Most Popular
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Hyundai Motor eyes 80,000 jobs, W68tr investment at home by 2026
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Doctors' group picks new leader amid tense standoff over increased enrollment quota
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Dialogue hopes fade as doctors pick hard-liner as new head
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Coupang pledges W3tr to expand Rocket Delivery nationwide by 2027
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[Election Battlefield] Political novice to face off star politician in ‘swing district’
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[Kim Seong-kon] The April 2024 election will decide our future
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul’s bus union prepares for strike
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US intel downplays NK full-scale war risks, noting Putin as influencer
The US intelligence community currently assesses that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is unlikely to escalate tensions into a full-scale war on the Korean Peninsula, even as concerns persist over the potential for his closer alignment with the Russian president to embolden his aggressive actions. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines provided the assessment during Tuesday's House Intelligence Committee hearing while noting that Kim's recent rhetoric and actions have been incre
March 13, 2024
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US intel believes NK leader has no intentions of negotiating away nuclear program
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "almost certainly" has no intentions of negotiating away his nuclear program and aims to use his defense ties with Russia to achieve acceptance as a nuclear state, a US intelligence report said Monday. The 2024 Annual Threat Assessment also noted that Kim will continue to pursue nuclear and conventional military capabilities that threaten the United States and its allies. "Kim almost certainly has no intentions of negotiating away his nuclear progra
March 12, 2024
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N. Korea attempted to disrupt GPS signals on S. Korean border islands
North Korea attempted to disrupt the reception of Global Positioning System signals on the front-line islands of South Korea in the West Sea for three consecutive days from Tuesday, coinciding with annual combined military drills between Seoul and Washington, the South Korean military confirmed on Friday. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff detected signals sent from North Korea, which were assessed as attempts to interfere with the reception of GPS signals on the Five West Sea Islands mult
March 8, 2024
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NK border sealing with China worsens human rights situation: report
The tightening of border controls by the Kim Jong-un regime, marked by the construction of multiple layers of fences along the China-North Korea border following the COVID-19 pandemic, has exacerbated the already dire humanitarian and human rights crisis in North Korea, according to a report by Human Rights Watch. The HRW, an international human rights organization headquartered in New York, on Thursday published a comprehensive 148-page report titled "A Sense of Terror Stronger than a Bull
March 8, 2024
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Seoul's new unification vision: 'Ensure freedom for every N. Korean'
South Korea's Unification Ministry on Friday revealed its plans to craft a fresh unification vision, with the ultimate aim of guaranteeing the freedom rights of every North Korean citizen on a unified Korean Peninsula. The initiative is set as the ministry's primary goal for the year and marks the first revision of South Korea's official unification formula in 30 years since 1994. Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said that he presented plans to formulate a unification vision groun
March 8, 2024
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NK leader guides artillery firing drills involving border units capable of striking 'enemy's capital'
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has guided artillery firing drills involving front-line units capable of striking the "enemy's capital," state media reported Friday, in an apparent response to an ongoing joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States. The drills were conducted Thursday with the aim of enhancing the combat readiness posture and actual war capability of artillery troops, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "The drill started with the
March 8, 2024
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NK leader calls for intensifying war drills
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for intensifying "practical actual war drills" during a visit to a military training base, state media said Thursday, as a joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States was under way. During the visit to the base in the country's western region Wednesday, Kim inspected training facilities and guided the actual maneuvers of military units, the official Korean Central News Agency said. The visit came two days after South Kor
March 7, 2024
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US nuclear envoy underlines need for 'interim steps' toward ultimate N. Korea denuclearization
The top US nuclear envoy pointed out the need Tuesday for "interim steps" to be taken on a path towards North Korea's ultimate denuclearization, which she stressed would not happen "overnight." US Senior Official for North Korea Jung Pak made the remarks while reiterating Washington's "clear" goal to pursue the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. On Monday, Mira Rapp-Hooper, the US National Security Council senior director for East Asia and Oceania,
March 6, 2024
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N. Korea warns US-S. Korea to pay 'dear price' for joint military drills
North Korea on Tuesday denounced an annual joint military exercise that South Korea and the United States launched this week, warning they will pay a "dear price" for what it called their large-scale war drills. An unnamed spokesperson at the North's defense ministry issued a statement condemning the annual Freedom Shield exercise that began Monday for an 11-day run to strengthen deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. "The large-scale war drills st
March 5, 2024
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N. Korea deletes state media articles using unification references
