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S-Korea President Roh Moo-hyun enters North
South Korea's President Roh Moo-hyun has walked over the heavily fortified border into North Korea en route to a summit in Pyongyang.
His meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is only the second such meeting since the Korean war.
President Roh said a "peace settlement together with economic development" would be his aim.
The 1950-53 war between the two sides has never formally ended, but Seoul has promoted hopes for a permanent truce.
It says this summit, scheduled to last three days, may pave the way for that historic step.
President Roh left the South Korean capital, Seoul, in a motorcade along with business leaders, bureaucrats, poets and clerics.
The convoy stopped at the demilitarized zone to allow the president and his wife, to cross into the north on foot.
They...
Tags: enters, Moo-hyun, North, President, Roh, S-Korea
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North Korean Leader Reported to be Ill
North Korean officials are denying that the North's leader, Kim Jong Il is sick -- calling reports about his condition part of a "conspiracy". But South Korean intelligence officials say Mr. Kim has suffered a debilitating stroke. Carolyn Presutti has more on what this development may mean for the rule of Kim Jong Il.
Tags: 60th, aid, anniversary, Carolyn, economic, Il, industrial, Jong, Kim, Korea's, Korean, might, military, News, North, nuclear, Officials, political, Presutti, society, Songun, south, VOA, weapons
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Korean trains in historic link-up
A pair of passenger trains have crossed the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea for the first time in more than 50 years.
The two trains - one travelling from the North and one from the South - each carried 150 invited passengers.
South Korea hailed it as a landmark in relations between the two countries.
But Thursday's crossing remains largely symbolic, the BBC's Charles Scanlon says. North Korea has so far only agreed to a one-off test-run.
For that, our correspondent adds, Pyongyang has demanded a high price.
South Korea has agreed to supply it with $80 million (£41m) worth of economic aid for the development of light industry.
'New era'
Hundreds of people gathered at Munsan station in west South Korea to cheer the five-carriage train as it set off on...
Tags: historic, in, Korean, link-up, trains
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Anti-North Korea Leaflets Sent into North Korea
CHAN:
Two conservative pro-democracy groups released 10 balloons laden with money and leaflets in Kimpo, South Korea today. One of the groups, Fighters For A Free North Korea, expects the balloons to catch the wind and land across the border into their cut-off communist neighbor.
STORY:
Each balloon carries envelopes that contain a message and either one U.S. dollar or 10 yuan bill.
Some of the messages are reports about North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il, whose ailing health has been reported about in many countries. The groups are also demanding that the North release people abducted from the South.
The group already sent two sets of 100,000 anti-North Korea leaflets into the North in October and earlier this month.
In reaction North Korea threatened to reduce the South to...
Tags: news, ntd, ntdtv
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Japan Condemns North Korea
WONG:
The Japanese government says it wont provide economic aid to North Korea until there is progress over the fate of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago.
Back in 2002 North Korea admitted that its agents had abducted 13 Japanese. Five were sent back home that year. But Japan wants more information about the other eight still unaccounted for. The fate of the abductees is a heated topic in Japan.
[Taro Aso, Japanese Prime Minister]:
"We have said before that unless progress is made in Japan-North Korea relations, including on the abductees issue, then we will not participate in the economic and energy aid under the six-party talks, and there is no change in that stance."
Tokyos refusal to take part in energy aid is aimed at ending the communist state's nuclear...
Tags: news, ntd, ntdtv
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Global Report - 26-September -2008
http://www.instablogs.com/
Helping Hand
Ever since the war on terror has begun US has flushed its closest ally Pakistan with economic aid worth billions of US dollars to retain its support in the crucial war and help rebuild its tattering economy. Many Americans have been left wondering about the manner in which the aid money is spent, since none of the desired objectives have been attained. The social fabric of the country remains badly blotted by radicalization and extremism. In fact its only getting worse with each passing day. Political instability and economic decay have slowed down the prosperity and development. There are others who believe that this aid is being used to build weapons arsenal against neighboring India. For how long can US afford to spend its public money on a...
Tags: aid, Bedes, Bush, college, education, electronic, extremism, female, George, Global, Himachal, IAEA, in, India, information, Journalism, Korea, Korean, media, monetary, North, nuclear, on, Pakistan, plant, poverty, Pradesh, Priety, program, Pyongyang, relations, report, revolution, Shimla, South, St., terror, to, US, US-Pakistan, W., war, Yongbyon, Zambia, Zambia., Zinta
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North Korea Derails Nuclear Talks
ZHANG:
International talks on ending North Korea's nuclear arms program may be heading for collapse. This comes after the North said it would restore its nuclear plant, starting next week. Lets find out more.
STORY:
North Korea began disabling its nuclear plant last November as part of a disarmament-for-aid deal. However, on Wednesday, it expelled U.N. monitors from its Yongbyon plant, and plans on reactivating it in the coming week.
This untimely move halts a six-nation deal for food and energy aid. Things are at square one.
[Yu Myung-hwan, South Korean Foreign Minister]:
"How to provide economic and energy aid is the most realistic issue we're confronting under the situation that the North is reversing the disablement steps."
