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For the first time in nearly a decade, North Korea will send cheerleaders to South Korea for the Asian Games, state news agency KCNA reports.
The cheerleaders will accompany athletes taking part in the Asian Games in September at the South Korean city of Incheon.
The cheerleaders and athletes are being sent to “improve relationships” between the North and South, according to a statement reported by KCNA.
For the first time in nearly a decade, North Korea will send cheerleaders to South Korea for the Asian Games
North Korea last sent cheerleaders in 2005 for the Asian Athletics Championships, also held in Incheon.
That contingent was made up of 101 cheerleaders, including Ri Sol-ju who went on to marry North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, according to Reuters news agency.
North Korea has so far sent cheerleaders to South Korea only three times since the Korean War.
The Communist country said on Monday that its decision to send cheerleaders again would “create an atmosphere” of reconciliation.
“Our sincere decision this time will melt the frozen North-South relations with the heat of national reconciliation while displaying the entire Korean people’s will of unification in and outside [of the peninsula],” said the statement.
The 2014 Asian Games, officially known as the XVII Asiad, is the largest sporting event in Asia governed by Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The event is scheduled to take place in Incheon, South Korea from September 19 – October 4, 2014, with 439 events in 36 sports and discipline set to feature in the Games.
China’s President Xi Jinping has arrived in South Korea for a two-day visit set to focus on North Korea.
It is the first time a Chinese leader has visited Seoul before Pyongyang, and comes amid cooler China-North Korea ties.
China is North Korea’s biggest trading ally and the nation most able to wield influence over it.
However, in recent months Beijing has appeared increasingly frustrated with its unreliable neighbor.
Xi Jinping and Park Geun-hye would fully exchange views on the nuclear issue and the stalled six-party talks aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions
Last year, North Korea carried out its third nuclear test and there are reports that it could be planning a fourth.
Xi Jinping and South Korean President Park Geun-hye are also expected to discuss growing economic ties, as the two nations work towards a free-trade agreement.
Wider strategic concerns are also in focus. Both China and South Korea are at odds with Japan over historical issues. But Seoul, like Tokyo, is a major US ally.
South East Asian nations that are, like Japan, involved in territorial disputes with Beijing are also moving closer to the US. So China will be keen to shore up ties with Seoul.
The Chinese president is said to enjoy a friendly relationship with ParkGeun-hye with whom he will hold talks.
The is the fifth summit between the two presidents since both took office. Park Geun-hye visited Beijing last year.
Xi Jinping’s visit comes a day after North Korea fired short-range rockets into the sea, the latest in a series of recent missile tests.
Ahead of the visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said that pushing for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula remained Chinese policy.
Xi Jinping and Park Geun-hye would “fully exchange views” on the nuclear issue and the stalled six-party talks aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions, he said.
A key issue for China is to maintain stability in North Korea. It fears that regime collapse could propel a flood of refugees across its border and also lead to a unified Korea allied to the US.
While the Chinese media outlets have in recent months voiced growing concern over Pyongyang’s actions, Xi Jinping is unlikely to speak out strongly.
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According to South Korean reports, North Korea has fired two more short-range rockets into the sea, the latest in a series of recent missile tests.
The rockets were fired off the east coast and flew about 110 miles, South Korean military officials said.
The move comes as China’s President Xi Jinping prepares to visit South Korea, with whom North Korea is technically at war.
It also comes a day after Japan urged Pyongyang to stop such launches and after Seoul rejected a North Korean offer to end hostilities as insincere.
The two rockets were fired from a site near the eastern city of Wonsan at 06:50 and 08:00, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
North Korea has fired two more short-range rockets into the sea
North Korea appeared to be testing the range of the projectiles, Yonhap news agency reported, citing military officials. It also carried out similar tests on June 26 and 29.
To date North Korea has carried out three nuclear tests and is believed to be working on long-range missile development. In recent months it has also carried out a steady stream of short-range missile tests.
Talks between North Korea’s leaders and other nations on ending its nuclear ambitions have been stalled for years.
China, which is North Korea’s biggest trading ally, is the nation believed to wield the most influence over Pyongyang.
But Beijing appears increasingly frustrated with its unreliable neighbor.
The issue of North Korea – including possible plans for a fourth nuclear test – is expected to top the agenda during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Seoul, which begins on Thursday.
North Korea has also in recent weeks alternated between threatening South Korea and offering apparent concessions.
