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North Korea and South Korea are holding their first high-level talks since 2007.
The meeting – requested by Pyongyang – is taking place at the border village of Panmunjom.
No agenda has been set but the issue of family reunions planned for later this month is expected to be discussed.
Pyongyang has threatened to cancel the reunions because of the annual military exercises South Korea and the US are due to stage in February.
The morning session started at 10:00 local time and lasted for 90 minutes. Delegates then reconvened at South Korea’s side of Panmunjom in the afternoon, AFP news agency said.
South Korea’s Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Kyou-hyun is leading Seoul’s delegation at the Panmunjom talks.
North Korea and South Korea are holding their first high-level talks since 2007
Ahead of the meeting, Kim Kyou –hyun said: “This is an opportunity to open a new era of the Korean peninsula.
“I would like to attend the meeting with ‘open attitude and mind’ to study the opportunity.
“We will make an effort to proceed with the separated families reunion event as agreed.”
North Korea’s delegation has been headed by Won Tong-yon, a senior official specializing in inter-Korean ties, South Korean officials said.
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North Korea and South Korea are to hold rare high-level talks on Wednesday, Seoul has announced, ahead of family reunions planned for later this month.
The meeting will take place at the border village of Panmunjom, a South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesman said.
No agenda had been set but the planned family reunions were expected to be discussed, he said.
The agreement followed a proposal from North Korea to hold talks.
North Korea and South Korea are to hold rare high-level talks ahead of family reunions
There is hope in Seoul that it might kick-start a regular dialogue, our correspondent adds.
North Korea and South Korea are due to hold reunions of families divided by the partitioning of the Korean Peninsula at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, for five days from February 20.
The last such reunions took place in 2010. But these reunions coincide with the start of US-South Korea joint military drills – annual exercises which anger North Korea.
In a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday, North Korea’s ambassador to the UN, So Se Pyong, spoke of the need to terminate all hostile military actions which he described as the main obstacles to peace.
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North Korea has warned South Korea it will cancel family reunions, a day after agreeing to hold them.
A top military body in North Korea said in a statement that it would reconsider the family reunions deal if joint US-South Korea military exercises went ahead.
“Dialogue and exercises of war” could not go hand in hand, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted the North Korean statement as saying.
The two Koreas last held reunions for divided families in 2010.
The next reunions – for family members separated when the Korean peninsula was partitioned at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War – are scheduled for February 20.
In the past North Korea has cancelled reunions after the South took actions it opposed.
North Korea said it would reconsider the family reunions deal if joint US-South Korea military exercises went ahead
It has been accused of using the reunions, which are highly emotional events, as a bargaining chip.
“As we were reaching an agreement on the separated families, B-52 bombers were engaging in nuclear strike drills against us above Korea’s western sea,” the statement from North Korea’s National Defense Commission said.
“As long as [South Korea] hurts our dignity and slanders our regime, we can’t help but reconsider fulfilling the agreement,” the statement added.
Major US and South Korea military drills, which are held every year around this time, are due to begin later this month. The exercises anger Pyongyang, which views them as aggressive.
Last year, the exercises led to a prolonged surge in tensions, with North Korea threatening pre-emptive nuclear strikes and cutting a military hotline with the South.
A South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman said on Thursday that the joint drills would go ahead.
“We will proceed with our drills normally, regardless of the reunions for separated families,” said ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok.
It is estimated that there are about 72,000 South Koreans – nearly half of them aged over 80 – on the waiting list for a chance to join the family reunion events.
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North Korea and South Korea have agreed to hold reunions for families separated after the Korean War in February, following calls from Pyongyang to improve ties.
If held, they would be the first reunions since 2010.
In September, North Korea cancelled a planned reunion, blaming “hostility” from South Korea.
The move comes ahead of annual US-South Korea military drills later this month, which are expected to anger North Korea.
Pyongyang has asked Seoul to cancel the annual drills – a request that has been refused.
North Korea has in the past cancelled or suspended reunion meetings in retaliation for South Korean actions it opposes. Critics have accused North Korea of using reunions as a bargaining chip.
North Korea and South Korea have agreed to hold reunions for families separated after the Korean War in February
Millions were separated from their families by the division of the Korean peninsula after the 1950-1953 war.
The reunion events are highly emotional occasions where North and South Koreans meet briefly in the North before heading home again.
The program was suspended after North Korea’s shelling of a South Korean border island in November 2010.
The reunions are scheduled to be held from February 20 to February 25, at the Mount Kumgang resort in North Korea.
Before the meeting, Lee Duk-haeng, head of South Korea’s delegation, said: “We will make all-out efforts to come up with good results such as on a schedule for the family reunion so that we can deliver good news to separated families.
“We will do our best to start the new year off on the right foot for the South-North relationship.”
In September, Pyongyang cancelled the planned reunions of 100 families, blaming South Korea’s “confrontational attitude”.
It is estimated that there are about 72,000 South Koreans – nearly half of them aged over 80 – on the waiting list for a chance to join the family reunion events.
However, only a few hundred participants are selected each time. Most do not know whether their relatives are still alive, because the two countries prevent their citizens from exchanging mail, phone calls and emails.
Last month, North Korea began urging an end to slander and “hostile acts”, but many here remain skeptical that warmer ties are so easy to secure.
