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    NK Trojan horse

    A new funny “knock knock” joke goes like this. “Knock, knock!” No answer. If you try to listen hard enough, you can hear the “Zzzz” of soldiers sleeping inside. By now, you will understand who this joke is about and will probably no longer be amused. If anyone remains amused…

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  • Mideast turmoil underscores Turkey’s pivotal roles

    The confrontation between Syria and Turkey ratcheted up further Wednesday when a Syrian civilian passenger airplane, suspected of carrying military supplies, was forced to land in Ankara. The Turkish government has ordered civilian aircraft to avoid Syrian airspace. Syrian artillery shelling has led to retaliation in kind. Turkey shelters many…

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    [Indonesia Report] Makassar breaks record in attracting most participants to “Gangnam Style” dancing

    Korean Pop Singer, Psy, invades the world with his fun and humorous song, titled ‘Oppa Gangnam Style.’ The video clip broke the record of most liked clip in Youtube’s history and spread the Horse Dancing Style to everywhere in the world. Indonesia is one of the countries, full of Psy’s…

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  • Column

    Malala, the girl who stood up against Taliban

    Malala Yousafzai is your average 15-years-old girl; she plays with her little brothers, watches cable TV, dreamt of being a doctor and loves going to school. All of that change with her first blog post associated with BBC Urdu, she begins her trip to politics, which eventually led to an…

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  • Column

    Presidential candidates: Are you mad?

    So the candidates are declared. Park Geun-hye, Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo are running for Korea’s top office. All eyes are on Dec. 19; the games have begun. Why are these candidates running? Perhaps, they are ego-maniacs, seeking to wield the national puppet strings in the most prestigious job in…

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  • Column

    North Korea: confused and confusing

    Is North Korea heading towards a food crisis in the winter of 2012? Yes! Will it be a “great famine” like in the 90ies? No! Why so? Rumor has been that the North Korean government decided to “reform” its markets. Of course, when the North Korean regime speaks about markets…

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    [Korea Report] Itaewon Global Village Festival 2012 held on Oct. 12-14

    Itaewon Global Village, a festival in Itaewon, Seoul, started Friday (Oct. 12) to go through Monday (Oct. 14). During the performances, outdoor booths selling various commodities and food  were in operation. A variety of cultural performances from various countries were to take place. According to its official page, Itaewon Global Village Festival…

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  • Economic reforms in NK forecasted to accompany political liberalization

    It is too early to say with any certainty, but appears increasingly likely that Kim Jong Un and his advisors are going to initiate reforms in North Korea, generally in emulation of the well-tested and very successful Chinese model. Of course, the major emphasis is on transformation of industrial management…

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    [Indonesia Report] Indonesian President grants clemency to drug-related convicts

    Drugs convict, Schapelle Corby, an Australian, has been once again granted clemency by Indonesian Authority. Earlier, Indonesian President granted 5 years clemency to her 20 years prison term on May 15, 2012. This August, Indonesian authority granted 6 months remission to her sentence, making her eligible to apply for a parole. The remission…

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  • Column

    Korea, Japan at each other’s throats

    LOS ANGELES ― Look before you leap. This is a venerable American saying. Look carefully before you leap emotionally. So if I were one of the good people of the Republic of Korea, for whom my admiration is deep, long-standing and well-known (my Japanese friends understand me well), I would…

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