On Monday Pyongyang offered to suspend hostile military activities and slander, a move Seoul described as “nonsensical”.
North Korea has made similar offers in the past but these have invariably broken down.
North Korea is also currently engaged in talks with Japan on the issue of Japanese nationals it abducted in the 1970s and 1980s to teach language and culture to its spies.
Japan criticized Sunday’s rocket launch at the start of one-day talks in Beijing on Tuesday, at which no breakthroughs were reported.
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According to reports from South Korea, North Korea has fired two missiles into the sea from its east coast.
A defense ministry spokesman in Seoul declined to give further details, but Yonhap news agency said they were Scuds with the range of 310 miles.
The apparent test comes just days after North Korea said it successfully fired new precision-guided missiles.
North Korea has fired two missiles into the sea from its east coast (photo Kyodo)
North Korea frequently test-fires missiles to refine its military capabilities.
Reports of a new test come days before Chinese President Xi Jinping is due in South Korea to discuss North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
China is North Korea’s only major ally and provides an economic lifeline to the isolated nation.
North Korea is under UN sanctions over its weapons and nuclear program.
It has carried out nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, and is thought to have enough nuclear material for a small number of bombs.
However, analysts say North Korea does not appear to have successfully manufactured a nuclear warhead small enough to be carried by its missiles.
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The South Korean soldier who killed five members of his unit in Goseong has been captured after a failed suicide attempt, defense officials say.
The soldier, identified only as Im, shot himself in the side and was being sent to hospital, they said.
Sgt. Im’s capture ends a tense stand-off in a forest near his outpost by the border with North Korea.
On Saturday evening Sergeant Im shot and threw a grenade at fellow soldiers before fleeing with his rifle.
Sgt. Im’s capture ends a tense stand-off in a forest near his outpost by the border with North Korea (photo AP)
Seven others were injured in the attack but are expected to live. It is not clear what was the motive behind his attack.
The incident sparked a massive manhunt, with thousands of troops deployed to block possible escape routes, guard the border between North Korea and South Korea, and protect areas where civilians live, officials said.
Sgt. Im at one point exchanged fire with troops. One soldier was injured, reportedly from friendly fire.
He was eventually cornered on Sunday in a forest in the eastern Gangwon province. His family was brought to the area to persuade him to turn himself in.
Yonhap news agency quoted an army officer as saying that Sgt. Im was in tears as he spoke to his father and brother.
Troops were reportedly so close to Sgt. Im that they could toss him a mobile phone as well as food supplies.
Yonhap earlier quoted an official as saying Sgt. Im had “difficulties” adapting to military life. He was due to be discharged in three months.
There have been similar incidents in South Korea’s military, which operates a conscription system under which all men must serve two years. Bullying and mental health problems have been blamed for previous attacks.
South Korean soldiers are engaged in a shootout with a sergeant who shot dead five colleagues and fled his post near North Korea’s border, reports say.
The conscript soldier exchanged gunfire with troops seeking to capture him near a school in the border town of Goseong, Gangwon province, Yonhap reported.
It is not clear why the sergeant, identified only by his surname, Lim, opened fire on Saturday.
There have been similar shooting cases in the South Korean army in the past.
South Korean soldiers are engaged in a shootout with Sgt. Lim who shot dead five colleagues and fled his post near North Korea’s border
Sgt. Lim shot fellow members of his 22nd infantry division in the remote guard post and then escaped with his rifle and some ammunition, army officials said.
Seven other troops were injured in the incident, but are expected to survive.
Thousands of troops were deployed to block possible escape routes, guard the border between North Korea and South Korea, and protect areas where civilians live, officials said.
Guarding the demilitarized zone, which divides the two Koreas, is considered one of the toughest jobs for military conscripts.
Sgt Lim “threw a grenade and then opened fire” after completing his day shift, Yonhap reported.
He was armed with a semi-automatic K2 rifle, which is similar to an M16 and is one of the standard South Korean army rifles, officials said.
An officer said Sgt. Lim “was on the list of those who require special attention, as he had difficulties in adapting to the military life,” the South Korean news agency reported, adding that he had been due to be discharged in three months.
The defense ministry spokesman said the incident was “regrettable”, adding: “We truly apologize for causing concern to the nation.”
There have been similar incidents in South Korea’s military, which operates under a conscription system. Bullying and mental problems have been blamed for previous attacks.
Tens of thousands of soldiers from both North Korea and South Korea are stationed along their joint border, one of the most heavily fortified in the world.
