Tag Archives: South Korea

North Korea says peace treaty, halt to exercises would end nuclear tests

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea on Saturday called for the conclusion of a peace treaty with the United States and a halt to U.S. military exercises with South Korea to end its nuclear tests.

The isolated state has long sought a peace treaty with the United States, as well as an end to the exercises by South Korea and the United States, which has about 28,500 troops based in South Korea.

“Still valid are all proposals for preserving peace and stability on the peninsula and in Northeast Asia including the ones for ceasing our nuclear test and the conclusion of a peace treaty in return for U.S. halt to joint military exercises,” North Korea’s official KCNA news agency cited a spokesman for the country’s foreign ministry as saying early on Saturday.

Asked if the United States would consider a halt to joint exercises, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said it had alliance commitments to South Korea.

“We are going to continue to make sure the alliance is ready in all respects to act in defense of the South Korean people and the security of the peninsula,” he told a regular news briefing.

Asked earlier this week about North Korea’s call for a peace treaty, the State Department reiterated its position that it remained open to dialogue with North Korea but said “the onus is on North Korea to take meaningful actions toward denuclearization and refrain from provocations.”

The two Koreas remain in a technical state of war since their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

North Korea said on Jan. 6 it had tested a hydrogen bomb, provoking condemnation from its neighbors and the United States.

Experts have expressed doubt that the North’s fourth nuclear test was of a hydrogen bomb, as the blast was roughly the same size as that from its previous test, of a less powerful atomic bomb, in 2013.

Pyongyang is under U.N. sanctions for its nuclear and missile programs.

(Reporting by Tony Munroe in Seoul; additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington, editing by Andrew Roche and Tom Brown)

South Korea calls for ‘bone-numbing’ sanctions on North for nuclear test

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea warned North Korea on Wednesday that the United States and its allies were working on sanctions to inflict “bone-numbing pain” after its latest nuclear test, and called on China to do its part to rein in its isolated neighbor.

With tension high on the border after the North’s fourth nuclear test on Wednesday last week, South Korean forces fired shots toward what Yonhap News Agency said was a suspected North Korean drone.

It returned to the North after the shots, South Korean military officials told Reuters.

The North’s nuclear test has angered both China and the United States and again raised questions about what can be done to stop its development of nuclear weapons.

The World Economic Forum withdrew its invitation for North Korea’s foreign minister to attend its annual Davos meeting, which was to have been the country’s first participation in the event in 18 years, because of the nuclear test.

North Korea said it had tested a powerful hydrogen bomb but the United States and various experts doubt that, as the blast was roughly the same size as that from its previous test, of an atomic bomb, in 2013.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted nearly unanimously on Tuesday to pass legislation to broaden sanctions on the North.

But apparently unperturbed by the prospect of further international isolation, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for an expansion of the size and power of his country’s nuclear arsenal, urging the “detonation of more powerful H-bombs”, the North’s state media reported.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said more “provocations” by the North including “cyber-terrorism” were possible and new sanctions should be tougher than previous ones. She did not give specifics.

“We are cooperating closely with the United States and allies to come up with effective sanctions that will make North Korea feel bone-numbing pain, not only at the Security Council but also bilaterally and multilaterally,” she said in a speech.

Park said South Korea and China were discussing a U.N. Security Council resolution on North Korea, noting that China has stated repeatedly that it would not tolerate the North’s nuclear program.

China is the North’s main ally and trade partner but it has made clear it opposes its bombs, while China’s ties with South Korea have grown increasingly close in recent years.

“I am certain that China is very well aware if such a strong will isn’t followed by necessary steps, we will not be able to stop the North’s fifth and sixth nuclear tests and we cannot guarantee true peace and stability,” Park said.

“I believe the Chinese government will not allow the situation on the Korean peninsula to deteriorate further.”

Sung Kim, the special U.S. representative for North Korea policy, met with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Seoul on Wednesday and said the three agreed that a “meaningful” new sanctions resolution is needed from the Security Council.

