Summary of inter-Korean news this week

NK weekly-inter-Korean news

Summary of inter-Korean news this week

SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of inter-Korean news this week.

------------

(LEAD) FM says N.K. provocations likely aimed at hindering S. Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation

SEOUL -- North Korea's recent artillery shell firings near the western sea border appear to be aimed at driving a wedge in strengthening security cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan, Seoul's top diplomat said Friday.

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul made the remarks during a presser following his inauguration, when asked about his assessment of what was behind the North's latest provocations over the weekend.

------------

FM Cho stresses policy focus on N.K. deterrence amid Pyongyang's recent belligerence

SEOUL -- South Korea's new foreign minister said Thursday that the current priority for the North Korea policy should be more about strengthening deterrence than seeking dialogue, considering its increasingly belligerent behavior in recent weeks.

Cho Tae-yul made the remarks on the first day at work, dismissing the view of some experts that South Korea and the United States should explore a peaceful way to settle the issue as the international pressure to denuclearize North Korea has been proven to have failed.

------------

N. Korea conducts public execution over COVID-19 violations: human rights white paper

SEOUL -- North Korea has carried out a public execution of people for violating the country's COVID-19 regulations, a South Korean human rights white paper showed Wednesday.

A North Korean defector who arrived in South Korea last year testified about the public execution, according to the white paper published by the Korea Institute for National Unification, a state-run think tank.

------------

N. Korea likely to carry out psychological warfare ahead of general elections: official

SEOUL -- North Korea could continue its psychological warfare against South Korea ahead of the South's general elections in April, a senior official in Seoul said Wednesday.

South Korea will beef up measures against cyberattacks and dissemination of false information by North Korea, Vice Unification Minister Moon Seoung-hyun said.

------------

Military set to resume drills halted under 2018 inter-Korean accord buffer zones

SEOUL -- South Korea's military is expected to resume exercises in buffer zones set under a 2018 inter-Korean military accord as they have become effectively invalid after North Korea's recent artillery firing, officials said Tuesday.

On Monday, the South's military said it will resume artillery firings and drills near the sea and land border, noting Pyongyang's recent shellings nullified the zones where live-fire and large-scale drills are banned.

------------

(News Focus) Inter-Korean buffer zones nullified following Pyongyang's artillery drills

SEOUL -- The risk of accidental clashes between the two Korea has risen as buffer zones created under a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement became invalid following North Korea's conducting of live-fire drills near the western maritime border.

Tension has escalated after North Korea fired around 350 rounds of artillery shells in waters off its west coast between Friday and Sunday, the first live-fire drills near the sea border since December 2022.

------------

Defense chief calls for stronger anti-drone measures against N. Korea

SEOUL -- South Korea's defense chief called Monday for the military to beef up its defense posture and combat capability against rising threats posed by North Korean drones.

Defense Minister Shin Won-sik visited the Drone Operations Command in Pocheon, 52 kilometers northeast of Seoul, to inspect small stealth drones and unmanned attack aerial vehicles, which are soon to be deployed by the military.

------------

(3rd LD) N. Korea's artillery shells fell near de facto maritime border: source

SEOUL -- Some of the artillery shells recently fired by the North Korean military fell just above the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea, a military source said Sunday, stoking tension on the tensely guarded western border, where past naval skirmishes have taken place.

North Korea fired some 200 artillery shells from its southwestern coastal areas Friday, prompting the South Korean troops on the front-line islands of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong to stage live-fire drills in response.

(END)

<저작권자(c) 연합뉴스, 무단 전재-재배포, AI 학습 및 활용 금지>

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved