Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean adoptee sisters meet for the first time in 39 years
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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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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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Civil servant’s death linked to workplace bullying
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[Weekender] Walk around Korea to really get to know the country
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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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[Photo News] Rallying against LGBTQ+
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Ex-NK diplomat says Pyongyang cannot seek denuclearization
A former acting North Korean ambassador to Kuwait has said that Pyongyang won't give up its nuclear weapons because the arsenal is the key to the survival of leader Kim Jong-un's regime, a CNN report showed Monday. Ryu Hyun-woo, who defected to South Korea in September 2019 while serving as acting chief of mission at the North's embassy in Kuwait, made the remark in an interview with CNN. His defection was made public only last week. "North Korea's nuclear power is directly linked to the
Feb. 1, 2021
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Hearing on Seoul’s leaflet ban to open soon: US congressman
US Rep. Chris Smith, who until recently co-chaired the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, said the commission will open a hearing in early March at the latest to discuss South Korea’s ban on the cross-border launching of anti-North Korea propaganda leaflets. The leafleting is set to become a felony in March under legislation introduced by Seoul to protect residents near the border, in fear of retaliation by Pyongyang. “I think appointments to commissions -- such as the Tom Lantos
Jan. 31, 2021
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NK envoy says strengthening of defense capabilities aimed at opening peace era
North Korea‘s top diplomat to Geneva has argued that Pyongyang’s push toward strengthening its military capabilities was aimed at opening an era of peace, according to the North’s foreign ministry Friday. According to Pyongyang’s foreign ministry, Han Tae-song, North Korea‘s ambassador to Geneva, said via videoconference at the meeting of the United Nations Disarmament Conference in Geneva on Tuesday that the reason his country was building up its war deterrent ca
Jan. 29, 2021
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Pro-unification group urges US Congress not to hold hearing on anti-leaflet law
A pro-unification organization on Friday urged the US Congress not to hold a hearing on a South Korean law banning the sending of anti-North Korean leaflets, calling such a move a "clear infringement" on their country's sovereignty and interference in domestic affairs. The North Korean Committee for the June 15 Joint Declaration, which was established to uphold the peace agreement from the first inter-Korean summit in 2000, made the appeal in a statement that the group said was co-sig
Jan. 29, 2021
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Controversy erupts over Seoul's possible push to build nuke plant in N. Korea
A political controversy appears to be brewing over the Seoul government's possible attempt years ago to help North Korea build a nuclear power plant, after a local broadcaster on Thursday disclosed the existence of relevant government documents. SBS TV, citing prosecutors investigating the destruction of government documents related to the closure of an aging nuclear reactor by some officials of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in 2019, reported that a number of files on inter-Korean
Jan. 29, 2021
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N. Korea may resort to unofficial markets amid virus-hit economy: expert
North Korea's fiscal status has rapidly worsened due to the shutdown of borders over coronavirus concerns, leaving the communist country with no choice but to consider resorting to unofficial markets, a researcher said Friday. Lee Jong-kyu, a senior research at the state-run Korea Development Institute (KDI), made the case in a report published by the think tank, saying the North is likely to be considering utilizing local markets known as "jangmadang." "North Korea's finance an
Jan. 29, 2021
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High-profile N. Korean defector leaves for US for congressional hearing on anti-leaflet law
A vocal North Korean defector activist has left for the United States for a congressional hearing on a controversial bill South Korea recently passed to ban the sending of anti-North Korea leaflets, his lawyer said Thursday. Park Sang-hak, a North Korean defector who runs Fighters for a Free North Korea, flew to Washington on Wednesday to attend the hearing that Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) is seeking to convene to discuss the anti-leafleting law. "Park left for the US yesterday for the purpos
Jan. 28, 2021
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Civic groups demand suspension of military drills with US for confidence building with N. Korea
Nearly 400 local and foreign civic groups on Thursday urged South Korea and the United States to suspend joint military drills as a "major confidence-building measure" toward North Korea. A total of 387 organizations, including 197 South Korean civic groups, made the appeal weeks after North Korea demanded an end to such combined military exercises during a recent party congress. "Suspending these costly and highly provocative war exercises will be a crucial step toward re-start
Jan. 28, 2021
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Biden stresses need for complete denuclearization of Korean Peninsula: White House
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday highlighted the need to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. Biden made the remarks in a call with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, according to the White House. "They discussed regional security issues, including China and North Korea," a White House readout of the call said. "They together affirmed the necessity of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and the early resolution of the abductions issue," it a
Jan. 28, 2021
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NK calls on beefed-up efforts for 'self-reliance' to achieve five-year economic plan
