Topic: Pyongyang
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North Korea abandons armistice: 4 key questions answered
Tensions on the Korean peninsula are ratcheting up. The US has started its annual war games with South Korean forces, and North Korea has used that fact to declare that it is invalidating the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953. What really has North Korea upset, though, is the tough, new sanctions passed by the United Nations in response to the North's nuclear test last month.Here are the top four questions analysts are wrestling with on the heels of these developments.
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Not just sexy Kim Jong-un: 5 times the Onion has fooled foreign media
When the People's Daily, the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper, took as straight news The Onion's declaration that stout North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was 2012's "Sexiest Man Alive," it became the biggest foreign media outlet to be fooled by the satirical American newspaper. But it is not the first. Here are several other foreign news sites that took Onion fiction as newsworthy fact.
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Who are China's next leaders?
On Nov. 15, the new Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party – the group that rules China presented itself to the world. Here are the bios of the seven men who take the reins of China.
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Five tough truths about US-China relations
The more American and Chinese officials proclaim their innocent intentions toward each other, the deeper the level of mistrust they generate. Official candor on five key truths about US-China relations will likely contribute to a more mature bilateral relationship and could help halt a potential slide to conflict.
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Blast-off: 6 recent missile advances
Missiles have been prominent in the news with India’s successful test, North Korea’s failed one, and much talk of missile defense systems in Europe and the Persian Gulf. Here are six recent noteworthy missile-technology advances.
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Global News Blog As South Korea and US end military drills, how will North Korea react?
Many Korea watchers speculated that once joint military drills ended, so would increased tensions with North Korea. But at least one analyst says this might be the moment the North lashes out again.
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Terrorism & Security Seoul pulls workers out of North Korea factory complex, ending cooperative experiment
The last tangible thread of cooperation between Pyongyang and Seoul was cut today, with South Korea announcing it would pull the remaining workers from a sprawling factory complex in the North.
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US military chief in Beijing warns of North Korea 'miscalculation'
US Joint Chiefs of Staff Dempsey is in China looking for help on North Korea. Though Beijing indicated it was 'working on' it, there are a number of reasons why China might be reluctant to push the North too hard.
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Nuclear North Korea entreats Mongolia for help in feeding its people
Kim Jong-un, the young leader in Pyongyang, finds that destabilizing East Asia can help build quite an appetite.
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North Korea: US military braces for heightened readiness
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey says 'we’re in a period of prolonged provocation' with North Korea and its young dictator, Kim Jong-un. The US will continue holding military exercises with South Korea, Dempsey says.
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New N. Korea threats against South, U.S.
N. Korea issued new threats after protesters in Seoul burned effigies of the North's leaders. N. Korea threatened retaliatory measures against S. Korea and "unspecified military countermeasures" unless the U.S. stops conducting military drills nearby.
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Decoder Wire North Korea nuclear talks: Did John Kerry soften conditions? (+video)
North Korea nuclear talks are possible if the North gives up its nuclear program, Secretary of State John Kerry said this weekend. That's not new, but Kerry's tone has worried some analysts.
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Decoder Wire Why hasn't North Korea fired its Musudan missile yet?
Satellite imagery has detected the movement of several Musudan missiles toward the east coast of North Korea, and a test is widely expected. But April 15 is not likely to be the day. Here's why.
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North Korea's Kim Jong-un celebrates missile-free holiday (+video)
Officials in South Korea, the United States, and Japan say that intelligence indicates North Korea, which tested a nuclear device in February, is ready to test a medium-range missile.
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North Korea crisis: Can John Kerry persuade China to lean harder on Kim?
Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Chinese officials in Beijing Saturday, with tensions spiraling ever higher in the region as North Korea threatens to carry out a ballistic missile test.
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Kim Jong-un's goal? Status as the unequivocal god-king of the North.
Kim Jong-un is showing he is firmly in charge of North Korea, capable of challenging the mighty United States and a worthy successor to the Kim dynasty. That might be a good thing.
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North Korea nuclear missiles: How startling is Pentagon assessment? (+video)
A new Pentagon intelligence report claims that North Korea has the ability to make a nuclear device small enough to fit on a ballistic missile – not that it's been fully tested or is set to fire.
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Terrorism & Security North Korea nuclear missile capability: Do they have it or not?
The only declassified sentence in a Defense Intelligence report raised concern that North Korea might have the ability to miniaturize its nuclear weapons. Other defense agencies disagree.
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Friend or frenemy? For China, key issue is how US really views it
Both the US and China want to tamp down the North Korea crisis. But as Secretary of State John Kerry visits Beijing this weekend, an underlying issue is mutual suspicion over strategic aims in the Pacific.
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Opinion: Obama must throw North Korea a curve ball – a helping US hand
The US can exploit Pyongyang and Kim Jong-un's pride by shelving the nuclear issue for now, engaging in talks, and offering substantial aid and investments that boost North Korea's economy and helps its people 'help themselves.' This can break the cycle of threats and blackmail.
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North Korea missile test: What's a Musudan? (+video)
If North Korea test-fires a Musudan, it could settle a debate within the expert community about the capabilities of the intermediate-range ballistic missile – or whether it exists at all.
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North Korea threat: How one island is taking Kim Jong-un more seriously
Island residents of Baengnyeong are at the center of the North-South conflict, and are taking North Korea's threats of a missile test seriously, but calmly.
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North Korea threat: Is it cooling?
North Korea threat of missile launch continued to preoccupy the region today, which was the deadline North Korea gave for foreigners to leave South Korea to avoid conflict. But nothing happened.
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Terrorism & Security Just how bothered is Beijing about North Korea?
While neither Beijing nor Washington want to see North Korea's belligerence explode into actual conflict, Beijing is not willing to push Pyongyang too hard for fear of toppling the regime.
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What hope for diplomacy to defuse North Korea crisis?
Any diplomatic resolution to the North Korea crisis depends upon China's priorities and Kim Jong-un himself. Here's why both are difficult to gauge as Secretary of State John Kerry prepares to travel to the region.
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Amid crisis, influential South Korean politician wants to deploy US nukes
A member of the South Korean National Assembly called for US tactical nuclear weapons on the peninsula. He also suggested that Seoul consider developing its own deterrent.
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Opinion: To break the cycle of North Korea threats, US must put Kim on his heels (+video)
To break the cycle of threats from North Korea, the United States must take a much more assertive stance. Leader Kim Jong-un must be put on the defensive by sending him a clear warning of preemptive action if America and its allies find themselves threatened.
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North Korean missiles: Could US shoot them down? (+video)
The Pentagon has been deploying more missile-defense ground batteries and ships to East Asia. Here's a rundown of the three-tiered system that the US could use to counter North Korean missiles.
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Terrorism & Security North Korea: Foreigners on peninsula could get caught in conflict
Despite a series of increasingly dire North Korean prophecies, international reaction has been largely calm. Many suspect the North's threats are Kim Jong-un's way of proving himself.
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Are North Korea's nuclear weapons small enough to fit a ballistic missile?
North Korea claims to have made progress on miniaturized nuclear devices. Some experts credit that claim, but much of what North Korea can or can't do remains unknown.
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