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North Korea defectors cite dwindling food rations, market reliance -study

North Korea defectors cite dwindling food rations, market reliance -study

THE majority of North Koreans who resettled in South Korea over the last decade said they never received government rations in the isolated state and had to rely on an informal market to survive, a study issued by Seoul's unification ministry showed. The 280-page report on North Korea's economic and social situation issued on Tuesday was based on interviews with more than 6,300 defectors between 2013 and 2022. The ministry began such surveys in 2010, but this is the first time results have been publicly released. North Korea has faced serious food shortages in recent decades, including a famine in…
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‘Dior bag scandal’ lands South Korea’s Yoon, ruling party in disarray ahead of election

‘Dior bag scandal’ lands South Korea’s Yoon, ruling party in disarray ahead of election

HIDDEN camera footage appearing to show South Korea's First Lady accepting a Dior bag as a gift has plunged President Yoon Suk Yeol and his party into a controversy that may threaten their bid to reclaim a parliamentary majority in April's election. Some members of Yoon's conservative People Power Party (PPP) have urged the president and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, to apologise for the incident dubbed by local media "Dior bag scandal" and admit receiving the purse was, at least, inappropriate, in the hope of putting the matter to rest. Yoon's office said it had no information to share.…
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South Korea landslides, floods kill more than 20

South Korea landslides, floods kill more than 20

TWENTY-two people have died, 14 were missing and thousands evacuated in South Korea as, according to ministry data, as a third day of torrential rains caused landslides and the overflow of a dam. As of 6 p.m. (0900 GMT), 4,763 people had been evacuated nationwide, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, as water overtopped the dam in North Chungcheong province on Saturday morning. Local governments' evacuation orders covered more than 7,000 people at various times, according to provincial authorities. The tally is expected to rise as more heavy rain is expected on the Korean peninsula on Sunday, the Korea Meteorological…
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K-pop star and BTS member J-Hope starts mandatory military service

K-pop star and BTS member J-Hope starts mandatory military service

J-HOPE, a member of Grammy-nominated K-pop boy band BTS, began his mandatory military service in South Korea, the second member of the group to do so. The singer kept a low profile as a van carrying him entered the venue for his military enlistment ceremony in the city of Wonju, some 87 kilometres (54 miles) away from Seoul, news agency Yonhap reported. "I'll be back later," the singer whose real name is Jung Ho-seok said on Monday in a post on the fan platform Weverse, alongside a picture of his shaved head. More than 10,000 comments from fans wished him…
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‘We are on this journey together’: Pele backs Brazil ahead of World Cup match

‘We are on this journey together’: Pele backs Brazil ahead of World Cup match

SOCCER great Pele backed Brazil's national team ahead of their World Cup round of 16 match against South Korea, saying he will watch the game from hospital after being admitted there last week as he battles colon cancer. Pele, 82, said in an Instagram post that he wished to inspire Brazil's players by sharing a picture taken at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden when the then-teenager shocked the world leading the South American side to their first title. "I'll watch the game from here at the hospital and I'll be rooting for each one of you," Pele said ahead…
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South Korea scrambles jets after detecting North Korean military flights near border amid tensions

South Korea scrambles jets after detecting North Korean military flights near border amid tensions

SOUTH Korea's military said it scrambled fighter jets after detecting about 180 North Korean military flights north of the two countries' border over four hours. The North Korean aircraft flew north of the so-called tactical action line, north of the Military Demarcation Line between the two Koreas, South Korea's military said in a statement. The virtual line is used as a basis for South Korean air defence operations, a South Korean official said. South Korea scrambled 80 aircraft, including, F-35A stealth fighters, in response. About 240 aircraft participating in the Vigilant Storm exercises with the United States continued the drills,…
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South Korea vows tough action, moving to quell anger over Halloween crush

South Korea vows tough action, moving to quell anger over Halloween crush

SOO-HYANG CHOI AND HYONHEE SHIN SOUTH Korea moved to calm public outrage over a Halloween party crush that killed more than 150 people, most of them young, promising a speedy and intensive inquiry and calling for tough new safety measures to prevent similar disasters. The death toll from the crush at a crowded Halloween street party on Saturday climbed to 156 with 151 injured, 29 of whom were in serious condition. At least 26 citizens from 14 countries were among the dead. Tens of thousands of revellers - many in their teens and twenties and dressed in costume - had crowded into…
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S.Korean court upholds tattooing ban

S.Korean court upholds tattooing ban

YENI SEO and MINWOO PARK THE Constitutional Court in Seoul upheld a ban on tattooing, confirming South Korea as the only developed country that permits no one but medical professionals to perform the procedure. Tattoo artists derided the decision, calling it backward and lacking cultural understanding. Despite the decades-old ban, South Korea has nearly 50,000 tattoo artists, who risk police raids and prosecution for practising their trade. Violating the ban is punishable by fines of up to 50 million won ($41,300) and prison terms - usually two years, though the law provides for as much as life. Tattooist associations have…
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North Korea says open to talks if South drops double standards

North Korea says open to talks if South drops double standards

SANGMI CHA and HYONHEE SHIN SOUTH Korea's call for a formal end to the Korean War is premature but the door for dialogue is open if it scraps its double standards and hostile policy, a senior North Korean official said in comments published by state media on Friday. The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice not a peace treaty, leaving U.S.-led U.N. forces technically still at war with North Korea. The question of formally ending the war has become caught up in a U.S.-led effort to get North Korea to give up it nuclear weapons. South Korea President Moon…
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North and South Korea conduct duelling missile tests as arms race heats up

North and South Korea conduct duelling missile tests as arms race heats up

HYONHEE SHIN and JOSH SMITH NORTH Korea and South Korea test-fired ballistic missiles on Wednesday, the latest volley in an arms race that has seen both countries develop increasingly sophisticated weapons while efforts to get talks going on defusing tension prove fruitless. South Korea tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile, becoming the first country without nuclear weapons to develop such a system. South Korean President Moon was attending that test firing when word came of the North Korean launches, its first ballistic missile tests since March. North Korea fired a pair of ballistic missiles that landed in the sea off its…
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