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North Korea has sent an open letter to South Korea calling for reconciliation and an end to “hostile military acts”.
The letter, published in North Korea’s state media, comes weeks before South Korea is due to hold joint military drills with the US.
South Korea dismissed the letter as having a “hidden motive”.
Correspondents say that tensions between North Korea and South Korea traditionally rise ahead of the annual drills, which Pyongyang has condemned as provocative.
Last year, the military exercises, known as “Foal Eagle”, led to an unusually sharp and protracted surge in tensions. North Korea threatened pre-emptive nuclear strikes, as nuclear-capable US stealth bombers flew practice runs over the peninsula.
The military drills scheduled for next month are a source of great irritation to the North, which sees them as aggressive preparations for war.
While North Korea is appearing to offer reconciliation, its rhetoric has been accompanied by thinly-veiled threats not to “rashly reject” the proposals.
“What is important for paving a wide avenue for mending North-South relations is to make a bold decision to stop all hostile military acts, the biggest hurdle stoking distrust and confrontation,” the letter from North Korea’s National Defence Commission (NDC) said.
North Korea has sent an open letter to South Korea calling for reconciliation and an end to hostile military acts
“The DPRK [North Korea] has already unilaterally opted for halting all acts of getting on the nerves of South Korea and slandering it.”
“Regretfully, the South Korean authorities still remain unchanged in [their] improper attitude and negative stand,” it said, adding that the South “should not thoughtlessly doubt, misinterpret and rashly reject our sincere, important proposal”.
The letter was apparently sent by special order of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It calls on South Korea to take a bold decision to “stop all hostile military acts” and prevent “impending nuclear disasters”.
South Korean defense ministry spokesman Wi Yong-seop said: “The most important military tactic is to figure out the enemy’s hidden motive.”
He added that existing tensions were the result of “North Korea’s military provocations” and that “the current situation can be resolved if North Korea stops threatening and hostile rhetoric”.
This letter follows a proposal from the NDC a week ago that South Korea should cancel the annual drills with the US.
It also said the two sides should stop “all acts of provoking and slandering” each other.
Seoul has responded by warning that Pyongyang may be contemplating a provocative act aimed at triggering a confrontation.
In March 2013, North Korea made multiple threats against the South and the US following the “Foal Eagle” drill.
Pyongyang warned of a “pre-emptive nuclear strike” on the US, said it was scrapping the Korean War armistice, and closed the jointly-run Kaesong industrial park for months.
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Credit card details from 20 million South Koreans have been stolen and sold to marketing firms.
The data from almost half of South Korea’s population was stolen by a computer contractor working for a company called the Korea Credit Bureau that produces credit scores.
The names, social security numbers and credit card details were copied by the IT worker.
The scale of the theft became apparent after the contractor at the centre of the breach was arrested.
Managers at the marketing firms which allegedly bought the data were also arrested.
Early reports suggest that the contractor got hold of the giant trove of data thanks to the access Korea Credit Bureau enjoys to databases run by three big South Korean credit card firms. The contractor stole the data by copying it to a USB stick.
Credit card details from 20 million South Koreans have been stolen and sold to marketing firms
Regulators are now looking into security measures at the three firms – KB Kookmin Card, Lotte Card, and NH Nonghyup Card – to ensure data stays safe. A task force has been set up to investigate the impact of the theft.
The three bosses of the credit card firms involved made a public apology for the breach.
In a statement the Financial Services Commission, Korea’s national financial regulator, said: “The credit card firms will cover any financial losses caused to their customers due to the latest accident.”
Another official at the FSC said the data was easy to steal because it was unencrypted and the credit card firms did not know it had been copied until investigators told them about the theft.
This theft of consumer data is just the latest to hit South Korea. In 2012, two hackers were arrested for getting hold of the details of 8.7 million subscribers to KT Mobile.
South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye has convened a meeting of security officials after the shock execution of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s uncle, Jang Sung-taek.
Ahead of the meeting Park Geun-hye warned of possible “reckless provocations” by the North and called for increased border vigilance.
Last week’s execution of Jang Sung-taek left the region in a “grave and unpredictable” situation, she said.
Jang Sung-taek, a key figure in North Korea, was executed for allegedly planning a coup.
President Park Geun-hye has convened a meeting of security officials after the shock execution of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s uncle
The move – together with the recall of a North Korean business team from China – prompted concerns that Jang Sung-taek’s associates were being purged as part of a campaign by Kim Jong-un to consolidate his power.
China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, said he believed an “important change” was taking place inside North Korea.
China – which in state media has called for Kim Jong-un to visit Beijing – was “closely watching” the situation, Wang Yi said.
“Given the latest development in the North, it is uncertain in what direction its political situation would evolve,” Park Geun-hye said early on Monday.
“We also can’t rule out the possibility of contingencies such as reckless provocations,” she added.
President Park Geun-hye later met her foreign affairs and security officials in a specially convened session to discuss events in the North.
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South Korea is expanding its air defense zone, which will now partially overlap with a similar zone announced by China.
The two zones will now both include a rock claimed by both countries and controlled by South Korea.
The defense ministry said it would co-ordinate with “related countries”.
China announced a new Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) last month, in a move that raised regional tensions.
Both countries’ zones will cover the airspace above a rock called Ieodo by South Korea and Suyan by China, which is claimed by both countries.