Five South Korean soldiers have been shot dead by one of their comrades.
The 19-year-old injured five more soldiers and fled from an outpost near the border with North Korea, officials say.
The army private opened fire on fellow soldiers on Saturday evening at a post in the eastern Gangwon province.
Tens of thousands of soldiers from both North Korea and South Korea are stationed along their joint border
It is not yet clear what motivated him to kill his colleagues. A man hunt is now under way.
Tensions between North Korea and South Korea have been high, but there is no sign this was a cross-border incident.
“He shot dead five fellow soldiers, wounded five others and then fled the scene with his rifle and ammunition,” an army spokesman was quoted by news agency AFP as saying.
The shooting took place at an army unit near the border town of Goseong, according to South Korean news agency, Yonhap.
Tens of thousands of soldiers from both North Korea and South Korea are stationed along their joint border, one of the most heavily fortified in the world.
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At least twenty patients and a nurse have been killed in a fire at a South Korean hospice in Janseong county.
Six others are in critical condition after the fire at Hyosarang Hospital, about 200 milles south of Seoul.
Most of those who died are thought to have been in their 70s and 80s, and confined to their beds.
At least 20 patients and a nurse have been killed in a fire at the hospital in Janseong county
Officials said most of the people who died suffocated because of toxic fumes. The fire was put out within half an hour.
Police said they had detained an 81-year-old patient suffering from dementia after security video footage showed him entering an area where the fire began, reports said.
The fire broke out shortly after midnight at a three-storey annex.
Agencies report that many patients on an upper floor of the building were unable to evacuate as their rooms were filled with smoke from the fire.
The nurse who died had been trying to douse the flames with a fire extinguisher, according to AFP.
Police said the building had recently undergone safety checks, reported Yonhap news agency.
Hospice director Lee Hyung-seok, apologized and told reporters: “I’ve committed a grave sin… There is no excuse when valuable lives were sacrificed.”
The incident comes at a time of mourning for South Korea after more than 300 people died in a ferry sinking last month.
The hospital incident also comes a day after seven people were killed and 20 others injured in a fire at a bus terminal in Goyang city.
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At least 7 people have been killed and 20 others injured in a fire at a bus terminal in Goyang city, South Korea, officials say.
The fire occurred on Monday morning in Goyang city, northwest of the capital city, Seoul.
At least 7 people have been killed and 20 others injured in a fire at a bus terminal in Goyang city
Firefighters believe welding works at an underground construction site in the building started the blaze, which was brought under control in 20 minutes.
The incident left two people in critical condition, emergency officials said.
Several people suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to hospital for treatment.
Bodies were found at the basement construction site, Yonhap news agency reported.
The incident has come at a time of grief and national mourning as South Korea struggles to recover from a ferry sinking in April that left more than 300 people dead or missing.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye has formally apologized to the nation for the disaster, promising to improve safety standards.
Two subway cars also collided in Seoul in early May, injuring dozens of people.
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North Korea has fired shells into disputed waters near a South Korean warship.
This happened near Yeonpyeong island, on the disputed western maritime border, Yonhap news agency said.
On Tuesday, South Korea fired warning shots at three North Korean ships that crossed the maritime border. North Korea had said it would retaliate.
North Korea and South Korea regularly conduct drills near the western sea border, which has long been a flashpoint between the two Koreas
In 2010, North Korean shelling of Yeonpyeong killed four people.
The latest incident happened after 18:00 local time on Thursday, reports citing South Korean officials said.
“The shells fell near our ship which has been on regular patrol in our territory, but it did not cause any damage to our ship,” a spokesman from South Korea’s defense ministry told the AFP.
According to local news reports, South Korean forces fired several shells into northern waters in response.
Local television network YTN reported that residents on Yeonpyeong were being evacuated to bomb shelters.
North Korea and South Korea regularly conduct drills near the western sea border, which has long been a flashpoint between the two Koreas.
The UN drew the border after the Korean War, but North Korea has never recognized it.
Since the war ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, the two sides remain technically at war.
In March, the two countries traded artillery fire across the border.
North Korea killed two civilians and two marines in the 2010 shelling of Yeonpyeong island, which it said was in response to South Korean military exercises.
Earlier that year, a South Korean warship sank near Baengnyeong island, leaving 46 people dead. Seoul says Pyongyang torpedoed the vessel, but North Korea denies any role in the incident.
At least 170 people have been injured after two subway trains collided in the South Korean capital Seoul.
