South and North Korea

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Rival Koreas mark armistice anniversary in two different ways that highlight rising tensions

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The truce that stopped the bloodshed in the Korean War turns 70 years old on Thursday and the two Koreas are marking the anniversary in starkly different ways, underscoring their deepening nuclear tensions.

https://apnews.com/article/korea-war-armistice-anniversary-nuclear-6469f9afe088cbd86a1ab6b9c8011ef3?

Why this matters: Tensions between the rivals are at their highest point in years, as the pace of North Korean missile tests and U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises has intensified in a tit-for-tat cycle. The dueling military activities have been punctuated by verbal threats, including North Korean talk of preemptive nuclear strikes and U.S. vows to “end” Kim’s regime in the event of such an attack.   North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has invited delegations from China and Russia to join in their armistice celebrations, is pushing for deeper cooperation with the authoritarian allies as he aims to counter U.S. efforts to tighten trilateral security cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo.   South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative condemned by Pyongyang as a “traitor,” will likely use this week’s events to highlight the North’s growing threat and double down on his goals of strengthening the South’s defense and its alliance with the U.S.

Related coverage ➤ WATCH: UN holds talks with North Korea on US soldier North Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles after US submarine arrives in South Korea North Korea is a land of stories that don’t often get told. Here are some that did

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North Korea says it will stop sending trash balloons as South Korea vows strong retaliation

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said it will stop sending trash-carrying balloons into South Korea, claiming Sunday that its campaign left the South Koreans with “enough experience of how much unpleasant they feel.”

https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-south-balloons-trash-1b65c87f53613b4d4738486d19b454d4?

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South Korea plans to nullify peace deal to punish North Korea over trash-carrying balloon launches

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea announced Monday it’ll suspend a rapprochement deal with North Korea to punish it over its launches of trash-carrying balloons, even after the North said it would halt its balloon campaign.

https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-south-korea-peace-deal-trash-balloons-86eea9752b665b335d4d84abb614f7f3?

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Trash balloons

 

North Korea said it will stop sending trash-filled balloons to South Korea after Seoul reported hundreds more airborne waste deliveries floating across the border. North Korea's vice-defense minister claimed the trash balloons were "strictly a responsive act" to South Korea's yearslong practice of sending balloons with anti-North Korea leaflets the other way. Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong — a senior official in the reclusive North Korean regime — called the balloons "sincere presents." A South Korean official pledged his country would take "unendurable measures" against its neighbor for sending more balloons over the weekend, which will be "specified in the coming days."

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South Korea resumes broadcasting anti-North Korea propaganda at border in response to trash balloons The broadcasts in border areas Sunday were in retaliation for the more than 1,000 trash- and manure-filled balloons the North had sent over the last couple of weeks. Read more.

Key points: The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea said additional broadcasts were “entirely dependent on North Korea’s behavior,” and the broadcasts were not being continued as of Monday morning. South Korea’s military also said it detected North Korea launching what appeared to be more trash-carrying balloons Sunday night. The military did not immediately confirm if any landed in the South.   The resumed broadcasts could trigger retaliatory military steps as tensions between the rivals rise. South Korea has suspended a 2018 agreement to reduce hostile acts along the border while the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned that the South created a “prelude to a very dangerous situation.” She said South Korea would witness an unspecified “new response” from the North if it continued with the broadcasts.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ US flies B-1B bomber for first precision bomb drill in 7 years as tensions simmer with North Korea   South Korean group flies propaganda leaflets across border following North’s trash-balloon launches   US and allies clash with China and Russia over North Korea’s launches and threats to use nukes

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Trash balloons

 

North Korea sent a new wave of trash balloons toward South Korea on Sunday, sparking concerns that the tit-for-tat move will potentially expand to military action. The new balloons come in apparent retaliation for the decision by South Korea to resume broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda over loudspeakers in border areas. Kim Jong Un's sister and government spokeswoman Kim Yo Jong warned the resumption of loudspeaker broadcasts was "a prelude to a very dangerous situation." In recent weeks, the North has floated over a thousand trash-filled balloons across the heavily fortified border, in what it claims is a response to South Korean activists sending balloons with leaflets and other prohibited items in the other direction.

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South Korean troops fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers briefly crossed land border

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean soldiers fired warning shots after North Korean troops briefly violated the tense border earlier this week, South Korea’s military said Tuesday, as the rivals are embroiled in Cold War-style campaigns like balloon launches and propaganda broadcasts.

https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-north-korea-border-warning-shots-35039dd56da6fe7c4fe7605baffd6e3a?

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How did North Korean soldiers wander across the world’s most heavily guarded border? On the eve of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s summit Wednesday with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as many as 30 North Korean soldiers wandered over the line separating North from South for the second time this month, causing South Korea to fire warning shots before the North Koreans withdrew. Read more.

