Inter-Korean tensions are building amid the South’s moves to enact a North Korea human rights act and its civic groups’ campaign to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets, triggering concerns over the prospect of the reunions of families divided by the border.Pyongyang’s preparations for what it calls a satellite launch have also added to concerns that a series of setbacks could negatively affect the bilateral efforts to hold the reunions from Oct. 20-26 at Mount Geumgangsan.The communist regime has indic

China appears to be facing a tough strategic decision over how to handle North Korea, amid growing U.S. pressure to tame its wayward ally that has hinted at the possibilities of a long-range rocket launch and another nuclear test.In response to the continuing calls from Washington to play the role of a “responsible stakeholder” in regional security, Beijing has been agonizing over ways to curb Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions and provocative acts.But solutions to the issues remain elusive, as the N

Hundreds of desperate migrants were Tuesday trapped behind a razor-wire fence erected by Hungary, as Germany's Angela Merkel called for an EU summit on the refugee crisis.While European leaders squabbled over how to manage the continent's biggest migrant influx since World War II, the exodus from war-torn Middle Eastern countries claimed more lives.Another shipwreck off Turkey killed 22 refugees -- among them four children and 11 women -- who had tried to reach Europe, where more than half a mil

South Korea’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will embark on a six-day trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji on Thursday, aiming to strengthen strategic diplomatic relations with the Pacific nations, the ministry said Wednesday.On Friday in Sydney, Yun and Seoul’s Defense Minister Han Min-koo will attend the “two-plus-two” meeting with their Australian counterparts -- Julie Bishop and Kevin Andrews, respectively -- to discuss a range of bilateral, regional and global issues, including North Kore