Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Marine corporal sentenced to death for killing four fellows
HWASEONG, South Korea, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- A 19-year-old marine corporal surnamed Kim was sentenced to death by a military court on Friday for killing four fellow marines in a shooting rampage on Ganghwa Island, west of Seoul, last July.A marine private found guilty of assisting Kim in the July 4 ra
Jan. 13, 2012
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Hackers target soldiers
South Korean military officials are being targeted by hackers using e-mails with North Korea-related attached files.According to local news reports, South Korean military officials have been receiving e-mails containing attached files with titles related to North Korea or Seoul-Washington relations.One e-mail contains a file with a title that suggests it is an analysis of North Korea’s New Year’s editorial.Another appears to be from a U.S. military officer, and contains a hacking program in a fi
Jan. 12, 2012
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U.S. to keep ‘operationally resilient’ troops in Korea
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The U.S. Department of Defense assured Sunday that it will maintain “operationally resilient and politically sustainable” troops in South Korea under a new long-term defense strategy.“We will continue to maintain a force posture that is geographically distributed, operationally resilient and politically sustainable,” a department official said in a reply to Yonhap News Agency’s inquiry over the possibility of a troop level cut.The U.S. has around 28,000 soldiers in Sou
Jan. 9, 2012
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South Korea sets W10 trillion defense projects in motion
The government has set in motion three large defense contract projects with a combined value of more than 10.6 trillion won ($9.1 billion). On Friday the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, or DAPA announced the acquisition plans for the AH-X project and the maritime operations helicopter project.In addition, the DAPA plans to make the announcement for the third part of the F-X project late next week.The deadline for the bids for the two helicopter projects are May 10. All three projects
Jan. 9, 2012
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State held responsible for soldier’s suicide
The Seoul Central District Court ruled on Monday that the state was partially responsible for the death of a soldier surnamed Lee who was pushed to suicide after being abused by other soldiers. In passing the ruling, the court ordered the government to pay Lee’s family 60 million won ($51,500) in compensation. The court sided with Lee’s family, saying that a lack of measures to address Lee’s psychological status contributed partially to his suicide.“Senior soldiers repeated profanities, verbal a
Jan. 9, 2012
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U.S. to keep 'operationally resilient' troops in Korea: official
The U.S. Department of Defense assured Sunday that it will maintain "operationally resilient and politically sustainable" troops in South Korea under a new long-term defense strategy."We will continue to maintain a force posture that is geographically distributed, operationally resilient and politic
Jan. 9, 2012
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Military to study response to increasing naval force in neighboring states
The military will begin looking into preparing countermeasures to increasing naval powers in South Korea‘s neighbors and potential territorial claims that may ensue, officials said Saturday.A military official said the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts late last year earmarked 500 million won ($430,660) for the related research. The official said it will focus on responding to China‘s and Japan’s growing naval power by strengthening South Korea‘s own naval forces in th
Jan. 8, 2012
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Military to study response to increasing naval force in neighboring states
The military will begin looking into preparing countermeasures to increasing naval powers in South Korea's neighbors and potential territorial claims that may ensue, officials said Saturday.A military official said the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts late last year earma
Jan. 7, 2012
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Financial watchdog asks police to investigate N. Korea rumors
South Korea's financial watchdog said Friday it has asked police to investigate market rumors about an explosion at North Korea's nuclear facilities to find out whether speculators intentionally spread them to take profits.Korea's stocks and currency sharply fell on Friday, hit by market talks there
Jan. 6, 2012
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Helsinki OKs shipment of Patriot missiles to S. Korea
HELSINKI (AFP) ― Sixty-nine Patriot missiles impounded in Finland after being found on a merchant vessel in mid-December were headed for South Korea, the Finnish government said Wednesday, granting their transit through Finnish territory.“The missiles in question had been sold to the Republic of Korea by Germany,” the government said in a statement, adding that it had granted a license to Seoul’s “Defense Acquisition Program Administration to transit through Finnish territory 69 Patriot missiles
Jan. 5, 2012
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Israeli official in Seoul to discuss jet
Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Defense Udi Shani came to Korea on Thursday to discuss issues regarding the T-50 advanced trainer jet.Shani’s visit comes on the heels of his visit to Italy, Korea’s competitor for a lucrative defense contract estimated to be worth $1 billion. Israel has been weighing the Korean-made T-50 against Italy’s M-346 to replace the U.S.-made A-4 Skyhawk advanced trainer jet. While the Israeli defense ministry is said to be planning to make the decision within we
Jan. 5, 2012
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S. Korea seeks U.S. cooperation for safe delivery of missiles from Europe: sources
SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is seeking U.S. cooperation to ensure safe shipment of missiles that were detained in Finland, government sources said Thursday.One source said a British-registered ship, named Thor Liberty, has been authorized to leave the port in Kotka, southern Finland.The sh
Jan. 5, 2012
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S. Korea adds cyber-security to defense plan
South Korean military to enhance readiness on border and improve conditions for conscriptsThe South Korean military has included cyberspace in its comprehensive defense plan, the Ministry of National Defense said in its annual report on Wednesday.Meanwhile the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs revealed that it is reviewing plans to introduce a quota in the civil service for those who have served military duty, as a possible alternative to the points system that gives ex-draftees an advan
Jan. 4, 2012
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U.S. Forces Korea extends curfew on military staff
The U.S. Forces Korea commander on Tuesday extended the off-base curfew on military personnel until further notice.The new curfew begins Jan. 7 at 1 a.m. The hours of the curfew are from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. throughout the week. Previously, the curfew had been enforced from midnight until 5 a.m. on weekdays and from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. on weekends and public holidays. The U.S. military introduced a curfew on its members on Oct. 7 following a series of serious crimes, including the rape of a high school
Jan. 3, 2012
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Ministry to complete cleanup of ex-U.S. bases this week
The defense ministry said Thursday it is scheduled to finish cleaning up former U.S. military bases returned to South Korea by the end of this week.The ministry said 16 former U.S. installations have been cleaned up after more than two and a half years of work, covering 425.7 million square meters. One other base will join the list by July next year, it added.The U.S. forces here have returned 48 of 80 designated bases amid an ongoing relocation of their troops, and 17 of those 48 showed soil co
Dec. 29, 2011
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Spy plane ‘Peace Eye’ to fly in exercises
A U.S.-made advanced surveillance aircraft will take part in live military drills next year for the first time since joining the Air Force here in September, an official said Tuesday.An Air Force official said the E-737 aircraft by Boeing will join the joint Max Thunder exercises between South Korea and the U.S. The biannual exercises are scheduled for May and October next year.The airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) was dubbed “Peace Eye” after a naming contest in 2008.“The participation
Dec. 27, 2011
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Ship carrying missiles trying to avoid typhoon
A Britain-registered ship carrying missiles to South Korea has been detained in Finland after trying to avoid a typhoon, a South Korean official said Tuesday.According to the official with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the ship Thor Liberty, which was delivering 69 Patriot missiles from Germany to South Korea, was impounded in Kotka, southern Finland, on Dec. 15. The vessel had left a northern German port of Emden on Dec. 13.The official said it was en route to South Korea befo
Dec. 27, 2011
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‘U.S. forces S. Korea to delay purchase of Global Hawk’
South Korea’s plan to purchase Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance planes has been put off by one year as the U.S. government has not agreed to the sale yet, a government source said Monday. With the planned purchase of the Global Hawks hitting a snag, South Korea plans to invite two more models of U.S.-made spy drones ― the Global Observer made by AeroVironment and Boeing’s Phantom Eye ― to bid for the project, the source said. “We will map out a new acquisition plan next year to select one amo
Dec. 26, 2011
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Seoul to buy French spy planes, use against N.K.
South Korea plans to buy two advanced reconnaissance planes from France by 2015, to allow the military to intercept radio messages from of North Korea, a government source said Monday. The South’s military will replace some of its aging spy planes with the militarized specialty version of “Falcon-2000” jet, produced by France’s Dassault Aviation, to keep closer watch on North Korea, the source said on the condition of anonymity. “The military decided to introduce two Falcon-2000 reconnaissance p
Dec. 26, 2011
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S. Korea to buy 2 advanced spy planes from France
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to buy two advanced reconnaissance planes from France by 2015, to allow the military to intercept radio messages from of North Korea, a government source said Monday. The South's military will replace some of its aging spy planes with the militarized spec
Dec. 26, 2011