Most Popular
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
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[Kim Seong-kon] Democracy and the future of South Korea
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Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
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Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?
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Seoul says Fu Bao loan 'not going to happen'
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S. Korea divides nuclear plant controls from Internet
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., the sole operator of South Korea's nuclear power plants, said Sunday that it has separated its internal computer network from the Internet in an effort to guard against possible cyber attacks. The state-run company said it has also completely divided its nuclear plant control systems from its internal computer networks and restricted both systems' access to the Internet.USB ports of the nuclear power plant control systems have also been sealed, it added. The
April 14, 2013
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Border mountain fire eases
A wind-fed mountain fire that broke out in North Korea and spread into the South Korean sector of the inter-Korean border Saturday was largely broughtunder control, military authorities said. The blaze, first spotted in the northern side of the 4-kilometer-wide Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at around 4:40 a.m., quickly spread past the eastern sector of the 248-kilometer border and reached within 100 meters of the nearest South Korean guard posts inside the buffer zone, they said. Two forest servic
April 14, 2013
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Allied forces on high alert amid N.K. missile threats
South Korea and the U.S. stepped up their intelligence and surveillance activities on Wednesday amid growing signs of North Korea’s imminent multiple missile launches.The allied forces raised the Watch Condition, or Watchcon, by one notch to level 2, and bolstered their intelligence personnel. Intelligences indicated Pyongyang has finalized preparations to launch its Musudan intermediate-range missiles from its east coast. Seoul officials said. “North Korea can fire missiles at any time now, if
April 10, 2013
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Korea to develop mid-altitude drones
South Korea will resume a once-aborted program to develop mid-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (MUAV) to bolster its monitoring capabilities of North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs, a military source said Tuesday.The state-funded Agency for Defense Development launched the indigenous drone development project in 2006 and made a prototype in May 2010. But the project was put on ice in early 2011 as it overlapped with Seoul’s plan to buy high-altitude UAVs. As calls grew for reviving the 16
April 9, 2013
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Pentagon delays missile test out of N.K. concern
The U.S. Defense Department has postponed its plan to conduct an intercontinental ballistic missile test at its Air Force base in California amid escalating tensions with North Korea.The Pentagon planned to conduct the Minuteman III test in the coming week, but put it off until sometime next month out of concerns the launch could further worsen the tension on the peninsula, the AP reported, citing one senior U.S. defense official.Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made the decision Friday, the report
April 7, 2013
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S. Korea's defense spending rises amid N. Korea's nuclear threat
SEOUL -- South Korea's defense spending rose for the third consecutive year last year, data showed Sunday, amid escalating tensions with North Korea over its persistent nuclear and missile threats. South Korea spent 2.6 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense last year, the highest level in three years, according to figures by the Ministry of National Defense. South Korea's defense expenditure totaled 32.9576 trillion won (US$29 billion), accounting for 2.59 percent of the
April 7, 2013
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U.S. delays missile test as tensions rise: source
The U.S. Defense Department has delayed an intercontinental ballistic missile test that had been planned for next week at an Air Force base in California amid mounting tensions with North Korea, a senior defense official told The Associated Press. The official said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel decided to put off the long-planned Minuteman 3 test until sometime next month because of concerns the launch could be misinterpreted and exacerbate the Korean crisis. Hagel made the decision Friday, th
April 7, 2013
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Pentagon approves fighter jet sale to Seoul
The U.S. Defense Department has notified Congress of the possible sale of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth warplane or Boeing’s F-15 Silent Eagle to South Korea, which is to pick the winner of its fighter acquisition contest later this year.On Wednesday, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which handles Washington’s foreign military sales, announced the compulsory congressional notification, which took place last Friday.“The proposed sale will provide it (South Korea) with a credible defense
April 4, 2013
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Allied cohesion at core of N.K. deterrence
YANGJU, Gyeonggi Province ― North Korea’s increasing threats have sent South Korean and U.S. military planners racing to beef up weapons systems and upgrade strategies. To frontline commanders, mutual trust and chemistry between the allied troops are as crucial as all the plans and equipment in maintaining a robust deterrence.The alliance between the two militaries has deepened over the last six decades, evolving beyond the role of peninsular defense toward the shared goals of promoting world pe
April 2, 2013
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Pressure builds on China as U.S. ups might in Korea
Pressure appears to be piling on China to tame its unruly ally North Korea as Pyongyang’s provocations have led to an increased U.S. military presence around the Korean Peninsula.Washington has sent to waters close to the peninsula the Sea-based X-Band Radar atop a floating platform, according to CNN. The radar is America’s most advanced tracking system with a range of around 4,800 kilometers that can cover China’s territory.The Aegis-equipped guided-missile destroyer USS McCain was also reporte