As well as Ieodo rock, South Korea’s Defense Ministry also said the new military air defense zone would cover the airspace above Marado and Hongdo islands controlled by Seoul in waters south of the peninsula.
The new parameters are a direct challenge to China’s own air defense zone, which covers part of the same area.
South Korea is expanding its air defense zone, which will now partially overlap with a similar zone announced by China
South Korea said its zone would take effect on December 15, and that neighboring countries had already been notified of the change.
The government would continue to consult with neighboring countries to stop accidental military clashes, it said.
“We will co-ordinate with related countries to fend off accidental military confrontations and to ensure safety of airplanes,” defense ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told the AFP news agency on Sunday.
South Korea has already challenged China’s attempt to impose its authority in the area by flying military planes through the zone announced by Beijing.
Commercial airlines in South Korea have also been advised not to comply with China’s demands for planes to identify themselves to it.
The US and Japan have also rejected China’s zone and flown undeclared military aircraft through the zone.
It will be the first time that South Korea has adjusted the zone since it was first set up by the US military in 1951 during the Korean War, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports.
China’s recently announced ADIZ also covers islands claimed and controlled by Japan.
China said aircraft flying through the zone must follow its rules, including filing flight plans.
What are air defense identification zones?
- Zones do not necessarily overlap with airspace, sovereign territory or territorial claims
- States define zones, and stipulate rules that aircraft must obey; legal basis is unclear
- During WW2, US established an air perimeter and now maintains four separate zones – Guam, Hawaii, Alaska, and a contiguous mainland zone
- UK, Norway, Japan and Canada also maintain zones
Japanese and South Korean planes have flown unannounced through China’s newly-declared air defense zone, officials from both nations say.
Japan’s aircraft had conducted routine “surveillance activity” over the East China Sea zone, the top government spokesman said.
South Korea had also conducted a flight, its defense ministry said.
China says planes transiting the zone, which covers areas claimed by Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei, must file plans.
The zone includes islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China which are claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan.
Japan controls the islands, which have been the focus of a bitter and long-running dispute between Japan and China.
The zone also covers a submerged rock that South Korea says forms part of its territory.
China, which established the air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Saturday, says aircraft must report a flight plan, communicate and identify themselves. Those who do not could face “defensive emergency measures”.
Japanese and South Korean planes have flown unannounced through China’s newly-declared air defense zone
China’s move has been condemned by the US and Japan.
The US, which called the move a “destabilizing attempt to alter the status quo in the region”, flew two unarmed B-52 bombers through the zone unannounced on Tuesday.
Japanese officials did not specify when the flights happened, but confirmed the surveillance activity.
“Even since China has created this airspace defense zone, we have continued our surveillance activities as before in the East China Sea, including in the zone,” said Japan’s top government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga.
“We are not going to change this [activity] out of consideration to China,” he added.
For their part, South Korea’s military said one of their planes entered the zone on Tuesday.
South Korea’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said on Wednesday that the air zone issue had made “already tricky regional situations even more difficult to deal with”.
“We’ve witnessed competition and conflicts among players of the region getting fiercer,” he told Yonhap news agency.
On Thursday, South Korea and China held talks on the zone, but failed to reach any agreement.
China defended its establishment of an air zone on Thursday, with a Defense Ministry spokesman telling state media it was “completely justified and legitimate”.
US Vice-President Joe Biden is expected to express America’s concerns to China when he makes a scheduled visit next week.
Joe Biden would “convey our concerns directly and… seek clarity regarding the Chinese intentions in making this move at this time”, a senior US official administration said.
The vice-president will also make stops in Japan and South Korea during his trip to Asia.
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Six South Korean men have been returned by North Korea to their homeland, South Korean officials say, in a rare move.
The men, between the ages of 27 and 67, were handed over on Friday at the truce village of Panmunjom, on the border between the two countries.
The names of South Korean men were not released and details surrounding their detention in the North remain unclear.
The two Koreas remain technically at war, as the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice and not a peace treaty.
Pyongyang’s Red Cross informed Seoul that the men would be handed back via Panmunjom on Thursday, a statement from South Korea’s Unification Ministry said.
Six South Korean men have been returned by North Korea to their homeland
Officials said the group would be taken to South Korea’s spy agency to face questions over their presence in North Korea.
The South Korean government said that at first glance, the men were not on the list of those abducted by the North.
One possibility is that they may have crossed into North Korea illegally from China. Unofficial travel to North Korea by private citizens from South Korea is illegal.
Pyongyang’s state news agency announced the detention of several unnamed South Korean nationals in 2010 and there is speculation that they may be among those returned.
The move by North Korea is seen as a gesture of reconciliation following the cancellation of reunions for families split by the division of the Korean peninsula at the end of the Korean War which were planned for last month.
Tensions between the two Koreas rose earlier this year, after North Korea’s third nuclear test in February.
South Korea is staging its largest military parade in a decade, as President Park Geun-hye warns of a “very grave” threat from North Korea.
Cruise missiles and torpedoes were amongst the weapons displayed in the Armed Forces Day parade, reports said.
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and General Martin Dempsey also attended the event marking the 65th anniversary of South Korea’s armed forces.
They are currently in South Korea for security talks.
