N.Korea warns foreigners to quit South

SEOUL : North Korea intensified threats of an imminent conflict against the United States and the South on Tuesday, warning foreigners to evacuate South Korea to avoid being dragged into a "merciless, sacred, retaliatory war".

The North's latest antagonistic message belied an atmosphere free of anxiety in the South Korean capital, where the city centre was bustling with traffic and offices operated normally.

Father of Pakistan's atomic bomb doubts North Korea will deploy nukes

Dr. Abdul Qadeer (A.Q.) Khan, the so-called “father of the Islamic nuclear bomb," says he doubts North Korea will explode a nuclear device in its current face-off with the United States and South Korea, saying the regime of Kim Jong Un is "not very stupid."

From his luxurious home in Islamabad, Khan, whose newly found political party is inserting itself into the Pakistan’s upcoming elections, said he did not think the North Koreans are “trigger happy.”

S. Korea urges North to lift Kaesong access ban

SEOUL : South Korea on Monday issued another appeal for North Korea to lift an access ban on the Kaesong joint industrial park, which has already forced a dozen South Korean firms to halt operations.

"We urge the North again to immediately lift the ban... and to change its course to help resume normal operations in Kaesong," Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung Suk told reporters.