Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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Pay debate plagues foreign nanny pilot
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K-pop star lip-syncing controversy flares up again
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35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
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Man escapes DUI charges by downing bottle of soju while pulled over
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Pianist Lim Yunchan double winner at Gramophone Awards
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[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?
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N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
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Yoon, Ishiba discuss cooperation on N. Korea in 1st phone talks
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Controversial cult leader’s sentence reduced to 17 years
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S. Koreans to visit NK soon to repair facilities for family reunions
The Unification Ministry said Friday it plans to again send a team of technicians to North Korea soon to repair facilities at Mount Kumgang for the upcoming reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. A group of government officials and technicians returned to Seoul on Thursday from a two-day visit to the North after checking facilities there ahead of the family reunions slated for Oct. 20-26. "The outcome of the recent checks showed that there will be no major problems in procee
North KoreaSept. 18, 2015
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2 S. Koreans indicted for protesting near U.S. Embassy
Prosecutors said Friday that they have indicted two South Koreans for holding a protest rally in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. The two members of the Corean Alliance are accused of holding the rally in June, denouncing the U.S. military's erroneous shipment of live anthrax samples to a U.S. military base in South Korea a few months ago. Corean Alliance is a civic group suspected of being sympathetic to North Korea. In April, the Pentagon said a U.S. military laboratory in Utah sent samp
Social AffairsSept. 18, 2015
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S. Korea, France agree to cooperate on creative economy
South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and his French counterpart, Manuel Valls, have agreed to cooperate to improve the creative economies of the two countries. The two leaders said Seoul and Paris will come up with specific measures for bilateral cooperation on the creative economy, as well as action plans for cooperation in each sector. The agreement was reached during their meeting at the Hotel Matignon, the French prime minister's official residence, on Thursday. The two leaders expla
Sept. 18, 2015
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N. Korean nuclear envoys absent from China-hosted forum
North Korea's nuclear envoys appeared to be absent from a two-day forum hosted by a Chinese state-run think tank to discuss ways to restart long-stalled nuclear talks, a diplomatic source involved in the forum said Friday, in an apparent snub at China's latest push to resume the six-party talks. The forum, organized by the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), is meant to mark the 10th anniversary of a landmark deal in which North Korea agreed to abandon its nuclear program in exch
North KoreaSept. 18, 2015
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Body of another victim from capsized boat found
The body of another passenger missing from a capsized fishing boat was recovered in the waters off South Korea's southern coast near the site of the accident, raising the death toll to 14, Coast Guard officials said Friday. The body, which was found 7 kilometers southeast of Chuja Island at around 6 p.m. on Wednesday, was identified as that of a 47-year-old man surnamed Lee, according to the Korea Coast Guard.The island is located about halfway between the mainland and the southern resort isla
Social AffairsSept. 18, 2015
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Christian leaders of two Koreas to meet in Pyongyang
Christian leaders of South and North Korea will meet in Pyongyang next month to discuss how to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula and promote exchanges of churches, the South Korean organizer said Friday. Delegates from the World Council of Churches (WCC), a worldwide inter-church organization, and South Korea's National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) will make a seven-day trip to Pyongyang from Oct. 24, the NCCK said. They will hold an executive committee meeting of the "Ecumenical Fo
North KoreaSept. 18, 2015
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NK leader visits flood-hit city to encourage recovery efforts
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited the city of Rason on the North's northeast tip in a bid to encourage efforts to recover from a recent flood, Pyongyang's media said Friday. The North's leader went to Rason, on the border with China and Russia, just weeks after encouraging people to spur on recovery efforts before the North's key national anniversary in October, the Korean Central News Agency said. It did not specify the date of Kim's visit. Typhoon Goni soaked the northern part
North KoreaSept. 18, 2015
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Seoul shares open lower after Fed rate freeze
South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, driven by losses in top market cap Samsung Electronics and other market heavyweights following an overnight interest rate decision by the U.S. Fed, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 6.97 points, or 0.35 percent, to 1,969.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading. At the end of a two-day rate-setting meeting on Thursday (local time), the Federal Open Market Committee kept its interest rate unchanged. The Dow Jon
Sept. 18, 2015
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Police officer arrested over bribery charges
A Seoul court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for a police officer accused of receiving some hundreds of millions of won in kickbacks from a helicopter maintenance company. The police officer, identified only by his surname Kim, was taken into custody after the Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant, noting there were enough reasons and necessity for the arrest. The 35-year-old is suspected of receiving bribes from the head of the company, identified only by his surname Bae, 37,
