Summary of inter-Korean news this week

SEOUL, April 11 (Yonhap) — The following is a summary of inter-Korean news this week.

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(LEAD) Firefighters battling wildfire in eastern part of DMZ: JCS

SEOUL — Firefighting authorities deployed helicopters Friday to extinguish a wildfire that broke out in the eastern part of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas earlier this week, South Korea’s military said.

Two forestry service helicopters were mobilized at around 6:30 a.m. to fight the blaze that began at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the DMZ area in the border county of Goseong, 159 kilometers northeast of Seoul, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

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N. Korea skipping regional women’s football tournament in S. Korea

SEOUL — North Korea will not participate in an upcoming East Asian women’s football tournament to be hosted by South Korea, officials said this week.

In a press release dated Tuesday, the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) announced that North Korea withdrew from the EAFF E-1 Women’s Football Championship, scheduled for July in South Korea. The EAFF did not provide any reason for North Korea’s decision.

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(LEAD) S. Korea sanctions freight ship, 4 entities for illegal transport of N. Korean iron ore

SEOUL — South Korea imposed independent sanctions on a freight ship, its Hong Kong-based operator and three related entities on Thursday in connection with the ship’s internationally banned transport of North Korean iron ore last year, the foreign ministry said.

The sanctions follow a joint government investigation into the vessel Sunrise 1, which was detained while sailing through South Korea’s territorial waters in June last year, carrying North Korean iron ore, the ministry said.

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S. Korea to break ground in H1 for N. Korean human rights center in western Seoul

SEOUL — The government plans to begin the construction of a new national center for North Korean human rights in western Seoul within the first half of this year as part of efforts to improve human rights conditions in the country, the unification ministry said Wednesday.

The ministry announced the plan as part of this year’s road map for implementing projects aimed at improving inter-Korean relations, which it is required to draw up every year, along with a broader five-year vision for enhancing inter-Korean ties.

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Ex-N. Korean commando dies at age 83

SEOUL — Kim Shin-jo, a former North Korean special forces soldier who infiltrated South Korea on an assassination mission and later became a pastor, died Wednesday, his church said. He was 83 years old.

Kim passed away early in the morning, according to Sungrak Church in Seoul.

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(2nd LD) S. Korea’s military fires warning shots at N. Korean soldiers as they cross military demarcation line

SEOUL — South Korea’s military said Tuesday it fired warning shots at a group of North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the military demarcation line (MDL) inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas.

About 10 armed North Korean soldiers returned to the North after the South Korean military aired warning broadcasts and fired warning shots in an eastern front-line area at around 5 p.m., according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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