A British professor who recently visited North Korea said Pyongyang citizens are still impoverished, though North Korean media are pouring out reports on how their factories and companies have boosted production. The North Korean mouthpieces, including the North Korean Central Broadcasting Station, have been releasing news reports about how the communist state’s light industries and factories overachieved their initial production targets.Hazel Smith, professor of security at Cranfield University

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The United States raised concerns Tuesday over a nuclear reactor in North Korea that the communist state claims will soon start operating.North Korea’s uranium enrichment program “and construction of a light-water reactor violate U.N. Security Council resolutions as well as their commitment to the 2005 joint statement,” said State Department spokesman Mark Toner.“We have concerns,” said Toner. “Certainly we’re concerned about the matter.”North Korea on Nov. 10 announced throug

Experts say better social care needed to help them adapt to life in SouthMany North Korean defectors who risked their lives to come here have sought asylum in other countries after failing to adapt to life in the South, where they initially thought a rosy future lay ahead.When they land on foreign soil on a travel visa, they immediately discard their passports to disguise themselves as asylum seekers coming directly from the impoverished state, according to defectors and North Korea experts.Expe

An international festival is to give people a chance to share cultures from all around the world in Ulsan on Tuesday, Nov. 29. The Ulsan International Volunteer Center is to hold its annual One Heart Festival in the gymnasium at the community center in Ulsan Grand Park from 3-6 p.m.The center is seeking presenters to share their cultures through singing, dancing or any other way they wish, with prizes for the best performances. Last year, people from the area’s Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Vietnam

The Korean Animal Welfare Association is to hold a star-studded party for its supporters on Nov. 25. The event at ThinkCoffee in the Jongno area of Seoul will be attended by celebrities including Korean pop-star Lee Hyo-ri. The former Fin.K.L singer turned solo artist has supported several KAWA campaigns to improve living conditions for animals both in Korea and abroad. The animal rights organization will also be holding an awareness day on seal hunting this weekend. Campaigners will be handing

A group of dedicated mountaineers is set to improve a Korean mountain for other climbers. Expats from Korea on the Rocks initiatives are teaming up with people from the Korean climbing community to replace aging mountaineering hardware on Munsusan in South Gyeongsan Province. KOTRi founder Bryan Hylenski is to lead the group of volunteers along with Choi Byeong-ho of Ulsan’s Climbing Gym and Choi Jeong-ho of Daegu’s Challenger Gym to repair climbing gear fitted on the rocks this weekend. A mixer

This is the second in a two-part series about how PSCORE helps North Korean defectors. See the Sharing page for Nov. 10 for an overview of PSCORE’s services. ― Ed.For many North Koreans the Tumen River, east of Mount Baekdu, is a natural border not only with China, but the rest of the world. Unlike the swift, deep Yalu River to the west, the Tumen is relatively shallow and narrow, making it a preferred means for discontented North Koreans to escape despite the regular patrolling of border guards

Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun has been named one of the Financial Times’ top 50 women in world business, the only Korean who made it to the list, the British newspaper announced on Wednesday. Hyun ranked 48th on the list in recognition of her efforts to run one of the biggest conglomerates in Korea after she was unexpectedly catapulted to the top office of Hyundai when her husband, Chung Mon-hun, committed suicide in 2003. “Hyun has been a steadying force for Hyundai Group and has work

A company named Kitchen Idea said Wednesday it began sales of children’s spoons and chopsticks specially designed for hygiene purposes.A curve in the middle keeps the spoon head and tips of chopsticks from touching the table, preventing contact with germs and dirt. The new children’s cutlery sets made of stainless steel come in three different designs priced at 6,000 won or 7,000 won per pair. Spoon-and-chopstick sets for adults are also available.Kitchen Idea has applied for a patent for the cu