NK weekly-inter-Korean news
Summary of inter-Korean news this week
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of inter-Korean news this week.
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Family members of S. Korean detainees in N. Korea recognized as victims of abduction
SEOUL -- The unification ministry said Thursday it has decided to recognize family members of long-term South Korean detainees in North Korea as victims of abductions by the isolated country.
The decision came three months after civic groups dedicated to resolving the issue requested Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho in August to grant such family members the status specified in South Korea's law on supporting victims of North Korean abductions.
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Pregnant woman among 4 N. Koreans who crossed maritime border
SEOUL -- A pregnant woman in her 20s was among the four North Koreans who crossed the eastern maritime inter-Korean border on a wooden boat last month in an attempt to defect to the South, a government source said Thursday.
The Coast Guard and military officials secured the 7.5-meter-long boat carrying the North Koreans in waters east of Sokcho, 151 kilometers northeast of Seoul, on Oct. 24 after South Korean fishermen at the scene reported seeing an "unusual" boat.
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(LEAD) S. Korea urges Pyongyang to resume regular contact via inter-Korean liaison line
SEOUL -- South Korea's unification ministry on Thursday called on Pyongyang to respond to daily routine calls through an inter-Korean liaison communication channel.
The two Koreas had made two phone calls daily, at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., as part of liaison communication, but the daily routine calls have gone unanswered since April 7.
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Former S. Korean POW who won damages suit against Pyongyang dies at 91
SEOUL -- Kim Seong-tae, a former prisoner of war (POW) who won a compensation suit against North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un, has died at the age of 91, a human rights organization said Wednesday.
Dream makers for NK said Kim died Tuesday, just six months after he won the damages suit alongside two other former POWs, who escaped from the North in the early 2000s after being taken prisoner during the 1950-53 Korean War.
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JCS chairman nominee says 2018 inter-Korean military agreement poses limitations
SEOUL -- The nominee to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Wednesday the 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement poses limitations to the South Korean military, vowing to bolster the combined posture to fend off growing North Korean threats.
Adm. Kim Myung-soo made the assessment in his first public remarks since his promotion Sunday to four-star general and subsequent appointment to the top military post to replace the incumbent JCS chief Gen. Kim Seung-kyum.
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Seoul slams N. Korea's money laundering, vows efforts to ban inflow of 'black money'
SEOUL -- South Korea's unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs said Monday that it will cooperate with the international community to put a brake on Pyongyang's evolving money laundering schemes.
During its plenary meeting in Paris last week, the Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental anti-money laundering body, decided to maintain North Korea for the 13th consecutive year on the list of "high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action," defined as having significant deficiencies in countering money laundering, terrorist financing and financing of proliferation.
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(LEAD) N. Korean vessel stranded near eastern maritime border rescued by N.K. authorities: JCS
SEOUL -- A North Korean vessel stranded near the de facto inter-Korean maritime border in the East Sea was towed away by North Korean authorities several hours after it was spotted by the South Korean military, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday.
The 10-meter-long vessel was spotted by a South Korean patrol ship while drifting in waters 200 kilometers east of the coastal town of Jejin and around 3 km north of the eastern Northern Limit Line (NLL) at 2:16 p.m. Sunday, according to the JCS.
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