“I hope the Chinese authorities agree with us that we simply cannot take a business as usual approach to this latest provocation. We will be working very closely with them to come up with a meaningful resolution,” he said.

‘FINANCIAL PRESSURE’

China rejects complaints it is not doing enough on North Korea. In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China’s efforts toward a denuclearized Korean peninsula would continue.

“This is in everyone’s interests and is everyone’s responsibility, including China and South Korea,” he said.

The U.S. House sanctions measure passed by 418-2 and Senate leaders expect to consider a similar bill shortly.

The House bill had been introduced in 2015 but was not brought up for a vote until after North Korea’s latest test.

“(The bill) uses targeted financial pressure to isolate Kim Jon Un and his top officials from the assets they maintain in foreign banks, and from the hard currency that sustains their rule,” said Republican Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and an author of the measure.

To become law, it must be passed by the U.S. Senate and signed by President Barack Obama.

The 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea have been put on high alert as a noisy propaganda battle is played out across the heavily fortified border with the North.

South Korea, still technically at war with the North since their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, has for days been blaring propaganda through loudspeakers across the border.

South Korea’s military said it had found anti-South leaflets in the Seoul area, which it suspects were dropped by North Korean hot air balloons.

South Korean financial regulators met computer security officials at 16 banks and financial institutions and urged vigilance in the face of possible cyber attacks by North Korea, although none has been detected.

(Additional reporting by Jack Kim, James Pearson, Jee Heun Kahng, Hooyeon Kim, Dahee Kim and Se Young Lee in SEOUL, Tom Miles in GENEVA, Patricia Zengerle in WASHINGTON and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Robert Birsel and Nick Macfie)

U.S. flies B-52 over South Korea after North’s nuclear test

SEOUL (Reuters) – The United States deployed a B-52 bomber on a low-level flight over its ally South Korea on Sunday, a show of force following North Korea’s nuclear test last week.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un maintained that Wednesday’s test was of a hydrogen bomb and said it was a self-defensive step against a U.S. threat of nuclear war.

North Korea’s fourth nuclear test angered both China, its main ally, and the United States, although the U.S. government and weapons experts doubt the North’s claim that the device was a hydrogen bomb.

The massive B-52, based in Guam and capable of carrying nuclear weapons, could be seen in a low flight over Osan Air Base at around noon. It was flanked by two fighter planes, a U.S. F-16 and a South Korean F-15, before returning to Guam, the U.S. military said in a statement.

Osan is south of Seoul and 48 miles from the Demilitarised Zone that separates the two Koreas. The flight was “in response to recent provocative action by North Korea”, the U.S. military said.

In Washington, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said on Sunday the flight underscored to South Korea “the deep and enduring alliance that we have with them.”

“Last night was a step toward reassurance in that regard and that was important,” McDonough said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

He said the United States would continue to work with China and Russia, as well as allies Japan and South Korea, to isolate the North until it lives up to its commitments to get rid of its nuclear weapons.

“Until they do it they’ll remain where they are, which is an outcast unable to provide for their own people,” McDonough said.

China has publicly supported a denuclearised Korean Peninsula, and the United States will “make sure that they understand that a nuclear North Korea is not a stable scenario,” he said.

After the North’s last test, in 2013, the United States sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers over South Korea. At the time, the North responded by threatening a nuclear attack on the United States.

The United States is also considering sending a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to waters off the Korean peninsula next month to join a naval exercise with Seoul, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported without identifying a source. However, U.S. Forces Korea officials said they had no knowledge of the plan.

The two Koreas remain in a technical state of war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, and the United States has about 28,500 troops based in South Korea.

An editorial in the North’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Sunday called for a peace treaty with the United States, which is the North’s long-standing position. “Only when a peace treaty is concluded between the DPRK (North Korea) and the U.S. can genuine peace settle in the Korean Peninsula,” state news agency KCNA quoted it as saying.

