Summary of inter-Korean news this week

NK weekly-inter-Korean news

Summary of inter-Korean news this week

SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of inter-Korean news this week.

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Unification ministry to seek security, economic incentives for N. Korea in denuclearization bid

SEOUL -- The unification ministry said Friday it will focus efforts on dissuading North Korea from sticking to its nuclear program by creating conditions for the Kim Jong-un regime to "feel no need" for it.

In a policy report to President Yoon Suk-yeol, the ministry outlined measures to implement his "audacious" scheme for the denuclearization of North Korea and improving inter-Korean relations.

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(LEAD) Yoon says N. Korea is ready to conduct nuclear test at any time

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday that North Korea is ready to conduct a nuclear test at any time it decides.

Yoon was responding to a reporter's question about the U.S. Department of Defense's assessment that the North has completed preparations to carry out a nuclear test as early as within the month.

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Lingering tensions in Panmunjom underline uncertainties in inter-Korean ties

PAJU/SEOUL -- About four years ago, the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom was brimming with renewed hopes for peace, as a rare summit between the two Koreas took place there, diluting its image of cross-border tension, albeit temporarily.

But such hopes appeared to be fading amid COVID-19 and uncertainties in inter-Korean ties, as reporters on Tuesday's media tour saw North Korean troops wary of cross-border contact and unruly weeds seeming like a sign of Seoul's hitherto unfruitful peace endeavors.

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S. Korea to appoint new envoy on N.K. human rights

SEOUL -- South Korea plans to appoint a new envoy for North Korean human rights, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, in a move to end nearly five years of vacancy amid the former Moon Jae-in government's drive for inter-Korean engagement.

Lee Shin-hwa, a political science professor at Korea University, has been named the ambassador on the North's rights issue, a post left empty since the inaugural ambassador, Lee Jung-hoon, left office in September 2017.

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