Summary of inter-Korean news this week

NK weekly-inter-Korean news

Summary of inter-Korean news this week

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

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N. Korea remains unresponsive to Seoul's request for prior notice on dam water discharge

SEOUL -- North Korea has not responded to South Korea's request for prior notice should it release water from its border dams to minimize damage from heavy rains, Seoul's unification ministry said Friday.

Referring to an inter-Korean agreement on dam water discharge, the ministry publicly made the request in late June as the annual monsoon season arrived on the Korean Peninsula.

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(LEAD) S. Korea slaps more unilateral sanctions on N. Korea after ICBM launch

SEOUL -- South Korea on Friday imposed unilateral sanctions on four North Korean individuals, including Pyongyang's top military officer, and three entities in response to the North's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) earlier this week, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

The move came two days after North Korea test-fired a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM under the guidance of leader Kim Jong-un despite international condemnation over its recent missile launches.

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N. Korea appears to ramp up threats to overcome 'unfavorable' situation: ministry

SEOUL -- North Korea appears to be intensifying provocations against South Korea and the United States in efforts to break through "unfavorable" circumstances, Seoul's unification ministry said Thursday.

The assessment came a day after North Korea test-fired a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile under the guidance of leader Kim Jong-un who vowed to take "stronger" military action to deter the allies.

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(2nd LD) Yoon warns N.K. will be made to pay price for illicit missile launch

VILNIUS -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol warned Wednesday that North Korea will be made to pay a price for carrying out an illicit ballistic missile launch as he presided over an emergency meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) during a trip to Lithuania.

The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile into the East Sea at around 10 a.m., the latest provocation amid tensions caused by the reclusive regime's accusations against U.S. spy aircraft operations earlier this week.

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(LEAD) N. Korea's food crisis is still grave despite imports from China: unification minister

ANSEONG, South Korea -- North Korea's food prices have stabilized to some degree, aided by grain imports from China, but the secretive regime still faces a serious food crisis, South Korea's unification minister said Monday.

Unification Minister Kwon Young-se told a press briefing that deaths from starvation have occurred in some areas in North Korea, and the scope of such regions appears to have further expanded amid disruptions in the state-controlled food supply.

"North Korea's food crisis stabilized a little bit after the North Korean leadership made efforts for food imports from China. But the country's food situation is still very difficult," Kwon said.

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(LEAD) (Yonhap Feature) N. Korean defectors say ordeal in China worsened due to COVID-19 pandemic

ANSEONG, South Korea -- Three North Korean defectors who recently arrived in South Korea after living on the run in China said their ordeal significantly worsened due to strict restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering a rare glimpse of how they went through hardships during the period.

The three women -- who, respectively, left North Korea in 2004, 2014 and 2019 -- made the remarks during a group press interview at Hanawon in Anseong, a government-run facility located south of Seoul that offers a 12-week resettlement program for new defectors from North Korea.

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