“The situation on the Korean peninsula… is very grave,” President Park Geun-hye said in a speech at the event.
South Korea is staging its largest military parade in a decade
“We have to build strong deterrence against North Korea until the North abandons its nuclear programme and makes the right choice for the people of North Korea and peace on the Korean Peninsula,” she added.
South Korea has displayed advanced weaponry during the parade, including the Hyunmoo 3 cruise missile, which Seoul says is capable of precision strikes on North Korean targets.
Around 11,000 soldiers and 120 aircraft were mobilized for the event.
Chuck Hagel, who is visiting South Korea for the first time since becoming defense secretary, has reiterated the US’s commitment to its military partnership with the South.
He and President Park Geun-hye are expected to discuss the eventual transfer of operational military control to Seoul.
Tensions between the two Koreas rose earlier this year, after North Korea’s third nuclear test in February.
Angered by expanded UN sanctions and annual US-South Korea military drills, Pyongyang threatened attacks on Japanese, South Korean and US military targets in the region.
Earlier this month, satellite imagery also suggested that North Korea had restarted a reactor at its Yongbyon nuclear facility, and tested a long-range rocket engine, a US think tank said.
North Korea has decided to indefinitely postpone scheduled reunions of families separated by the Korean War, a government statement has said.
The statement did not provide details other than accusing unidentified conservatives in South Korea of “hostility” towards Pyongyang.
North Korea regularly makes such claims about the South.
The postponement is an apparent setback after weeks of gradually improving ties between the two countries.
The South Korean government has not yet responded to the announcement.
Relations reached a low point earlier this year when the North cut a military hotline to the South in March. That followed its third nuclear test in February, which triggered international sanctions.
The two Koreas were due to hold six days of family reunions from 25-30 September for people separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, following which millions of people were separated from their families by the dividing of the peninsula.
North Korea has decided to indefinitely postpone scheduled reunions of families separated by the Korean War
But the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea was quoted as saying: “We postpone the impending reunions of separated families until a normal atmosphere is created for talks and negotiations to be able to move forward.”
“As long as the South’s conservatives deal [with] inter-Korean relations [with] hostility and abuse… such a basic humanitarian issue as family reunions cannot be resolved.”
Correspondents say the reunions would have been a highly symbolic event and would have been the first in three years for families separated by the war.
The reunion programme was suspended after the North’s shelling of a South Korean border island in November 2010.
It is estimated that there are about 72,000 South Koreans – nearly half of them aged over 80 – on the waiting list for a chance to join the family reunion events.
But only a few hundred participants are selected each time. Most do not know whether their relatives are still alive, because the two countries prevent their citizens from exchanging mail, phone calls and emails.
The reunions are often tearful and emotional occasions, correspondents say, in which North and South Koreans usually meet in the North for two or three days before the South Koreans head home again.
The reunion programme began in 2000 and sporadic events since then have seen about 17,000 relatives briefly reunited.
South Korean workers have crossed the North Korean border to return to the Kaesong industrial park, five months after work was halted amid high political tension.
Trucks and cars began crossing the border into North Korea at exactly 08:00 a.m. local time.
More than 800 South Koreans were due to cross to the jointly-run centre for what is being called a trial restart.
The zone, just inside North Korea, is home to 123 South Korean factories that employ more than 50,000 North Koreans.
It is the last functioning inter-Korean joint project and a key source of revenue for Pyongyang.
North Korea withdrew all of its workers in April, as ties between the two Koreas deteriorated in the wake of Pyongyang’s February 12 nuclear test.
Reopening the complex has taken months of negotiation.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said a total of 820 managers and workers planned to cross into the complex on Monday, with 400 to stay there overnight.
They will be inspecting production facilities to assess how quickly a full restart can be implemented after five months of inactivity.
South Korean workers have crossed the North Korean border to return to the Kaesong industrial park after five months
The restart is being described as a trial but more than half of the South Korean companies had asked North Korean employees to report for work, the ministry said.
Negotiations on resuming operations at the complex faltered for weeks on South Korea’s insistence that safeguards must be in place to prevent any future unilateral shut-down of the site by North Korea.
But the two sides have now set up a joint management committee to run operations at Kaesong, which last week set a restart date for the complex.
The committee has also reached agreement on smoother access to the site for South Koreans by expanding permitted border crossing times and is negotiating about improving communications there.
The Koreas have also agreed to open the site to foreign investors – a move seen as making it harder for North Korea to unilaterally close the complex again.
South Korean firms will be exempt from taxes for the rest of the year, to offset losses incurred while the complex was closed.
But some local businessmen remain worried about the risks of doing business with Pyongyang.
“Honestly, I still feel a bit nervous, because you never know whether the North will change its mind in the future,” a textile company manager told the French news agency AFP.
“Who knows if a crisis like this won’t happen again?” he said.
The shutdown was the first for the Kaesong complex since it was opened more than a decade ago.
It came during a period of very high tension on the Korean peninsula.
The February 12 nuclear test led to expanded UN sanctions which, along with an annual US-South Korean joint military drill, angered Pyongyang.
It threatened attacks on multiple targets in the region, prompting warnings – and displays of high-tech military hardware – from the US.
Tensions have eased somewhat in recent weeks, however.
