North Korea demands South Korea return 11 defectors, but Seoul says it won'tOctober 4th, 2009 North Korea demands SKorea return 11 defectorsSEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's Unification Ministry says North Korea has demanded Seoul return 11 people who defected to the South by sea last week. The ministry says in a statement that the North sent its demand in a message Sunday.
US, South Korean planes conducted spying missions: North KoreaAugust 31st, 2009 PYONGYANG - US and South Korean spy planes conducted over 170 reconnaissance missions over North Korea in August, the official media reported Monday citing a military source. Some 90 flights were conducted by the US, which used the RC-135, U-2 and E-3 reconnaissance aircraft over waters near the northeastern part of South Korea, while South Korea was responsible for at least 80 flights, the Korean Central News Agency said.
Pyongyang sends delegation for South Korea ex-president's funeralAugust 21st, 2009 SEOUL - A delegation sent by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il arrived Friday in Seoul to pay respects to the late South Korean president Kim Dae Jung, who won the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to reconcile the two Koreas. The visit was the first to South Korea by high-ranking North Korean functionaries since the inauguration of conservative South Korean President Lee Myung Bak in February last year.
Report: Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung dies at age 85August 18th, 2009 Report: Former South Korean president diesSEOUL, South Korea — Yonhap news agency says former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung has died. The 85-year-old leader had been hospitalized since last month for pneumonia.
NKorea puts military on "special alert" because of joint SKorean-US military drillsAugust 17th, 2009 NKorea puts military on 'special alert'SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea says its military will be on "special alert" because of South Korea's joint military drills with the U.S. The communist nation's army made the announcement Monday on the same day that the country said it was restarting key reconciliation projects with South Korea, to reunite separated families and organize joint tourism.
North Korea puts troops on alert over South Korea-US war gamesAugust 17th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea Monday put its troops on alert as an annual joint South Korean-US war game commenced and accused its neighbour of planning an attack. North Korea would react to any provocation with a "merciless and prompt annihilating strike at the aggressors with all offensive and defensive means, including nuclear deterrent", state media quoted the high command of the Korean People's Army as saying.
Report: South Korean fishing boat taken to North KoreaJuly 30th, 2009 Report: SKorean fishing boat taken to NKoreaSEOUL, South Korea — North Korea seized a South Korean fishing boat early Thursday after it accidentally crossed the countries' sea border, a news report said. Yonhap news agency quoted a Defense Ministry official as saying that the incident took place at about 6:30 a.m.
North Korea threatens military strike against South KoreaMay 27th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea Wednesday warned it will respond militarily to South Korea joining a US-led initiative to intercept ships carrying illicit weapons, the South Korean Yonhap news agency said.
North and South Korea begin rare talks after hours of delayApril 21st, 2009 Inter-Korean talks begin after hours of delaySEOUL, South Korea — South Korea says talks with North Korea about a troubled joint factory complex in the communist country have begun after hours of delay. Unification Ministry spokeswoman Kim Ho-nyeon said that the talks began Tuesday night at the Kaesong Industrial Complex across the border in North Korea.
Talks between North, South Korea end after 20 minutesApril 21st, 2009 SEOUL - The first direct talks between the governments of North and South Korea in more than a year lasted for around 20 minutes Tuesday, South Korean officials said. There were no details as to what had been discussed at the meeting, which took place in the North Korean border city of Kaesong at an industrial park operated jointly by the two neighbours.
South Korean delegation in North Korea for talksApril 21st, 2009 SEOUL - A South Korean delegation reached North Korea Tuesday morning to participate in talks amid mounting tensions in the Korean Peninsula. 'The delegation has crossed the border,' a spokesman of South Korea's Unification Ministry said.
South Korea agrees for talks with North KoreaApril 19th, 2009 SEOUL - The South Korean government Sunday said that it has decided to accept Pyongyang's offer for holding inter-Korean talks next week. It will be the first governmental talks between South Korea and North Korea since South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February last year.
South Korea says North Korea has proposed meeting on joint industrial complexApril 17th, 2009 NKorea proposes meeting on joint factory parkSEOUL, South Korea — South Korea says that North Korea has proposed a meeting on a joint factory park in the North next week. Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyeon told reporters Saturday that the North recently proposed a meeting to discuss the joint complex in the border town of Kaesong.
US, South Korea say North Korean satellite launch failsApril 6th, 2009 SEOUL/WASHINGTON - Media reports in the US and South Korea said Sunday that North Korea had failed to place a satellite into orbit with its rocket launching earlier in the day. The news network CNN, citing the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), reported that the North Korean satellite failed to achieve orbit.
North Korea threatens to shoot down South Korean planesMarch 6th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea Thursday indirectly threatened to shoot down South Korean passenger aircraft in its airspace, amid growing tension on the Korean peninsula. North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea made the threat as the US and South Korea prepared to undertake joint military exercises next Monday.