North Korea has removed articles with unification references from the website of its state-run media outlet, after leader Kim Jong-un called South Korea the North's "primary foe" and vowed not to seek unification with the South. As of Monday, a majority of the articles containing references to unification, such as "peaceful reunification," "great national unity" and "northern half," appear to have been deleted from the website of the North's Kore
March 4, 2024
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Poland preparing technical inspection at diplomatic mission in N. Korea: VOA
Poland is in talks with North Korea to conduct a technical inspection at its diplomatic mission in Pyongyang, a US news outlet reported Saturday, after a few other European countries have taken similar steps amid prospects of reopening the missions in the North after years of the pandemic-driven shutdown. Poland is "discussing with the DPRK authorities a suitable time for both sides to conduct a technical mission in Pyongyang," the Voice of America reported, citing a written comment fr
March 2, 2024
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N.K. again close to bottom in global freedom index: report
North Korea was again assessed as one of the most repressive countries in the world in an annual report by the US-based freedom watchdog, receiving only three out of 100 points on the freedom index. In the report, titled "Freedom in the World 2024," published by Freedom House, North Korea was given zero points out of 40 in terms of political rights and 3 points out of 60 in terms of civil liberties. The only countries behind the North in the index were Syria with 1 point, South Sudan w
March 1, 2024
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N. Korea wants Trump's reelection, will raise tensions until presidential vote: ex-German envoy
North Korea hopes for former President Donald Trump's win in the Nov. 5 US presidential election and will continue to raise tensions with Seoul and Washington until the election, a former German ambassador to Pyongyang said in a media contribution published Wednesday. Thomas Schafer made the case in a piece written to NPR, saying that Pyongyang would want to give negotiations with Trump "another try" in the event of his reelection, although a nuclear parley between him and North K
Feb. 29, 2024
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South Korean and US troops will begin major exercises next week in response to North Korean threats
South Korean and US troops will begin their expanded annual military drills next week in response to North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats, the two countries said Wednesday, a move that will likely enrage North Korea because it views its rivals’ joint training as an invasion rehearsal. In recent months, North Korea has inflamed animosities on the Korean Peninsula with fiery rhetoric and continued missile tests . While it’s unlikely for North Korea to launch full-blown at
Feb. 28, 2024
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Seoul doesn't oppose NK engaging with US, Japan: unification minister
The Yoon Suk Yeol government "does not oppose North Korea engaging with the United States and Japan," the South Korean unification minister said, concurrently acknowledging that obstacles remain for North Korea to overcome to improve relations with the two countries. "The resolution of issues pertaining to Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea appears to be a prerequisite for the advancement of relations between Japan and North Korea," Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho sa
Feb. 28, 2024
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[Herald Interview] Rival heir to Kim Ju-ae unlikely to appear: unification minister
Another heir emerging for North Korea besides Kim Jong-un's publicly promoted preteen daughter Ju-ae is unlikely because it would spark confusion within the isolated totalitarian society, according to South Korea's unification minister. During an exclusive 90-minute interview with The Korea Herald on Feb. 23, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho underscored the "considerable internal instability" brewing within North Korea, a situation catalyzing the early debut of Ju-ae as candi
Feb. 28, 2024
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South Korean FM Cho voices concerns over North Korea-Russia military cooperation
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul expressed concerns Friday over growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, saying it could potentially help Pyongyang's ability to "threaten security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond." Cho made the remarks during a UN Security Council (UNSC) briefing on the Ukraine issue at UN headquarters in New York on the eve of the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "If and when it turns out to be the cas
Feb. 24, 2024
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S. Korea to designate July 14 as day for N. Korean defectors
The Yoon Suk Yeol government will officially designate July 14 as a day to commemorate North Korean defectors, symbolically coinciding with the day when the law ensuring support for their resettlement in South Korean society took effect in 1997. South Korean Unification Minister Kim Young-ho announced the official designation on Wednesday while attending the inauguration ceremony of the Special Committee for Accompanying Residents with Backgrounds from North Korea established under the auspices
Feb. 21, 2024
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US restates its goal of 'full' Korean Peninsula denuclearization
The State Department on Tuesday reiterated the United States' goal to achieve the "full" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, after North Korea signaled openness to improving ties with Japan as long as Tokyo does not take issue with its "right to self-defense." Last week, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida might be able to visit Pyongyang if Tokyo "drops its bad habit" of taking issue
Feb. 21, 2024
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N. Korean missile used against Ukraine contained US, European parts: CNN
A North Korean ballistic missile that Russia fired against Ukraine last month contained many parts traced to companies in the United States and Europe, CNN reported Tuesday, citing a research report. The Britain-based organization, Conflict Armament Research, produced the report that examined 290 components from remnants of a North Korean missile retrieved from Kharkiv in Ukraine, and discovered that 75 percent of the components were designed and sold by companies incorporated in the US, accordi
Feb. 21, 2024