Most Popular
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
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[Kim Seong-kon] Democracy and the future of South Korea
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Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?
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Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
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Seoul says Fu Bao loan 'not going to happen'
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Seoul to announce missile pact revision as early as Sunday
Seoul reportedly plans to announce its agreement with Washington on revising a bilateral ballistic missile pact as early as Sunday. The revision is to allow South Korea to develop ballistic missiles with a range of up to 800 km, up from the previous 300 km, so as to better deal with missile threats from North Korea, reports say. The weight of the payload is to remain at the current 500 kg. “(Seou
Oct. 6, 2012
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U.S. military to bring in precision-guided 'Excalibur' shells
The U.S. military in South Korea plans to bring in precision-guided "Excalibur" shells capable of striking artillery batteries in North Korea by the end of the year, a military source said Thursday.The U.S. 2nd Infantry Division and South Korea's Agency for Defense Development successfully conducted a test-firing of the Excalibur shell in May, the source said. The U.S. forces also plan to addition
Oct. 4, 2012
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Navy searches East Sea following report of suspicious object
The Navy scoured waters off South Korea‘s east coast following a citizen’s report of an object that appeared to be a submarine, but the search turned up nothing unusual, officials said.A 39-year-old tourist reported to authorities he saw a strange object emerging and then disappearing in waters some 500 meters away from the Gyeongpodae beach in Gangneung, about 240 kilometers east of Seoul, around 6:20 a.m. while taking pictures of the sun rising.The Navy immediately sent an anti-submarine vesse
Oct. 2, 2012
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Tough negotiations ahead in copter project
Korea is likely to face tough price negotiations for its planned purchase of advanced attack helicopters, with costs currently appearing almost double the budget allocated for the project.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration plans to select the provider for 36 advanced military copters by late November. Boeing’s AH-64D Apache Longbow, Bell’s AH-1Z Cobra and Turkish Aerospace Industries/AgustaWestland’s T-129 choppers are competing for the deal. The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Age
Sept. 27, 2012
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Air Force insiders foresaw F-22 woes
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan (AP) -- Years before F-22 pilots began getting dizzy in the cockpit, before one struggled to breathe as he tried to pull out of a fatal crash, before two more went on television to say the plane was so unsafe they refused to fly it, a small circle of U.S. Air Force experts knew something was wrong with the prized stealth fighter jet.Coughing among pilots and fears that conta
Sept. 27, 2012
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U.S. gov't informs Congress of possible sale of attack copters to Korea
The United States government has formally notified Congress of a plan to seek the sale of 36 advanced attack helicopters to South Korea.A deal under the Foreign Military Sales program, if sealed, would be worth up to US$3.6 billion.In two separate notifications to Congress, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency at the Pentagon provided details of proposed sales of Boeing's AH-64D Apache Longbow
Sept. 27, 2012
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Six out of 10 crimes involving U.S. servicemen not indicted: report
More than 60 percent of crimes involving U.S. soldiers in South Korea were not sent to courts for trial last year, a government report showed Wednesday, raising concerns that judicial authorities are too lenient on such crimes.Charges were not pressed in 63.4 percent or 218 out of 344 criminal cases, involving U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) personnel in 2011, according to the report submitted by the National Police Agency and the justice ministry to the parliament.The share was up sharply from 30.1 pe
Sept. 26, 2012
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Defense budget up 5.1%
The government on Tuesday called for a 5.1 percent increase in its defense budget for next year to improve defense and the welfare of its soldiers.The Ministry of National Defense has drawn up a spending plan worth 34.6 trillion won for 2013, up from 32.9 trillion won this year.It plans to allocate 24.1 trillion to the operations and maintenance of its strategic military bases, which includes boosting the health and welfare of its soldiers, and providing other necessities such as high-tech train
Sept. 25, 2012
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Korea to extend troop deployment in UAE, Somalia
The Korean government on Tuesday endorsed a motion to extend its troop deployment in Somalia and the United Arab Emirates for another year until the end of 2013. The Cabinet meanwhile approved a separate bill, calling for the withdrawal of most soldiers in Afghanistan this year except for a 70-strong unit to protect aid workers and embassy staff.The proposals are subject to parliamentary approval.Korea dispatched 310 troops to the Gulf of Aden off Somalia in 2009 as part of a multinational effor
Sept. 25, 2012
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Pentagon: S. Korea has many options to help U.S. missile defense
A senior Pentagon official said Monday that South Korea has "a lot of ways" to help the U.S. missile defense system in Northeast Asia."Yes, there are a lot of ways one can contribute," Kathleen Hicks, principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy, said at a forum. "We do have dialogue with the (South) Koreans about how to contribute to missile defense."She was responding to Yonhap News Ag
