NK weekly-inter-Korean news
Summary of inter-Korean news this week
SEOUL, July 8 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of inter-Korean news this week.
------------
(LEAD) Defector group says COVID-19 pain relievers, anti-Kim banners sent to North
GIMPO, South Korea -- A North Korean defectors' group said Thursday it has sent big balloons carrying COVID-19 pain relievers to North Korea, along with banners denouncing the regime's claim that leaflets sent from the South are responsible for its COVID-19 outbreak.
The Fighters for a Free North Korea said 20 plastic balloons were released at Gimpo, west of Seoul, on Wednesday, with 70,000 fever-reducing pills, 30,000 vitamin C tablets and 20,000 masks in them.
------------
(LEAD) Yoon orders military to swiftly punish N. Korea in case of provocations
SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered the military on Wednesday to swiftly punish North Korea in case of provocations as he presided over a meeting of top commanders for the first time since taking office.
"(The president) ordered our military to swiftly and firmly punish North Korea in the event that it carries out a provocation," his office said after Yoon's meeting with the commanders from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps at the Gyeryongdae military headquarters, 160 kilometers south of Seoul.
------------
(2nd LD) New JCS chief warns of 'unsparing' reprisal for N.K. provocations
SEOUL -- Army Gen. Kim Seung-kyum took office as the new head of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Tuesday, warning North Korea's provocations will be met with "unsparing retaliation."
Kim's inauguration came amid growing concerns about the possibility of the recalcitrant regime conducting what would be its seventh nuclear test or other provocative acts.
------------
(LEAD) S. Korea to seek 'new structure' of talks with N. Korea, unification minister says
SEOUL -- Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said Monday his government will push for a "new structure" of inter-Korean dialogue in a bid for direct discussions on the denuclearization issue that had been handled largely between Pyongyang and Washington.
South Korea's top point man on North Korea also reaffirmed Seoul's commitment to a push for the development of inter-Korean relations on the basis of "all existing agreements" between the two sides, delivering a speech marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the historic July 4 South-North Joint Statement.
------------
S. Korea closely watching N. Korea's summer military drills
SEOUL -- South Korea is keeping close tabs on movements related to North Korea's ongoing summertime military drills, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday, amid lingering concerns about possibilities of Pyongyang's provocations.
"Although there were torrential rains recently, the North Korean military has usually held its summer training starting in July," Col. Kim Jun-rak, the JCS spokesperson, told a regular press briefing. "We are paying keen attention to related movements."
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