A number of people were taken to hospital for treatment, but no-one suffered serious injuries, officials said.
The accident happened after one train ran into the back of another that had stopped at the Sangwangsimni Station in east Seoul.
The accident happened after one train ran into the back of another that had stopped at the Sangwangsimni Station in east Seoul (photo Yonhap)
It comes as the nation continues to mourn the deaths of about 300 people in last month’s ferry disaster.
The Sewol ferry sank with 476 people aboard – most of them high school students and teachers – off South Korea on 16 April.
Friday’s crash happened at around 15:30 local time at the Sangwangsimni Station on one of Seoul’s major subway lines, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reports.
Yonhap said the stationary train had stopped because of mechanical problems when the second train ran into the back of it.
A witness said many passengers ignored an onboard announcement telling them to stay inside and forced the doors open, escaping on to the tracks.
One official said 170 people had complained of feeling pain after the accident, and 32 were taken to a nearby hospital, but no-one was seriously hurt, the Associated Press reports.
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North Korea is holding a live-fire drill near the disputed inter-Korean western maritime border, South Korean officials say.
It is the second time in a month that Pyongyang has carried out such exercises.
South Korea’s defense ministry said it was notified early on Tuesday that drills would take place near two islands west of the Korean peninsula.
North Korea is holding a live-fire drill near the disputed inter-Korean western maritime border
A South Korean spokesman said its military was “fully prepared”.
Firing began around 14:00, Reuters news agency quoted a military official as saying, and so far, no rounds had fallen south of the border.
That was the trigger last month for the South Koreans to return fire.
The area has long been a flashpoint between the two Koreas. The UN drew the western border after the Korean War, but North Korea has never recognized it.
A similar North Korean exercise at the end of March resulted in the two sides exchanging hundreds of rounds of artillery fire.
“The North notified us there would be live-fire drills today north of the [border] near Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong islands,” a defense ministry spokesman told AFP news agency.
Both islands are hotspots. In November 2010, North Korea fired shells at Yeonpyeong, killing two marines and two civilians, in what it said was a response to South Korean military exercises.
Earlier that year, a South Korean warship sank near Baengnyeong island with the loss of 46 lives.
Seoul says Pyongyang torpedoed the vessel but North Korea denies any role in the incident.
This latest move from North Korea comes as satellite images suggest Pyongyang could be preparing to carry out a nuclear test.
South Korea’s military said it had recently detected “a lot of activity” at the North’s Punggye-ri test site.
The test, if it went ahead, would be Pyongyang’s fourth, after tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.
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President Barack Obama arrived in Seoul for a visit that comes amid concern that North Korea may be planning a fourth nuclear test.
Barack Obama, who arrived from Japan on the second stop of his Asian tour, will hold talks with South Korean leader Park Geun-hye.
Their talks are set to focus on North Korea, following reports of activity at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.
Barack Obama is also expected to express grief over last week’s ferry disaster.
More than 300 people were killed or remain missing after the Sewol passenger ferry sank off South Korea, in a tragedy that has shocked the nation.
Most of those who died were teenagers on a school trip.
Barack Obama arrived in Seoul for a visit that comes amid concern that North Korea may be planning a fourth nuclear test (photo Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images)
Barack Obama is expected to hold talks with Park Geun-hye, visit US troops and then fly to Malaysia on Saturday.
Speaking in Japan, the US president called the North Korean problem “the most destabilizing, dangerous situation in all of the Asia-Pacific region”, and described China’s role in influencing Pyongyang as “critically important”.
Earlier this week, South Korea’s military said it had detected “a lot of activity” at the North’s nuclear test site, suggesting it was either planning a test or would pretend to stage one.
North Korea has carried out three such tests in the past, most recently in February 2013 – an incident that triggered months of severe tension on the Korean peninsula.
It also carried out tests in 2006 and 2009. All resulted in the imposition of sanctions by the UN, which bars Pyongyang from nuclear tests under resolution 1718.
A report from 38 North, the website of the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, also confirmed increased activity at the site “probably related to preparations for a detonation”, based on satellite imagery.
The document highlighted “increased movement of vehicles and materials near what are believed to be the entrances to two completed test tunnels”.
While Pyongyang has tested devices, it is not yet believed to have mastered the process of making a nuclear warhead small enough to deliver via a missile.
China is regarded as the nation with the best chance of influencing North Korea’s behavior, because of their trade ties.
“We will not allow war and chaos on China’s doorstep,” foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Thursday.