North Korea and South Korea have also recently agreed to hold the first reunion of families separated by the division of the peninsula after the 1950-53 Korean War later this month. It will be the first such reunion in 10 years.
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North Korea and South Korea have agreed to restart operations at the shuttered Kaesong industrial zone, Seoul has announced.
The two sides set a date for a “trial” restart of September 16 after talks that went through the night, the South’s Unification Ministry said.
Work at the complex stopped in April when the North withdrew its workers amid high political tension.
Kaesong industrial zone, just inside North Korea, is home to 123 South Korean factories that employ more than 50,000 North Koreans.
It is the last functioning inter-Korean joint project and a key source of revenue for Pyongyang.
Operations will “resume on a trial basis from 16 September”, a statement from the Unification Ministry said.
South Korean firms will be exempt from taxes for the rest of the year to offset losses incurred while the complex was closed, it said.
The two sides also agreed to measures to make access to the site easier for South Korean businessmen, Yonhap news agency reported.
North Korea and South Korea have agreed to restart operations at the shuttered Kaesong industrial zone
The Unification Ministry also said that the two Koreas planned to host a roadshow to try and attract foreign investors to the zone in October.
Allowing foreign investors into Kaesong is seen by Seoul as a way of ensuring Pyongyang does not unilaterally close the complex again.
“The institutional foundation has now been laid for Kaesong to develop into an internationally competitive and stable industrial complex,” the ministry said.
Pyongyang’s removal of its workers in April came amid high tensions on the Korean peninsula in the wake of North Korea’s third nuclear test on February 12.
The test resulted in the imposition of expanded UN sanctions. Shortly afterwards, South Korea and the US launched annual military drills, angering Pyongyang.
In recent months, however, tensions have eased somewhat.
The two Koreas have conducted multiple rounds of talks on reopening Kaesong, but were deadlocked for some time on Seoul’s insistence that guarantees were needed to prevent any future suspension of operations.
Last month, the ministry said a five-point accord had been agreed on re-opening the complex but no date was set.
Owners of South Korean businesses at the zone have been calling for a deal and North Korea said re-opening Kaesong was in both nations’ interests.
In recent weeks, the two Koreas have also agreed to hold a reunion of families separated by the division of the Korean peninsula after the 1950-53 Korean War.
The meeting – set to take place at the end of this month – will be the first such reunion since 2010.
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South Korean officials announce that North Korea has agreed to restore a military hotline with the South as tensions between the two ease.
North Korea cut the connection in March following its third nuclear test in February and the international sanctions that followed.
Two other hotlines cut off at the same time were restored in June and July.
However, the joint industrial park at Kaesong, closed as part of the same dispute, has yet to reopen.
North Korea has agreed to restore a military hotline with the South as tensions between the two countries ease
The hotline is used to facilitate the travel of South Korean workers to Kaesong, a rare symbol of North-South co-operation.
In the past few weeks, the two Koreas have agreed to work towards restarting production at Kaesong, which has been closed since April.
About 53,000 North Korean workers were employed at Kaesong, working for more than 120 South Korean factories.
The military hotline will reopen on Friday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said.
Two other hotlines have been reconnected, one with the Red Cross and another used to communicate with the UN Command at Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone which divides the two Koreas.
North Korea and South Korea remain technically at war after the 1950-53 conflict, although an armistice was signed.
New York City food phenomenon cronut is now taking over Asia.
South Koreans are the latest to catch the cronut-bug with incarnations of Dominique Ansel’s original rings of deep-fried croissant dough being sold at Dunkin’ Donuts franchises in Soeul.
Dunkin’ Donuts South Korea is calling their versions of the crispy layered pastries “New York Pie Donuts”.
The donuts are being sold at shops in Seoul, and have even inspired their own epically-long lines at the upscale Gangnam neighborhood branch.
According to Quartz, commenters on the store’s Facebook page have even said that customers are only allowed two – the same ration New Yorkers get when they stand in the early morning lines at Dominique Ansel’s Bakery in SoHo.
South Koreans are the latest to catch the cronut-bug with incarnations of Dominique Ansel’s original rings of deep-fried croissant dough being sold at Dunkin’ Donuts franchises in Soeul
Dunkin’ Donuts has over 3,000 stores in 30 countries outside the U.S. Their shops in the Philippines also started selling versions of the cronut. Their “Donut Croissant” come in flavors such as Apple Cinnamon and Choco Almond. The donut chain doesn’t have plans to launch a version of the cronut in the U.S. yet, according to Quartz.
Since Dominique Ansel copyrighted the named “cronut” in May, copycats in the U.S. have had to come up with their own names – like “doissants” and “croughnuts” – for their pastries or face cease and desist letters.
In June, Dominique Ansel’s Bakery posted a message on their Facebook page explaining their need to copyright the name, while at the same time taking no credit for inventing the pastry.
“Our desire to protect the name is not an attempt to claim or take credit for all cooking methods associated with the recipe or all croissant and doughnut products in general,” the statement said.
“Instead, it offers the bakery and Chef protection against un-granted affiliations with the bakery or confusion from customers.”
However, that hasn’t stopped bakeries all over Asia, trying their best to create their own flaky bite of heaven.
A list on Buzzfeed includes bakeries in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan peddling their versions of the donut.
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South Korea and the United States have begun a new round of joint military exercises on Monday, officials say, the second round to take place this year.