Why this matters: The South’s military has observed increased North Korean activity along the border to install what appear to be anti-tank barriers, reinforce roads and plant land mines. The construction started around April and is possibly aimed at making it harder for North Korean civilians or soldiers to defect to the South as Pyongyang’s leadership attempts to strengthen its control over its people, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.   The intrusion comes as tensions rise between the rivals, who in recent weeks have engaged in Cold War-style psychological warfare and made it clear they are no longer bound by their landmark military agreement in 2018 to reduce tensions.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ What’s known, and not known, about the partnership agreement signed by Russia and North Korea   Putin is in Vietnam, seeking to strengthen ties in Southeast Asia while Russia’s isolation deepens   Bizarre psychological warfare using K-pop and trash balloons raises tensions between the 2 Koreas

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South Korea offers humanitarian aid to flood-hit North Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea on Thursday offered to send aid supplies to North Korea to help the country recover from heavy rains and floods that submerged thousands of homes and huge swaths of farmland.

https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-north-korea-flood-humanitarian-aid-red-cross-560e58b71239a863d8710996a759e949?

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North Korea is preparing to destroy northern parts of inter-Korean roads, Seoul says South Korea said Monday it has detected signs that North Korea is preparing to destroy the northern parts of inter-Korean roads no longer in use, as the rivals are embroiled in soaring tensions over North Korea’s claim that South Korea flew drones over its territory. Read more.

Why this matters: Destroying the roads would be in line with leader Kim Jong Un’s push to cut off ties with South Korea, formally cementing it as his country’s principal enemy and abandoning the North’s decades-long objective to seek a peaceful Korean unification.   The development comes as North Korea has recently accused South Korea of launching drones to drop propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang, its capital, three times this month and threatened to respond with force if it happened again. South Korea has refused to confirm whether it sent drones but warned it would sternly punish North Korea if the safety of its citizens is threatened.   Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years, with North Korea continuing a run of provocative missile tests, which the U.N. views as banned tests of long-range missile technology, and South Korea and the U.S. expanding their military drills. Observers say North Korea could perform major weapons tests ahead of next month’s U.S. presidential election to increase its leverage in future diplomacy with the Americans.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Sister of North Korea’s leader threatens South Korea over drone flights   North Korea says front-line units ready to strike South Korea if more drones appear   China holds large military exercises surrounding Taiwan to warn against independence

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South Korea calls for immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops allegedly in Russia

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea on Monday demanded the immediate pullout of North Korean troops allegedly deployed in Russia as it summoned the Russian ambassador to protest deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.

https://apnews.com/article/north-south-korea-russia-ukraine-27780e4b672ee638b96099ec5f5168e4?

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6 Americans detained in South Korea for trying to send rice and Bibles to North Korea by sea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Six Americans were detained Friday in South Korea for trying to send 1,600 plastic bottles filled with rice, miniature Bibles, $1 bills and USB sticks toward North Korea by sea, police said.

https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-americans-plastic-bottles-rice-balloons-93eeb8ee546b4e4793f5ba18fc38b860?

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North Korean man crosses the heavily fortified border to South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An unidentified North Korean man crossed the heavily fortified land border separating the two Koreas and is in South Korean custody, the South’s military said Friday.

https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-north-korea-border-crossing-3a1ed09ef062d92798e7ad3673f1d87d?

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South Korea begins removing border propaganda speakers in conciliatory gesture toward North

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military said Monday it had begun removing loudspeakers along its border with rival North Korea in a move aimed at reducing tensions.

https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-loudspeaker-border-removal-north-korea-tensions-0ee53f235ea436916f29a96b6af2bb51?

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South Korea fires warning shots to repel North Korean vessel breaching sea boundary

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military said it fired warning shots early Friday to drive away a North Korean merchant ship that briefly crossed the disputed western sea boundary between the rival neighbors.

https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-warning-shots-north-korea-ship-cd4c8817b60315fe7dc546a7e8d25105?

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South Korea’s Lee urges talks with North Korea about finally ending Korean war

South Korean president Lee ⁠Jae Myung called on Saturday for talks with North Korea to pursue peaceful coexistence, saying ⁠Seoul would seek ⁠safeguards to prevent conflict and noting the need to replace the peninsula’s armistice with a “peace regime“.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/15/south-koreas-lee-urges-talks-with-north-korea-about-finally-ending-korean-war?

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North Korea shrugs off Trump’s scaled-back drills with South Korea, saying it changes nothing

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Wednesday that a U.S. decision to scale back military exercises with South Korea does not change what it sees as the provocative nature of the drills, dampening hopes for an early resumption of diplomacy between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump.

https://apnews.com/article/korea-us-military-drills-313e01e4ee305b4c9b1b8bf12643fb17?

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North Korean Missiles

North Korea fired about 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters yesterday, according to South Korea’s military, hours after Pyongyang dismissed President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to ease tensions. The missiles traveled roughly 185 miles before landing in the sea (explore the North’s missile arsenal). The test came during the annual US-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, which Trump shortened from 11 days to five in a bid to reduce tensions. Washington and Seoul call the drills defensive, while North Korea considers them preparations for an invasion and often responds with weapons tests. Kim Jong Un’s sister said the reduction changed nothing, though she described Trump and Kim’s relationship as “excellent.” Trump, who met Kim three times from 2018 to 2019, said Wednesday he hopes to meet him again this year; Pyongyang has rejected giving up its nuclear arsenal as a condition for renewed talks (who has nuclear weapons?). Explore 25 years of US-North Korea negotiations and provocations with this interactive.