Recently in South Korea Category

By CHOE SANG-HUN SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea, one of the world's most impenetrable nations, is facing a new threat: networks of its own citizens feeding information about life there to South Korea and its Western allies. The networks are the creation of a handful of North Korean defectors and South Korean human rights activists using cellphones to pierce North Korea's near-total news blackout. To build the networks, recruiters slip into China to woo the few North Koreans allowed to travel there, provide cellphones to smuggle across the border, then post informers' phoned and texted reports on Web sites. read on

• Attack followed threat of "unprecedented nuclear strikes"

• NK angered that US and Seoul were preparing for instability

    Above, Ulsan class Frigate

There are heightened fears that North Korea wants to provoke a military confrontation with South Korea after an explosion - probably from a torpedo - ripped a hole in the bottom of a military ship which has sunk.

The incident occurred amid reports of serious internal unrest in North Korea and reports of starvation among parts of the population. Tensions between the two Koreas have peaked since a new government in Seoul revoked the 'Sunshine Policy' towards the North, saying it was a form of appeasement.

The South Korean navy has fired shots at unidentified ships in the direction of North Korea as it investigates whether the vessel in its fleet was struck by a torpedo Friday.

The ship -- reported to have 104 crew on board -- began sinking off the coast of South Korean-controlled Baengnyeong Island close to North Korea around 10:45 p.m. (1345 GMT, 9:45 a.m. EDT), an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with department policy.