Photos: Tensions rise in North Korea, South Korea
April 5, 2013
PAJU, SOUTH KOREA - APRIL 04: A barbed wire fence at the military check point, near the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) separates South and North Korea on April 4, 2013 in Paju, South Korea. 400 South Koreans remain in the joint industrial complex fearing they can not get back there once return to South. In recent weeks North Korea have threatened to attack South Korea and U.S. military bases. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) ( 165783517CS026_North_Korea_ )
Workers clean up the empty road at the customs, immigration and quarantine office in Paju, South Korea, near the border village of Panmunjom, Thursday, April 4, 2013. North Korea on Wednesday barred South Korean workers from entering a jointly run factory park just over the heavily armed border in the North, officials in Seoul said, a day after Pyongyang announced it would restart its long-shuttered plutonium reactor and increase production of nuclear weapons material. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet takes off from the runway during their military exercise at the Osan U.S. Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 3, 2013. North Korea on Wednesday barred South Korean workers from entering a jointly run factory park just over the heavily armed border in the North in the latest sign that Pyongyang's warlike stance toward South Korea and the United States is moving from words to action. (AP Photo/Bae Jung-hyun, Yonhap) KOREA OUT ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
South Korean army soldiers patrol along a barbed-wire fence near a directional sign showing the distance to North Korea's Kaesong city and South Korea's capital Seoul at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border village of the Panmunjom, which separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 5, 2013. After a series of escalating threats, North Korea has moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, South Korea's defense minister said Thursday. But he emphasized that the missile was not capable of reaching the United States and that there are no signs that the North is preparing for a full-scale conflict. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
South Korean drivers walk back to their vehicles to turn back at the customs, immigration and quarantine office in Paju, South Korea, near the border village of Panmunjom, Wednesday, April 3, 2013. North Korea on Wednesday barred South Korean workers from entering a jointly run factory park just over the heavily armed border in the North, officials in Seoul said, a day after Pyongyang announced it would restart its long-shuttered plutonium reactor and increase production of nuclear weapons material. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
South Korean marines stand on their K-55 self-propelled howitzers during an exercise against possible attacks by North Korea near the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea Monday, April 1, 2013. After weeks of war-like rhetoric, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gathered legislators Monday for an annual spring parliamentary session taking place one day after top party officials adopted a statement declaring building nuclear weapons and the economy the nation's top priorities.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
A South Korean man who is waiting to head to the North Korean city of Kaesong, watches a news program airing file footage of a North Korean rocket displayed during a military parade at the customs, immigration and quarantine office in Paju, South Korea, near the border village of Panmunjom, Thursday, April 4, 2013. North Korea's vow to restart its mothballed nuclear facilities raises fears about assembly lines churning out fuel for a fearsome arsenal of nuclear-tipped missiles. But it may actually be a sign that Pyongyang needs a lot more bomb fuel to back up its nuclear threats. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) ( South Korea North Korea Nuclear Reboot )
Soldiers of the U.S. Army 23rd chemical battalion wear gas masks while attending a demonstration of their equipment during a ceremony to recognize the battalion's official return to the 2nd Infantry Division based in South Korea at Camp Stanley in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, Thursday, April 4, 2013. The 23rd chemical battalion left South Korea in 2004 and returned with some 350 soldiers in Jan. 2013. The battalion will provide nuclear, biological and chemical detection, equipment decontamination and consequence management assistance to support U.S. and South Korean military forces. North Korea warned Thursday that its military has been cleared to attack the U.S. using "smaller, lighter and diversified" nuclear weapons, while the U.S. said it will strengthen regional protection by deploying a missile defense system to Guam. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
South Korean rescue personnel help "victims" during a drill near the border with North Korea in Paju on March 28, 2013. The US said two nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers flew "deterrence" missions over South Korea on March 28 defying apocalyptic threats of retribution from North Korea against ongoing war games. AFP PHOTO / KIM JAE-HWAN (Photo credit should read KIM JAE-HWAN/AFP/Getty Images) ( Hkg8430435 )
A man sitting on the underground in Hong Kong reads a Chinese language newspaper leading with reports on the recent North Korean military developments on March 31, 2013. North Korea on March 30 declared it was in a "state of war" with South Korea and warned Seoul and Washington that any provocation would swiftly escalate into an all-out nuclear conflict. China, North Korea's sole major ally and biggest trading partner, appealed for "joint efforts" to reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula on March 29. AFP PHOTO / Antony DICKSON (Photo credit should read ANTONY DICKSON/AFP/Getty Images) ( Hkg8438350 )