The United States and China have both dangled the prospect of better relations, including the lifting of sanctions, if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons.

Earlier on Sunday, KCNA quoted Kim as saying no one had the right to criticize the North’s nuclear tests.

“The DPRK’s H-bomb test … is a self-defensive step for reliably defending the peace on the Korean Peninsula and the regional security from the danger of nuclear war caused by the U.S.-led imperialists,” it quoted Kim as saying.

The North’s official name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“It is the legitimate right of a sovereign state and a fair action that nobody can criticize,” he said.

TIMING OF TEST

Kim’s comments were in line with the North’s official rhetoric blaming the United States for deploying nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula to justify its nuclear program but were the first by its leader since Wednesday’s blast.

The United States has said it has no nuclear weapons stationed in South Korea.

Kim noted the test was being held ahead of a rare congress of its ruling Workers’ Party later this year, “which will be a historic turning point in accomplishing the revolutionary cause of Juche,” according to KCNA.

Juche is the North’s home-grown state ideology that combines Marxism and extreme nationalism established by the state founder and the current leader’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung.

KCNA said Kim made the comments on a visit to the country’s Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces.

South Korea continued to conduct high-decibel propaganda broadcasts across the border into the North on Sunday.

The broadcasts, which include “K-pop” music and statements critical of the Kim government, began on Friday and are considered an insult by Pyongyang. A top North Korean official told a rally on Friday that the broadcasts had pushed the rival Koreas to the “brink of war.”

Daily life was mostly as normal on the South Korean side of the border on Sunday. A popular ice fishing festival near the border attracted an estimated 121,300 people on Saturday and 100,000 on Sunday, Yonhap reported.

(Additional reporting by James Pearson, Jee Heun Kahng, Ju-min Park and Do-gyun Kim and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Raissa Kasolowsky and Peter Cooney)

Pressure grows on China to rein in North Korea; South launches propaganda barrage

SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) – South Korea unleashed an ear-splitting propaganda barrage across its border with North Korea on Friday in retaliation for its nuclear test, while the United States called on China to end “business as usual” with its ally.

The broadcasts, in rolling bursts from walls of loudspeakers at 11 locations along the heavily militarized border, blared rhetoric critical of the Pyongyang regime as well as “K-pop” music. North Korea later responded with its own broadcasts.

Wednesday’s nuclear test angered both the United States and China, which was not given prior notice, although the U.S. government and weapons experts doubt Pyongyang’s claim that the device it set off was a hydrogen bomb.

China is North Korea’s main economic and diplomatic backer, although relations between the Cold War allies have cooled in recent years.

China’s Foreign Ministry urged North Korea to stick to its denuclearization pledges and avoid action that would make the situation worse, but also said China did not hold the key to resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.

“Achieving denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and safeguarding the peninsula’s peace and stability accords with all parties’ mutual interests, is the responsibility of all parties, and requires all parties to put forth efforts,” ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a news briefing.

The North agreed to end its nuclear program in international negotiations in 2005 but later walked away from the deal.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday that he had told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that China’s approach to North Korea had not succeeded.

“APPROACH HAS NOT WORKED”

“China had a particular approach that it wanted to make, that we agreed and respected to give them space to implement that,” Kerry told reporters after the phone call. “Today, in my conversation with the Chinese, I made it very clear that has not worked and we cannot continue business as usual.”

In a call on Friday with his South Korean counterpart, Yun Byung-se, Wang said talks on the issue should be resumed as soon as possible, China’s Foreign Ministry said.

South Korea’s nuclear safety agency said it had found a minuscule amount of xenon gas in a sample from off its east coast but said more analysis and samples were needed to determine if it came from a nuclear test.

The head of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), which uses monitoring stations around the world to detect atomic tests, said only “normal” levels of xenon had been detected, at a site in Japan.

“Xenon readings at 1st station downwind of #DPRK test site RN38 Takasaki #Japan at normal concentrations. Sampling continues,” the CTBTO’s executive secretary, Lassina Zerbo, said on Twitter on Friday evening.

