Korea
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East Asia
China, Japan seek to increase military clout over Korea
China and Japan appear to be trying to step up their military presence around the Korean Peninsula amid a debate between South Korea and the United States over defense cost-sharing. Diplomatic and security sources say Beijing and Tokyo are preparing for a possible realignment of U.S. troops in South Korea…
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East Asia
Seoul plans marathon at DMZ in Olympics with Pyongyang
Olympic runners and cyclists may be able to compete inside the heavily fortified demilitarized zone (DMZ), according to a working draft of Seoul’s bid to co-host the 2032 Olympics with Pyongyang. The Seoul Metropolitan Government says the DMZ ― a symbol of painful division and the ongoing military standoff between…
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East Asia
Touring DMZ with North Korean defector
“I’m a dead man in my hometown,” a North Korean defector, who uses the alias Jeong Sang-soo to protect his identity, said during a Korea Times interview in the middle of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) tour. “I had to fake my own death so that my wife and children…
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East Asia
Moon: Trump-Kim summit to produce ‘specific, substantial’ outcomes
President Moon Jae-in expressed the hope Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un can build off their first meeting to make “more specific and substantial progress” at their second summit, which he believes could help advance inter-Korean relations. “Beyond bringing a lasting peace with no…
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East Asia
Korean man who died in Mexico returned with missing organs
The body of a Korean man who died in Mexico has been returned to his family ― without his brain, stomach and heart. Mexican authorities claim that the man, 35, surnamed Kim, died of natural causes despite a scuffle with other people just before his death. His widow fears that…
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East Asia
Germany launches educational project on DMZ, Berlin Wall
PAJU, Gyeonggi Province — Young South Koreans, according to recent surveys, have been less open than older generations to reunification of the Korean Peninsula. The situation is similar in Germany. Knowledge and interest in division and reunification of the country has been declining among the young who were born after…
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East Asia
South Korea: Daegu skate punk band set for British invasion
Although Seoul is often seen as the central hub for culture in Korea, U.K. indie label Damnably has now signed two acts from outside the capital. Daegu-based skatepunk band Drinking Boys & Girls Choir (DBGC), formed in 2012, signed recently to Damnably, which already counts Busan’s Say Sue Me on its…
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East Asia
Naver, Kakao fleeing to Japan for new businesses
Naver and Kakao are fleeing to Japan and other countries to start new businesses because of growing regulatory risks here amid conflicts with existing players, industry officials said Monday. The moves reflect the latest trend that not only manufacturing but also services companies are increasingly leaving Asia’s fourth largest economy…
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East Asia
Seoul-Tokyo radar row risks derailing military cooperation
An ongoing military spat between Seoul and Tokyo is casting a shadow on bilateral exchanges. According to Japanese media reports, Tokyo is likely cancel the planned dispatch of a Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer to Busan for a joint maritime exercise in April. Japan planned to deploy the MSDFS Izumo to take…
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East Asia
Why foreigners buying Korean stocks in 2019
Foreign investors have been rushing to buy Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and other stocks since the beginning of the year as global funds shift to emerging markets on the easing of U.S.-China trade tensions and other favorable conditions. Stock prices have yet to rise above certain levels predicted by brokerages…
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