South gives first government-level assistance since deadly attacks last yearSouth Korea plans to resume medical aid to North Korea by taking part in a U.N. aid program, a Seoul official said Tuesday, in the newest sign of easing tensions between the two rival countries. It will be the first government-level assistance to North Korea since its deadly shelling on a border island in November last year. The Seoul government has approved of executing $6.94 million to the World Health Organization, wh

North Korea stands out as the only country to have conducted a nuclear test in the 21st century, pushing it into further isolation from the rest of the world, the head of an agency tasked with monitoring the main nuclear-test-ban treaty said Tuesday.“Each test is creating a problem for the DPRK and this is the choice of the DPRK,” said Tibor Toth, executive secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). DPRK is the acronym of North Kor

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ South Korea has lifted its block on donating medicine to North Korea via the World Health Organization, amid signs of easing tension between the countries.South Korea previously had donated to a WHO program to send medicine and medical supplies to the North, but asked the o

SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean man crossed the maritime border into South Korea on a raft late last month, the same day that 21 other North Koreans were found drifting aboard a boat off the South's west coast, a government source said Tuesday."One North Korean man was discovered by our Nav

A North Korean border guard recently shot and killed a defector while trying to escape near the border with China, an activist in Seoul said.The incident is seen as part of a crackdown on the increasing number of residents risking their lives to flee the impoverished state.Kim Yong-hwa, chairman of the North Korea Refugees Human Rights Association of Korea, said he saw a defector shot dead by a North Korean border guard shortly after he crossed the river border and stepped on Chinese soil. “I ac

A group of 21 North Koreans was found drifting aboard a boat off South Korea’s west coast earlier last week, officials said Saturday, the latest in a string of defections by North Koreans.The five-ton wooden boat carrying the North Korean family members, including children, was spotted by sailors on a South Korean Navy vessel in the Yellow Sea on Sunday, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.The boat was drifting in waters some 38 kilometers south of the tense western maritime b

Seoul's top policymaker on North Korea pledged Friday to start filling a fund aimed at preparing for reunification with the North, calling on the South Korean people to also take part.   Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik, on a trip to the United States,said he plans to launch a campaign to ra

A group of 21 North Koreans was found drifting aboard a boat off South Korea's west coast earlier this week, officials said Saturday, the latest in a string of defections by North Koreans.   The boat carrying the North Korean family members, includingchildren, was spotted by sailors on a S

A U.S. House committee has approved a bill on toughening sanctions against North Korea, Iran and Syria with all three accused of being involved in proliferation activities, congressional sources said Thursday.The House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously passed the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Non

South Korea is trying to establish a "stable dialogue channel" with North Korea, Seoul's top policymaker on the communist neighbor said Thursday, adding the alliance with the U.S. is the cornerstone of the effort.In a round-table meeting with U.S. experts on Korea, Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik als