Most Popular
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Shinsegae faces showdown with investors over SSG.com's delayed IPO
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Hopes rise for possible Gaza truce deal
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Ex-pro baseball player who killed debtor appeals sentence
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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S. Korea to issue travel ban on Haiti amid intensifying gang violence
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Leaders of S. Korea, Angola agree to boost economic, trade cooperation
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Lee talk show to cover N. Korea, economic policies
President Lee Myung-bak is to give his views on inter-Korean relations, diplomatic issues and the government’s economic policy plans for this year in a televised talk show Tuesday morning.In the 90-minute show titled “Dialogue with the President: the Republic of Korea in 2011,” Lee will discuss foreign affairs, security and economy with Hallym University of Graduate Studies professor Chung Kwan-yo
Jan. 31, 2011
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Lee may reshuffle aides, ministers
President Lee Myung-bak is reportedly considering replacing some of his aides and Cabinet members in February as he completes his third year in office.Lee, first of all, has to name a new senior presidential secretary for economic affairs to replace Choi Joong-kyung, who was appointed as the minister of knowledge economy last week.“As for the vacancies in Cheong Wa Dae, nominations can take place
Jan. 31, 2011
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Seoul rejects N.K. offer of earlier talks
Defense Ministry says it wants enough time to make preparationsSeoul’s Defense Ministry on Monday rejected North Korea’s proposal to hold working-level military talks at an earlier date, repeating that it wants to hold the meeting Feb. 11 as it originally suggested.In a faxed message sent to the ministry last Saturday, the North suggested holding the preliminary talks Tuesday without elaborating o
Jan. 31, 2011
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Gov't seeks to increase flights departing Cairo amid Egypt protests
South Korea's foreign ministry said Monday it is working on increasing the number of flights from Cairo to Seoul to transport South Korean nationals back home amid raging anti-government protests there. "As the situation gets worse, there aren't enough flights compared to the number of our people who would like to leave Egypt," said a ministry official. "We are in talks with Korean Air to inc
Jan. 31, 2011
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Resumption of six-party talks ‘fully up to N.K.’: Minister Kim
Instead of setting preconditions, South Korea will watch how much veracity North Korea shows toward denuclearization and the two deadly attacks last year in their upcoming talks to decide when to restart larger-scale peace talks, Seoul’s foreign minister said. The comments by Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan come as the two Koreas are preparing to hold defense talks viewed by regional powers as a st
Jan. 30, 2011
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‘The two talks will inevitably affect one another’
The following are excerpts from the interview with Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan. ― Ed. The Korea Herald: Regarding the upcoming inter-Korean dialogue, what is the government’s official position on not linking North Korea’s apology for the attacks last year with the resumption of the six-party talks?Kim Sung-hwan: While we can set the conditions for the inter-Korean talks and have the initiative,
Jan. 30, 2011
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‘Somali pirates are the most sought after groom among Somali women’
Those who are considered elite in Somalia join a gang of pirates, and pirates are the most sought after groom among Somali women, according to a source in Seoul. As pirates get ransoms of $2million on average, according to a BBC report in 2008, the rewards which pirate gang members receive, can exceed the average annual income of a developed country, the source said. The Financial Times reported t
Jan. 28, 2011
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Ministry conducts reshuffle of senior prosecutors
The Justice Ministry on Friday appointed Han Sang-dae, chief of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, to head the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in a reshuffle that affected six senior prosecutor posts.Park Yong-seok, chief of the Legal Research and Training Institute, was appointed as the vice chief of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in the reshuffle, which officials said is aimed at re
Jan. 28, 2011
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Son says N.K. leader didn’t want power succession
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was opposed to the second hereditary power succession, but had no other option in order to stabilize the impoverished communist state, a Japanese newspaper quoted Kim’s eldest son as saying Friday.The Tokyo Shimbun said it had an exclusive interview with Kim Jong-nam, thought to be in his late 30s, in a southern Chinese city earlier this month. “Even Chairman Mao Ze
Jan. 28, 2011
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N. Korea proposes parliamentary talks