The presence of xenon would not indicate whether the blast was from a hydrogen device or a simpler fission explosion.

Seismic waves created by the blast were almost identical to those generated in North Korea’s last nuclear test in 2013, Jeffrey Park, a seismologist at Yale University, wrote in a post on the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists website, adding to scepticism about the hydrogen bomb claim.

Meanwhile, South Korea resumed its frontier broadcasts, which the isolated North has in the past threatened to stop with military strikes.

The last time South Korea deployed the loudspeakers, in retaliation for a landmine blast in August that wounded two South Korean soldiers, it led to an exchange of artillery fire.

The sound can carry 10 km (6 miles) into North Korea during the day and more than twice that at night, the South’s Yonhap news agency reported.

BORDER PROPAGANDA

A male announcer could be heard from South Korea telling North Koreans that their leader Kim Jong Un and his wife wear clothes costing thousands of dollars. Another message said Kim’s promises to boost both the economy and the nuclear program were unrealistic.

The North’s broadcasts were not clearly audible from the South and appeared intended to drown out those from the South, Yonhap said, citing a South Korean official.

As North Korea boosted troop deployments in front-line units, the South vowed to retaliate against any attack on its equipment, raised its military readiness to the highest level near the loudspeakers, canceled tours of the Demilitarized Zone on the border, and also raised its cyberattack alert level.

In Washington, the North’s actions appeared to have forged rare unity in the House of Representatives between Republicans and Democrats on tightening sanctions against North Korea.

Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, told reporters that Democrats would support a North Korea bill likely to be brought for a vote by Republicans next week. A congressional source said it was expected as soon as Monday.

But it is unclear how more sanctions will deter North Korea, which has conducted four nuclear tests since 2006.

The United States and South Korea are limited in their military options. Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers over South Korea in a show of force after North Korea last tested a nuclear device in 2013.

North Korea responded then by threatening a nuclear strike on the United States.

A South Korean military official said Seoul and Washington had discussed the deployment of U.S. strategic weapons on the Korean peninsula, but declined to give details. Media said the assets could include B-2 and B-52 bombers, and a nuclear-powered submarine.

(Additional reporting by James Pearson, Se Young Lee, Christine Kim, Jee Heun Kahng, Ju-min Park and Jack Kim in SEOUL, Dagyum Ji in GIMPO, Patricia Zengerle, Roberta Rampton, Doina Chiacu and Arshad Mohammed in WASHINGTON, Tim Kelly in YOKOSUKA and Francois Murphy in VIENNA; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Paul Tait and Kevin Liffey)

End ‘business as usual’ with North Korea, U.S. tells China

By Lesley Wroughton and Ju-min Park

WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) – The United States called on China on Thursday to end “business as usual” with its ally North Korea after Pyongyang defied world powers by announcing it had tested a hydrogen bomb.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he made clear in a phone call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that China’s approach to North Korea had failed.

“China had a particular approach that it wanted to make, that we agreed and respected to give them space to implement that,” Kerry told reporters. “Today in my conversation with the Chinese I made it very clear that has not worked and we cannot continue business as usual.”

China is the North’s main economic and diplomatic backer although relations between the two Cold War allies have cooled in recent years.

The vast majority of North Korea’s business dealings are with China, which bought 90 percent of the isolated country’s exports in 2013, according to data compiled by South Korea’s International Trade Association.

North Korea carried out a nuclear test on Wednesday, although the U.S. government and weapons experts doubt Pyongyang’s assertion that the device it exploded was a powerful hydrogen bomb.

The test angered both the United States and China, which was not given prior notice.

As of Thursday morning, “sniffer” planes and other sensors had yet to detect any evidence, such as particles in the air, that would substantiate the North Korean assertion that it had set off an H-Bomb, a U.S. government source said.

North Korea also said it was capable of miniaturizing the hydrogen bomb, in theory allowing it to be placed on a missile and threatening the U.S. West Coast, South Korea and Japan.

