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4,000 N. Koreans working in Kuwait
Some 4,000 North Koreans are working in construction jobs in the suburbs of Kuwait’s capital city, an official said Monday, the latest estimate pointing at the rapid expansion of Pyongyang’s foreign labor force. The North dispatches tens of thousands of workers abroad in a bid to raise hard currency for…
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Politics
Will woman CEO aide help or hurt Rep. Park?
Kim Sung-joo, who recently joined the election team of Park Geun-hye, the ruling Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate, was criticized Monday over her view of the economy and women’s issues. Rep. Park is said to have recruited Kim, a successful and some say eccentric businesswoman, to balance out her own icy…
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Politics
Leader of leftist splinter party joins presidential race
Rep. Sim Sang-jung, a leader of a faction that split from the center-left Unified Progressive Party (UPP), announced Sunday that she will run in the December presidential election, pledging efforts to fight for 99 percent of the people. Characterizing the top 1 percent of people as the privileged having control…
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Politics
‘Guardian of teenagers’ hopes to change campaign culture
Kang Ji-won, a former prosecutor who became a youth mentor has decided to enter the presidential race in order to counter what he says is a lack of focus on core issues in the election race. “Look at our campaigns. They are not about policies to help people’s livelihood or…
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Politics
Saenuri unveils campaign co-chairs
Park Geun-hye to lead campaign pledge committee Rep. Park Geun-hye, presidential candidate of the ruling Saenuri Party, announced Thursday that former Constitutional Court Chief Justice Kim Yong-joon, Sungjoo Group CEO Kim Sung-joo, former party leader Chung Mong-joon and incumbent party chief Hwang Woo-yea will jointly lead her campaign. The 60-year-old…
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Politics
Ambassador says Psy boosts Korea-U.S. ties
K-pop sensation Psy may be raising the profile of more than just affluent southern Seoul these days. His viral hit “Gangnam Style” and its infectious horse dance are boosting bilateral relations with the United States as well, Washington’s top envoy in Seoul said Thursday. Ambassador Sung Kim, who met Psy…
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Politics
KIPA’s new book tackles Dokdo, Ieodo sovereignty
Park Eung-kyuk and the Korea Institute of Public Administration (KIPA) he leads are making efforts to share Korea’s experience with the rest of the world. Park’s state-run institute is providing a model based on Korea’s experience for countries seeking development. That Korean story is captured in “Korea from Rags to…
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Politics
Military calls pro-NK groups ‘foe’
The military has begun classifying pro-Pyongyang groups in the South as “enemies” in its educational guidelines for soldiers, saying such organizations cause agitation in society, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The guidelines, which were submitted to an opposition lawmaker, name nine civic and student groups that fall into the category…
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Politics
Who would head Moon-Ahn ticket?
Joint candidacy is viable option to beat Rep. Park The camps of presidential candidates Ahn Cheol-soo and Rep. Moon Jae-in have dismissed it, but the scenario of an alliance based on sharing power could prove irresistible if the two decide they can’t beat the Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye individually. The…
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Politics
NK newspaper runs rare advertisements
A North Korean newspaper has in recent weeks run advertisements for clothes and other products in the latest sign of the Stalinist state attempting to update its economy. The ads in the Pyongyang Sinmun include those for flowers and flowerpots; “hanbok” or traditional Korean dress; and a water-heating device using…
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