Most Popular
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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Defense chiefs of US, Australia, Japan decry NK-Russia military cooperation
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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
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Military searching for land mines swept from N. Korea
South Korean military have found 16 wooden-boxed landmines believed to be washed away from North Korea due to heavy rains, and are searching for similar mines near the heavily fortified border area, the Joint Chief of Staff said Tuesday. Front-line military units in Gyeonggi Province have collected 16 land mines, including 12 empty boxes, in downstream areas of the Imjin River and the Hantan River since mid-August, the JCS said.Officials suspect the mines made their way south due to swollen wate
Sept. 4, 2012
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Navy unveils first Korean-made salvage and rescue ship
The Navy on Tuesday unveiled South Korea’s first indigenously built rescue and salvage ship (RAS), after two years of development for rescue operations at sea.The 3,500-ton ATS-II ship was built to rescue stricken ships and tow away ships damaged because of enemy action or engine failure and to provide aid in the cleanup of oil spills and ocean accidents, the Navy said.The state-run Defense Acquisition and Procurement Agency and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. have jointly developed
Sept. 4, 2012
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Korea to press China to verify torture claims
South Korea will press China to verify claims by a Seoul activist that he was severely tortured while in detention in China as the two sides hold regular talks on consular affairs this week, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. Kim Young-hwan, 49, and three other South Korean activists were released in July after 114 days of detention in China. Since the release, Kim has claimed in Seoul that he had been tortured by Chinese investigators with beatings and electric shocks.The case is expected to lo
Sept. 4, 2012
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N.K. shifting military’s economic control to cabinet
Control of North Korea’s economic projects is being shifted from the military to the cabinet, as the communist country gears up for far-reaching economic reform, a Seoul official said Tuesday.“There has been specific progress (related to the shift),” the Unification Ministry official said on condition of anonymity at a press meeting, referring to the North’s reported moves to strip the military of its grip on leading economic projects in the communist country.“There have been signs related to it
Sept. 4, 2012
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Korea world’s 5th-largest arms exporter
South Korea was rated the world’s fifth-largest conventional arms exporter in 2011 with transfer agreements worth $1.5 billion, according to a report released last week by the Congressional Research Service of the U.S.Between 2004 and 2011, the nation ranked 10th in the world in arms sales with $9.2 billion. It was the eighth-largest importer with $7.3 billion. The U.S. continued to dominate the global market topping the list with $66.3 billion in weapons transfer agreements or a 77.7 percent ma
Sept. 3, 2012
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Renewed military reform plans indicate change in stance on security
Political issues likely to hamper implementationThe Ministry of National Defense renewed its military reform plans this week, giving momentum to measures that have been floating without significant development since 2005.“The plans seem to show that the military’s top commanders have awakened after incidents such as the sinking of the Cheonan to the changes that have occurred during previous administrations,” Kim Dae-young of Korea Defense and Security Forum said. While the Defense Ministry’s pl
Aug. 30, 2012
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S. Korea, U.S. resume typhoon-halted military drill
South Korea and the United States have resumed their annual military exercise, the military said Wednesday, one day after the 12-day drill was temporarily halted due to the onset of the powerful Typhoon Bolaven."Training related to the Ulchi Freedom Guardian 2012 will resume this morning after a pause due to weather conditions on the peninsula," the Combined Forces Command (CFC) said in a statemen
Aug. 29, 2012
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N. Korean soldier’s body washes across the border
The corpse of a North Korean soldier was found floating in Hantan river in Cheolwon County, Gangwon Province on Thursday and has been handed over to the U.N. Command Military Armistice Commission, South Korean military confirmed Sunday.This is the first time a North Korean soldier’s corpse had been carried by a river to the South since September 2010.The North Korean soldier, thought to have died sometime last week during the heavy rains, was found by South Korean troops and the U.N. Command Mil
Aug. 26, 2012
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Korea plans to conduct Dokdo defense drills early next month
The South Korean military plans to conduct regular military exercises in waters near the easternmost islets of Dokdo early next month but they may be delayed because of increased tension over Japan's renewed territorial claims, a military source said Saturday."The Navy has set up a plan to stage the drills to defend Dokdo for four days from Sept. 9," the source said.The plan is pending final confi
Aug. 25, 2012
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Navy’s light torpedo test launch fails
The first test-launch of Hongsangeo, an anti-submarine light torpedo, failed last month, a Navy official said on Thursday. The military had poured more than 100 billion won ($88 million) into its development.The trial was conducted on July 25 in the sea off Pohang City, southeastern Korea. It was launched from the 7,600-ton Sejong the Great-class Aegis destroyer but missed the target located 60 meters under the sea. The Navy lost the track of the weapon. “Failure in trials is not rare before roc
Aug. 24, 2012