U.S. CONGRESS TO ACT

U.S. Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives could join forces in a rare display of unity to further tighten sanctions on North Korea.

Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, told reporters that Democrats would support a North Korea bill likely to be brought for a vote by Republicans next week. A congressional source said it was expected as soon as Monday.

The legislation was passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee last February but it was stalled until Pyongyang jolted the world by setting off an underground nuclear bomb test.

The House measure would target banks facilitating North Korea’s nuclear program and authorize freezing of U.S. assets of those directly linked to illicit North Korean activities. It would also penalize those involved in business providing North Korea with hard currency.

“We understand Republican leadership plans to move a bill strengthening U.S. sanctions on North Korea. That will have strong bipartisan support,” Pelosi said, adding that “we will support it.”

It was unclear how more sanctions would deter North Korea, which has conducted four nuclear tests since 2006 while paying little heed to international pressure.

The United States and its ally South Korea are limited in their military response. After North Korea last tested a nuclear device, in 2013, Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on a sortie over South Korea in a show of force. At the time, North Korea responded by threatening a nuclear strike on the United States.

The test also alarmed Japan. Its prime minister, Shinzo Abe, agreed with U.S. President Barack Obama in a telephone call that a firm global response was needed, the White House said.

Obama also discussed options with President Park Geun-hye of South Korea.

A South Korean military official told Reuters that Seoul and Washington had discussed the deployment of U.S. strategic assets on the divided Korean peninsula, but declined to give further details.

A White House spokesman said there had been no talk with South Korea about any introduction of the so-called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, a move opposed by China.

“There have been no discussions or consultations with the South Koreans” about the deployment of anti-ballistic missile capability,” the spokesman, Josh Earnest, said.

The system has radars that can track multiple ballistic missiles up to 2,000 km (1,200 miles) away, a range which would reach deep into China.

In response to the latest test, South Korea said it would resume propaganda broadcasts by loudspeaker into North Korea from Friday, which is likely to infuriate its isolated rival.

The South raised its military alert to the highest level in areas along the border near its propaganda loudspeakers, the South’s Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday.

“Our military is at a state of full readiness, and if North Korea wages provocation, there will be firm punishment,” a South Korean national security official, Cho Tae-yong, said in a statement.

(Additional reporting by Meeyoung Cho, James Pearson, Se Young Lee, Christine Kim, Jee Heun Kahng and Jack Kim in SEOUL, Patricia Zengerle, Roberta Rampton, Doina Chiacu and Arshad Mohammed in WASHINGTON,; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Howard Goller)

Japan, China, and South Korean Leaders to Revive Dialogue at First Summit in Three Years

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, and South Korean President Park Geun Hye will meet in Seoul on Sunday for the first summit between the three countries in since 2012.

While past historical issues will most likely be brought up, the leaders hope to move forward in order to boost stability in Northeast Asia and better relations with Tokyo, according to South Korean and Chinese officials. The Washington Post also reports that all three countries are concerned over North Korea and its nuclear capabilities and may discuss the matter at the meeting. However, Sunday’s meeting is said to be a first step toward burying the past.

“None of them wants to be seen stonewalling the cooperation,” said Shin Kawashima, a University of Tokyo professor of international studies. They all have soft spots “so they want to find a comfortable middle ground,” he told Fox News.

And it is a tricky situation for the three Asian powers as Tokyo does not want to discuss history, Beijing, for political reasons, can’t be too friendly with Japan, and Seoul doesn’t want the U.S. to think they are getting too close to China.

Reuters reports that the bad blood between the nations are due to past wartimes when China and South Korea suffered under Japan’s colonial rule and brutal occupation before Japan was defeated in 1945.

White House Reports U.S. Jets Intercept Russian Warplanes near Korean Peninsula

Four fighter jets were launched by the U.S. Navy to intercept Russian warplanes that were flying one nautical mile away from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.

