Most Popular
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Shinsegae faces showdown with investors over SSG.com's delayed IPO
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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Hopes rise for possible Gaza truce deal
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Ex-pro baseball player who killed debtor appeals sentence
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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S. Korea to issue travel ban on Haiti amid intensifying gang violence
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Leaders of S. Korea, Angola agree to boost economic, trade cooperation
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State Department: 'Track 2' meetings are independent of US government involvement
Unofficial "Track 2" meetings are routinely held "independent of US government involvement," the State Department said Sunday after reports that a senior North Korean diplomat is set to hold talks with former US officials.Japanese media reported that Choe Son-hui, director-general of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's bureau handling relations with the United States, headed to Europe via Beijing for talks with unidentified former US government officials.Choe Son-hui, director-general at the Nor
May 8, 2017
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USFK to create HUMINT unit for gathering intelligence on NK
The US troops in South Korea are pushing to set up a unit that will be charged with gathering and analyzing human intelligence on North Korea, local authorities said Sunday.Human Intelligence, known as HUMINT, is intelligence gathered by means of interpersonal contact. This undated photo provided by the Eighth US Army shows soldiers of its 501st Military Intelligence Brigade analyzing intelligence. (Yonhap)The move comes as the North's development of communications security technology is increas
May 7, 2017
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Daunting diplomatic challenges with Trump, China await next S.Korean president
A whirlwind of events have reshaped the geopolitical landscape surrounding South Korea over the past months, including the deployment of a high-profile US missile defense system here and China's crushing retaliations against Seoul, with no incumbent president in South Korea to cope with the urgent issues.Next week, South Koreans will finally pick a new president to succeed Park Geun-hye, who was ousted from her presidency in March, about one year ahead of the completion of her five-year term.The
May 7, 2017
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Report on Japan's wartime sexual slavery of Korean women to be publicized this week
South Korea said Wednesday that it will distribute to government agencies and post online a report compiled by private-sector experts to detail Japan's wartime sexual slavery of Korean women. (Yonhap)The 216-page report, along with a separate data book, is based on an analysis done by 10 professors and experts seeking to shed light on the suffering of Korean women forced into front-line brothels for Japanese troops during World War II, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The
May 3, 2017
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US expresses no desire to change THAAD agreement with S. Korea: senior official
US has expressed no desire to alter the terms of an agreement with South Korea to deploy the THAAD missile defense system, a senior South Korean official said Tuesday, following a dust-up over who should pay for the $1 billion system.US President Donald Trump sparked a firestorm in South Korea with his repeated demand that Seoul pay for a THAAD unit installed in the country to bolster defenses against North Korea. The demand runs counter to an agreement under which US pays for the system while t
May 3, 2017
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White House: Trump discusses 'very dangerous situation in N. Korea' with Putin
US President Donald Trump discussed North Korea when he spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the White House said Tuesday. (Yonhap)"They spoke about how best to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea," the office said in a readout.The main focus of the call was Syria, it said."President Trump and President Putin agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence," the statement said. (Yonhap)
May 3, 2017
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Clinton: US should be careful about negotiations with N. Korea
US should be careful about holding negotiations with North Korea, former US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said Tuesday, after President Donald Trump said he would be "honored" to meet with the North's leader under the right circumstances."The North Koreans are always interested, not just Kim Jong-un but his father before him, were always interested in trying to get Americans to come to negotiate to elevate their status and their position. And we should be very careful about giv
May 3, 2017
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McCain: 'I don't understand' Trump's praise of N. Korea leader
US Sen. John McCain said Tuesday he can't understand why President Donald Trump said he would be "honored" to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, expressing concern that such a remark helps the "prestige" of the dictator.Trump made the remark in an interview with Bloomberg News on Monday, arguing that he would "absolutely" be willing to meet with Kim if such a meeting takes place "under the right circumstances." (Yonhap)The use of the word "honored" raised eyebrows."I don't understand it
May 3, 2017
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White House official: N. Korea trying to use nuclear weapons for 'coercive reunification'
North Korea is trying to use its nuclear weapons as an "instrument of blackmail" to force the US to leave South Korea so as to realize "coercive reunification" of the divided peninsula, a senior White House official said Tuesday.Matt Pottinger, senior Asian affairs director at the National Security Council, also said during a security forum that the US has now been left with no other choice but to ramp up pressure on the communist nation to move it toward denuclearization. (Yonhap)"They have mad
May 3, 2017
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Trump says he will take action on N. Korea if necessary without drawing red line in advance