“In the meantime, we have consistently and proactively advocated dialogue and negotiation.”
Also on Barack Obama’s agenda will be Seoul’s ties with Japan. The US wants its two main Asian allies to work together to tackle North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
But rows over disputed islands and unresolved historical tensions have severely strained the Tokyo-Seoul relationship.
Last month, the US brokered a meeting between South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye and Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe in a bid to put things back on track.
In Japan, Barack Obama issued a firm statement of support over Tokyo’s dispute over a separate set of islands with China.
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North Korea has increased the activity at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit to South Korea.
South Korean military was “currently detecting a lot of activity in and around the Punggye-ri nuclear test site”, a South Korean defense ministry spokesman said.
North Korea could be planning to hold a “surprise nuclear test or just pretend to stage a nuclear test”, he said.
North Korea has increased the activity at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit to South Korea
The communist country has carried out three nuclear tests in the past.
South Korea’s foreign minister warned of the dangers of another.
“If North Korea goes ahead with another nuclear test as it has publicly warned, it will be a game changer,” Yun Byung-se said.
North Korea’s most recent test was in February 2013 – an incident that triggered several months of severe tension on the Korean peninsula.
It also carried out tests in 2006 and 2009.
All of the tests – which were signposted well in advance – resulted in the imposition of UN sanctions on Pyongyang.
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South Korean President Park Geun-hye has issued an apology to the nation after three officials of the country’s intelligence agency were charged with fabricating evidence in a spying case.
President Park Geun-hye said the case had exposed “wrong practices” within the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
NIS chief Nam Jae-joon promised a “bone-crushing overhaul” of the agency.
The NIS is accused of falsifying documents, including Chinese immigration records, to prosecute a North Korean defector.
President Park Geun-hye has issued an apology to the nation after three officials of the country’s intelligence agency were charged with fabricating evidence in a spying case (photo AP)
On Monday one of the agency’s deputy heads, Suh Cheon-ho, resigned to take responsibility for the case. Three NIS officials are also facing charges in connection with the scandal.
It relates to the case of Yoo Woo-seong, a former Seoul government official who defected from North Korea in 2004.
He was charged with providing information to Pyongyang about more than 200 North Korean defectors, but subsequently acquitted.
When prosecutors appealed, they submitted Chinese immigration records on Yoo Woo-seong’s visits to the North – some of which were later found to have been forged.
“Regrettably, wrong practices of the NIS and holes in its management system have been revealed,” the South Korean president told her cabinet, according to Yonhap news agency.
“The NIS must make excruciating efforts to overhaul itself to make sure this kind of incident won’t repeat itself.”
The NIS has faced controversy in the past, including allegations that its agents took part in an online campaign to discredit the opposition candidate during the 2012 presidential election.
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A Mongolian-flagged cargo ship carrying North Korean sailors has sunk off South Korea, killing at least two people.
Sixteen sailors were on board the cargo ship that went down off the southern coast of South Korea.
Sixteen sailors were on board the cargo ship that went down off the southern coast of South Korea (photo Reuters)
Three of the crew have been rescued, South Korean officials said. A search was under way for the remaining 11 crew members.
The vessel was heading from North Korea to China with a cargo of steel.
South Korea’s coast guard said 13 vessels and six aircraft were involved in the search.
It is not clear what caused the ship, which sent a distress call in the early hours of Friday, to sink.
South Korea generally returns North Korean sailors who encounter trouble in its waters, if they want to return.
Residents of five front-line South Korean islands have been forced to evacuate to shelters as the two Koreas fired artillery shells into each other’s waters Monday, South Korean officials said.
The South Korean artillery fire came after shells from a North Korean live-fire drill fell south of the Koreas’ disputed western sea boundary, an official with South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. No shells from either side were fired at any land or military installations, said the official, who provided no other details and spoke on condition of anonymity because of office rules.
The exchange of fire followed Pyongyang’s earlier, unusual announcement that it would conduct live-fire drills in seven areas north of the poorly marked Yellow Sea boundary between the countries. North Korea routinely test-fires artillery and missiles into the ocean, but it’s rare for the country to disclose such training plans in advance. The announcement was seen as an expression of Pyongyang’s frustration at making little progress in its recent push to win outside aid.
In addition to sending residents of five front-line South Korean islands to shelters, Lee Han-seok, an official with Ongjin county, which governs the islands, also said that ferry service linking the islands to the mainland was stopped.
