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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Unification ministry budget for inter-Korean cooperation rises 2% in 2022
The unification ministry's next year budget for inter-Korean cooperation slightly increased despite chilled cross-border exchanges in the face of deadlocked nuclear negotiations and the North's prolonged border lockdown, according to officials. Under the budget plan approved by the National Assembly earlier in the day, the 2022 budget for the ministry handling inter-Korean relations was set at 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion), up from this year's 1.48 trillion won. Of the total, 1.27 trillion w
Dec. 3, 2021
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UN excludes N. Korea from humanitarian aid plans for two straight years
The United Nations has excluded North Korea from its global humanitarian assistance plan for 2022, its recent report showed, apparently due to the impoverished country's prolonged border lockdown against the COVID-19 pandemic. The Global Humanitarian Overview 2022 released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, "Afghanistan, DPR Korea and Myanmar are facing acute food insecurity situations, which are likely to deteriorate further by the year's end."
Dec. 3, 2021
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Moon’s end of war proposal faces multitude of challenges
President Moon Jae-in hopes to declare the end of the Korean War during his term, but such a declaration without corresponding denuclearization does not guarantee peace on the Korean Peninsula and time is too short to untangle complicated interests of all involved parties, experts say. Moon revived the issue, which had remained dormant since the failed 2019 US-North Korea summit -- at the United Nations in September. Since then, Seoul and Washington have discussed the issue, and are reportedly
Dec. 2, 2021
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NK to hold key party meeting as Kim’s 10-year leadership anniversary approaches
North Korea will hold a key party meeting later this month as leader Kim Jong-un is set to mark 10 years in office, North Korean media said Thursday, with growing speculation that Pyongyang could unveil its policy toward Washington and Seoul for the next year. The decision to hold a plenary session was made during a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea held on Wednesday, presided by leader Kim, according to the Korea Central News Agency. The 4th plenary meetin
Dec. 2, 2021
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N. Korea to hold key party meeting as leader Kim set to mark 10 years in power
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has presided over a politburo session of the ruling party and decided to convene a key party meeting later this month, Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday. During the meeting held the previous day, Kim called 2021 a year of "victory" for "the stable management of the state economy and big successes made in the agricultural and construction sectors," and decided to discuss plans for the new year at the plenary session, according to the Ko
Dec. 2, 2021
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N. Korea kicks up commemorative mood for late leader Kim Jong-il
North Korea's main newspaper on Wednesday published a series of stories lauding late leader Kim Jong-il ahead of the 10th anniversary of his death this month. Kim Jong-il, father of current leader Kim Jong-un, died on Dec. 17, 2011, having ruled the reclusive regime since the death of his father and national founder, Kim Il-sung, in 1994. Kim Jong-un, the third son of the late leader, took over the helm of the North in another hereditary succession of power. In an editorial, the North's Rodon
Dec. 1, 2021
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COVAX allocates 4.7 million more COVID-19 vaccines to N. Korea
The COVAX Facility, a global vaccine distribution platform, has assigned 4.7 million doses of additional COVID-19 vaccines to North Korea in its latest distribution plan, its report showed Tuesday. According to the program's 12th vaccine allocation decision, AstraZeneca's vaccines will be provided to North Korea, though Pyongyang remains unresponsive to the proposed vaccine assistance. When added to the 2 million doses of vaccines COVAX earlier allocated to the North, the amount is enough to i
Nov. 30, 2021
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Heat waves, tropical nights increase in N. Korea due to global warming: weather agency
North Korea has seen an increase in heat waves and tropical nights and a decline in cold spells over the past three decades as global warming has driven up temperatures, South Korea's state weather agency said Tuesday. The average annual temperature in North Korea rose by 0.4 degree Celsius to 8.9 C for the 1991-2020 period in comparison with the 1981-2010 period, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The agency used temperature and precipitation data collected from 27 ob
Nov. 30, 2021
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Delving into presidential hopefuls’ N. Korea policy: What’s in the box?
