Like father, like son
With North Korea’s failed satellite launch Friday, its new leader Kim Jong-un is apparently following in the footsteps of his father Kim Jong-il, who doggedly tested rockets, missiles and nuclear devices despite heavy international pressure under a long-term strategy to establish the North as a “powerful” state. The launch was widely seen as an attempt […]
Mobile carriers face pressure to cut rates
Following the National Assembly elections, mobile carriers are expecting bigger pressure to cut rates. “The political circle has been pressuring mobile carriers to lower subscription fees in every election. It really is a problem for the industry,” a spokesman for a mobile carrier said. “Since everybody has a cell phone, mobile rates are an issue […]
Inside a North Korean gulag
US journalist uncovers horrors of world’s toughest prison camp The international community has been concerned with the dire human rights conditions in North Korea. But the Communist state has been in adamant denial, as seen from an announcement from its state broadcaster. “There is no ‘human rights issue’ in this country, as everyone leads the […]
S. Korea calls for UN response against NK’s rocket launch
Korea on Friday called for the United Nations Security Council to respond to North Korea’s defiant long-range rocket launch, even though the launch appears to have failed. “Regardless of success or failure, we urge the U.N. Security Council to take action against North Korea’s rocket launch,” said a senior official at Seoul’s foreign ministry. <Korea […]
NK rocket crashes into sea shortly after launch
North Korea defiantly fired off a long-range rocket Friday, but the three-stage craft crashed in pieces into the sea shortly after takeoff, South Korean officials said. The launch is expected to draw international condemnation as it violated a U.N. resolution that bans the communist nation from any ballistic missile activity that can be used to […]
NK says its satellite failed to enter orbit
North Korea said Friday its Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite failed to enter orbit after its launch aboard a long-range rocket. The North said its “scientists, technicians and experts are now looking into the cause of the failure,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief dispatch, without elaborating. Seoul’s defense ministry said the Unha-3 […]
North Korean leader gets top party post
North Korea named leader Kim Jong-un as first secretary of the ruling Worker’s Party, Wednesday, a new title that appears to be the top party post, while his late father was anointed as “Eternal General Secretary.” The moves came during a special party conference, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. Kim Jong-il, who […]
Why do coffee shops keep popping up?
Restaurants, and other self-run retail businesses are struggling to make ends meet as households tighten their purse strings to cope with slower income growth and a sluggish job market. But one retail sector has been immune to this prevailing trend. Riding high on Koreans’ increasing appetite for freshly-brewed, premium coffee, both foreign and local coffee […]
Regret on overseas voting
Measures needed to raise low voter turnout The nation went to the polls Wednesday to elect 300 lawmakers who will serve the people for the next four years. This time there was a unique phenomenon not seen in previous elections ― overseas Koreans took part for the first time. Although the elections are over, however, […]
Change or status quo?
Interpretation differs by partisan line Millions of voters cast their ballots in the 2012 National Assembly elections, Wednesday. It was a collective effort to shape the future of the nation. A series of pre-election surveys conducted by media outlets have predicted the result to be on a knife edge and add to an already deafening […]
Media in Tie-up with The AsiaN 
Trump, Kim, and the Three P’s of Summit Diplomacy: 