Sept. 25, 2012
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S. Korean Navy fires warning shots against N. Korean fishing boats
South Korea's Navy fired warning shots against North Korean boats operating south of the western sea border, military officials said, after raising the alert status in response to a number of ships violating the demarcation line over the past week.The North Korean boats retreated to north of the border upon the warning shots, officials said.The latest move comes as a growing number of North Korean
Sept. 21, 2012
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New missile targets N.K. underground artillery bases
South Korea has developed a short-range ballistic missile aimed at destroying underground artillery bases in North Korea, a lawmaker of the parliamentary defense committee said Tuesday. The Joint Chiefs of Staff briefed committee members in a closed-door meeting Monday that the military has succeeded in developing the guided missile with a range of 100 kilometers and successfully conducted test-firing in May, according to a lawmaker who attended the briefing.The missile is designed to be fired f
Sept. 18, 2012
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Defense budget for next 5 years to total W199.6tr
The Ministry of National Defense estimates that the country’s defense operations will require about 199.6 trillion won ($177.3 billion) for the 2013 to 2017 period.The figure is 13.3 trillion won larger than that estimated in the mid-term defense plans for the period between 2012 and 2016.The change was included in the 2013 to 2016 mid-term defense plans reported to the National Assembly on Wednesday. Of the total, about 33.3 percent of the estimated budget will be directed to improving the mili
Sept. 12, 2012
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Korea, U.S. mull regular cyber warfare drills
South Korea and the United States are pushing to hold regular joint exercises and train professionals to guard against growing threats of cyber attack from North Korea, a senior Seoul official said Wednesday.Concerns over cyber attacks on military infrastructure and government and communications systems have mounted as Seoul believes Pyongyang was behind the jamming of GPS signals on civilian flights and commercial ships earlier this year and the hacking of government Web sites and banking syste
Sept. 12, 2012
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S. Korea, U.S. mull regular cyber warfare drills
South Korea and the United States are pushing to hold regular joint exercises and train professionals to guard against growing threats of cyber attack from North Korea, a senior Seoul official said Wednesday.Concerns over cyber attacks on military infrastructure and government and communications systems have mounted as Seoul believes Pyongyang was behind the jamming of GPS signals on civilian flights and commercial ships earlier this year and the hacking of government Web sites and banking syste
Sept. 12, 2012
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2.7 tln won set aside to counter North's nuclear, artillery threats
The defense ministry will spend 2.7 trillion won (US$2.3 billion) over the next five years to secure tactical weapons to counter threats of North Korea's nuclear and artillery attacks, the state-run procurement agency said Tuesday.The Defense Acquisition and Procurement Agency (DAPA) held a meeting presided over by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and approved the 61.4 trillion won budget for the 201
Sept. 11, 2012
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U.S. expects S. Korean role in global missile defense
The United States hopes for greater contributions by South Korea and other allies to its push to bolster its missile defense networks around the world, a senior State Department official said Monday."Creating this new strategic environment depends on strong cooperation with our allies and partners. In order to make this vision a reality, President (Barack) Obama has made international cooperation on missile defense a key priority," said Frank A. Rose, deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of
Sept. 11, 2012
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Korea holds defense drills near Dokdo
South Korea on Friday conducted defense drills in waters near the easternmost islets of Dokdo to prepare for any situation in which foreigners trespass in the territorial waters, amid a continued diplomatic standoff with Japan. The joint operation by Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard kicked off earlier in the day under a scenario in which the maritime police play a leading role if citizens of other countries attempt to approach and illegally land on the islets. After the one-day training, th
Sept. 7, 2012
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WHO to permanently close Korean branch office
The World Health Organization will soon close down its South Korean office after deciding that the country, formerly a beneficiary of foreign aid, is no longer in need of its services, the government said Friday.Given that Korea has now become a major donor country, WHO officials concluded that its local branch is not necessary and should be shut down at the end of this month, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.Last year, the nation contributed a total of $10.5 million to the world
Sept. 7, 2012
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S. Korea holds defense drills near Dokdo
South Korea on Friday conducted defense drills in waters near the easternmost islets of Dokdo to prepare for any situation in which foreigners trespass in the territorial waters, amid a continued diplomatic standoff with Japan.The joint operation by Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard kicked off earlier in the day under a scenario in which the maritime police play a leading role if citizens of other countries attempt to approach and illegally land on the islets. After the one-day training, the
Sept. 7, 2012