Seoul: North conducted artillery drill near sea border

North Korea’s development of nuclear and “space” programmes will remain intact after the shutdown, adding that South Korea’s plan to cut the funding of such projects by closing the complex will be unsuccessful, Yonhap news agency reported.

Tensions between the two Koreas have escalated since North Korea’s nuclear test in January and its long-range rocket launch earlier this month.

There has been speculation for years that North Korea has become more of a liability than a friend to China, Boydston suggested, but Beijing has done very little to put real pressure on Pyongyang and is instead lax on sanctions enforcement and waters down United Nations sanctions resolutions.

Pyongyang is reportedly upset over the closing of Kaesong Industrial Complex. China, North Korea’s most important ally, has raised concerns about measures that could devastate North Korea’s economy.

In another dispatch the same day, the state media said Kim observed a flight drill by the KPA Air and Anti-Air Force at an unspecified date.

Last Thursday, South Korean Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Cho June-hyuck said: “The ROK [South Korea] and the United States have embarked on formal consultations on the possible deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery…”

Along with her pointed criticism of Kim Jong Un’s regime, Park’s government has also resumed cross-border propaganda broadcasts and shut down a factory park just north of the Demilitarized Zone that had been jointly run by the rivals. But the idea has entered the political debate.

South Korea in previous standoffs has maintained humanitarian aid to the impoverished North, including food and fertilizer shipments. The sanctions also called for $50 million dollars to be invested in radio communications in North Korea, anti-terrorism programs within the region, and purchase of communication devices within North Korea.

Seoul now seems no longer willing to continue such aid.

The Obama Administration “has turned a blind eye to the North Korean threat…”

It was not clear how many rounds North Korea fired, but a South Korean eyewitness said judging by the magnitude of the flash and explosion that accompanied the firing, Pyongyang fired about three to four artillery rounds.