Thousands of soldiers are taking part in computer-aided drills designed to test defense capabilities.
South Korea says that North Korea, which was angered by the previous drill, was notified well in advance.
The drills come as the North agreed to family reunions and reached a deal with the South on an industrial zone.
The drills, known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian, are expected to last for 12 days and mobilizes about 50,000 members of the South Korean military and 30,000 US servicemen, reports Yonhap news agency.
South Korea and the US have begun a new round of joint military exercises on Monday, the second to take place this year
They are intended to help “ensure stability and security on the peninsula and reaffirm the US commitment to the north-east Asia region”, says a statement from the United States Forces Korea.
The drills come as tensions are starting to ease in the peninsula.
On Sunday, North Korea agreed to a South Korean proposal to resume in September reuniting families separated since the 1950-1953 Korean War.
Many families were separated at the end of the war by the dividing of the peninsula. The two sides remain technically at war, because the conflict ended in an armistice and not a peace deal. The last reunions were held in 2010.
Last week, officials of the two Koreas also reached an agreement about re-opening the Kaesong joint industrial zone – the last functioning inter-Korean joint project and a key source of revenue for Pyongyang.
The Kaesong Industrial Complex, which lies just inside North Korea, is home to 123 South Korean factories which employ more than 50,000 North Korean workers.
North Korea withdrew its workers in April, angered by the expansion of UN sanctions after its February 12 nuclear test and annual US-South Korea military drills.
The accord came after six rounds of talks ended unsuccessfully.
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North Korea has agreed to South Korea’s proposal to resume reunions of families separated since the 1950-1953 war, official media in Pyongyang say.
The reunion meetings would take place in the Chuseok holiday on September 19.
South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye called last week for the resumption of the reunions, last held in 2010.
Her appeal followed an agreement to reopen a joint industrial plant, the latest step in the easing of tension between the two countries.
The latest statement on the reunions came from North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea.
North Korea has agreed to South Korea’s proposal to resume reunions of families separated since the 1950-1953 war
It said: “The reunion of separated families and their relatives shall be made in Mt Kumgang resort on the occasion of the upcoming Harvest Moon Day.”
Talks will take place on August 23 at Mt Kumgang to prepare for the reunions.
The statement also called for the resumption of tourist trips to Mt Kumgang.
It said: “The Kaesong Industrial Zone and the tours to Mt Kumgang resort are valuable works common to the nation which should not be delayed as they are symbols of reconciliation, unity, reunification and prosperity.”
The Kaesong Industrial Complex is home to 123 South Korean factories which employ more than 50,000 North Korean workers. The inter-Korean joint project is a key source of revenue for Pyongyang.
North Korea withdrew its workers in April, angered by the expansion of UN sanctions after its 12 February nuclear test and annual US-South Korea military drills.
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North Korea and South Korea have reached an agreement about re-opening the Kaesong joint industrial zone, officials from Seoul say.
Operations there have been suspended since April when North Korea withdrew its workers amid rising political tensions.
On Wednesday the South’s Unification Ministry said a five-point accord had been agreed, but it remains unclear when operations might resume.
It comes after Seoul called for “final talks” following six previous rounds.
The agreement was signed by the chief delegates from the two Koreas, reports the Yonhap news agency. There are few details about the accord, but Yonhap says the deal is believed to ensure that a similar suspension of operations could not be repeated.
North Korea and South Korea have reached an agreement about re-opening the Kaesong joint industrial zone
“The South and the North will prevent the current suspension of the Kaesong industrial complex caused by the workers’ withdrawal from being repeated again,” the Agence France-Presse news agency also quoted from the agreement.
A joint committee will also be set up to discuss compensation for economic losses, AFP reports.
The Kaesong Industrial Complex, which lies just inside North Korea, is home to 123 South Korean factories which employ more than 50,000 North Korean workers.
It is the last functioning inter-Korean joint project and a key source of revenue for Pyongyang.
North Korea withdrew its workers in April, angered by the expansion of UN sanctions afters its 12 February nuclear test and annual US-South Korea military drills.
Tensions have eased somewhat since then.
Pyongyang agreed to Wednesday’s talks hours after Seoul said it would start distributing compensation payments to South Korean firms hit by the stoppage – a move seen as a precursor to formal closure of the zone.
On Tuesday, the owners of South Korean businesses at the zone called for a deal.
North Korea said last week that reopening Kaesong was in both nations’ interests.
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South Korea has proposed “final talks” on reopening the joint Kaesong industrial zone, amid deadlock with North Korea.
Kaesong Industrial Complex has been closed since April, when North Korea withdrew its workers.
The two sides have held six rounds of talks on a restart, but are deadlocked on Seoul’s insistence that Pyongyang agree not to unilaterally close the complex again.
On Sunday Seoul’s unification minister said a written guarantee was needed.
“We want a clear answer from the North on preventing a recurrence,” Ryoo Kihl-jae said.
“Otherwise, we will be left with no choice but to make a grave decision to prevent even bigger damages on our companies in the future.”
North Korea blames the shut-down on South Korean provocations, including military exercises.
Kaesong Industrial Complex has been closed since April, when North Korea withdrew its workers
The proposal for “final talks” was formally communicated to North Korea on Monday via the communication line at the truce village of Panmunjom, South Korean media reported.
