Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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S. Korea votes in favor of Palestinian bid for UN membership
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Military to mobilize reservists in case of N.K. provocations
The Cabinet has passed a new ordinance on war preparation to allow the military to mobilize some reservists and civilian vehicles in case of localized provocations, officials said Thursday.This move comes as South Korea is striving to reform its armed forces and bolster defense capabilities in the wake of North Korean provocations including the sinking of the corvette Cheonan and the artillery att
July 14, 2011
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Marine chief hints at stepping down over shooting
Marine Corps Commander Yoo Nak-joon has said that he would take responsibility for his fault concerning the recent shooting rampage that killed four marines, officials said Thursday.His remarks were interpreted as his intention to step down. A marine public affairs officer said he did offer to resign. Another later said that the official made a “mistake,” confusing the media. (Yonhap News)In the w
July 14, 2011
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New USFK chief vows to bolster alliance
Gen. Thurman takes charge of U.S. forces in S. Korea, vows to deter N.K. provocationsA new U.S. Forces Korea commander took office on Thursday, vowing to further strengthen the long-standing bilateral alliance and deter any provocations on the Korean Peninsula.Gen. James D. Thurman, who replaced Gen. Walter Sharp, will also serve as the heads of the United Nations Command and the Republic of Korea
July 14, 2011
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Top Marine commander offers to resign over shooting rampage
South Korea's top Marine commander has offered to resign to take responsibility for the deadly shooting rampage by a marine in his barracks early this month, a military official said Thursday. Marine Corps Chief of Staff Yoo Nak-joon submitted his resignation to Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin on Tuesday, the official said on the condition of anonymity. "Gen. Yoo conveyed his intention to resign at
July 14, 2011
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Army PFC dies in apparent suicide
An Army private first class died in an apparent suicide last Thursday, officials said Wednesday. The 21-year-old PFC, surnamed Lee, was transported to a nearby hospital right after he was found to have hanged himself at an Army regiment-level unit last Monday. He died on Thursday. Investigators are not ruling out the possibility of him opting to take his own life due to mental or physical abuses b
July 13, 2011
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Navy to bloster presence on Ulleung, move seen to protect Dokdo islets
The Navy has decided to expand a helicopter landing facility on Ulleung Island and dispatch two more military helicopters to it, according to a lawmaker.The move comes as Seoul seeks to bolster its capabilities to defend the easternmost islets of Dokdo over which Japan has been persistently making sovereignty claims.Rep. Song Young-sun of the minority Future Hope Alliance party said that the Navy
July 13, 2011
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Navy to expand base on East Sea island
The Navy will expand its air base on an East Sea island in a bid to ensure better protection of the nation's territorial waters surrounding the easternmost islets of Dokdo, a lawmaker said Wednesday.According to Rep. Song Young-sun of the minor opposition Future Hope Alliance, the Navy recently inked a project to expand its base on Ulleung Island by about threefold to cover 5,040 square meters of
July 13, 2011
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S. Korean, Swiss defense chiefs talk regional security
Defense chiefs of South Korea and Switzerland held talks on Tuesday in Seoul to discuss regional security issues and ways to enhance bilateral military ties, the Ministry of National Defense said. Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin (left) and his Swiss counterpart Ueli Maurer shake hands prior to their talks at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap News)Defense Minister Kim Kwa
July 12, 2011
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Defense minister to visit China this week
Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin will depart for China on Thursday for a three-day schedule that includes talks with his Chinese counterpart and other top government officials there, officials here said Tuesday.During their talks slated for Friday, Kim and Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Liang Guanglie will discuss a wide range of regional security issues including those concerning North Korea and ways
July 12, 2011
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USFK confers annual Good Neighbor Awards
The U.S. Forces Korea on Monday conferred its annual Good Neighbor Awards to 24 Korean and U.S. civilians and military staff for their contribution to strengthening the alliance between the two nations.Fourteen South Koreans, including Dongducheon Mayor Oh Sea-chang and Pyeongtaek Culture Center head Oh Yong-won, were given the awards in the category of individuals during the ninth GNA ceremony at
