Free Republic

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said the South will pay "an expensive price" for firing at Pyongyang's retreating patrol boat on Tuesday, keeping up its saber rattling two days after a naval gunfight raised tension between the rivals. The threat, published in the North's official Rodong Sinmun daily, comes amid reports officials from the two Koreas met recently to discuss a possible summit between their leaders but failed to reach agreement. The navies from the two sides exchanged gunfire on Tuesday for the first time in seven years, reminding financial market players of the security threat the North poses to...

/begin my summary3 N. Koreans, presumed to be a family, defected at Baek-ryong island[Yonhap News, 2005/06/26] Around 9:55 am on June 26, 2.9 miles away to the North East of Baek-ryong Island, a N. Korean barge indicated the willingness to defect. It was towed to Yong-ki-po Harbor at Baek-ryong Island at 11:40 am, according to the (S. Korean) Joint Chief of Staffs. Inside the boat were Mr. Hong(male, age:42), Mr. Moon(female, age:39), a 15-year-old boy. They are presumed to be a family. They reportedly left Yong-hyun, Ku-mi-po District, N. Korea.around 5:30 am, June 25. The barge is an 1.7-ton boat...

S.Korean Navy Fires Warning Shots at N.Korean Patrol Boat SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean navy ship fired warning shots Thursday to repel a North Korean patrol boat that briefly crossed the western sea border, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The navy ship fired four rounds of 76 mm shells after discovering that the North Korean boat had travelled 0.5 miles past the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea at 11:37 a.m., the office said in a press release.