SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- The latest on the tensions on the Korean Peninsula (all times local):
---
10:20 p.m.
High-level talks between North and South Korea have stretched deep into the night again.
The
first round of talks between the rivals, who are trying to defuse
mounting tensions that have pushed them to the brink of a possible
military confrontation, lasted 10 hours, starting Saturday evening and
ending just before dawn Sunday.
They resumed the talks Sunday afternoon, and were still meeting late Sunday night.
---
4:30 p.m.
Even
as North and South Korea resumed talks Sunday, South Korea's military
is reporting that it detected unusual troop and submarine movements in
North Korea that indicated Pyongyang was strengthening its capacity for a
possible strike.
An official from Seoul's
Defense Ministry, who didn't want to be named because of office rules,
says about 70 percent of the North's more than 70 submarines and
undersea vehicles had left their bases and were undetectable by the
South Korean military as of Saturday.
The
official also says the North had doubled the strength of its front-line
artillery forces since the start of the high-level talks early Saturday
evening.
"It seems that the North is pursuing dialogue on one side and preparing for battle on another side," he said.
- Tong-hyung Kim, Seoul
---
4 p.m.
South
Korea's presidential office says South Korean and North Korean
officials have resumed the second round of talks in the border village
of Panmunjom on Sunday.
- Tong-hyung Kim, Seoul
---
1:30 p.m.
U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is welcoming the dialogue between the two
Koreas and is urging both sides to de-escalate the situation.
In
a statement issued by his spokesman, Ban called on the two sides to
"redouble efforts to resolve differences through dialogue while
refraining from taking any measure that is not conducive to dialogue."
The statement says Ban took note of the agreement to resume the discussions later Sunday.
- Edith Lederer, United Nations
---
10:15 a.m.
North
Korean media have reported that more than 1 million young people have
volunteered to join or rejoin the military to defend their country
should a conflict break out with the rival South Korea and its U.S.
ally.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency
reports that "young people across the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea are turning out in the sacred war for defending the country with
their faith and will to annihilate the enemies."
Despite
such highly charged rhetoric in the media, which is itself not
particularly unusual, activity in the capital remains normal and calm
Sunday.
People in Pyongyang are going about their daily routines as usual.
Truckloads
of soldiers singing martial songs can occasionally be seen driving
around the city, and a single minivan with camouflage netting was parked
near the main train station for a time as the talks with South Korea
began Saturday and are set to resume later Sunday.
- Eric Talmadge, Pyongyang
---
5:15 a.m.
South
Korea's presidential spokesman says the first-high-level talks in
nearly a year between South Korea and North Korea have adjourned and
will resume Sunday afternoon.
The rivals, who
are trying to defuse mounting tensions that have pushed them to the
brink of a possible military confrontation, began their meeting in the
border village of Panmunjom at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
Spokesman
Min Kyung-wook said the meeting adjourned at 4:15 a.m. Sunday and the
two delegations will resume talks at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT, 2 a.m. EDT). He
did not disclose any other details about the talks.
The
talks were held shortly after a Saturday deadline set by North Korea
for the South to dismantle loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korean
propaganda at their border. North Korea had declared that its front-line
troops were in full war readiness and prepared to go to battle if Seoul
did not back down.
---
1:15 a.m.
The first high-level talks in nearly a year between South Korea and North Korea have stretched into the early hours of Sunday.
The
rivals, who are trying to defuse mounting tensions that have pushed
them to the brink of a possible military confrontation, began their
meeting in the border village of Panmunjom early Saturday evening.
An
official from South Korea's presidential Blue House said after midnight
that the talks were still going on, and that the delegates were taking a
break. Marathon talks are not unusual for the Koreas, who have had long
negotiating sessions in recent years over much less momentous issues.
The
talks were held shortly after a Saturday deadline set by North Korea
for the South to dismantle loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korean
propaganda at their border. North Korea had declared that its front-line
troops were in full war readiness and prepared to go to battle if Seoul
did not back down.
---
6:50 p.m.
High-level
talks between North Korea and South Korea have begun in an effort to
defuse mounting tensions that have pushed the rivals to the brink of a
possible military confrontation.
An official
from South Korea's Unification Ministry, who didn't want to be named
because of office rules, says Saturday's talks are being held at the
border village of Panmunjom.
The meeting comes
after a Saturday deadline set by North Korea for South Korea to
dismantle loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda at
their border. North Korea has declared its front-line troops are in full
war readiness and prepared to go to battle if Seoul doesn't back down.
The
South Korean presidential office said earlier that the country's
national security director, Kim Kwan-jin, and Unification Minister Hong
Yong-pyo would sit down with Hwang Pyong So, the top political officer
for the Korean People's Army, and Kim Yang Gon, a senior North Korean
official responsible for South Korean affairs. Hwang is considered by
outside analysts to be North Korea's second most important official
after supreme leader Kim Jong Un.
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