According to White House spokesman Josh Earnest, the USS Ronald Reagan was performing a military exercise with South Korea in the Sea of Japan. Korean jets first intercepted the Russian warplanes. The Navy also stated they tried to communicate with the Russian planes, but never received a response.

Yahoo! News reports that Earnest stated the situation was “not a particularly threatening encounter,” as there was no evidence that the Russian planes posed any threat to the aircraft carrier or the ships that were escorting it.

The situation comes after an agreement was signed between Russia and the United States on October 10 that established protocols for flying over Syria. The agreement was to avoid any crashes between pilots.

Today’s incident isn’t the first time the U.S. and Russia has experienced encounters like this in 2015. A video was released by the Navy in June that showed Russian jets flying near the guided missile destroyer USS Ross. On July 4, Russian fighter jets located off the coasts of Alaska and California were intercepted by the United States, according to CNN.

Seoul’s Spies Report that North Korea is Gearing Up for a Nuclear Test

ABC News reported today that South Korea’s spy agency may be preparing for a fourth nuclear test, although they don’t believe it will happen in the immediate future.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said to the Yonhap news agency that the North may be ready to perform a test because of confrontations with the United States and its allies. The agency did not provide details on what type of test North Korea would be performing, other than it was nuclear related. They also did not elaborate on how they received this information.

The speculation that North Korea might be preparing for a fourth nuclear test is strengthened by the country’s announcement last month that North Korea was restarting its atomic bomb fuel production plants. At this time, it’s unclear if their scientists have developed a method to attach nuclear weapons to long-range missiles. However, North Korea has announced they do have such a weapon that could hit the U.S. mainland.

North Korea has performed nuclear tests in 2013, 2009, and 2006, which forced the U.N. to draw sanctions on the country.

On October 10th, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stated in a speech that he was prepared to wage war against the United States, according to USA Today.

North Korea Boosting Nuclear Arsenal

North Korean officials have stated their nuclear enrichment plant is now operating at full capacity.

The director of North Korea’s Atomic Energy Institute praised what he considered the innovations of his research teams.

“[The scientists have worked] to guarantee the reliability of the nuclear deterrent in every way by steadily improving the levels of nuclear weapons with various missions in quality and quantity,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency quoted the unnamed director.

“All the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon including the uranium enrichment plant and 5 MW graphite-moderated reactor were rearranged, changed or readjusted and they started normal operation.”

The news of the full nuclear operation comes a day after the country reported they would be launching satellites using long-range missiles that could also carry a potential nuclear payload.  South Korean officials say that the launches, if they take place, would be a violation of United Nations resolutions.

“South Korea and the United States are jointly watching for all possibilities with regard to North Korea’s (potential) long-range missile launch,” said South Korea’s Defense Ministry spokesman, Kim Min-seok, according to the news agency. “So far, no particular signs have been seen.”

Typhoon Goni Hammers Japan

Typhoon Goni has slammed into Japan with wind gusts topping 112 m.p.h. and has left as many as 26 people dead and over 100 injured.

Officials in Japan urged more than 600,000 people to flee their homes and to seek shelter.

The storm made landfall around 6 a.m. in Kumamoto prefecture.  The storm then crossed over one of the country’s four main islands before heading into the sea of Japan and striking North and South Korea.

The storm essentially paralyzed the country, with air and rail service suspended during the course of the storm.  Over 470,000 homes were without power at one point during the storm’s crossing of the nation.

Officials say at least one man is confirmed missing and presumed dead in a landslide caused by the torrential rain.  The city of Hiroshima ordered the evacuation of 70,000 because of potential landslides.

The storm had previously left 26 dead in the Philippines with 15 still reported as missing.  Thousands of homes were destroyed and hundreds of thousands have been left with no shelter because of storm damage.

The typhoon is beginning to break up as the eye has collapsed but heavy rain is still pouring into North and South Korea.  North Korean officials say that at least 40 people have died because of storm related flooding and over 1,000 homes have been damaged.