It did not include a date or time for the mooted talks, Yonhap news agency reported citing the Unification Ministry.
The Kaesong industrial zone, which lies just inside North Korea, is a major symbol of inter-Korean co-operation and a key earner for Pyongyang.
More than 120 South Korean manufacturers employ some 53,000 North Koreans at the zone, which has been in operation for a decade.
But work stopped in April when North Korea ordered its workers out.
The move came amid high tensions on the peninsula in the wake of North Korea’s February 12 nuclear test and then annual US-South Korea military drills.
Tensions have decreased somewhat in recent weeks, but the two Koreas have not yet found a mutually acceptable solution to the Kaesong issue, despite multiple rounds of working-level talks.
On Sunday Ryoo Kihl-jae met representatives of the South Korean firms, which have now been shut down for four months.
“It’s been almost 120 days. As you mentioned, I think the support [of the government] is not enough. We have not any income for four months,” said Han Jae-kwon, president of the association representing South Korean companies in Kaesong.
North Korea is holding a huge parade to mark the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War.
State TV showed soldiers and military hardware parading through the capital Pyongyang in a carefully choreographed display.
Troops and spectators shouted their allegiance to North Korea’s young ruler, Kim Jong-un.
The 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce although North Korea and South Korea remain technically at war.
Correspondents say the lavish parade of weapons and goose-stepping soldiers is reminiscent of marches held by the Soviet Union and China at the height of the Cold War.
The TV pictures showed Kim Jong-un walking up to the podium on a red carpet with a military band playing in the background. The North Korean leader oversaw the parade flanked by military and ruling party leaders.
North Korea is holding a huge parade to mark the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War
Large banners hung from gas-filled balloons and the main square in Pyongyang was filled with North Korean flags.
Over the past week North Korea has staged mass rallies and fireworks displays to commemorate the anniversary.
It comes as North and South Korea try to restore ties following a period of high tension.
Earlier this month, they ended a third round of talks on the re-opening of a jointly-run industrial zone without reaching a deal.
Work at Kaesong has been suspended since mid-April when North Korea withdrew its workers.
The move came amid tense relations between the two Koreas after Pyongyang’s nuclear test in February.
In South Korea, the anniversary was marked with a speech by President Park Geun-hye.
Park Geun-hye vowed not to tolerate provocations from North Korea but also said Seoul would work on building trust with the North.
“I urge North Korea to give up the development of nuclear weapons if the country is to start on a path toward true change and progress,” she said.
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North Korea and South Korea have started in-depth talks on reopening joint-project Kaesong Industrial Complex.
The two Koreas agreed in principle to restart operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex after marathon negotiations over the weekend.
South Korea says it wants assurances that Pyongyang will not unilaterally close the factory zone again.
Work at the Kaesong zone has been suspended since mid-April, when North Korea withdrew its workers.
The move came amid high tensions after Pyongyang’s February 12 nuclear test.
The Kaesong complex, which is located just inside North Korea, is home to more than 120 South Korean factories which employ some 53,000 North Korean workers.
The joint project is both a symbol of inter-Korean co-operation and a key source of revenue for Pyongyang.
Sun Ho, who led the South Korean delegation, said his team would strive to accomplish “developmental normalization” of the complex “in accordance with common sense and international rules”.
Another official at the Unification Ministry said: “The weekend marked the first step, but the difficult part starts now.”
North Korea and South Korea have started in-depth talks on reopening joint-project Kaesong Industrial Complex
On Tuesday, a small team of South Koreans crossed into North Korea to check communication and power lines. It was the first time South Koreans had entered the zone in two months.
On Wednesday, around 100 delegates, including dozens of government officials and businessmen and engineers, entered North Korea to begin formal talks.
Pyongyang has agreed to allow the businessmen to inspect their factories and retrieve finished goods.
Both sides blame the other for the suspension of operations at Kaesong, and South Korea is now demanding safeguards as a condition for reopening the zone.
“The South wants the North to announce solid actions that will convince everyone that it has no intention of taking unilateral action to prevent movement or pull out its laborers in the future,” Sun Ho said.
“Pyongyang must take responsibility for its actions that caused considerable damage to South Korean companies with factories at the border town,” he added.
Meanwhile, North Korea’s chief delegate, Park Chol-su, said he hoped both sides would “promptly proceed” with restarting the zone.
“It is raining heavily, so I am very worried about those companies’ facilities and raw materials,” he said.
Pyongyang is reportedly expected to request that operations resume at once and that its workers receive higher pay.
Last week, some South Korean firms threatened to abandon the zone entirely and relocate their equipment.
A spokesman representing electronic and machinery makers in Kaesong had said: “Kaesong must be reopened or [the factories] have to move elsewhere.”
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North Korea and South Korea have agreed in principle to reopen the Kaesong industrial complex after official talks.
The deal, which includes facilities inspections, was reached after marathon talks held at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone.
Work at the factory park was halted in April amid high regional tensions.
Correspondents say the closure of Kaesong, seen as a symbol of inter-Korean ties, showed how serious this year’s political tensions were.
The industrial complex is a major source of income for the North.
Attempts to hold high-level talks last month failed on procedural grounds.
The meeting on the North Korea side of Panmunjom started on Saturday and lasted at least 15 hours.