The Norths backpedaling not only strains relations with...
Tags: arms, disarmament, election, Myung-hwan, N.Korea, News, Ntd, NTDTV, Nuclear, presidential, S.Korean, U.N., U.S, Yongbyon
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U.S. Military Aid to Myanmar
http://imcom.korea.army.mil
About this video: DVIDS is a state-of-the-art, 24/7 operation that provides a timely, accurate and reliable connection between the media around the world and the military serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.
Through a network of portable Ku-band satellite transmitters located in-theater and a distribution hub in Atlanta, Georgia, DVIDS makes available real-time broadcast-quality video, still images and print products as well as immediate interview opportunities with service members, commanders and subject matter experts.
http://www.dvidshub.net
To learn about the US Army in Korea, visit: http://imcom.korea.army.mil
For photographs from the US Army in Korea, visit: http://www.flickr.com/imcomkorea
Tags: Aid, army, disaster, effort, Military, Myanmar, relief, to, U.S.
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North Korea National Anthem
An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War. Five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist domination. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed Republic of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il Sung, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence. The DPRK demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda, and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core...
Tags: Anthem, blog, Chagang, Chagang-do, Hamgy, Hamgyong, Hamgyong-bukto, Hamgyong-namdo, Korea, National, North, Piongyang, South, video
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Inter - Korean Cooperation Grows - VOA Story
From trains to tourism, from industry to sports, cooperation between the two Koreas is picking up momentum again, less than a year after the North tested its first nuclear weapon.
As trains rolled across the inter-Korean border in May for the first time in 57 years, South Korea celebrated with fanfare.
The test of the railway is a symbol of a resurgence in inter-Korean cooperation. The two countries have never formally ended their 1950s war. Although relations have improved since 2000, ties cooled abruptly last October, when the North tested its first nuclear weapon.
But now, the South is pushing ahead with its policy of economic engagement with the impoverished North. Seoul is expanding an industrial park in the North Korean city of Kaesong. Thousands of North Koreans work there in...
Tags: Korea, Korean, nuclear, Pyongyang, Seoul, weapon
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Korea Border Dispute Update
ZHANG:
North Korea is clamping down on its border with South Korea. Cargo trains and tours between the two countries stopped today. But a large number of South Koreans who work at a joint industrial park in the North are being allowed to keep border permits to work at the factory park there.
STORY:
The border restrictions come about a week before regional powers are expected to meet in Beijing. Theyre holding talks on ending the North's nuclear arms program in exchange for economic and energy aid.
Analysts say tours to the city of Kaesong might have been viewed as destabilizing by the North because they allowed visitors from the South to see just how destitute their neighbor is. They also gave impoverished North Koreans a glimpse of their wealthy southern neighbors.
The first of...
Tags: arms, Beijing, Border, government, industrial, Kaesong, Korea, neighbor, news, North, Ntd, NTDTV, nuclear, park, South
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Report says Guantanamo closure is near
Hello it's Friday, June 22, 2007. I'm Rebecca Field in for Kristin Volk today with a UPI top news update.
The White House is reportedly close to making a decision about closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The Associate Press reports officials plan to move prisoners from the facility to military prisons elsewhere. Both the Pentagon and the Bush administration deny the report. The Pentagon says there are about 375 prisoners at the center and 14 of those are "high level detainees"...including Khalid Sheik Mohammed who's suspected of planning the September 11 attacks.
The Vietnamese President has signed a trade pact with the U.S. Nguyen Minh Triet signed a trade and investment agreement in Washington yesterday. Triet says there's "much to be desired" in his country's business...
Tags: Bay, bill, Bush, Christopher, energy, ethanol, Guantanamo, Hill, Korea, Minh, Nguyen, North, nuclear, President, senate, Triet, Vietnam
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South Korea Pulls Out of North
South Korea's unification ministry says officials will leave an industrial enclave in North Korea on Friday. This is in preparation of the North's plans to close their armed border next Monday.
North Korea said on November 24th that it would be expelling South Korean officials and some business managers from the Kaesong factory park on Dec. 1 and clamp down on border crossing. This is in anger at South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's policy to get tough on Pyongyang.
The Kaesong factory park just north of the border and about 70 km from Seoul is the only major economic tie between the two Koreas. Nearly 90 South Korean companies employ more than 33,000 low-wage North Koreans to produce goods such as watches, clothes and kitchen tools.
[Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyeon]:...
Tags: factory, kaesong, korea, lee, ministry, myung-bak, north, ntd, park, pyongyang, south, unification
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John Mearsheimer on US Support for Israel
The Israel Lobby
Since the October War in 1973, Washington has provided Israel with a level of support dwarfing the amounts provided to any other state. It has been the largest annual recipient of direct U.S. economic and military assistance since 1976 and the largest total recipient since World War II. Total direct U.S. aid to Israel amounts to well over $140 billion in 2003 dollars. Israel receives about $3 billion in direct foreign assistance each year, which is roughly one‐fifth of America's foreign aid budget. In per capita terms, the United States gives each Israeli a direct subsidy worth about $500 per year. This largesse is especially striking when one realizes that Israel is now a wealthy industrial state with a per capita income roughly equal to South Korea or Spain.