April 2, 2013
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Defense Ministry to establish cyber policy department
South Korea’s Defense Ministry will establish a new department to oversee cyber deterrence policies and prepare information security measures to better deal with the emerging form of threats, a senior military official said Tuesday. The South Korean military launched the Cyber Command in early 2010 to handle cyber security issues along with different military and intelligence organizations, but there is no control tower to integrate the policies and strategies that defend military networks.The m
April 2, 2013
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U.S. destroyer sent to S. Korea coast: official
The United States has positioned a destroyer off the coast of South Korea to defend against a possible missile strike, a U.S. official said, as the South vowed a strong response to any provocation from the North.The USS Fitzgerald was moved to the southwestern coast after taking part in military exercises, instead of returning to its home port in Japan, a U.S. defense official told AFP Monday on condition of anonymity.The deployment came as North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament formalized the co
April 2, 2013
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Park to hold security ministers' meeting amid N.K. threats
South Korean President Park Geun-hye was to hold a meeting of Cabinet ministers related to foreign affairs and security on Tuesday amid North Korea's near-daily threats of war on the Korean Peninsula, an official said.It will be Park's first such meeting since she took office in February.The meeting will discuss the "situations at home and abroad," the official said without elaborating. Participants will include the chief of the national security office, the defense minister, the unification min
April 2, 2013
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F-22 Raptors join U.S. might in Korea
Two F-22 stealth fighter jets have joined the ongoing South Korea-U.S. annual military drills here, the U.S. Forces Korea said Monday, in the latest show of force against North Korea.The radar-evading aircraft, touted for its air-superiority capabilities, arrived at the Osan U.S. Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, on Sunday after departing from the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan ― the regional hub of America’s airpower. The mobilization of the F-22 came after Washington sent a series
April 1, 2013
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Seoul to develop plan for cyber attack scenarios
The Defense Ministry plans to develop its military plan to respond to a variety of North Korean cyber attack scenarios and bolster its personnel to cope with the newly emerging threat, the ministry said in its policy briefing to President Park Geun-hye on Monday.Seoul has been increasingly focusing on its cyber and electronic warfare capabilities as Pyongyang has launched a series of attacks employing thousands of its special troops including those based in China. In recent years, its cyber atta
April 1, 2013
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Veterans ministry prepares to mark 60th anniv. of armistice
South Korea will hold a variety of events at home and abroad to mark the 60th anniversary of signing the Korean War Armistice Agreement as a way to honor those who made sacrifices during the three-year conflict, government officials said Monday. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs reported its 2013 policy plan to President Park Geun-hye at the defense ministry, which centers on expanding benefits for war veterans, creating jobs for ex-servicemen and holding various events to raise publ
April 1, 2013
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S. Korea completes development of indigenous utility helicopter
South Korea has completed development of an indigenous light utility helicopter after six years as the country moves to replace its aging fleet of choppers, the state arms procurement agency said Friday.The Defense Acquisition and Procurement Agency launched a project to build a two-engine transport utility helicopter in 2006 to replace UH-1H attack helicopters and 500MD light helicopters, which have been in service for decades.Korea Aerospace Industries, the prime contractor, has worked with ot
March 29, 2013
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B-2 stealth bombers conduct firing drills on peninsula
Two U.S. B-2 stealth bombers carried out firing drills over the peninsula openly for the first time on Thursday in an apparent warning to North Korea after it threatened to strike U.S. targets and its allies.The centerpiece of the U.S. Air Force’s long-range strike arsenal from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri came here as part of the ongoing allied Foal Eagle field training exercise, the Combined Forces Command here said in a press release.The U.S. Strategic Command sent the bombers to demon
March 28, 2013
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U.S. B-2 stealth bomber conducts first firing drill in Korea
SEOUL -- The United States air force's nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers carried out its first-ever firing drill over the Korean Peninsula on Thursday, the Combined Forces Command said, sending another strong warning to North Korea, which has threatened a preemptive nuclear attack on the U.S. and South Korea. The U.S. Strategic Command sent two B-2 Spirit Bombers for "a long-duration, round-trip training mission" from Whiteman Air Force Base in the U.S. state of Missouri to South Korea in
March 28, 2013
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Seoul faces tough choice in fighter procurement
FORT WORTH, Texas ― A decade ago, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 was the world’s most sought-after warplane in the making for its all-aspect stealth and next-generation capabilities.But that confidence has been eroded by the discovery of defects, surging costs and delays in its development.Skepticism has grown in the U.S. over the $60 billion acquisition program, with some deriding it as a money-guzzling project kept alive partly due to the more than 130,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs that depend on it.Thi
March 27, 2013