Most Popular
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Signs point to N. Korean troops in Russia-Ukraine combat zone
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Rose's 'Apt.' redefines K-pop's global appeal
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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Hanwha, HD Hyundai vie for Poland’s $2.7b submarine program
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First lady’s controversies to top agenda at meeting of party leaders
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4 in 10 young South Koreans take up 'irregular' jobs: data
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[Photo News] Rallying against LGBTQ+
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Seoul aims to halve current suicide rate by 2030
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'1 million' Christians join anti-LGBTQ+ marriage rally
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UNC refutes allegations of hindering Tamiflu delivery to N. Korea
The US-led United Nations Command (UNC) on Thursday rebutted allegations that it blocked South Korea's attempt to send antiviral medication to North Korea last year. South Korea tried to send 200,000 doses of Tamiflu to the North in early 2019 as a follow-up on an agreement between their leaders to closely cooperate in fighting the spread of infectious diseases. But the plan never materialized. In a recent media interview, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung said the influenza medication coul
North KoreaDec. 3, 2020
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Moon's approval rating hits all-time low of 37.4%: Realmeter
President Moon Jae-in's job approval rating has fallen to a record low of 37.4 percent, a poll showed Thursday, with a rift between the justice minister and the top prosecutor deepening and housing prices in major areas continuing to rise. Public approval for the ruling Democratic Party (DP) also dropped to 28.9 percent, the lowest since the launch of the Moon administration in May 2017, while that of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) rose to 31.2 percent, according to Realmeter. Th
PoliticsDec. 3, 2020
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New virus cases over 500 for 2nd day; no letup in sight despite tough virus curbs
South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 500 for the second consecutive day Thursday as locally transmitted cases continued to pile up across the country, further raising concerns over a bigger wave of the pandemic in the winter season. The country added 540 more COVID-19 cases, including 516 local infections, raising the total caseload to 35,703, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The capital city of Seoul accounted for 26
Social AffairsDec. 3, 2020
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[Newsmaker] North Korea enforces tougher antivirus measures in Pyongyang amid heightened alert
North Korea has been enforcing tougher antivirus measures in Pyongyang since the capital was recently put on the highest level of alert against the global coronavirus pandemic, according to state media. "Preventive efforts to block the inflow of the vicious virus into Pyongyang have been under way in a more proactive manner," the state-run Korean Central Broadcasting station said. All people entering through the Mankyongdae region, a western gateway to Pyongyang, should get their tem
North KoreaDec. 3, 2020
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Biden needs to make 'early' decision about N. Korea: US expert
WASHINGTON -- The incoming US administration will need to quickly make a decision about how it will deal with North Korea to have a better chance of engagement, a former US diplomat said Wednesday. Kurt Campbell, former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, also insisted the new administration under Joe Biden would have to send an "early signal" to the North. "There are always areas of unpredictabilities and, generally speaking, at the top of that list
North KoreaDec. 3, 2020
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N. Korea advancing nuclear, missile capabilities: Milley
WASHINGTON -- North Korea continues to develop its nuclear and long-range missile capabilities, but so are South Korea and the United States to deter provocations, the top US military officer said Wednesday. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, also noted the communist state may stage military provocations but said the allies are fully ready and capable to deal with any provocation. "It is also true that North Korea has advanced their nuclear weapon and missile deli
North KoreaDec. 3, 2020
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Prosecution seeks arrest warrants for 3 officials over Wolsong-1 shutdown controversy
DAEJEON -- The prosecution has sought arrest warrants for three government officials suspected of deleting documents related to the controversial closure of the Wolsong-1 nuclear reactor. The Daejeon District Prosecutors Office on Wednesday requested that the court grant the warrants against three officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, whose names were withheld, on charges of disturbing the state auditors' examination. They allegedly destroyed 444 materials and files about
PoliticsDec. 3, 2020
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Half a million take college entrance exam as virus surges
Hundreds of thousands of students took the annual national college entrance exam Thursday while taking extra precautions to guard against the continued surge of the coronavirus. Students arrived at their designated test facilities accompanied by their family members, but there was little of the cheer typical of the scene outside schools on exam day due to restrictions caused by the pandemic. Around 490,000 high school seniors, graduates and others signed up for the College Scholastic Ability T
Social AffairsDec. 3, 2020
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S. Korea's defense budget rises 5.4 percent to W52.8tr in 2021
South Korea's defense budget for next year rose 5.4 percent on-year as the country strives to boost its self-defense capabilities amid growing security uncertainties and nontraditional challenges, such as infectious diseases, the defense ministry said Wednesday. According to the budget plan approved by the National Assembly, military spending for 2021 was set at 52.8 trillion won ($48 billion), up from this year's 50.15 trillion won. The approved amount is slightly l
DefenseDec. 2, 2020
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National Assembly passes W558tr national budget for 2021
