North Korea fires artillery near maritime border with South

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Sounds of explosions caused South Korean residents of a front-line island to prepare to evacuate early Saturday, but it was later determined the noise came from a North Korean artillery drill across the rivals’ disputed maritime border, officials said.

Reports – some confirmed, some not – of purges, executions and disappearances have been common since Kim took power following the death of his father Kim Jong-Il in December 2011.

“A rogue regime headed by a leader with no respect for human dignity, North Korea’s forgotten maniac Kim Jong-Un has been met with indifference instead of resolve”, Gardner said in the weekly GOP address”.

North Korea launched a long-range rocket called Kwangmyongsong-4, on February 7, carrying what it said was a satellite, drawing renewed global condemnation just weeks after it carried out a nuclear test on January 6.

It also called her “a traitor for all times”. South Korea and the United States say they were grave violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Washington’s new sanctions against Pyongyang were signed into law by President Barack Obama on Thursday.

Japan has already banned the re-entry from North Korea of Japan-based foreign engineers who are involved in nuclear and missile development.

South Korea suspended the operation of a jointly run factory park in the North, closing what had been the last window of regular interaction that was borne out of a summit meeting in 2000 when leaders pledged to work for peace and reconciliation.

South Korean officials believe the North deliberately blew up the rocket’s first stage after burnout to prevent South Korea from retrieving debris.

Pyongyang said the rocket launch was aimed at placing an earth observation satellite into orbit.

The most recent offer to North Korea was one of several overtures extended by the Obama administration, insiders told the Journal, which happened at the same time the administration was working on an ultimately successful diplomatic outreach to Iran.

“But only Park Geun-hye behaved quite contrary to this”, it added.