US President Donald Trump said he will take action on North Korea "if I have to act" without drawing a red line in advance. "I don't like drawing red lines but I act if I have to act," Trump said in an interview with Fox News aired Monday night. (Yonhap)Trump argued he's different from his predecessor, Barack Obama."I'm not like President Obama where you draw a red line as you said a red line in the sand and then lots of bad things happen and he never goes over the red line," Trump said.Trump al
May 3, 2017
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Korea's foreign minister to meet US and Japanese ambassadors
South Korea's top diplomat will meet with ambassadors of the United States and Japan on Tuesday to discuss cooperation in dealing with North Korea and its growing nuclear threat.Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will meet with Marc Knapper, acting US Ambassador to South Korea, and Japanese Ambassador Yasumasa Nagamine in his office in the afternoon, according to the ministry.South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (Yonhap)The unusual three-way meeting, arranged at the request of the ministry, fol
May 2, 2017
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Norwegian poems vivify long lost senses
The Norwegian Embassy held a book launch event last week that featured the celebrated works of Olav H. Hauge (1908-94), a distinguished poet famous for his realistic portrayal of natural and sentient beings. A collection of his poems has been recently translated into Korean by professor and poet Lim Sun-ki, who teaches at Yonsei University’s Department of French Language and Literature. The translation was financially supported by the embassy and published by Bomnal Books. Professors, poets, jou
May 1, 2017
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Commonwealth veterans remember unsung heroes of wars
The embassies of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand paid tribute to the sacrifices of their fallen comrades and war veterans across memorial services held in Korea last week.At the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Korean War Memorial on Apr. 25, some 200 veterans, their families, servicepersons and diplomats honored the heroism of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), which fought together in the Gallipoli Campaign in Turkey during World War I, as well as those who serve
May 1, 2017
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South Africa celebrates Freedom Day
The South African Embassy last week celebrated Freedom Day, a national holiday commemorating the freedom and democracy ushered in by the first post-apartheid elections in 1994.This year’s celebration was deemed by many to be additionally special, as it marked the centenary of the birth of Oliver Reginald Tambo (1917-93), a South African anti-apartheid politician who served as president of the African National Congress from 1967 to 1991.“We have a vision of South Africa in which black and white s
May 1, 2017
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Foreign minister says US will respect agreement on missile defense cost
South Korea's top diplomat Monday expressed confidence that the United States will respect a bilateral agreement on the cost for the missile defense deployment amid controversy sparked by US President Donald Trump's recent suggestion that Seoul should pay for the $1 billion system. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se dismissed concerns that Washington would seek a renegotiation on the issue as he commented on Trump's security adviser Gen. H.R. McMaster's remark that his government respects the current
May 1, 2017
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Korea: US to pay for THAAD operation
South Korea's defense ministry made it clear Friday that the US should pay the cost of the operation of its advanced missile defense system recently deployed here. (Yonhap)In a statement, the Ministry of National Defense said there is no change in the "basic position" that the South Korean government provides the site for the THAAD system and related facilities under the Status of Forces Agreement and the US shoulders the burden for installing and operating it.It was in response to reported comm
April 28, 2017
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US soldier draws suspended jail term for drug smuggling
An American soldier indicted for smuggling a massive amount of methamphetamine from the US into South Korea has been given a suspended jail term, a court in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, said Friday.The Uijeongbu District Court sentenced the 19-year-old soldier who belongs to the United States Forces Korea's 2nd Infantry Division to three years in prison, suspended for five years, on charges of smuggling 4 kg of methamphetamine via military mail from California in October last year. Methamphetamine
April 28, 2017
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Trump says he wants Korea to pay cost for $1b THAAD deployment: report
US President Donald Trump said he wants South Korea to pay for the $1 billion deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery, a missile defense system the allies are currently fielding here, he said in an interview with Reuters reported on Friday.Trump also said he will "renegotiate or terminate" the US free trade agreement with South Korea.Trump's remarks were reported after key elements of THAAD, the high-profile X-band radar and mobile launchers, were delivered to the host s
April 28, 2017
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US seeks regular deployment of strategic military assets in Korea
The United States plans to deploy its "strategic" weapons in South Korea on a regular basis in order to thwart North Korea's threats under an agreement between the allies, according to a joint statement.The two sides agreed to explore the "full range of available options, including strengthening the regular deployment of US strategic assets, to bolster the alliance's ability to deter and, where necessary, respond to North Korean nuclear, weapons of mass destruction, and ballistic missile use," t
April 28, 2017
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Korean, US military chiefs reaffirm full defense posture against N. Korea
The top military officers of South Korea and the United States agreed Friday to maintain full combat readiness based on the strong alliance against North Korean threats, defense authorities here said.In a 35 minute telephone conversation with Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, his South Korean counterpart Army Gen. Lee Sun-jin stressed that the North's nuclear and missile development can never be tolerated, according to Lee's office. (Yonhap)He als
April 28, 2017