North Korea and South Korea have agreed in principle to reopen the Kaesong industrial complex
Officials will meet at Kaesong on Wednesday to “restart operations, prevent an operation suspension in the future and normalize the zone as soon as both sides are ready to do so”, South Korea’s chief delegate Suh Ho told reporters after the talks.
“We got an impression that the North was very willing to resolve the Kaesong issue and is making great efforts as well,” Suh Ho said.
As part of the deal, both sides agreed to allow South Korean company managers to inspect their factories, as well as retrieve finished goods and raw materials.
Prior to operations being suspended, there were around 120 South Korean businesses in the factory park. The firms have been unable to reach their goods for three months.
Some have since threatened to abandon the zone entirely and relocate their equipment.
Seoul suggested the working-level talks on Thursday, a day after Pyongyang said Seoul businessmen could visit the closed complex to inspect and maintain equipment.
Late on Thursday, North Korea accepted the offer, the South said.
Pyongyang withdrew its 53,000 workers from the complex in April, apparently angered by tightened UN sanctions in the wake of its nuclear test in February, and annual South Korea-US military drills.
North Korea also prevented South Korean workers from entering the joint commercial zone.
The last South Korean workers left the zone on May 3.
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Officials from North Korea and South Korea are holding talks on reopening the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
The two sides sat down together on Saturday at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone.
Work at the Kaesong industrial park was halted in April amid high regional tensions.
Kaesong, a major source of income for North Korea, was seen as a symbol of inter-Korean ties, and correspondents say its closure showed how serious this year’s political tensions were.
Attempts to hold high-level talks last month failed on procedural grounds.
The meeting is being held on the North Korea side of Panmunjom, South Korean officials said.
Officials from North Korea and South Korea are holding talks on reopening the Kaesong Industrial Complex
Seoul suggested the working-level talks on Thursday, a day after Pyongyang said South Korean businessmen could visit the closed complex to inspect and maintain equipment.
Late on Thursday, North Korea accepted the offer, South Korea said.
Prior to operations being suspended, there were around 120 South Korean businesses in the factory park. The companies have been unable to retrieve goods and materials for three months.
Some have since threatened to abandon the zone entirely and relocate their equipment.
Pyongyang withdrew its 53,000 workers from the complex in April, apparently angered by tightened UN sanctions in the wake of its nuclear test in February, and annual South Korea-US military drills.
North Korea also prevented South Korean workers from entering the joint commercial zone.
The last South Korean workers left the zone on May 3.
The talks are very limited but could pave the wave for discussion of bigger issues such as North Korea’s nuclear programme.
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South Korea has proposed working-level talks with North Korea on reopening the jointly-run Kaesong Industrial Complex.
Seoul made the proposal a day after Pyongyang said South Korean officials could visit the closed complex to inspect and maintain equipment.
Work at the factory park, which was a rare symbol of North-South co-operation, was halted in April amid high regional tensions.
Attempts to hold high-level talks last month failed on procedural grounds.
“The government wants talks to be held at the truce village of Panmunjom,” South Korea’s Ministry of Unification said in a statement.
“Seoul’s stance remains consistent and centres on government authorities resolving all outstanding issues through dialogue.”
It said the offer of talks was made via a North-South hotline that was cut by Pyongyang in June but has now been restored.
North Korea has yet to respond to the offer.
South Korea has proposed working-level talks with North Korea on reopening the jointly-run Kaesong Industrial Complex
South Korea proposed that the talks take place on Saturday.
Prior to operations being suspended, there were around 120 South Korean businesses in the factory park, which had provided the North with a source of much-needed hard currency.
On Wednesday, North Korea said it would allow South Korean companies to enter the complex, which is located just inside the communist country, to protect their equipment from damage in the rainy season.
The offer came after some South Korean firms threatened to abandon the zone entirely and relocate their equipment.
A spokesman representing electronic and machinery makers in Kaesong had said: “Kaesong must be reopened or [the factories] have to move elsewhere.”
Pyongyang withdrew its 53,000 workers from the complex in April, apparently angered by tightened UN sanctions in the wake of its nuclear test in February, and annual South Korea-US military drills.
North Korea also prevented South Korean workers from entering the joint commercial zone.
The last South Korean workers left the zone on May 3.
In June, officials from North and South Korea agreed to hold their first high-level government meeting since 2007, focused on resuming operations at Kaesong industrial park.
However, the planned talks were suspended after the two sides disagreed on the composition of the delegations.
North Korea then proposed high-level talks with the US.
However, both Washington and Seoul responded coolly to the offer, with the US saying that Pyongyang would be judged “by its actions and not its words”.
Meanwhile, South Korea said that it would increase its cyber-security budget from 5 trillion won ($4.38 billion) to 10 trillion won ($8.76 billion), and train 5,000 cyber security experts.
North Korea has been blamed for previous cyber attacks on South Korea, including an attack on six South Korean banks and broadcasters in March that affected 32,000 computers.
Kaesong Industrial Zone:
- Launched in 2003, largely financed by the South to increase co-operation
- More than 120 factories employ North Koreans in manufacturing industries, with goods exported to the South
- Complex as a whole produced $470 million worth of goods in 2012 – the biggest contributor to inter-Korean trade
- South Korean companies pay more than $80 million a year in wages to North Korean workers
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