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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Focus One man's escape from Camp 14 and North Korea
Only one prisoner born in North Korea's gulag is known to have escaped to tell his story. A Q&A with Blaine Harden, the journalist who wrote about Shin Dong-hyuk.
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Decoder Wire North Korea missile launches: Pyongyang toying with foes? (+video)
That's one explanation for Day 3 of provocation from North Korea, which again fired short-range missiles or rockets into the ocean. So far, the medium-range North Korea missiles that caused a flap in April are nowhere to be seen.
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Why did North Korea launch 6 missiles in 3 days?
The launches may be more an effort to get attention and test weaponry rather than actually provoke the region, following the end of the joint South Korea-US military exercises last month.
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Terrorism & Security North Korean pirates seize Chinese hostages, demand a ransom
A group of Chinese fishermen are said to be held hostage in North Korea, straining ties already frayed by North Korea's missile launches.
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Japan's 'secret' trip to North Korea disrupts united stance against Pyongyang
Japan's visit to North Korea comes after broad regional agreement that Pyongyang should not be offered talks unless it displays a genuine commitment to denuclearization.
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Terrorism & Security North Korea explains why it sentenced American Kenneth Bae to hard labor
Mr. Bae was detained and sentenced to 15 years in prison. North Korea today spelled out its charges, which include plotting to overthrow the government.
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The Real North Korea
Are North Korea’s leaders insanely ideological – or merely pragmatic?
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Global News Blog Dennis Rodman to Kim Jong-un: 'Do me a solid' and free Kenneth Bae (+video)
US basketball star Dennis Rodman recently hung out with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un - now he's tweeted a request that the American sentenced to 15 years' hard labor be released.
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US, South Korea put up a tough front, but it doesn't close door to North (+video)
South Korean President Park, in the US to meet with Obama, has made it clear that she sees her toughness as part of a “trust politik” that would allow for renewed dialogue with the North.
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Opinion: Obama and South Korea's President Park must agree on North Korea policy
As President Obama meets today with South Korea's President Park Geun-hye, how closely they agree on policy toward North Korea and whether they establish a good working relationship will be key to dealing with an increasingly dangerous new leadership in Pyongyang.
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Opinion: Thinking through options on North Korea
As history shows, new nuclear states such as North Korea usually probe the limits of their power and test how other international actors respond. But consider this: Once escalation starts, it can be extremely difficult to control.
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Did detained American's Christianity scare North Korean regime?
North Korea's sentencing of a detained American to 15 years hard labor could be an attention-getting ploy. But Kenneth Bae is a devout Christian, and 'the regime is scared to death of Christianity.'
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All eyes on Kim Jong-un after North Korea gives 15 years' hard labor to US citizen
North Korea says US citizen Kenneth Bae was conspiring to overthrow the regime. But analysts say the North is likely to use him as a new bargaining chip.
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Decoder Wire North Korea almost done building new reactor. Is that a big deal? (+video)
While all things in North Korea are cloaked in secrecy, it appears that this new reactor could produce material for nuclear weapons – potentially expanding North Korea's small stockpile.
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North Korea: American sentenced to hard labor
After being detained for six months, American Kenneth Bae (also known as Pae Jun Ho), a tour operator, was sentenced for plotting to overthrow the North Korean government. Details of his crimes have not been released.
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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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