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Politics
Korea needs to beat Japan’s Dokdo PR blitz
Korea needs to beat Japan’s moves to promote its claims on Dokdo islets overseas, experts said Tuesday. They pointed out that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade should map out a strategy to systematically weaken Tokyo’s attempts to encroach on Korea’s territorial sovereignty. “If it comes to a public…
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Seoul shows flexibility on NK aid
Seoul has not ruled out rice or other sensitive item as it consults over how to aid to flood-stricken North Korea, an official said Tuesday. The North on Monday accepted the Lee Myung-bak government’s proposal to hold talks on the matter, and asked it to specify the quantity and type…
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Politics
China extends influence to N. Korea’s Chongjin Port
China-North Korea economic ties have taken another step forward, with reports emerging this week that a Chinese firm landed a deal to lease piers at Chongjin Port in the North. Analysts say the move bolsters Beijing’s efforts to stabilize its impoverished neighbor while expanding its own access to the East…
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Politics
N. Korean news broadcast takes on global look
North Korea is tinkering with its television news broadcasts to create a modern feel in line with the style of new leader Kim Jong-un, analysts said Monday. Over the weekend, the state network Korean Central Television (KCTV) featured new backdrops behind its anchors including a rotating image of the Earth…
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Politics
Rep. Park refers to father’s famous quote
Rep. Park Geun-hye, the presidential candidate of the ruling Saenuri Party, said Monday that historians will judge the dark days of her late father’s rule, refraining from commenting on his controversial legacy. “My father used to say ‘spit on my grave’ when he mentioned Yusin (referring to the political repression…
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Politics
Prof. Ahn Cheol-soo counterattacks
Aide argues Rep. Park’s PR officer threatened to reveal dirty laundry A lawyer working for Ahn Cheol-soo, a popular Seoul National University professor, claimed a public relations officer to the Park Geun-hye camp threatened to blackmail Ahn to discourage him from running for president. However, the person in question, Jeong…
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Politics
‘Gangnam Style’ offers Korea PR opportunity
A U.S. diplomat thinks that now is the time for Seoul to focus on further raising Korea’s global profile as an attractive tourist and investment destination because the Korean wave or “hallyu” knows no bounds. “Seoul has become a much more cosmopolitan and global type of city as well as…
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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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