Most Popular
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Torrential rainfall forces 1,500 to evacuate, causes widespread damage to homes, roads
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[KH Explains] Can smart chargers ease tensions over EV fires?
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1 in 5 households to have breadwinner over 80 in 30 years
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[Online Predators] Online reviews of sex tourism in Southeast Asia proliferate
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Assembly to review disputed appointment of national soccer team coach
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New Fifty Fifty off to strong start
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Arrival of fall calls for more outdoor festivals
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Evicted guest burns down inn; 3 killed
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[Herald Interview] US election may unleash growth for Korea: Laffer
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[Herald Review] 'Culinary Class Wars': fresh, creative survival show minus the drama
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Nuclear waste a growing headache
ULSAN ― North Korea’s weapons program is not the only nuclear headache for South Korea. The country’s radioactive waste storage is filling up as its nuclear power industry burgeons, but what South Korea sees as its best solution ― reprocessing the spent fuel so it can be used again ― faces stiff opposition from its U.S. ally. South Korea fired up its first reactor in 1978 and since then the resource poor nation’s reliance on atomic energy has steadily grown. It is now the world’s fifth-largest n
March 27, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Scholar urges Tokyo to give up on Dokdo
Haruki Wada, a professor emeritus at Tokyo University, said in his new book that Japan should immediately renounce its claims of sovereignty over Dokdo.In his recently published book titled “How to Settle the Territorial Dispute in Northeast Asia,” the 75-year-old progressive scholar argued that Japan’s claim was immoral in light of Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-1945. “It is hard to find morality in Japan’s assertion that Korea’s control of Dokdo is an ‘illegal occupati
March 26, 2013
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Korea protests Japan’s textbook distortion
Seoul on Tuesday protested Japan’s approval of newly updated schoolbooks that carry its claim to the Korean islets of Dokdo and distort its wartime atrocities.The Foreign Ministry called in Takashi Kurai, a minister at the Japanese Embassy, and delivered a written complaint. “We strongly protest and urge a fundamental rectification of the Japanese government’s authorization of high school textbooks including content that still does not look squarely at history and evades its responsibilities,” m
March 26, 2013
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OECD aid chief urges green development
The developing world’s drive to stamp out poverty should be integrated with environmental efforts to minimize its vulnerability to climate change and achieve sustainable growth, the new chair of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee said Tuesday.Erik Solheim, who took the helm of the club of major patrons of developing countries in January, described Korea as an “inspiring example for the rest of the world,” highlighting its rapid economic ascent and increasing climate efforts. The seasone
March 26, 2013
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Chinese President Xi sends personal letter to Park
Chinese President Xi Jinping recently sent a personal letter to South Korean President Park Geun-hye, expressing hope that the two nations will further strengthen their ties, the South Korean presidential office said Tuesday. In the letter, Xi also suggested the two leaders hold a summit meeting in the near future, saying he looks forward to making a "beautiful blueprint" for their countries' relations, according to the office. The Chinese president noted that the ties between two countries
March 26, 2013
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S. Korean foreign minister to visit Washington next week: source
South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will travel to Washington next week for consultations on North Korea and bilateral issues in the run-up to a visit here by President Park Geun-hye in May, an informed source said Monday."Minister Yun is scheduled to visit Washington in the first week of April," the source said on the condition of anonymity. Yun will meet with Secretary of State John Kerry, mainly to discuss agenda items for the first summit talks between Park and her American counterpar
March 26, 2013
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Munch photo exhibition at Samgakji Station
Seoul’s subway riders are in for a scream through this spring and summer, with a display of Edvard Munch paintings.This year the Norwegian Embassy in Korea is celebrating the 150th anniversary of modernist painter Edvard Munch with a photo exhibition of 20 paintings on display in Samgakji Subway Station through the end of August. Munch was born in the rural town of Loten in Norway on Dec. 12, 1863. This year marks the 150th anniversary of one of the most influential modernist painters of all tim
March 24, 2013
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War, peace and children in the DMZ
A handful of tour buses carrying foreign diplomats, the Korean press corps and students slowly lumbered across Unification Bridge into the demilitarized zone carefully negotiating barricades assembled halfway along the bridge’s length.The schoolchildren were fidgety and chattering excitedly, jumping out of their seats to peer out of the bus windows at sights they scarcely could have seen before ― armored vehicles, heavily armed checkpoints and barbed wire strewn helter-skelter, the legacy of a t
March 24, 2013
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La Francophonie, now and forever
The French-speaking foreign missions in Korea observed International Francophonie Day on March 20 and will celebrate the French language and French identity through a series of events through March and April.The month-long festival of French includes a concert by Swiss-French duo Laurent Brunetti & Mario Pacchioli and an opening set by Raoul and the Xpats on the 6th floor of the music faculty of Sookmyung Women’s University on April 5 at 5 p.m.“Francophonie” refers to countries and regions where
March 24, 2013
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Libyan prospects are mixed 2 years after revolution
Libya’s diplomatic mission here held a reception in Seoul on Monday to mark two years since Libyan youth took up arms and defied a deadly crackdown by strongman Moammar Gadhafi.The demonstrations were part of a wave of popular discontent dubbed the “Arab Spring,” which toppled long-standing despotic regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, before spreading to Libya on Feb. 17, 2011. Gadhafi was shot dead in October of the same year. It is estimated that some 30,000 Libyans died in eight months of fighting.