Israel...
Tags: aipac, bush, cheney, christian, cufi, evangelical, hagee, israel, john, lobby, mearsheimer, olmert, policy, sharon, us, zionist
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Asia Brief News - June 22, 2007
Chinese version of Pirates of the Caribbean 3 is censored; Chow Yun Fat has scenes removed; Jay Z, Rolling Stones, also censored. South Korea sends rice aid to North Korea. Military veterans in China ask for more retirement money, and are beaten in response. Taiwanese dancers look forward to International Classical Chinese Dance Competition. NYU Chinese Association takes steps against Dance Competition; Association aligned with the Chinese government. Classical music festival in the streets of New York; celebrates real music, not digital mp3 players. Over 23 million people quit the Chinese Communist Party. 'Titan' foot print found in Taiwan; extinct race of giants.
Tags: asia, brief, caribbean, china, jay, of, pirates, ROLLING, STONES, taiwan, the
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South Korean Army Celebration
WONG:
Today, the South Korean Marine Corps celebrated the 60th anniversary of its founding. It was a festive occasion but also a day of remembrance. Here's more on the story.
STORY:
The event held at Incheon Beach west of Seoul, was staged to commemorate the historical Incheon Landing Operation led by U.S. general Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War.
[Joo Jong-hwa, Marine Corps Officer]:
"This is the first revival of the Incheon landing operation in 58 years since the Korean War, to celebrate the 60th birthday of our Army. With this event, we'd like to cherish the memory of the deceased and to inspire the spirit of defending our country."
On September 15, 1950, Korean and American marines landed in Incheon and captured Seoul, which had been occupied by the North.
Today, North...
Tags: Corps, Korean, Marine, news, ntd, ntdtv
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Third Phase of Fifth Round of Six-Party Talks on DPRK Held
Beijing, February 13 (KCNA) -- The third phase of the fifth round of the six-party talks took place in Beijing from February 8 to 13.
The talks that proceeded in a sincere atmosphere discussed the ways of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
At the talks the parties decided to offer economic and energy aid equivalent to one million tons of heavy fuel oil in connection with the DPRK's temporary suspension of the operation of its nuclear facilities.
And the DPRK and the United States agreed to solve their pending issues and kick off the bilateral talks aimed at opening full diplomatic ties.
At the just-concluded talks the parties agreed to have the sixth round of the six-party talks in the future.
Tags: denuclearization, DPRK, korea, north, nuclear, nuke, party, six, talks
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U.S. Congress passes Iraq War funding bill
Hello, I'm Rebecca Field in for Kristin Volk with a UPI top news update on this Friday, May 25, 2007.
The U.S. Congress has passed the Iraq War funding bill. CNN reports the 120 billion dollar plan will support military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through September. It does not give a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal but does require the Iraqi government to meet political benchmarks in order to receive more aid from the U.S. The bill will now head to the White House where President Bush is expected to sign it off.
U.S. aid has started arriving in Lebanon. CNN reports the military has sent several cargo planes filled with ammunition for the Lebanese to fight Islamic militants in Lebanon. The fighting continues near the city of Tripoli as the Lebanese army reportedly attempts to...
Tags: al-Sadr, bush, Congress, female, fighting, Iraq, Lebanon, news, weapons
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Barack Obama: Aid Lebanese government to fight Hezbollah
Hezbollah is one of the world's most radical terrorist organizations. Over the last week or so, it has staged an armed assault on the democratic government of Lebanon. Barack Obama issued a statement in response. He called on "all those who have influence with Hezbollah" to "press them to stand down." Then he declared, "It's time to engage in diplomatic efforts to help build a new Lebanese consensus that focuses on electoral reform, an end to the current corrupt patronage system, and the development of the economy that provides for a fair distribution of services, opportunities and employment." Barack Obama reaffirmed that Hezbollah is "not a legitimate political party." Instead, "It's a destabilizing organization by any common-sense standard. This wouldn't happen without the support of...
Tags: Barack, Bush, experience, foreign, George, hamas, iran, Iraq, Israel, Jewish, John, Mccain, negotiate, Obama, policy, terror, war
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South Korean President Response to North
Anna Chan:
Today South Korea's president rebuffed the latest taunts from North Korea. President Lee Myung-bak is telling his communist neighbor to change its tone and get back to serious dialogue.
In the past week, the North has hurled personal insults at President Lee Myung-bak, tested missiles and threatened to reduce the wealthy South to ashes.
[Lee Myung-bak, S. Korean President]:
"We propose that the two sides engage in sincere dialogue, and in order to do so, we believe the North has to move away from its previous ways and actions."
Last week North Korea demanded South Korea's military chief apologize for his comment at Parliament in Seoul. He said South Korea would carry out a preemptive strike on potential North Korean nuclear facilities if North Korea shows signs of attacking...
Tags: disarmament, korea, Lee, missiles, Myung-Bak, news, north, ntd, ntdtv, nuclear, president, responds, south, to
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