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East Asia
Ex-speed skating coach to stand trial for alleged sexual assaults
A former national speed skating coach will stand trial on charges of sexually assaulting South Korean Olympic short track champion Shim Suk-hee for about three years, prosecutors have said. Prosecutors indicted Cho Jae-beom on Monday on charges of sexually assaulting and molesting the 22-year-old Shim around 30 times beginning in…
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East Asia
Seoul seeks to launch int’l organ to tackle fine dust pollution
The Seoul city government on Tuesday announced a plan to launch an international organization to tackle serious fine dust issues by expanding the functions of an existing anti-air pollution body among East Asian cities. “We plan to expand the number of the members of the East Asia Clean Air Cities…
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East Asia
Moon, Pentagon chief agree that alliance is ironclad: Pentagon
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan agreed that the countries’ alliance is “ironclad” as they work to ensure peace in the region, the Pentagon said Monday. Shanahan paid a courtesy call on Moon in Seoul on Monday after talks with South Korean Defense Minister…
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East Asia
Ban Ki-moon to visit China this week to discuss fine dust problem
Former U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, now serving as chairman of the National Council on Climate and Air Quality, plans to visit China this week for discussions on how to reduce fine dust air pollution, the council said Monday. Ban and ranking officials from South Korea’s environment-related agencies will be in…
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East Asia
FM pledges greater efforts to ensure foreign cooperation in search for missing in Hungary boat sinking
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha pledged Monday to further strengthen cooperation not only with Hungary but also its neighboring nations, like Serbia and Romania, to make progress in efforts to search for the missing Korean victims in last week’s deadly boat sinking. She made the remark at a teleconference meeting with…
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East Asia
Main opposition party slams liberal gov’t’s N. Korea policy
The head of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) urged the liberal government on Monday to stop what he called a submissive stance on North Korea and to put pressure on Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear programs. LKP chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn also denounced the government for ignoring North Korea’s…
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East Asia
Top aide to N.K. leader appears in public despite rumors of purge
A top aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watched an art troupe’s performance together with the leader, Pyongyang’s state media reported Monday, belying rumors that he was purged for the leader’s embarrassing no-deal summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. Kim Yong-chol, who served as Pyongyang’s chief interlocutor and counterpart…
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East Asia
Op-ed: ‘Clash of civilizations’ theory will come to no good end
By Zhong Sheng A senior American official from the State Department recently astonished the world with her racist comments portraying China-US relations as “clash of civilizations”. The Director of Policy Planning Kiron Skinner seems to be quite blunt about her deeply-rooted racism. She called US ties with China “a fight…
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East Asia
BTS hits front page of U.N. website
A one-minute YouTube video featuring world stars BTS’ partnership with UNICEF is on the front of the official homepage of the United Nations, giving a message of hope and happiness for young generations, the website showed Thursday. The short video shows the band engaging in the U.N. Children’s Fund’s campaign…
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East Asia
Foreign ministry decides to fire diplomat accused of leaking Moon-Trump talks
The foreign ministry decided Thursday to fire a diplomat for leaking the content of a phone conversation between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump. The decision was made at the ministry’s disciplinary panel held earlier in the day, ministry spokesman Kim In-chul said. Another official who was also…
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