Articles written by Foster Klug & Kim Tong-hyung


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  • How did North Korean soldiers wander across the world's most heavily guarded border?

    FOSTER KLUG and KIM TONG-HYUNG|Jun 21, 2024

    SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Don't believe the name: The Demilitarized Zone between the two rival Koreas might be the most heavily armed place on earth. Two million mines, barbed wire fences, tank traps and tens of thousands of troops from both countries patrol a divided swath of land 248 kilometers (154 miles) long and 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) wide. So how are North Korean soldiers continuing to wander over the line separating North from South, causing South Korea to fire warning shots for the third time this month? The short answer appears to be...

  • Amid report of N. Korea purge, there are reasons for caution

    FOSTER KLUG and KIM TONG-HYUNG|May 31, 2019

    SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean newspaper reported Friday that North Korea executed a senior envoy involved in nuclear negotiations with the U.S. as well as four other high-level officials. But as ever with North Korea, a country that closely guards its secrets, there are reasons to be cautious about the purported purge. While North Korea hasn't used its propaganda services to comment, the report in the conservative Chosun Ilbo daily could be true. North Korea has previously executed scapegoats to atone for high-profile political f...

  • North Korea says it test-fired new tactical guided weapon

    FOSTER KLUG and KIM TONG-HYUNG|Apr 18, 2019

    SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Thursday that it had test-fired a new type of "tactical guided weapon," in what may be an attempt to register displeasure with a deadlock in nuclear talks with the United States without causing those coveted negotiations to collapse. Leader Kim Jong Un observed the unspecified weapon being fired Wednesday by the Academy of Defense Science, the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency said. Kim was reported to have said "the development of the weapon system serves as an event of very weighty s...

  • Come visit: South Korea's leader invited to North Korea

    FOSTER KLUG and KIM TONG-HYUNG|Feb 11, 2018

    PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) — A rare invitation to Pyongyang for South Korea's president marked Day Two of the North Korean Kim dynasty's southern road tour Saturday, part of an accelerating diplomatic thaw that included some Korean liquor over lunch and the shared joy of watching a "unified" Korea team play hockey at the Olympics. Nothing has been settled on any trip north by South Korean President Moon Jae-in. But the verbal message to come at a "convenient time" from dictator Kim Jong Un, delivered by his visiting younger sister, Kim Yo J...

  • S. Korea displays military strength amid North Korean crisis

    FOSTER KLUG and KIM TONG-HYUNG|Sep 6, 2017

    SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — With Seoul expecting another North Korean missile test, South Korean warships conducted live-fire exercises at sea on Tuesday in a second straight day of military swagger from a nation still rattled by the North's biggest-ever nuclear test. The test on Sunday, which North Korea said was a hydrogen bomb, was a huge advance in the North's push for nuclear-tipped missiles capable of hitting the United States. It has also resulted in South Korea boosting its own military capabilities. Washington and Seoul agreed to lift re...

  • NKorea leader urges more missile launches targeting Pacific

    FOSTER KLUG and KIM TONG-HYUNG|Aug 30, 2017

    SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for more weapons tests targeting the Pacific Ocean, Pyongyang announced Wednesday, a day after his nation for the first time flew a ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload over Japan. Tuesday's aggressive missile launch — likely the longest ever from North Korea — over the territory of a close U.S. ally sends a clear message of defiance as Washington and Seoul conduct war games nearby. Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said it was a Hwasong-12 inter...

  • Korean leaders, US open door to diplomacy in nuclear crisis

    Foster Klug and Kim Tong-Hyung|Aug 16, 2017

    SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea's military on Tuesday presented leader Kim Jong Un with plans to launch missiles into waters near Guam and "wring the windpipes of the Yankees," even as both Koreas and the United States signaled their willingness to avert a deepening crisis, with each suggesting a path toward negotiations. The tentative interest in diplomacy follows unusually combative threats between President Donald Trump and North Korea amid worries Pyongyang is nearing its long-sought goal of being able to send a nuclear missile to t...