North Korea proposed parliamentary talks with the South to discuss ways to ease tension on the peninsula, drawing varied reactions from political parties here.“What is essential in the inter-Korean dialogue is dialogue between the authorities with real power and responsibility,” the North’s Central Committee of the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland said in an English-languag
Jan. 28, 2011
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Much at stake in widened by-elections
With as many as six seats up for grabs, the by-elections in April are expected to have a major impact on the political climate ahead of the parliamentary and presidential elections next year.Being this year’s only national-level elections, the votes could buck up or discourage the Lee Myung-bak administration as it nears its end.Gangwon Province will have to pick a new governor as Lee Kwang-jae wa
Jan. 28, 2011
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Former senior prosecutor gets jail term for bribery
A Seoul court sentenced a former senior prosecutor to two-and-a-half years in jail for accepting a luxury car and other kickbacks from a businessman in return for ordering his subordinate to investigate a case against the bribe giver's rival. The 52-year-old, surnamed Jeong who formerly served at the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office, was charged with accepting bribes worth 46 million won (US$
Jan. 28, 2011
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Farm minister offers to resign over FMD spread
Yoo Jeong-bok, agriculture minister (Yonhap News) South Korea's farm minister offered Friday to step down over the severest foot-and-mouth (FMD) outbreak in the country's history once ongoing quarantine efforts arrest the spread of the highly contagious animal disease. Yoo Jeong-bok said in a news conference that he plans to take full responsibility for the outbreak that forced the government t
Jan. 28, 2011
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N. Korea to develop nuclear-capable ICBMs within decade: Adm. Mullen
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- North Korea will likely develop intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads within the coming decade, the chief U.S. military officer said Thursday. "There's little doubt in my mind, unless North Korea is deterred, that sometime in the next, I'm not sure but, five to 10 years, the provocations ... will continue at a much higher threat level,
Jan. 28, 2011
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Seoul steps back on apology from N. Korea
South Korea has said this week it will not link an apology from North Korea for last year’s attacks with resuming multinational disarmament talks, taking a step toward making peace with its nuclear-armed rival. The change of attitude could lead to early resumption of the six-nation talks aimed at North Korea’s denuclearization, an issue that has sparked a months-long tug of war among regional powe
Jan. 27, 2011
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GNP to push for constitutional revision committee
The ruling party will push to organize a special legislative committee for a constitutional amendment during next month’s extraordinary parliamentary session, its floor leader said Thursday, a move aimed at putting the sensitive issue to an open public debate.The Grand National Party’s internal discussion about revising the Constitution to allow the president to seek re-election has recently gaine
Jan. 27, 2011
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Lee installs new minister despite opposition protest
Overriding the main opposition party’s strong resistance, President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday pressed ahead with the appointment of his new knowledge economy minister.Lee gave the letter of appointment to Choi Joong-kyung, a long-time financial bureaucrat, following a month of heated partisan strife over whether he is qualified for the post handling the government’s export and corporate policy.Cho
Jan. 27, 2011
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Military academies lower bar for overseas Koreans
Military academies have decided to loosen their admission requirements or lower the cutoff score in their preliminary admission process for children of overseas Korean nationals, officials at the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday.The move comes as the military seeks to nurture soldiers with global mindsets and high proficiency in foreign languages, as the country has been expanding its ov
Jan. 27, 2011
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Samho captain in ‘serious condition’
Korea may send military aircraft to bring in five captured pirates for trialThe captain of the Korean freighter rescued from Somali pirates last Friday was in a “serious condition,” according to a Korean doctor dispatched to Oman where he is being treated.On Wednesday, Seok Hae-gyun, the 58-year-old captain of the Samho Jewelry freighter, underwent the second surgical procedure for the abdominal g
Jan. 27, 2011
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U.S. envoy warns N.K. against nuclear program
The international community must send a strong, coordinated message that North Korea’s new uranium enrichment activity will not be tolerated, a senior U.S. diplomat said Tuesday, visiting Seoul amid Pyongyang’s recent efforts to resume peace talks with regional powers. It is “very important that the international community sends a strong message” that any uranium enrichment activities by North Kor
Jan. 26, 2011