North Korea and South Korea fired artillery shells into each other’s waters (photo PA)
Kang Myeong-sung, speaking from a shelter on Yeonpyeong island, which is in sight of North Korean territory, said he hadn’t seen any fighter jets but heard the boom of artillery fire.
The North in recent weeks has increased threatening rhetoric and conducted a series of rocket and ballistic missile launches that are considered acts of protest against annual ongoing springtime military exercises by Seoul and Washington. North Korea calls the South Korea-US drills a rehearsal for invasion; the allies say they’re routine and defensive.
Pyongyang threatened Sunday to conduct a fourth nuclear test at some point, though Seoul says there are no signs of an imminent detonation. Wee Yong-sub, a deputy spokesman at the South Korean Defense Ministry, said the North Korean warning about the live-fire drills Monday was a “hostile” attempt to heighten tension on the Korean Peninsula.
A woman who runs a lodging facility on another front-line island, Baengnyeong, said from a shelter that she was still hearing the sounds of artillery fire about 90 minutes after the North began its live-fire drills.
The western sea boundary has been the scene of several bloody naval skirmishes between the two Koreas in recent years, including the 2010 artillery attack by North Korea in which it killed four South Koreans on Yeonpyeong.
Last spring, tension spiked after a near-daily barrage of North Korean threats, including warnings of nuclear strikes against Seoul and Washington, following international criticism of Pyongyang’s third nuclear test in February of last year. North Korea has since gradually dialed down its threats and sought improved ties with South Korea in what foreign analysts say is an attempt to lure international investment and aid. There has been no major breakthrough in the North’s reported push to win outside aid, however, with Washington and Seoul calling on the North to first take disarmament steps to prove its sincerity about improving ties, analysts say.
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North Korea has made an insulting attack on South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye, following her recent comments on its nuclear program.
A North Korean spokesman accused Park Geun-hye of “blabbering” like a peasant woman and described her as a “faithful servant and stooge of the United States”.
Park Geun-hye had warned on Monday that North Korean nuclear devices could end up in the hands of militants.
The North’s statement said Park Geun-hye must learn to stop reckless talk.
North Korea test-fired two ballistic missiles on Wednesday, an apparent response to the meeting at the Hague between Park Geun-hye, President Barack Obama and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe.
North Korea has made an insulting attack on South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye, following her recent comments on its nuclear program
They pledged co-operation in the face of North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
US and South Korean forces are continuing annual exercises on and around the Korean peninsula with the largest-scale amphibious landing by US marines in decades.
North Korea has made insulting comments about Park Geun-hye’s gender in the past with references to “the venomous swish of her skirt”.
But the two states had agreed at a rare high-level meeting last month to end cross-border slander.
North Korea’s official Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said the South Korean leader had violated that agreement during a speech at the nuclear summit in the Hague.
Park Geun-hye had called for an end to North Korea’s nuclear program, expressing fears that nuclear material could be acquired by extremists or cause an accident worse than Chernobyl.
South Korea’s government said the North Korean comments were deeply regrettable and lacking in the most basic etiquette.
Two medium-range ballistic missiles have been test-fired by North Korea, just hours after the US, South Korea and Japan met in the Netherlands for talks.
It is the first launch of a Nodong missile since 2009 and marks a step up from the short-range rockets Pyongyang has fired in recent weeks.
The launches also came on the fourth anniversary of the sinking of a South Korean warship.
Washington and Seoul have condemned the launch, which violates UN resolutions.
The US State Department described the launch as “a troubling and provocative escalation”.
“We urge North Korea to exercise restraint and refrain from further threatening actions,” deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement.
The South Korean defense ministry said the missiles were fired from the Suckon region north of Pyongyang and flew for about 400 miles before falling into the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula.
“This missile is capable of hitting not only most of Japan but also Russia and China,” ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said.
The ministry described it as a “grave provocation”.
Two medium-range ballistic missiles have been test-fired by North Korea, just hours after the US, South Korea and Japan met in the Netherlands for talks
In recent weeks, North Korea has launched multiple short-range missiles – actions which have coincided with annual US-South Korea military exercises.
But this is the first launch of a Nodong missile – which has a range of about 1,000km – since 2009. A similar launch also took place in 2006.
Ballistic missile launches by Pyongyang are banned by the UN.
North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests, the most recent in February 2013. It is also developing a three-stage missile that experts believe could be capable of hitting parts of the US.
But it is not yet believed to have the expertise to miniaturize a nuclear weapon so it could be delivered via a missile.
