.Title: Pyongyang urges Seoul to call off joint military drills with Washington
North Korea has reiterated its call to South Korea to halt an upcoming annual military drill with the U.S.,... a day after Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to resume reunions for families separated by the Korean War.
The family reunions, slated for February 20th to the 25th, will likely overlap with the South Korea-U.S. drills, reportedly scheduled to start February 24th, clouding prospects for the reunion event.
North Korea's National Defense Commission said Thursday via its state-run Korean Central Television that acts of reconciliation and provocation, such as holding talks and practicing for a war,... cannot coexist.
It also called on South Korea to drop its confrontational stance and carry out policies that
can live up to the expectations of its people.
In response, South Korea's Unification Ministry said the agreement reached by the two Koreas on the family reunions must be kept no matter what,.. adding that the joint military drills will take place as planned. Z
Title: Will family reunions help mend inter-Korean relations?
So, if and when this much-anticipated humanitarian event does take place... can it serve as a starting point for rosier inter-Korean ties.
Here's Arirang News' unification ministry correspondent Hwang Sung-hee .
Will the resumption of reunions for divided families pave the way for improved relations between the two Koreas?
South Korean President Park Geun-hye expressed her hopes via her spokesperson on Thursday that the humanitarian event could open up a new era of inter-Korean relations.
"We hope the upcoming reunions will be a starting point for improved inter-Korean relations and serve as a foundation for opening up an era of reunification, bringing peace and cooperation to the Korean peninsula."
Wednesday's agreement to resume family reunions from February 20th to the 25th came as a surprise to many as it was reached in less than five hours of talks.
What's more surprising is that the dates overlap with South Korea's joint military drills with Washington.
North Korea had earlier warned the reunions could not take place amid gunfire, but the upcoming drills were not a major issue during the talks.
"There was no specific mention by North Korea of the South Korea-U.S. joint military drills nor a call for the military exercises to be canceled."
South Korea said it views the latest agreement as a positive sign.
Pyongyang has been cranking up its peace offensive this year, although many have questioned the regime's motives.
The Koreas left open the possibility of further cooperation, promising additional rounds of talks after the reunions to discuss a wide range of humanitarian issues, that could include South Korean food aid to the North.
But despite the friendlier tone, an air of skepticism lingers as North Korea has a history of breaking its promises, including its last-minute cancellation of a round of family reunions just last year.
Hwang Sung-hee, Arirang News.
Title: Security ministries vow greater dialogue, cooperation in status report to president
President Park Geun-hye is kicking off her second year in office with a series of status reports from government ministries this week.
The four security ministries were in the hot seat today, giving their first collaborative report in four years.
As our Park Ji-won reports... North Korea took centerstage in their policy reports. At the defense ministry in central Seoul on Thursday,... the foreign, unification and defense ministries and the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affai
