• North Korea to reduce China reliance

    China and North Korea say their relationship is as close as “lips and teeth.” The analogy is discomfiting in Seoul given current trends in bilateral trade, with some concerned that Beijing will simply swallow up its neighbor. The dependence doesn’t sit well in Pyongyang, analysts say. They predict that the…

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  • NK to hold rare assembly soon

    North Korea said Monday it will hold a rare second session of its Supreme People’s Assembly later this month. The move could be tied to economic reform measures being studied by the isolated state, analysts said. The session will be held on Sept. 25, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency…

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  • Politics

    Bangladeshi worker’s dream ripped apart by ill health

    Mosaruf Hossain, a native of Chittagong, Bangladesh, had a big dream when he first set foot in Korea on Nov. 3, 2009 with an E-9 Visa, a work permit for a job considered too dangerous, dirty and difficult for Koreans to undertake. The 31-year-old thought it would be just a…

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  • Politics

    ‘Guardian of teenagers’ joins presidential race

    Kang Ji-won, a lawyer who earned the nickname “guardian of teenagers” for his dedication to preventing juvenile delinquency, announced his bid to run in the presidential election as an independent candidate, Tuesday. In a phone interview with The Korea Times, Kang, 63, said he was determined to join the presidential…

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  • Politics

    ‘Samurai warriors’ coming to Dokdo!

    This and other scenarios may not be as remote as once thought What if Japan’s “samurai warriors” tried to land on Dokdo? Japanese ultra right-wing nationalists have already landed on internationally disputed islands. At a time when Tokyo is trying to dispute Seoul’s sovereignty over Dokdo, the possibility can’t be…

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  • Politics

    Lee consoles late Zenawi’s wife

    President Lee Myung-bak expressed his deep condolences over the death of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in a handwritten letter delivered to his grieving wife Azeb Mesfin through Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan. The foreign minister attended the late leader’s funeral Sunday (local time) to console the bereaved family. Meles, who…

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  • Politics

    Moon wins 6th straight primary

    Rep. Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) won a primary race in Incheon, Sunday, his sixth straight victory. Despite the winning streak, the former presidential chief of staff under the former Roh Moo-hyun government may need to compete in a run-off election after the DUP primaries…

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  • Politics

    Seoul dismisses Tokyo’s ICJ proposal over Dokdo

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade sent a diplomatic document to Japan, Thursday, dismissing the latter’s proposal to take the issue of South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The government sent the document through the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. “We’ve sent a…

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  • Korean embassy in Kenya hit for poor services

    Koreans living in Kenya are frustrated with the Korean Embassy for its alleged poor consular services, saying staff there are not cooperative and slow to respond to their petitions. A 55-year-old Korean man who has run a small business in the African country for 20 years expressed his distrust in…

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  • NK ramps up rhetoric on ROK-US drills

    North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected another frontline military unit, Pyongyang said Tuesday as the regime increased its tough talk against the ongoing South Korea-U.S. military drills. Kim ordered troops of the (North) Korean People’s Army large combined unit 313 on the eastern border to “deal prompt deadly blows”…

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