The US State Department said North Korea did not issue any maritime notification warning of its latest test.
“We are closely co-ordinating with our allies and partners, including in the UN Security Council, to take the appropriate measures in response to this latest provocation and to address the threat to global security posed by the DPRK’s [North Korea’s] nuclear and ballistic missile programs,” the statement said.
The launches took place in the early hours of Wednesday, which marks four years since South Korea’s Cheonan warship sank with the loss of 46 lives near the disputed inter-Korean western maritime border.
South Korea says North Korea torpedoed the ship. North Korea denies any role in the incident.
They also came just hours after President Barack Obama met his South Korean counterpart, Park Geun-hye, and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe at the nuclear summit in The Hague for talks that focused on North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
It was the first meeting between Park Geun-hye and Shinzo Abe since both took office, amid strained ties over historical and territorial issues.
Barack Obama pledged his “unwavering commitment” to Tokyo and Seoul in the face of North Korea’s nuclear program.
North Korea says its rocket tests are self-defense exercises and says the military drills by Washington and Seoul are invasion preparations.
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South Korea military officials say North Korea has tested dozens of short-range rockets in the past 24 hours in an apparent show of anger with Seoul.
Analysts say the launches are Pyongyang’s way of protesting against joint military drills between the US and South Korea.
Some 16 rockets were fired into the sea early on Sunday, following the launch of 30 on Saturday.
North Korea has tested dozens of short-range rockets in the past 24 hours in an apparent show of anger with Seoul
North Korea claims its rocket tests are routine, self-defense exercises.
Pyongyang has bitterly criticized the annual war drills by Washington and Seoul, labeling them invasion preparations.
The isolated state often makes a show of force at the same time as the drills.
But this year there have been an unusually high number of rockets launched.
Experts say some 70 missiles have been fired so far this month, including the 46 from this weekend.
The South Korean military says that the North appears to be firing Frog rockets, which are unguided Soviet-developed devices that Pyongyang has had in its armory since the 1960s.
Both South Korea and the US have criticized North Korea’s missile tests.
Under UN resolutions, North Korea is required to abandon its ballistic missiles programs.
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South Korea has granted approval to Caesars Entertainment to open a “foreigner-only” casino with Indonesian conglomerate Lippo.
The first phase of the project also includes two hotels and will be built near Incheon airport outside Seoul.
Shares in Lippo surged more than 35% after the preliminary approval was announced.
In total the firms expect to invest 2.3 trillion won ($2.1 billion) in further projects over the next nine years.
South Korea has granted approval to Caesars Entertainment to open a “foreigner-only” casino with Indonesian conglomerate Lippo
South Korea currently has more than 16 “foreigner-only” casinos, meant to appeal primarily to northern Chinese.
Most of them are clustered near Seoul’s airport or on the island of Jeju, which is just over an hour away by plane from northern cities such as Shanghai and Beijing – making them a convenient alternative to Macau.
Last month, Genting Singapore – Southeast Asia’s largest casino operator by market value – announced it would build a casino on Jeju with Chinese development firm Landing International to target northern and eastern Chinese gamblers.
The project, which is expected to cost $2.2 billion, will include a theme park, shopping malls, apartments and hotels as well as the casino.
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North Korea has fired four short-range missiles towards the sea off the country’s east coast on Thursday, according to a South Korean Defense Ministry official.
The communist country launched the missiles at 5:42 p.m. local time from a mountain site just north of the border with South Korea, the official added.
North Korea has fired short-range missiles into the sea as part of military exercises in the past, Reuters reported.
Four short-range missiles have been fired towards the sea off North Korea’s east coast on Thursday, according to a South Korean Defense Ministry official.
North Korea has fired four short-range missiles towards the sea off the country’s east coast
The communist country launched the missiles at 5:42 p.m. local time from a mountain site just north of the border with South Korea, the official added.
North Korea has fired short-range missiles into the sea as part of military exercises in the past, Reuters reported.
The move is widely seen as a response to South Korea’s military exercises with the US.
Experts say that the test-firing of the four missiles – with an estimated range of about 125 miles – is unlikely to trigger a significant rise in military tensions.
They are mainly about North Korea expressing its displeasure over the US-South Korea military drills – which Pyongyang has condemned as provocative – and a recent UN rights report which described human rights abuses in the North Korea as possible crimes against humanity.
