NK weekly-inter-Korean news
Summary of inter-Korean news this week
SEOUL, July 12 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of inter-Korean news this week.
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Defense ministry to shake up N. Korea policy office to focus on sanctions
SEOUL -- The defense ministry plans to reorganize its North Korea policy office to focus on sanctions strategies against Pyongyang while reducing tasks related to inter-Korean military engagement, officials said Thursday.
Under the plan, the ministry's North Korea policy division will be renamed the North Korea strategy division, which will be tasked with coming up with strategies on Seoul's sanctions against Pyongyang, according to the officials.
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N. Korea appears to have released border dam water without prior notice
SEOUL -- North Korea appears to have begun releasing water from a dam near the inter-Korean border without giving prior notice to the South, the environment ministry said Tuesday.
The Imjin River downstream of the North's Hwanggang Dam had swelled based on analysis of satellite imagery, the ministry said, noting that it had shared the relevant information with the military and local municipalities.
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Defense chief says only strength can defend country from N.K. threats
SEOUL -- Defense Minister Shin Won-sik called for firm military readiness on Tuesday, stressing that powerful strength is the only means to preserve peace in the face of North Korea's evolving threats.
Shin made the remark during a meeting of top military commanders following the North's bout of missile launches, trash-carrying balloon campaigns and GPS jamming attacks this year.
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(3rd LD) N.K. leader's sister slams S. Korea's resumption of live-fire drills as 'suicidal hysteria'
SEOUL -- The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday denounced South Korea's resumption of live-fire artillery drills near the border as "suicidal hysteria" and warned of possible military actions against such acts.
Kim Yo-jong, vice department director at the ruling Workers' Party, claimed President Yoon Suk Yeol has been accelerating tensions on the Korean Peninsula with what she calls war drills in a bid to use them as a means of escaping from his political crisis.
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Unification education guidebooks published to highlight government's liberal democracy unification vision
SEOUL -- An institute affiliated with the unification ministry published new unification education guidebooks Monday that highlight the Yoon Suk Yeol government's liberal democracy-based unification vision and North Korea's increased threats against South Korea.
The National Institute for Unification Education released two books used as the basic guidelines for unification education. Since 2000, the institute has annually published such guidebooks to help people better understand the government's unification vision and North Korea's situations.
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