SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of inter-Korean news this week.
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S. Korea's top military officer orders stern responses after N.K. threatens to deploy more weapons along border
SEOUL -- South Korea's top military officer ordered troops on Tuesday to sternly respond to any enemy provocations, a day after North Korea threatened to deploy more weapons along the inter-Korean border and resume propaganda broadcasts.
The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Jin Yong-sung gave the directive during his visit to a front-line unit, slamming Pyongyang for shifting the blame on Seoul for heightened inter-Korean tensions following the Sept. 21 land mine explosion that injured three South Korean troops.
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Defense ministry voices 'grave concern' over N. Korea heightening border tensions with threats
SEOUL -- The defense ministry on Tuesday expressed "grave concerns" over North Korea's escalation of inter-Korean border tensions with military threats and its criticism of South Korean military operations conducted in response to last month's mine blast that injured its soldiers.
"The Ministry of National Defense expresses grave concern over Kim Yo-jong's criticism of our military's legitimate operations conducted under the Armistice Agreement, as well as her escalation of tensions through military threats," it said in a statement.
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Unification ministry urges N. Korea to halt armistice violations, respond to dialogue efforts
SEOUL -- The unification ministry on Tuesday urged North Korea to refrain from escalating tensions along the inter-Korean border and respond to Seoul's efforts to resolve issues related to the Military Demarcation Line (MDL).
The appeal came a day after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, threatened to deploy more tactical weapons near the southern border and consider resuming loudspeaker broadcasts targeting South Korea in response to the South Korean military's warning shots and broadcasts over North Korean troops' repeated crossings of the MDL.
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Court sentences 3 ex-officials to suspended prison terms over 2019 deportation of N. Koreans
SEOUL -- An appellate court on Wednesday handed down suspended prison terms for three former officials for forcibly repatriating two North Korean fishermen in 2019 despite their intention to defect to South Korea.
The Seoul High Court upheld a lower court's guilty verdicts for Chung Eui-yong, former national security adviser; former National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon; and former Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul.
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S. Korea urges N. Korea to stop border escalation acts amid Pyongyang's loudspeaker threat
SEOUL -- The unification ministry on Thursday called on North Korea to immediately stop acts that could increase the risk of clashes with South Korea along the border after the North warned of resuming loudspeaker broadcasts against Seoul.
The ministry issued the statement after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, threatened to resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts targeting South Korea within days, and warned of a "horrible and distressing situation" amid tensions over Pyongyang's ongoing border fortification work.
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Ex-officials defend 2019 repatriation of N.K. fishermen as criminal deportation
SEOUL -- Three former officials convicted of forcibly repatriating North Korean fishermen in 2019 defended the move Thursday, describing it as a deportation of criminals.
Chung Eui-yong, former national security adviser, Suh Hoon, former National Intelligence Service director, and Kim Yeon-chul, former unification minister, made the assertion in a statement issued a day after the Seoul High Court sentenced them to suspended prison terms for their involvement in the case.
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S. Korea to send letter to UNSC urging N. Korea to apologize for DMZ mine blast
SEOUL -- South Korea plans to send a letter to the president of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) calling on North Korea to apologize for last month's land mine blast in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and take responsibility for its violation of the Armistice Agreement, the foreign ministry said Thursday.
On Sept. 21, land mine blasts injured three South Korean soldiers, two of them seriously. A joint investigation by the South Korean military and the U.N. Command concluded that the explosions were caused by North Korean land mines planted south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in violation of the armistice agreement that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.
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N. Korea likely planted 960,000 land mines along inter-Korean border since 2024: lawmakers
SEOUL -- North Korea has planted an estimated 960,000 land mines along the inter-Korean border since 2024, according to multiple lawmakers Friday, a move seen as part of its border fortification work after Pyongyang declared a "two hostile states" policy toward Seoul.
The South Korean military has reported the estimate to the National Assembly, lawmakers affiliated with the parliamentary intelligence and defense committees told Yonhap News Agency.
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S. Korea proposes military talks with N. Korea to resolve border line issue
SEOUL -- South Korea renewed its offer Friday to hold military talks with North Korea to discuss their conflicting views on where the inter-Korean border sits, amid heightened tensions following last month's land mine blast inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
"Different perceptions remain over the Military Demarcation Line (MDL)," Deputy Defense Minister Kim Hong-cheol said in a press briefing, referring to the border line separating the two Koreas.
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