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South Korean missionary Kim Jong-uk, who is detained in North Korea, has appeared before media to read from a statement publicly apologizing for “anti-state crimes”.
Kim Jong-uk, 50, said he was arrested after entering via China with religious materials in October.
Religious activity is restricted in North Korea, with missionaries arrested on multiple occasions in the past.
Foreign nationals arrested in North Korea sometimes make public confessions which they later say were under duress.
Merrill Newman, an 85-year-old US national, was briefly held last year. He was freed after confessing to committing crimes during the Korean War – a statement he said was given under duress.
Kim Jong-uk has appeared before North Korean media to read an apology
In his first public appearance since his arrest, Kim Jong-uk said he wanted to let his family know he was in good health.
He said he acted “under directions” from South Korea’s National Intelligence Services (NIS), setting up an underground church in Dandong, China, to collect information on life in North Korea to send back.
“I was thinking of turning North Korea into a religious country, and destroying its present government and political system,” Kim Jong-uk also told the news conference.
One report said Kim Jong-uk had been working in Dandong for seven years helping North Korean refugees.
Kim Jong-uk said he was unsure of his punishment and asked that he be released.
The North Korean state media in November said it had arrested an unnamed South Korean “spy”, a charge which South Korea’s intelligence agency denied.
On Thursday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry urged North Korea to release and repatriate Kim Jong-uk.
According to South Korean officials, a North Korean patrol boat violated a sea border with the South several times late on Monday.
The ship spent a few hours south of the border, nearing a South Korean border island, before returning after repeated warnings from the South, they added.
North Korea disputes the maritime border and has sent boats across it in the past.
The incident comes amid joint military drills between the US and South Korea which are opposed by Pyongyang.
The North Korean patrol ship crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL), which South Korea considers the maritime border between the two sides, at around 22:46 local time, South Korea’s defense ministry said.
The South broadcast warnings 10 times before the ship returned, at around 02:25 local time, the ministry added.
A North Korean patrol boat violated a sea border with the South several times late on Monday
The NLL was drawn unilaterally by the United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War.
However, North Korea has disputed the NLL and drawn its own border further south of the line.
“The North Korean ship’s NLL violation is seen as part of military drills,” defense ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said.
“It is believed that [the ship] intended to test the South Korean military.”
The ship was said to have come within 15 miles of South Korea’s border island of Baengnyeong.
Monday’s incident comes on the same day joint annual US-South Korea military exercises began.
More than 12,500 US troops will take part in the exercises, which include Key Resolve, a computer-based simulation, and Foal Eagle, which involves air, ground and naval drills.
Pyongyang is opposed to the drills and has previously called them “exercises of war”.
Tuesday is also the last day of rare family reunions for North and South Korean relatives separated after the Korean War.
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South Korea and US joint military drills have begun, amid rare family reunions between North and South Korean relatives separated for decades.
The annual military exercises will last until April 18.
They will involve Key Resolve, a computer-based simulation, and Foal Eagle, which involves air, ground and naval drills.
Pyongyang is opposed to the drills and had previously threatened to cancel the reunions if the exercises went ahead.
The military drills will involve more than 12,500 US troops.
The US and South Korea describe the annual drills as defensive in nature, but Pyongyang has described them as “exercises of war”.
Last year, the exercises led to a prolonged surge in tensions, with North Korea threatening pre-emptive nuclear strikes and attacks on South Korean and US targets.
The rhetoric this year has so far been relatively mild, but the drills are scheduled to last until April, and many here see them as the toughest test yet of whether ties between the two Koreas are warming.
South Korea and US annual military exercises will last until April 18
Speaking on Monday, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said: “As of now, there are no unusual movements from North Korea. We will only take action against North Korea if it makes provocations or denunciations.”
Also on Monday, around 360 South Koreans met their North Korean relatives for the first time since the 1950-1953 Korean War, at a family reunion event in North Korea’s Mount Kumgang resort.
They were the second set of relatives chosen to attend the reunions, which come amid an apparent thaw in inter-Korean ties.
Many people were separated from their relatives by the division of the Korean peninsula after the Korean War.
Pyongyang has been accused of using the family reunions, which are highly emotional events, as a bargaining chip.
North Korea has in the past canceled the reunions after the South took actions it opposed – most recently in September.
Meanwhile, South Korea also offered to assist the North with tackling an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
North Korean state media said that thousands of pigs had been affected by the disease.
South Korea, which has also been hit by outbreaks before, has offered to send aid, including medical goods and vaccines, officials said.
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