Tensions rose on the Korean Peninsula after the DPRK claimed on January 6 that it tested its first hydrogen bomb.
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Gen. Kim, 70, is known as a military hawk who masterminded the North’s torpedo attack against the Cheonan warship in March 2010, killing 46 sailors inside, which Pyongyang denies.
An analyst from a state-run think tank, who asked not to be named, said it is “not usual” to have someone with a military background lead South Korea-related operations within the Party, but there has been precedent in the 1960s.
Seoul has also proposed to Pyongyang that the two Koreas exchange a list of how many separated family members from each side want to meet with their relatives living across the border.
Park said the military should maintain solid defence readiness over Pyongyang’s possible provocations, noting that the military should immediately retaliate against any North Korea provocation. South Korea is now said to be considering installing electronic signs along the border to display propaganda messages and videos.
North Korea celebrated the New Year with a bang.
Still, Seoul has recorded more than 28,000 arrivals from North Korea since the latter was struck by a major starvation in the 1990s.
So how did North Korea react in the face of heavy censure and condemnation?
Following South Korean media reports that North Korea’s General Reconnaissance Bureau Chief Kim Yong Chol has been tapped to fill a vacant post dealing with inter-Korean relations, Daily NK has learned from a source within the North that Kim has been transferred to this position although not officially appointed. The appointment had not been announced by the North Korean regime as of Monday.
The North Korean Army has floated large balloons carrying the flyers across the Imjin River every day in response to the South resuming propaganda broadcasts at the border after the North’s nuclear test early this month. The balloons they fly over the border containing US dollar bills, minichocolate pies made by companies including Lotte Confectionary Co., shortwave radios, memory sticks, movie DVDs and leaflets calling on North Koreans to reject Kim’s cult of personality.
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“We are aiming to develop attractive tourism content and improve tourism infrastructure to help Chinese tourists visit Korea again”, Kim said.
