TOKYO — A rumor that an explosion occurred at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear facility set off a brief panic Friday in the South Korean stock market, illustrating one of the ways in which Seoul is vulnerable to its neighbor. South Korean government officials found zero evidence that an explosion had actually occurred, and a visiting U.S. diplomat in Tokyo said he’d heard nothing to suggest the rumor was true. Radiation-monitoring devices in the region showed no unusual activity. Read full article > >

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Rumor of N. Korean nuclear explosion prompts brief stock panic in South

SEOUL — As North Korea carries out a precarious power transfer, South Korean policymakers face a growing challenge to influence a neighbor that has rejected decades of their appeals, compromises and policies. So far, the ascension of North Korean heir apparent Kim Jong Eun shows no outward signs of turmoil, with Pyongyang’s state-run news agency cranking out testimonials of loyalty from soldiers and Workers’ Party members. But in Seoul, at least for some, the post-Kim Jong Il transition resembles a nerve-rattling spectator event — viewed from afar, with no say in the outcome. Read full article > >

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As N. Korea changes, S. Korea feels helpless

It’s late at night when the phone rings at the White House: Kim Jong Il , the ruthless oddball dictator of nuclear-armed North Korea, is dead. His apparent successor is his 20-something son , about whom practically nothing is known. South Korean officials have rushed to put the nation’s military forces on high alert . Read full article > >

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Which candidate should answer that 3 a.m. phone call?

South Korean officials arrest a Northern defector on suspicion of plotting to kill top activist Park Sang-hak with a poison-tipped needle, reports say.

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‘Poison-needle plot’ Korean held

SEOUL — After nearly half of the servers for a South Korean bank crashed one day in April, investigators here found evidence indicating that they were dealing with a new kind of attack from an old rival: North Korea. South Korean officials said that 30 million customers of Nonghyup agricultural bank were unable to use ATMs or online services for several days and that key data were destroyed, making it the most serious of a series of incidents in recent months. But even more troubling was the prospect that a belligerent neighbor had acquired the tools to disrupt one of the world’s most heavily wired nations — and that even more damaging attacks could be in store. Read full article > >

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Suspected North Korean cyber attack on a bank raises fears for S. Korea, allies

Five South Korean men have been charged with passing military and political information to the North over the past 20 years, prosecutors say.

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Five South Koreans on spy charges

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea expelled all remaining South Korean workers Tuesday from a stalled joint tourism resort in the North, putting what was once a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation in danger of collapse. The two Koreas launched joint tours at the scenic Diamond Mountain in 1998 as part of reconciliation efforts. But the tours, which were a rare legitimate source of hard currency for the impoverished North, were suspended in 2008 after a North Korean guard fatally shot a South Korean tourist. Read full article > >

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North Korea kicks out South Korean workers from joint mountain resort in North

South Korean officials say they are building a new facility to hold some of the 3,000 North Koreans who arrive in the country each year.

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New holding centre for N Koreans

South Korean officials say they are building a new facility to hold some of the 3,000 North Koreans who arrive in the country each year.

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New holding centre for N Koreans

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Friday it will free an American detained for reportedly proselytizing after a visiting U.S. official expressed regret. Eddie Jun was arrested in November and accused of committing a serious crime against North Korea, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said. Pyongyang didn’t provide details about the alleged crime, but South Korean press reports say Jun, a Korean-American with business interests in North Korea, was accused of spreading Christianity. Read full article > >

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North Korea says it’s freeing American detained since November following US envoy visit

The Chinese and South Korean prime ministers show support for Japan quake victims in the zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant.

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Leaders meet Japan quake victims

Chinese and South Korean leaders will start a visit to Japan by touring Fukushima prefecture, where a nuclear plant was damaged by the March earthquake and tsunami.

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Leaders to visit Japan quake zone

SEOUL — When Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton landed here Saturday night, she had a whole list of issues she wanted to talk over with South Korean officials, including a pending free-trade agreement and disaster relief for their mutual ally Japan.

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In Seoul, Clinton quiet on North Korea issue

China formally invites Kim Jong-un, the youngest son of North Korea’s leader and his likely heir, to visit, South Korean sources say.

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‘China invite’ to Kim Jong-il son

A group of Japanese and South Korean firms are to buy a 15% stake in a Brazilian company that mines a rare earth metal.

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Asia firms strike rare earth deal