The threats came after days of relative quiet, which followed weeks of warnings that dire consequences would ensue if the United States and South Korea provoked the North. Original post on nytimes.com Comments on reddit.com
Ministry of National Defense also says South’s forces are in full readiness posture, will completely punish North if there is any provocation Original post on voanews.com Comments on reddit.com
Digital Chosun Ilbo Original post on chosun.com Comments on reddit.com
SEOUL (Reuters) – Increased activities involving vehicles and troops at North Korea’s mid- and long-range missile units have been detected by South Korea’s military, Yonhap news agency said on Friday, Original post on reuters.com Comments on reddit.com
The North Korean army has declared invalid the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953 Original post on cnn.com Comments on reddit.com
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea and the United States began annual military drills Monday despite North Korean threats to respond by voiding the armistice that ended the Korean War and launching a nuclear attack on the U.S.After the start of the drills, South Korean officials said their northern counterparts didn’t answer two calls on a hotline between the sides, apparently following through on an earlier vow to cut the communication channel because of the drills.Pyongyang has launched a bombast-filled propaganda campaign against the drills, which involve 10,000 South Korean and about 3,000 American troops, and last week’s U.N. vote to impose new sanctions over the North’s Feb. 12 nuclear test. Analysts believe that much of that campaign is meant to shore up loyalty among citizens and the military for North Korea’s young leader, Kim Jong Un.Pyongyang isn’t believed to be able to build a warhead small enough to mount on a long-range missile, and the North’s military has repeatedly vowed in the past to scrap the 1953 armistice. North Korea wants a formal peace treaty, security guarantees and other concessions, as well as the removal of 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.Still, South Korean and U.S. officials have been closely monitoring Pyongyang’s actions and parsing the torrent of recent rhetoric from the North, which has been more warlike than usual.North Korea regularly claims South Korea-U.S. drills are a preparation for invasion, but Pyongyang has signaled more worry about the drills that began Monday. The drills follow U.N. sanctions that the North says are the result of U.S. hostility aimed at toppling its political system.North Korea has also warned South Korea of a nuclear war on the divided peninsula and said it was cancelling nonaggression pacts.Under newly inaugurated President Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s Defense Ministry, which often brushes off North Korean threats, has looked to send a message of strength in response to the latest threats. The ministry warned Friday that the North’s government would Original post on ap.org Comments on reddit.com
North Korean rockets have the potential to strike at most of its close neighbours and the potential to reach Europe, much of the U.S. and all of Australia Original post on nationalpost.com Comments on reddit.com
China urges both Koreas and their allies to remain calm, after Pyongyang said it had torn up all peace deals with Seoul and threatened nuclear strikes. Original post on bbc.co.uk Comments on reddit.com
China expresses concern and appeals for calm as North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un tells troops to prepare for Original post on telegraph.co.uk Comments on reddit.com
North Korea is scrapping all non-aggression pacts with South Korea, closing its hotline and a border crossing, hours after the UN passed new sanctions, Original post on bbc.co.uk Comments on reddit.com
North Korea vowed to cancel the 1953 ceasefire that ended the Korean War, citing a U.S.-led push for punishing UN sanctions over its recent nuclear test and ongoing U.S.-South Korean joint military drills. Original post on cbc.ca Comments on reddit.com
YEONCHEON, South Korea (Reuters) – As North Korea prepares a third nuclear test, South Korean soldiers on the world’s most heavily armed border now have orders to shoot back immediately if they come under Original post on reuters.com Comments on reddit.com
At least three people have been shot at Lone Star Community in North Harris County, according to Precinct 4 deputy constables.
Dozens of law enforcement officers are searching for the gunman who got away.
Original post on khou.com Comments on reddit.com
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for an end to confrontation between the two Koreas, technically still at war in the absence of a peace treaty to end their 1950-53 conflict, in Original post on reuters.com Comments on reddit.com
Lenders have taken over hundreds of thousands of north Georgia homes because the owners couldn’t pay, but a Channel 2 Action News investigation exposed some of those same banks have skipped out on millions of tax dollars owed to local counties. Original post on tv.com Comments on reddit.com
NASA and the SETI Institute are asking the public to help find footage of the meteor that created sonic booms over a wide area Oct. 17, 2012. Original post on nasa.gov Comments on reddit.com
San Jose, Costa Rica, unveiled plans on Thursday to install its first street signs, so residents will not have to cite local landmarks like fast-food chains or gas stations when giving directions. Original post on msn.com Comments on reddit.com
Drunk North Korean man floats to South Korea. Young man appears to have floated to South Korea from the North on a piece of wood, and will likely be allowed to stay if he chooses. Original post on globalpost.com Comments on reddit.com
Mali was once a model of African democracy. But ever since a military coup in March, Islamists have been on the march and have already imposed Sharia law in the country’s north. There are fears that Mali could join Somalia as another failed state. Original post on spiegel.de Comments on reddit.com
Buildings and cars are torched and police officers injured in clashes overnight with youths in a deprived district of Amiens in France. Original post on bbc.co.uk Comments on reddit.com
Images from northern Italy in the aftermath of an earthquake which caused major damage. Original post on bbc.co.uk Comments on reddit.com
A nuclear scientist is killed after a suspected bomb exploded in a car in northern Tehran, the latest in a string of such nuclear-linked attacks. More
North Korean poet Jang Jin-sung has unique insights into Kim Jong-il’s inner circle, having worked as a high-ranking propagandist until he fled the country in 2004. More
Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — The South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, offered Monday to cooperate with North Korea to begin a “new era” of relations between the two countries, a day after Pyongyang had said it would defend its new leader, Kim Jong Un, to the death. “The most important goal for the country is peace and stability on the Korean peninsula,” Lee said in his New Year’s address to the nation. He called the transitional period following the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s death “a window of opportunity.” The president said in a live televised broadcast that the South is prepared to offer economic aid to the North, if Pyongyang is willing to give up its nuclear program. But he emphasized that Seoul will keep up its guard against any aggression from its unpredictable neighbor. Lee’s remarks may fall on deaf ears in Pyongyang, which has recently directed… More