North Korea's official newspaper Thursday urged stepped-up efforts to realize a self-reliant economy and carry out key policy goals unveiled in a rare party meeting earlier this month. At the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un admitted the failure to meet the country's previous five-year development goals and put forward a new five-year plan focusing on self-reliance. "The socialist economic construction is the most crucial tas
Jan. 28, 2021
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Over 60% of N. Koreans face food insecurity amid global pandemic: US report
More than 60 percent of North Korea's population is facing food insecurity as the global coronavirus pandemic has undercut food supplies in the impoverished country, a US Department of Agriculture report showed Thursday. According to the report by the department's Economic Research Service, 63.1 percent or 16.2 million people in North Korea suffered food insecurity in 2020. Food insecurity occurs when people fall short of the nutritional target of 2,100 kilocalories per day. The 2020 figure f
Jan. 28, 2021
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US will work with China, Russia to denuclearize N. Korea: UN envoy
The United States will work with its Japanese and South Korean allies, but also with China and Russia to denuclearize North Korea, the appointee for US ambassador to the United Nations said Wednesday. Linda Thomas-Greenfield also said the former Donald Trump administration may have failed to rid the North of its nuclear weapons because it tried to go "alone." "We certainly have to reengage with our allies. Again, this is not something we can do alone," she said in her confi
Jan. 28, 2021
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[Newsmaker] N. Korea touts nicotine replacement supplements
For many smokers, quitting smoking might be on top of their list of new year’s resolutions, and it appears that North Korea is also no exception. An article titled, “Anti-smoking and our lives” was published on Meari, one of North Korea’s propaganda media websites, on Monday, promoting the nation’s anti-smoking activities, campaigns and research centers specializing in treatments to stop smoking. Since the enactment of an anti-smoking law on Nov. 4. last year that
Jan. 27, 2021
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FM, Blinken agree in phone talks that NK nuke issue urgent matter for Biden administration
SEOUL/WASHINGTON -- Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and new US Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed Wednesday that the North Korean nuclear issue is an urgent matter that the two countries should work closely to resolve. They shared the understanding in their first phone talks that came just hours after Blinken officially took office as the country's top diplomat following the Senate confirmation on his nomination. "The two ministers shared the understanding that the North Korean nucl
Jan. 27, 2021
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Deputy nuke envoys of S. Korea, Russia discuss North Korea issues by phone
The deputy nuke envoys of South Korea and Russia held phone talks to discuss the latest developments on North Korea, including the recent key party congress, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. Lee Moon-hee, director-general for North Korean nuclear affairs at Seoul's foreign ministry, and his Russian counterpart, Oleg Burmistrov, shared assessments on the recent situation on the Korean Peninsula, including the eighth congress of the Workers' Party that ended earlier this month, the minist
Jan. 27, 2021
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[Newsmaker] NK paper stresses importance of admitting flaws along path to economic progress
North Korea's official newspaper on Wednesday stressed the importance of admitting flaws and fixing them at the right time as the country steps up efforts to carry out key policy goals unveiled in a rare party meeting earlier this month. "Revolutionaries must strictly stay away from praising one's own accomplishments and drifting into indolence, which is equal to giving up their struggle for the revolution," the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling party, said i
Jan. 27, 2021
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[Graphic News] Number of NK defectors plunges in 2020 amid border closure
The number of North Koreans defecting to South Korea dropped sharply last year apparently due to the North’s border closure to prevent an outbreak of the coronavirus, government data showed. According to the data provided by the Unification Ministry, a total of 229 North Koreans settled down in South Korea last year. The number was far fewer than the 1,047 tallied a year earlier and 1,137 registered in 2018. During the first quarter, 135 North Koreans defected to the South. The
Jan. 27, 2021
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NK paper calls for heightened alert against pandemic as global cases exceed 100m
North Korea's official newspaper on Wednesday urged the people to keep their guard up against the coronavirus pandemic as the number of global COVID-19 cases has exceeded 100 million. "The cases of the new coronavirus have now exceeded 100 million with the death toll rising well over 2.14 million," said the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's ruling party. "We need to keep alert and ramp up emergency antivirus efforts more than ever." The paper called on the people to c
Jan. 27, 2021
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NK state media slams Japan's defense chief for remarks over military parade
North Korea‘s state news agency on Tuesday strongly slammed Japan’s defense chief for his recent remarks over a military parade held in Pyongyang, saying Tokyo is just making a fuss and inciting hostility toward its country. North Korea conducted a massive military parade in central Pyongyang in mid-January, showing off a new submarine-launched ballistic missile and other state-of-the-art weaponry. Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said that Tokyo is working to collect and an
Jan. 26, 2021
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NK raps Australia on human rights in support of China
North Korea, which has often been criticized by the United Nations for recurring human rights abuses, condemned Australia at a UN meeting for committing human rights violations, UN Watch said Tuesday. The group is a Geneva-based organization that follows UN activities. “The deep-rooted racial discrimination and xenophobia rampant in the Australian public sector must come to an end,” North Korea’s UN ambassador said at a United Nations Human Rights Council session Jan. 20. He
Jan. 26, 2021