NK weekly-inter-Korean news

Summary of inter-Korean news this week

SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of inter-Korean news this week.

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(LEAD) S. Korea slaps its first unilateral sanctions on N. Korea in 5 years over nuke, missile threats

SEOUL -- South Korea said Friday it has put 15 North Korean individuals and 16 institutions on its blacklist in its first unilateral sanctions against Pyongyang in nearly five years in response to its evolving nuclear and missile threats highlighted by unrelenting missile launches and the stated drills by tactical nuclear operation units.

The people on the new list include officials at shipping firms and organizations related to the North's missile program, as well as those involved in the procurement of supplies for weapons of mass destruction.

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Yoon says N. Korea's artillery firing violates inter-Korean agreement

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday that North Korea violated an inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement by firing artillery shots into buffer zones earlier in the day.

Between Thursday and Friday, the North flew about 10 military planes close to the border with the South, conducted artillery firings off the east and west coasts and launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea.

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Ruling party chief calls for scrapping inter-Korean denuclearization deal in event of nuclear test

SEOUL -- Ruling party leader Chung Jin-suk called Wednesday for scrapping a 1991 inter-Korean declaration on denuclearization and a military tension reduction deal with North Korea in the event Pyongyang carries out its seventh nuclear test.

The appeal came two days after the North said it carried out military drills involving units operating "tactical nukes," including simulating nuclear missile strikes on South Korean airports and firing a nuclear-capable missile from under a reservoir.

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Presidential office sees possibility of localized provocation by N. Korea

SEOUL -- The presidential office believes North Korea could carry out a localized provocation similar to the 2010 shelling of a border island and is taking steps to prepare, officials said Tuesday.

A senior presidential official told Yonhap News Agency the North has a track record of staging surprise attacks, such as when it shelled Yeonpyeong Island in November 2010 and killed four South Koreans, including two civilians.

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(LEAD) Yoon says N. Korea has nothing to gain from nuclear weapons

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday that North Korea has nothing to gain from nuclear weapons, a day after the North said it carried out exercises on mobilizing "tactical nukes" and rejected any chances of negotiations.

North Korea has ratcheted up tensions with a series of provocative missile launches in recent weeks, including one that flew over Japan in a demonstration of its ability to strike targets in the U.S. territory of Guam.

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(LEAD) Yoon's office says security situation is 'grave'

SEOUL -- The office of President Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia are facing a "grave" security situation, hours after North Korea said it practiced transporting nuclear warheads and firing a nuclear-capable ballistic missile from under a reservoir.

"It is important to accurately recognize the grave security reality on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia and prepare appropriately for it," a presidential official said in a notice to reporters. "Protecting the lives and safety of people is not about words, but it is a real-life problem."

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