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Politics
Park Geun-hye pays tribute to liberal presidents
Rep. Park Geun-hye, the presidential candidate of the ruling Saenuri Party, made a surprise visit Tuesday to the grave of the late President Roh Moo-hyun, a symbolic gesture to rally support even from her opponents. Park, the former interim leader of the conservative party, said she went to the late…
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Park Geun-hye poised to talk with North Korea
Conservative presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye appears poised to reengage North Korea if elected, analysts said Tuesday, but her approach with the recalcitrant neighbor remains vague. Park, nominated by the ruling Saenuri Party the previous day, says building trust is the key to better cross-border relations. To do so, she says…
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Politics
Can she make it?
Park Geun-hye becomes 1st woman presidential candidate of ruling party Rep. Park Geun-hye, 60, daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee, won the ruling Sanuri Party’s nomination to compete in the Dec. 19 presidential election Monday. As predicted, the five-term lawmaker scored a landslide victory in the party primary by…
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Politics
More hurdles remain in NK-China biz ties
Despite bolstered business ties between North Korea and China, accusations by a Chinese firm over boorish conduct suggest that the allies have yet to clear major hurdles. Analysts say that the case of Xiyang, which claims the North reneged a major mining deal, show the need for caution in gauging…
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Politics
Taking Japan back to past
Noda turns nationalistic on neighbors Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is a determining factor in Japan’s confrontational stance in dealing with historical disputes with Korea, China and Russia. The history of Tokyo’s militarism and its devastating effects are on many people’s minds. Experts say that Noda was conciliatory at least…
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Politics
Anti-graft agency to submit bill on civil servants
The country’s anti-corruption agency announced Thursday that it will seek to introduce a law that would significantly help the country eliminate corruption in the public sector. Kim Young-ran, the head of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), said that her agency spent more than a year consulting with related…
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Politics
Is North Korea becoming China’s satellite?
China has struck deals with North Korea this week to develop economic zones and foster investment in the impoverished country. The moves, analysts say, signals Beijing’s full support of fledgling North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The promises boost the viability of Kim, who is in his late twenties, but also…
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‘Japan massacred Koreans on Sakhalin’
A recently released Soviet Union report suggests that a large-scale massacre of Koreans by Japanese soldiers took place on Sakhalin, off Russia’s east coast. It also sheds more light on the fate of victims of forcible conscription for wartime labor under Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945). The National Archives of Korea…
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Politics
‘Japan’s sex slavery is anti-humanity crime’
President Lee Myung-bak said Wednesday colonial Japan’s conscription of sex slaves who were forced to serve soldiers amounted to a crime against humanity. “The issue involving mobilization of comfort women by the Japanese military goes beyond relations between Korea and Japan,” Lee said in a speech to mark the 67th…
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Politics
Japan differs over Dokdo, Kuril Islands
Japan’s reaction to President Lee Myung-bak’s trip to Dokdo last Friday was almost identical to that when former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visted Kuril Islands in 2010, except for one fact. Back then, Japan didn’t threaten to involve the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This time Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba…
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