A North Korean boat makes its way along the Yalu River by the North Korean town of Sinuiju across from the Chinese city of Dandong on March 31, 2013. North Korea on March 30 declared it was in a "state of war" with South Korea and warned Seoul and Washington that any provocation would swiftly escalate into an all-out nuclear conflict. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) ( Hkg8438807 )
A North Korean soldier stands watch by the Yalu River in the North Korean town of Sinuiju across from the Chinese city of Dandong on March 31, 2013. North Korea on March 30 declared it was in a "state of war" with South Korea and warned Seoul and Washington that any provocation would swiftly escalate into an all-out nuclear conflict. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) ( Hkg8438808 )
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 02: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) and Yun Byung-Se, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea speak to the media at the State Department, April 2, 2013 in Washington, DC. Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Byung-Se spoke after a bi-lateral meeting about growing tensions with North Korea. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) ( 165569932MW004_JOHN_KERRY_M )
PAJU, SOUTH KOREA - APRIL 04: A Genaral view of empty road connection Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) with South's CIQ (Customs, Immigration, Quarantine) at inter-Korean transit office on April 4, 2013 in Paju, South Korea. 400 South Koreans remain in the joint industrial complex fearing they can not get back there once return to South. In recent weeks North Korea have threatened to attack South Korea and U.S. military bases. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) ( 165783517CS029_North_Korea_ )
US soldiers take pictures as South Korean trucks return back after they were banned access to Kaesong joint industrial park in North Korea, at a military check point of the inter-Korean transit office in Paju on April 3, 2013. North Korea blocked South Korean access to a key joint industrial zone on April 3, in a sharp escalation of tensions as Washington condemned Pyongyang's "dangerous, reckless" behaviour. AFP PHOTO / JUNG YEON-JE (Photo credit should read JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images) ( Hkg8444859 )
North Korean soldiers assemble by the docks in the North Korean town of Sinuiju across from the Chinese city of Dandong on April 4, 2013. North Korea appears to have moved a medium range missile to its east coast, South Korean Defence Minister Kim Kwan-Jin said, prompting fears of a strike against South Korea or Japan. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) ( Hkg8447902 )
PAJU, SOUTH KOREA - APRIL 04: South Korean soldiers patrol inside the barbed-wire fence near the border village of Panmunjom on April 4, 2013 in Paju, South Korea. Still 400 South Korean remain in the joint industrial park fearing they can not get back there once return to South. In recent weeks North Korea have threatened to attack South Korea and U.S. military bases, with South Korean and American intelligence identifying what is believed to be an intermediate-range missile being moved by North Korea to its eastern coast, in preparation for a planned strike. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) ( 165783517CS060_NORTH_KOREA_ )
South Korean Catholics pray for peace on the Korean Peninsula during an annual Easter service at Myeongdong Catholic Cathedral in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, March 31, 2013. North Korea warned South Korea on Saturday that the Korean Peninsula had entered "a state of war" and threatened to shut down a border factory complex that's the last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
A protester holds a candle during a rally denouncing the annual Foal Eagle, South Korea and the United States joint military exercise, near the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 5, 2013. North Korea has been railing against U.S.-South Korean military exercises that began in March and are to continue until the end of this month. The allies insist the exercises in South Korea are routine, but the North calls them rehearsals for an invasion and says it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
University students punch the air as they march through Kim Il Sung Square in downtown Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, March 29, 2013. Tens of thousands of North Koreans turned out for the mass rally at the main square in Pyongyang in support of their leader Kim Jong Un's call to arms. Placards read: “Let’s crush the puppet traitor group” and “Let’s rip the puppet traitors to death!” (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin) ( North Korea Rally )
South Korean army reservists salute during their Foundation Day ceremony at a gymnasium in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 5, 2013. About 1,000 reservists gathered here to denounce North Korean for their escalating threat for war. North Korea has been railing against U.S.-South Korean military exercises that began in March and are to continue until the end of this month. The allies insist the exercises in South Korea are routine, but the North calls them rehearsals for an invasion and says it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
South Korean truck drivers wait to head for the North Korea's city of Kaesong, at the customs, immigration and quarantine office in Paju, South Korea, near the border village of Panmunjom, Thursday, April 4, 2013. North Korea on Wednesday barred South Korean workers from entering a jointly run factory park just over the heavily armed border in the North, officials in Seoul said, a day after Pyongyang announced it would restart its long-shuttered plutonium reactor and increase production of nuclear weapons material. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
