Summary of inter-Korean news this week

NK weekly-inter-Korean news

Summary of inter-Korean news this week

SEOUL, Oct. 11 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of inter-Korean news this week.

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N. Korean man crosses into S. Korea in 3rd defection in 2 months

SEOUL -- A North Korean man has crossed the de facto western maritime border into South Korea aboard a wooden boat, a South Korean military official said Friday, in the third defection in two months.

South Korea's military monitored his activities and later assisted him in arriving in South Korea when his small boat crossed the Northern Limit Line near South Korea's border island of Baengnyeong in the Yellow Sea in the early hours of Sept. 17.

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N. Korea sends more trash balloons toward S. Korea: JCS

SEOUL -- North Korea launched balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea early Friday, the South's military said, just three days after a similar launch.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff raised the possibility of the balloons floating to the northern part of Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul, and the eastern province of Gangwon.

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(LEAD) S. Korea condemns N. Korea's move to block border as 'anti-unification' act

SEOUL -- The unification ministry on Thursday "strongly" condemned North Korea's move to cut off all roads and railways connected to South Korea as an act that dampens aspiration for unification by people in the two Koreas.

North Korea's military said Wednesday it will "permanently shut off and block the southern border" with South Korea by cutting off all roads and rail links with the South and building front-line defense structures.

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(4th LD) N. Korea to cut off roads, railways connected to S. Korea

SEOUL -- North Korea's military said it will cut off all roads and railways connected to South Korea starting Wednesday and build "strong defense structures" in the areas in response to South Korea-U.S. military maneuvers.

"A project will be launched first on October 9 to completely cut off roads and railways connected to" South Korea and "fortify the relevant areas of our side with strong defense structures," the general staff of the North Korean People's Army (KPA) said in a report carried by the Korean Central News Agency, noting the measures will "completely separate" North Korea's territory from that of South Korea.

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(2nd LD) N. Korea sends trash balloons toward S. Korea for 2nd straight day: JCS

SEOUL -- North Korea floated some 100 trash balloons toward South Korea early Tuesday, the South's military said, in what marked the second straight day of such provocation.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it discovered some 60 trash bundles dropped around parts of Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi Province after the latest launch that began in the early hours of the morning.

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(LEAD) N. Korea launches some 120 trash balloons toward S. Korea: JCS

SEOUL -- North Korea launched around 120 trash balloons toward South Korea early Monday, the South's military said, just three days after a similar launch last week.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it discovered some 80 trash bundles dropped around parts of Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi Province after the latest launch that began in the early hours of the morning.

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