March 24, 2013
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Kenya one step closer to African nuclear dream
Korea and Kenya forged ahead with plans to build a nuclear power plant and make the East African nation the second to have nuclear power on the continent.Kenyan Ambassador to Korea Ngovi Kitau participated in a ceremony lauding the 2013 incoming class of Kenyan nuclear engineers and other professionals on March 4 at KEPCO’s school for nuclear power professionals in Ulsan.Kenyan-Korean cooperation on development in the East African country has led to the opening of this new school to train future
March 24, 2013
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Foreign Ministry set for personnel shake-up
The Foreign Ministry is expected to undertake a major personnel shake-up in the coming few weeks including ambassadors to key partners such as the U.S., China and Japan, officials said Friday. The ministry recently instructed the heads of all 158 overseas missions to submit their resignation, they said. This is considered to be part of a customary post-presidential election process under which new President Park Geun-hye will decide whether to reappoint or replace them.In the past most incumbent
March 22, 2013
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‘Korea Caucus’ begins activity for ongoing U.S. congressional session
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers keenly interested in Korean affairs launched a "Korea Caucus" Thursday for the 113th session of Congress.It is co-chaired by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA).Attending a ceremony at Capitol Hill, they noted the development of the South Korea-U.S. alliance since the 1950-53 Korean War."Many times it’s called the forgotten war, but it’s not forgotten for those of us who appreciate freedom," Roska
March 22, 2013
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U.S. moves to offer more work visas to Koreans
The U.S. Congress plans to expand the annual quota for South Korean professionals who want to work in the United States. According to news reports, two U.S. congressmen jointly introduced a bill that would increase the number of E-3 visas issued annually to Korean professionals from the current 3,500 to 10,500.Eni Faleomavaega, who proposed the bill and is a member of the foreign affairs subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, said that “Korea is the seventh-largest trading partner and strategic a
March 21, 2013
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Cyprus fails to win Russia's help amid banking chaos
MOSCOW, (AFP) -- Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris failed to reach progress after two rounds of talks in Moscow on assistance from Russia after his island's rejection of an EU bailout that slapped a painful levy on bank deposits.Sarris met his Russian counterpart Anton Siluanov before holding talks with First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov about a possible new Moscow loan.Cyprus also hopes to ease the terms of a 2.5-billion-euro loan Moscow afforded Nicosia in 2011 that matures in 20
March 20, 2013
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Senior editor of British newspaper charged over payoffs
LONDON (AP) -- Prosecutors say that The Sun newspaper's Deputy Editor Geoff Webster has been charged with authorizing thousands in illegal payoffs to government officials.The charges are among the most serious so-far leveled against journalists caught up in Britain's wide-ranging media ethics scandal, which has seen newspaper executives, senior journalists, and high-profile police figures get dragged before the courts.Rupert Murdoch's News International confirmed Wednesday that Webster is still
March 20, 2013
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Obama in Israel for first trip as president
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) -- President Barack Obama is declaring common cause with Israel, highlighting the bonds between the United States and its Mideast ally. He says he has made Israel the first stop of the first trip of his second term to restate his commitment to Israel's security.Obama arrived Wednesday in Tel Aviv, joking to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that he was "getting away from Congress."Israeli President Shimon Peres welcomed Obama, declaring that "A world without America's lead
March 20, 2013
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Ex-Korean diplomat tapped deputy head of U.N. office
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has named Kang Kyung-wha, a former South Korean diplomat, as deputy head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Ban's office announced Monday. Kang will replace Catherine Bragg of Canada as assistant secretary general for humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief coordinator, it added.Kang has served as the deputy U.N. high commissioner for human rights since January 2007.Prior to joining the U.N., she worked as chief
March 19, 2013
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Korea pitches for Arctic Council membership
Korea is seeking to boost its role in the Arctic by sharing research assets and technological knowhow on coping with climate change, energy, shipping and other key issues, Seoul officials said Monday. Nearly 100 policymakers, diplomats, scientists and industry officials from Korea and the Arctic region took part in an international symposium in Seoul to discuss their policy, research and other activities. Titled “Arctic Research & Policy in the New Age of Opening Arctic,” the one-day event was j
March 18, 2013
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Foreign Ministry to regain recruitment powers
The Foreign Ministry is expected to regain authority of some of its special recruitment programs that were taken away upon a nepotism scandal involving the daughter of a then-top diplomat in 2010.The Foreign Ministry will exclusively oversee the recruitment process for sixth- and seventh-grade diplomats starting this year, an official told Yonhap, citing improvement in its program operation capability and transparency. The Ministry of Public Administration and Security will continue to monitor t
March 17, 2013