July 12, 2011
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Gen. Thurman to be sworn in as USFK commander this week
The new commander of U.S. forces in Korea is scheduled to begin work later this week, as he has been confirmed by the Senate, a diplomatic source here said Monday.The Senate recently endorsed President Barack Obama's nomination of Gen. James Thurman as head of the 28,000 troops after last month's confirmation hearing, and a change of command ceremony will be held in Seoul Thursday, added the sourc
July 12, 2011
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S. Korean, U.S. air forces to hold aerial refueling drills
South Korean and U.S. Air Forces have recently reached an agreement to stage an aerial refueling exercise on a regular basis here, using a U.S. in-flight tanker, a military source said Monday.The first joint refueling exercise in which the U.S. is to mobilize its KC-135 tanker currently based in Okinawa, Japan, is expected to take place in the latter half of this year, the source said.“Although ou
July 11, 2011
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Another marine dies in apparent suicide
Criticism over management of troops deepens in wake of Ganghwa shootingAnother marine was found dead at his unit in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, in an apparent suicide on Sunday night, further escalating public concerns over purportedly prevalent abuses in the military.The death of the 19-year-old lance corporal, identified only by his surname Jeong, came after a marine committed suicide and
July 11, 2011
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Abuse at barracks cause of escalating concern in Korea
Defense minister orders full-scale inspection of all military unitsAlthough his son will not join the military for another 10 years, Moon Young-sook is already apprehensive that his boy could suffer the “appalling” human rights abuses said to be widespread there.“I feel more worried than before as it is said that such abuses are still taking place in many units, not in just a few. When we heard of
July 10, 2011
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U.S. nuclear-powered submarine makes port call in S. Korea
The U.S. nuclear-powered submarine USS Texas made a port call in South Korea on Saturday as part of a regular deployment to the Pacific area, the U.S. military in the South said. The Texas, based in Hawaii, arrived at South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan with more than 130 crew members, according to officials at the U.S. Forces Korea. The 7,800-ton Texas is a Virginia-class attack s
July 9, 2011
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Defense chief orders inspection of military discipline after rampage
Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin has ordered military commanders to inspect the standards of discipline and irregularities, following a shooting rampage earlier this week by a marine that killed four colleagues on a front-line unit, a source said Saturday. Questions over discipline have been raised since the 19-year-old marine corporal, only identified by his surname Kim, opened fire on Monday at
July 9, 2011
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Ganghwa Marine suicide revealed
A soldier had killed himself at the Marine Corps Second Division near Seoul just a day before Monday’s shooting rampage at his division, military officials said Friday, as investigations continued into the case that killed four soldiers. Authorities said they are investigating whether habitual bullying was rampant among marines at the division in Ganghwa, Gyeonggi Province, leading to the two trag
July 8, 2011
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Defense budget focuses on combat training
The Ministry of National Defense has drawn up a 33.48 trillion won ($32.43 billion) budget plan for next year with a focus on making the military “truly combat-ready.”The ministry submitted its budget proposal to the Finance Ministry on June 30. The planned budget is 6.6 percent higher than the 2011 budget of 31.4 trillion won.“In broad terms, we can say that we have significantly increased the bu
July 7, 2011
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Military to set up non-smoking units
The defense military has declared a war on smoking, unveiling a plan to lower its service members’ smoking rate by 3 percentage points this year.Some 47.2 percent of military personnel were smokers as of the end of last year, higher than the average of 39.6 percent for the country’s men, according to government data.“Under the smoking reduction goal, the defense ministry designated 100 non-smoking
July 5, 2011
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Bullying could have led to shooting
Poor ammunitions management partly blamed for death of 4 marinesThe Marine who went on a shooting rampage Monday, killing four fellow soldiers, had been treated like an outcast on his base on Ganghwa Island, military officials said Tuesday.The 19-year-old corporal, identified only by his surname Kim, said in writing, “I feel a lot of pain. I want to die. The practices of beating and ostracizing a
July 5, 2011