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East Asia
White House on Xi’s N.K. visit: Focus is on denuclearization
Adding weight to the theory is the current stalemate in denuclearization negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang. No working-level talks have taken place since Trump and Kim abruptly ended their second summit in February without an agreement. Trump said last week, however, that he had received another “beautiful” letter from…
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East Asia
N.K. leader says negotiations with U.S. are first step to recognition as nuclear power: report
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un told military leaders last year that talks with the United States are the “first step” to solidifying Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear power, a news report said Monday. Kim made the remarks in a meeting with key military commanders, Voice of America reported, citing a…
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East Asia
Economic uncertainty prompts rush to safe assets
Uncertainties stemming from the escalating U.S.-China trade dispute and a slowdown in Asia’s fourth-largest economy are changing the way investors here behave, with many apparently rushing to buy what they believe to be safer assets, such as bonds, gold and houses, data showed Monday. Bond prices have skyrocketed to multi-year…
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East Asia
U.N. special rapporteur to visit Seoul for research on N.K. human rights
The U.N. special rapporteur on North Korea’s human rights situation will visit South Korea next week to gather information on the North’s human rights issues, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Friday. During the five-day stay that starts Monday, Tomas Ojea Quintana is expected to hold a series of talks with ministry…
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East Asia
Builders lure homeseekers with built-in air purifiers amid fine dust woes
Various and viable tools are available for citizens here to respond to the ever-growing air pollution, and newlyweds Park Young-eun and Yeo Ryong-koo are also on the lookout for solutions to keep their home safe from fine dust. Recently, the couple who are considering buying a new apartment in Incheon,…
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East Asia
Moon to address Swedish parliament on denuclearization, peace
South Korean President Moon Jae-in will deliver another major speech on the Korea peace process Friday on a visit to Stockholm, his office said. In the Parliament House address with the theme of “The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and trust for peace,” Moon plans to emphasize the need for…
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East Asia
10 Afghan bikers cycle their way to Istanbul
Cyclists emphasize significance of Lapis Lazuli corridor Ten Afghan bikers have pedaled 4,118-kilometers from Afghanistan to Turkey to emphasize the economic and cultural relations between countries in the region. The Turkish-Afghan Friendship Cycling Tour began in Afghanistan’s Harat province and ended at the World Peace Park in the Beşiktaş district…
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East Asia
Bahrain bans use of plastic bags starting July
Bahrain will ban the use of plastic bags in July, a senior environment official has said. Mohammed Mubarak Bin Daina, the chief executive of the Supreme Council for Environment (SCE), said the ban would regulate and phase out the use of plastic bags. “The first phase will focus on single-use…
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East Asia
New language model for advanced Korean-based AI service developed
A new Korean language model that can advance artificial intelligence (AI) services and searches have been developed for a wide range of applications, a state-run electronics institute said Tuesday. The system has an average 4.5 percent better processing and understanding capability compared with Google Inc.’s widely used Bidirectional Encoder Representations…
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East Asia
Moon hopes to meet Kim Jong-un before Trump visits S. Korea in late June
South Korean President Moon Jae-in voiced hope Wednesday that he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the peninsula at the end of this month. Moon’s offer came amid renewed expectations for a possible breakthrough in efforts to restart nuclear talks…
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