South Korean soldiers prepare to fire 155 mm howitzers during their military exercise in the border city between two Koreas, Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 5, 2013. After a series of escalating threats, North Korea has moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, South Korea's defense minister said Thursday. But he emphasized that the missile was not capable of reaching the United States and that there are no signs that the North is preparing for a full-scale conflict. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
South Korean President Park Geun-hye, center, walks through gravestones for South Korean sailors killed in a sunken war ship, at a cemetery in Daejeon, South Korea, Tuesday, March 26, 2013. An explosion ripped apart the 1,200-ton warship, killing 46 sailors near the maritime border with North Korea in 2010. South Korea marks three years from the incident on March 26. (AP Photo/Kim Jae-hwan, Pool) ( South Korea Ship Sinking Anniversary )
South Korean President Park Geun-hye salutes the national flag during her inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. Park became South Korea's first female president Monday, returning to the presidential mansion where she grew up with her dictator father. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) ( South Korea New President )
People watch a news report showing North Korean army tanks at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, March 30, 2013. North Korea warned Seoul on Saturday that the Korean Peninsula was entering "a state of war" and threatened to shut down a factory complex that's the last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
A South Korea security guard stands in front of the gateways to the North Korea's city of Kaesong at the Inter-Korean Transit Office in Paju, in Paju, South Korea, near the border village of Panmunjom, Thursday, April 4, 2013. North Korea on Wednesday barred South Korean workers from entering a jointly run factory park just over the heavily armed border in the North, officials in Seoul said, a day after Pyongyang announced it would restart its long-shuttered plutonium reactor and increase production of nuclear weapons material. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
Tourists look over the north side of the Bridge of Freedom which was destroyed during the Korean War, at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border village of the Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 5, 2013. After a series of escalating threats, North Korea moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said Thursday. But he emphasized that the missile was not capable of reaching the United States and that there are no signs that the North is preparing for a full-scale conflict. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
A North Korean soldier uses a pair of binoculars to watch the South Korean side at the border village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in South Korea Thursday, April 4, 2013. South Korea's defense minister said Thursday North Korea has moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, but said it is not capable of hitting the United States. (AP Photo/Yonhap, Lee Jong-hoon) KOREA OUT ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
Soldiers of the U.S. Army 23rd chemical battalion salute during a ceremony to recognize the battalion's official return to the 2nd Infantry Division based in South Korea at Camp Stanley in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, Thursday, April 4, 2013. The 23rd chemical battalion left South Korea in 2004 and returned with some 350 soldiers in Jan. 2013. The battalion will provide nuclear, biological and chemical detection, equipment decontamination and consequence management assistance to support the U.S. and South Korean military forces. North Korea warned Thursday that its military has been cleared to attack the U.S. using "smaller, lighter and diversified" nuclear weapons, while the U.S. said it will strengthen regional protection by deploying a missile defense system to Guam. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
Soldiers of the U.S. Army 23rd chemical battalion carry a U.S. and South Koream flag during a ceremony to recognize the battalion's official return to the 2nd Infantry Division based in South Korea at Camp Stanley in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, Thursday, April 4, 2013. The 23rd chemical battalion left South Korea in 2004 and returned with some 350 soldiers in Jan. 2013. The battalion will provide nuclear, biological and chemical detection, equipment decontamination and consequence management assistance to support the U.S. and South Korean military forces. North Korea warned Thursday that its military has been cleared to attack the U.S. using "smaller, lighter and diversified" nuclear weapons, while the U.S. said it will strengthen regional protection by deploying a missile defense system to Guam. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
North Koreans gather at a rally at Kim Il Sung Square in downtown Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, March 28, 2013. Thousands of North Koreans turned out for the mass rally at the main square in Pyongyang in support of their leader Kim Jong Un's call to arms. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin) ( North Korea Rally )
South Korean army reservists raise their hands to adopt a resolution against North Korea during a rehearsal for their Foundation Day ceremony at a gymnasium in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 5, 2013. About 1,000 reservists denounce North Korean for their escalating threat for war. North Korea has been railing against U.S.-South Korean military exercises that began in March and are to continue until the end of this month. The allies insist the exercises in South Korea are routine, but the North calls them rehearsals for an invasion and says it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