Social AffairsSept. 18, 2015
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Pantech to cut half of workforce amid normalization efforts
South Korea's No. 3 handset maker Pantech Co., which has been struggling to normalize operations, said Friday it plans to cut nearly half of its employees. Under the plan, around 400 staff will leave the company on Oct.23, the company said. Pantech has been on the verge of bankruptcy after it sought to give up court protection from its creditors in May. But a South Korean consortium led by optical manufacturer Optis and telecom device firm Solid won approval from a local court to acquire P
IndustrySept. 18, 2015
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Uncertainties to weigh on S. Korean market: BOK chief
The South Korean financial market will continue to face lingering uncertainties in the short term despite a U.S. interest rate freeze, the central bank chief said Friday. The U.S. Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate at a record low at its September meeting amid rising concerns over slumping global demand and unstable financial markets, stemming from China, the world's second-largest economy. "Fed Chair Janet Yellen seemed to take a dovish stance, but short-term uncertainties will still
Sept. 18, 2015
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U.S. vows to use 'all the tools at our disposal' to pressure N. Korea
The United States on Thursday vowed to do all it can to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear program amid concern Pyongyang could conduct a nuclear or missile test "We do continue to look at and will aim to use all the tools at our disposal to make clear ... that North Korea has a choice to make. The onus, as I've said before, the onus is on them," State Department spokesman John Kirby said at a daily briefing. "They've got this choice to make to denuclearize and attain the peace and
North KoreaSept. 18, 2015
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U.S. rate freeze to ease market uncertainty: vice minister
The U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to hold its key interest rate steady is expected to help alleviate continued uncertainty in the international financial market, a senior government official said Friday. After a two-day policy meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee froze the interest rate on Thursday, citing a cooling global economy even as the U.S. economy grows steadily. "The rate freeze is a factor that could ease market uncertainty to some degree, but financial volatility at home a
Sept. 18, 2015
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S. Korea's producer prices drop in Aug.
Producer prices in South Korea shrank significantly from a year earlier in August, marking the 13th consecutive monthly drop largely caused by a cut in global oil prices, data showed Friday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, reached 100.88 last month, down 4.4 percent from the same month last year, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure also marks a 0.5 percent drop from a month earlier. The price of gasoline plunged 30.
Sept. 18, 2015
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U.S. lawmaker issues statement welcoming Park, her peace visions
A U.S. congressman has issued a congressional statement welcoming South Korean President Park Geun-hye's planned visit to Washington and expressing support for her visions for peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia. Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), whose father fought in the 1950-53 Korean War, said South Korea is one of "America's greatest foreign policy success stories," as well as an "indispensable ally" and the "linchpin of regional peace and stability." "Korean President Park Geun-hye
InternationalSept. 18, 2015
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Federal Reserve holds rate at zero; cites China worries
The Federal Reserve held its key interest rate locked at zero Thursday, citing worries about how the slowdown in China will hit the US economy. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the economy continues to grow moderately and that a rate increase could still take place before the end of the year. However, policy makers were still focused on the spillover from China's troubles and those in other major emerging market economies. "A lot of our focus has been on risks around China, but not just China,
World BusinessSept. 18, 2015
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[URGENT] FOMC freezes base rate
[URGENT] FOMC freezes base rateThe U.S. Federal Open Market Committee kept the benchmark interest rate untouched at 0-0.25 percent per annum on Friday (Korean time).(khnews@heraldcorp.com)
Sept. 18, 2015
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Global stock markets waver as Fed decision nears
Europe was off to a tepid start with Britain's FTSE 100 down 0.4 percent to 6,205.60. France's CAC 40 dipped 0.2 percent to 4,631.50. Germany's DAX was nearly unchanged at 10,222.81. Futures showed that Wall Street was set to lose ground. Dow futures fell 0.2 percent. S&P 500 futures dropped 0.3 percent. HIKE OR NO HIKE: Two months ago, it seemed almost certain that the Fed was going to raise rates in September. Now, after the turmoil in financial markets and concerns about China's economy, t
World BusinessSept. 17, 2015
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IRC boss slams anti-migrant tactics in Hungary
Events on the Serbia-Hungarian border where police tear-gassed crowds of migrants including women and children reveal “a dark side of the European character,” the chief of the International Rescue Committee said Wednesday. “Anyone with an ounce of morality feels appalled by what's happening in parts of Europe,” David Miliband told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. While lauding German leadership in tackling Europe's migrant crisis, the former British foreign secretary said that
World NewsSept. 17, 2015
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KAI inks $110m deal to deliver trainer jets to Thai gov't
South Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., said Thursday that it signed a deal to export trainer jets to the Thai government for around $110 million. The deal inked in Seoul between leaders of the two sides called for KAI to deliver four units of the T-50TH to the Thai government within 30 months of the contract, the company said in an emailed press release. The T-50TH will likely replace the outdated L-39 model that the Thai air force has been using for train
IndustrySept. 17, 2015