North Korea policy is one of the main dividers between progressives and conservatives in South Korean politics, and the two leading presidential candidates -- Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Seok-youl -- are poles apart on how to secure stability and peace on the Korean Peninsula. They also disagree on the fundamental causes of the current strained inter-Korean relations. But Yoon and Lee both dismiss the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons as an impractical option and endorse the idea of providin
Nov. 29, 2021
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N. Korea urges full vigilance against Omicron coronavirus variant
North Korea said Monday it has strengthened preventive measures against COVID-19 in response to growing concern about the Omicron variant, a move that heralds a further delay in easing its stringent border control. The reclusive nation had been seen preparing to reopen its land border with China and Russia, at least partially, before the end of this year. But the emergence of a new variant of the coronavirus has put the country and many other parts of the world on high alert. In a report, the
Nov. 29, 2021
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Seoul monitoring N. Korea's nuclear, missile activities: unification ministry
South Korea is monitoring North Korea's nuclear and missile activities in close cooperation with the United States, the unification ministry said Friday, following reports the North appears to be continuing the operation of a nuclear reactor at its mainstay Yongbyon complex. 38 North, a US monitoring website, said Wednesday steam was detected emanating from the 5-megawatt reactor in an indication at least one generator is in operation, citing recent satellite imagery. Asked to comment on the r
Nov. 26, 2021
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Over half of S. Koreans say inter-Korean summit at Beijing Olympics not possible: poll
More than half of South Koreans believe an inter-Korean summit at the Beijing Winter Olympics, slated for February, will not be possible, a survey showed Friday. According to the survey on 1,000 adults by the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council on Nov. 20 and 21, 53.9 percent said an inter-Korean summit during the Winter Olympics would not be possible, while 40.1 percent said it would be. South Korea has sought to use the Beijing Games to create fresh momentum for the resumption of stalled d
Nov. 26, 2021
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North Korea likely continuing nuclear activities: IAEA
North Korea appears to have operated its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, which can produce weapons-grade plutonium, and continued nuclear activities at Kangson and Pyongsan, a UN watchdog revealed Wednesday. Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of International Atomic Energy Agency, said Wednesday the continuation of nuclear program is “a clear violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and is deeply regrettable.” The IAEA identified “ongoing indications consis
Nov. 25, 2021
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Seoul monitoring possibility of new NK event marking 2017 ICBM launch
South Korea is closely monitoring the possibility of North Korea holding an event celebrating its 2017 launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a unification ministry official said Thursday. North Korea's calendars began to mark Nov. 29 as an anniversary for its "rocket" development this year. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared the completion of the country's nuclear force after firing the new ICBM, the Hwasong-15, on the day in 2017. "We are keeping monitor
Nov. 25, 2021
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Satellite imagery indicates continued operation of NK nuke reactor: 38 North
North Korea appears to be continuing the operation of a plutonium-producing nuclear reactor at its mainstay Yongbyon complex, a US monitoring website has said, citing satellite imagery. 38 North reported Wednesday recent commercial satellite imagery of the complex north of Pyongyang provided further evidence of activity at the 5-megawatt reactor, which can produce up to 6 kilograms of plutonium -- a fissile material used for a bomb -- a year. "Steam is emanating from the reactor's generat
Nov. 25, 2021
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Unification minister denies Olympics central to ‘end-of-war declaration’
Unification Minister Lee In-young on Wednesday denied speculation that Seoul is seeking to declare a formal end to the Korean War in time for the upcoming Beijing Olympics, amid concerns that a possible US boycott of the games would dash Seoul’s hopes for diplomacy with Pyongyang. “The end-of-war declaration is not necessarily aimed at the Beijing Olympics,” Lee told reporters during a press conference in Seoul, stressing that the two are separate issues. “We do hope
Nov. 24, 2021
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N. Korea holds nationwide computer programming competition
North Korea has opened a nationwide computer programming competition aimed at cultivating talents to lead the country's information and technology development, a propaganda outlet said Tuesday. A semifinal for the competition, organized by the Kimchaek University of Technology, took place between Nov. 5-15, with the final match slated to kick off Friday for an 11-day run, according to DPRK Today. In an interview with it, the university's vice president said around 1,240 participants, ranging
Nov. 23, 2021
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N. Korea yet to reopen land border with China: unification ministry
North Korea has yet to reopen its land border with China amid indications of brisk preparations to ease lockdown measures attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Seoul's unification ministry Monday. South Korea has been closely monitoring signs of the North reopening its border, which has remained closed for nearly two years due to the virus crisis. "Signs of preparations to resume trade have been continuously detected, but it's not at a stage to say trade has resumed or the N
Nov. 22, 2021
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N. Korea calls for glorifying Kim's era as mass movement conference closes
North Korea has called for praising the era of leader Kim Jong-un as a large-scale conference on carrying out a mass movement for the country's development wrapped up, its state media said Monday. The 5th Conference of the Frontrunners in the Three Revolutions, which kicked off in Pyongyang on Thursday, closed with the adoption of an appeal that calls for the glorification of "the great era of Kim Jong-un," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The three-revolution move
Nov. 22, 2021
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N. Korea dismisses UN human rights resolution as outcome of ‘hostile policy’
Pyongyang “strongly” condemned the recent passage of the UN draft resolution on human rights violations in North Korea and reiterated its call for the UN to investigate the US for human rights abuses, state-run media reported Sunday. North Korea claimed that the US and other “hostile forces” forcibly adopted the draft resolution, in a press statement issued by an unnamed spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The press statement was released four days after t
Nov. 21, 2021