A North Korean man walks past propaganda posters in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Tuesday, March 26, 2013, that threaten punishment to the "U.S. imperialists and their allies." The U.S. recently tightened sanctions against North Korea after Pyongyang tested a nuclear device in February in defiance of international bans against atomic activity. (AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon) ( North Korea Tension )
People watch a TV news report showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, and other leaders, at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, March 30, 2013. North Korea warned Seoul on Saturday that the Korean Peninsula was entering "a state of war" and threatened to shut down a factory complex that's the last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
A South Korean security guard works to turn back vehicles as they were refused to enter to Kaesong, North Korea, at the customs, immigration and quarantine office in Paju, South Korea, near the border village of Panmunjom, Thursday, April 4, 2013. North Korea on Wednesday barred South Korean workers from entering a jointly run factory park just over the heavily armed border in the North, officials in Seoul said, a day after Pyongyang announced it would restart its long-shuttered plutonium reactor and increase production of nuclear weapons material. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
In this Sunday, March 31, 2013 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed in Tokyo Monday, April 1, 2013 by the Korea News Service, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives a speech during a plenary meeting of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang, North Korea. After weeks of war-like rhetoric, North Korean leader Kim gathered legislators Monday for an annual spring parliamentary session taking place one day after top party officials adopted a statement declaring building nuclear weapons and the economy the nation's top priorities. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS) JAPAN OUT UNTIL 14 DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF TRANSMISSION ( North Korea Koreas Tension )
A U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jet, center, lands on the runway during their military exercise at the Osan U.S. Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 2, 2013. North Korea vowed Tuesday to restart a nuclear reactor that can make one bomb's worth of plutonium a year, escalating tensions already raised by near daily warlike threats against the United States and South Korea. (AP Photo/Bae Jung-hyun, Yonhap) KOREA OUT ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
Protesters participate in a rally denouncing an ongoing South Korea and the United States joint military exercise, "Foal Eagle" near the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 5, 2013. North Korea has been railing against U.S.-South Korean military exercises that began in March and are to continue until the end of this month. The allies insist the exercises in South Korea are routine, but the North calls them rehearsals for an invasion and says it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
Soldiers of the U.S. Army 23rd chemical battalion, wearing anti-chemical suits, talk to each other near a mock bomb during a demonstration of their equipment at a ceremony to recognize the battalion's official return to the 2nd Infantry Division based in South Korea at Camp Stanley in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, Thursday, April 4, 2013. The 23rd chemical battalion left South Korea in 2004 and returned with some 350 soldiers in Jan. 2013. The battalion will provide nuclear, biological and chemical detection, equipment decontamination and consequence management assistance to support the U.S. and South Korean military forces. North Korea warned Thursday that its military has been cleared to attack the U.S. using "smaller, lighter and diversified" nuclear weapons, while the U.S. said it will strengthen regional protection by deploying a missile defense system to Guam. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
South Korean national flags flutter on a wire fence, where ribbons are hanging with messages wishing for reunification of the two Koreas, at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border village of Panmunjom, dividing the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 5, 2013. After a series of escalating threats, North Korea has moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, South Korea's defense minister said Thursday. But he emphasized that the missile was not capable of reaching the United States and that there are no signs that the North is preparing for a full-scale conflict. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
Soldiers of the U.S. Army 23rd chemical battalion, wearing anti-chemical suits, watch a bomb disposal robot during a demonstration of their equipment at a ceremony to recognize the battalion's official return to the 2nd Infantry Division based in South Korea at Camp Stanley in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, Thursday, April 4, 2013. The 23rd chemical battalion left South Korea in 2004 and returned with some 350 soldiers in Jan. 2013. The battalion will provide nuclear, biological and chemical detection, equipment decontamination and consequence management assistance to support the U.S. and South Korean military forces. North Korea warned Thursday that its military has been cleared to attack the U.S. using "smaller, lighter and diversified" nuclear weapons, while the U.S. said it will strengthen regional protection by deploying a missile defense system to Guam. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )
South Korean marine's K-55 self-propelled howitzer fires during a military exercise in the border city between two Koreas, Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 2, 2013. North Korea vowed Tuesday to restart a nuclear reactor that can make one bomb's worth of plutonium a year, escalating tensions already raised by near daily warlike threats against the United States and South Korea. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) ( South Korea Koreas Tension )