The National Assembly on Wednesday passed a 558 trillion-won ($506 billion) national budget for 2021 that includes nearly 4 trillion won allotted for additional COVID-19 relief funds and coronavirus vaccine purchases. The assembly's plenary session overwhelmingly approved the 2021 budget bill in a 249-26 vote. Twelve lawmakers abstained. It marks the first national budget approved by the National Assembly within the legal deadline since 2014, as fierce partisan wran
PoliticsDec. 2, 2020
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Ruling party pushes for legislation of ban on anti-N. Korea leaflet campaign
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea passed a bill that bans anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaigns, at a parliamentary committee session Wednesday. The bill is now headed for a legal review at the parliament‘s legislation committee before it reaches a final vote. The party’s members of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee voted on the Amendment Bill for the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act initiated by Rep. Song Young-gil, who chairs the committee. Lawmakers of the
PoliticsDec. 2, 2020
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Calls grow for tougher measures as hospitals near crisis
Government officials said Wednesday that the country would hang on without imposing tougher COVID-19 curbs, reiterating the decision announced Sunday, despite metrics over the last two weeks that indicate South Korea is eligible for the second-strictest tier of its social distancing system. A total of 22,973 tests confirmed 511 more cases -- 493 locally transmitted and 18 imported -- on Tuesday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s situation report Wednesda
Social AffairsDec. 2, 2020
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S. Korea denounces killing of Iranian nuclear scientist
South Korea on Wednesday denounced the assassination of a leading Iranian nuclear scientist as a criminal act that does not help bring stability and peace in the region. The foreign ministry's comment came after Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a nuclear weapons expert, was killed in a bomb and gun attack on a road outside Tehran last week, amplifying tensions between Iran and neighboring nations. "We stress that this kind of violent criminal act is not conducive to stability and peace in the Middle E
Foreign AffairsDec. 2, 2020
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Opposition raises heat on president over prosecutor general furor
The fallout from troubles between the justice minister and the prosecutor general is engulfing the political arena and generating speculation about President Moon Jae-in’s next move. On Tuesday, Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl gained higher ground in the battle with Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, with both the courts and a Justice Ministry committee putting out conclusions favorable to Yoon. The Seoul Administrative Court approved an injunction against Yoon’s suspension from du
PoliticsDec. 2, 2020
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Govt. strengthens anti-flood design standards for dams, rivers due to climate change
The government on Wednesday announced a set of countermeasures to deal with flooding and other natural disasters anticipated due to global climate change, vowing to drastically strengthen anti-flood design standards for dams and rivers. Under the new measures, local dams and rivers will be designed to withstand the heaviest daily rainfall over a span of 500 years in anticipation of steady increases in precipitation caused by climate change, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
PoliticsDec. 2, 2020
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NK denuclearization is mission impossible: Perry
Getting North Korea to give up its nuclear arsenals is “mission impossible,” former US Defense Secretary William Perry said, underlining that any future negotiators should enter talks with the reclusive regime on this premise. “I truly believe getting North Korea to denuclearize is ‘mission impossible’ and any negotiator given that task is going to fail,” Perry said during a video-linked forum organized by the state-run think tank the Institute for Nationa
North KoreaDec. 2, 2020
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Navy's new frigates to have Rolls-Royce engine
Rolls-Royce said Wednesday it has won a deal to supply marine gas turbines to South Korea's new 3,500-ton frigates to be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. by 2024. The MT30, tapped for the Ulsan-class FFX Batch III frigates, has already been in service with several navies around the world, including in South Korea's Daegu-class FFX Batch II frigates, according to the company. "The use of the MT30 across the Batch II and Batch III frigates will deliver commonality benefits to the custo
DefenseDec. 2, 2020
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Unification ministry welcomes passage of anti-leafleting bill by parliamentary committee
The unification ministry on Wednesday welcomed a parliamentary committee's passage of a proposal to ban the flying of propaganda leaflets into North Korea, saying the measure will help protect residents in border regions and ease cross-border tensions. The government and the ruling Democratic Party have been seeking to legislate a ban on the sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets after North Korea bristled at such activity and even blew up an inter-Korean liaison office in June in anger. Pyongyang
North KoreaDec. 2, 2020
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Police investigate cause of deadly fire at Gunpo apartment
Police were investigating Wednesday the cause behind a fire at an apartment in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, that left four people dead and seven injured a day earlier. Forensic officials conducted an on-site inspection of the apartment unit on the eighth floor of a 12-story building. It was under renovation and workers were replacing window frames when the blaze began, the Gunpo Police Station said. Authorities suspect flammable materials, such as urethane foam, may have caught fire and started
Social AffairsDec. 2, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Not just students being examined as Suneung puts ‘K-quarantine’ to test
Tens of thousands of college hopefuls in South Korea will take the annual national college entrance exam Thursday, so important that many here describe it as one of the most pivotal moments in life. The College Scholastic Aptitude Test, or the Suneung, will begin at 8:40 a.m. at over 1,300 testing sites across the country, and will last until 5:40 p.m. Some 493,433 college hopefuls are to sit the marathon test. Coming amid a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections, this year’s Suneung is argu
Social AffairsDec. 2, 2020