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East Asia
Signs of N. Korea reassembling part of Dongchang-ri missile site detected: source
South Korea has detected signs of North Korea restoring an ancillary building of its Dongchang-ri long-range missile launch site that it partially disassembled last year, a government source in Seoul said Wednesday. On Tuesday, Beyond Parallel, a project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that…
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East Asia
Gov’t to limit operation of coal power plants to curb fine dust pollution
South Korea’s industry ministry said Wednesday it will regulate the operation of coal power plants to reduce emissions of fine dust as the country faced its worst level of pollution in recent days. The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy said it will move to have 60 coal power…
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World
Fethullah Gulen: Islam is Compatible with Democracy, Despite Turkey’s Recent Example
The original article was published on Le Monde («L’échec de l’expérience démocratique turque n’est pas dû à l’adhésion aux valeurs islamiques mais à leur trahison») on February 25, 2019, by Fethullah Gülen. Turkey was hailed as an example for a modern Muslim democracy during the early 2000s. The current…
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East Asia
S. Korean banks’ household lending grows faster in February
Household lending extended by South Korea’s major banks picked up the pace in February due to the growth in credit loans, market data showed Tuesday. The country’s five major lenders — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, KEB Hana, and Nonghyup — had 573.91 trillion won (US$509.87 billion) in outstanding household loans…
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East Asia
President Moon calls for joint action with China to reduce fine dust
South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered his government Wednesday to work together with China to fight fine dust pollution, his office Cheong Wa Dae said. South Korea has suffered from the worst particulate matter pollution this week with a large portion of the fine dust believed to be blown…
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East Asia
After Singapore, Can Sizzle Be Replaced With Steak?
WHAT can face-to-face diplomacy between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un achieve? It is wisest not to expect a revolutionary change in Trump’s approach and instead for him to play to his strengths: ceremony and personal relationships. On substance, the South Korean-led process should be…
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East Asia
Moody’s revises down 2019, 2020 economic growth outlooks for S. Korea
Global credit rating setter Moody’s Investors Service revised down its outlook for South Korea’s economic growth for 2019 and 2020, its latest report showed Monday. “We forecast real GDP growth in South Korea slightly above 2 percent in both 2019 and 2020, markedly lower than the 2.7 pct growth in…
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East Asia
K-pop superfans’ craze for special items creates new potential market
Choi Seo-hyun, a big fan of BTS, recently bought a card bearing a photo of band member Jungkook via Twitter. The card was from the boy band’s latest album, “Love Yourself: Answer,” which comes with a random photo of one of the seven members. “It’s a probability of one in…
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East Asia
North Korea will ‘definitely’ be denuclearized: Moon
President Moon Jae-in reiterated his confidence in diplomatic efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula Tuesday despite the fruitless summit between North Korea and the United States last week. “Should we consistently pursue peace with firm determination, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and permanent peace will definitely come,” the president said…
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East Asia
Gov’t to step up countermeasures against fine dust pollution
South Korea is moving to designate fine dust concentrations as a disaster in law, part of its countermeasures to the nation’s worsening air pollution problem, officials said Tuesday. If fine dust pollution is legally recognized as a disaster, the government will work out concrete criteria for damage assessment and support…
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