trust.The squad has been under criticism since a TV program showed several stars-turned-soldiers drinking, leaving their designated accommodation without notice, and visiting an adult massage parlor after performing in a provincial concert last month.The incident reignited controversy over slack disc
July 18, 2013