Free Republic

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea's top diplomat for U.S. affairs told The Associated Press on Thursday that Washington "crossed the red line" and effectively declared war by putting leader Kim Jong Un on its list of sanctioned individuals, and said a vicious showdown could erupt if the U.S. and South Korea hold annual war games as planned next month. Han Song Ryol, director-general of the U.S. affairs department at the North's Foreign Ministry, said in an interview that recent U.S. actions have put the situation on the Korean Peninsula on a war footing. The United States and South...

World’s deadliest golf course boasts land mines and man-bear-pigs Along the DMZ, golf is not a sport for the faint of heart. The golf course at Camp Bonifas, just south of the Korean demilitarized zone, boasts just one hole, but what it lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in hazards. Live land mines line the course, and bizarre animals stumble out from the woods. Formerly Camp Kitty Hawk, United Nations Command post Camp Bonifas was renamed in 1986 to honor Captain Arthur G. Bonifas, who had been axe murdered in 1976 during a conflict with North Korea...

U.S. and North Korean negotiators agreed Wednesday to improve markedly several areas of cooperation in operations to recover the remains of American soldiers missing in action from the Korean War. During talks in Bangkok, Thailand, both sides agreed to resume repatriating remains recovered during joint recovery operations in North Korea across the demilitarized zone at Panmunjom. This practice has not occurred since 1999. U.S. team members will accompany the remains into South Korea. Additionally, supplies and equipment for the 2004 operations will be moved by ground transportation across the DMZ. “I am encouraged by the level of cooperation the North...

A satellite photo Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld showed the Senate Armed Services Committee recently graphically depicts why Congress authorized the Korean Defense Service Medal. Rumsfeld showed the senators a photo taken at night and the entire southern half of peninsula is bright with light. Almost the entire north is dark. "The (demilitarized zone) is the line in the middle," Rumsfeld told the senators during the budget briefing Feb. 4. "South Korea has got light … and energy and opportunity and a vibrant democratic system. North Korea is a dark, dark country. The little dot of light to the left in...

Jordanian officials started collecting weapons from residents of Maan on Thursday. Caches of weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades and bomb-making materials, have been seized, authorities said. The Jordanian government has declared the city of Ma'an a demilitarized zone, banning holding or possessing of any types of weapons without the approval of the interior minister. It said Jordan would not compromise on its security or the higher national interests. At its regular meeting on Wednesday, the cabinet was updated by Interior Minister Qaftan al-Majali on the progress of the security campaign in Ma'an. Meanwhile, the Egyptian news agency MENA reported that the...