US Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday visited the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating South Korea from the North, a visit that was likely to cast attention on global concerns about North Korea's nuclear programme.

Biden met with soldiers at the US military's Camp Bonifas near the South-North border, in Paju, and went to Observation Post Ouellette, one of 77 guard posts that line the South Korean side of the border.

He then stopped further down the road at Freedom House, an administrative building in the southern sector of Panmunjom, which lies inside the 2.5-mile-wide Demilitarised Zone that separates the two Koreas.

The visit, which took place on the last day of a long-planned trip to South Korea, came just hours after North Korea freed Merrill Newman, an elderly US veteran of the Korean War after a weekslong detention.

Biden welcomed the release and called Newman shortly after the 85-year-old landed in Beijing from North Korea, where he had been detained for more than a month.

North Korean authorities had pulled Newman off a plane while he was touring the country six decades after the war.

Biden said he had "played no direct role" in securing Newman's release and offered no thoughts on why the North decided to release him.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Pyongyang made the decision because the Newman had apologised for his alleged crimes during the Korean War and because of his age and medical condition.

Biden told the released American that the US must also work to secure the release of Kenneth Bae, another US citizen in Pyongyang's custody, Biden's office said.

Tension remains on the Korean Peninsula, though Pyongyang's angry rhetoric against the US and South Korea has toned down compared with its torrent of springtime threats to launch nuclear strikes and restart nuclear bomb fuel production.

AP TELEVISION

1. Zoom in to US Vice President Joe Biden walking away from military helicopter after landing in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) and being greeted by US soldiers

2. Wide of Biden stepping into guard post at Observation Post Ouellette, the closest OP to the North Korea's guard post located within DMZ

3. Close of Biden

4. Mid of Biden being briefed by US solider

5. Close of Biden

6. Various of Biden looking towards North Korea through binoculars

7. Wide of North Korean soldiers guarding Panmunjom, located on North Korean side of the Demarcation Line separating South and North Korea, within the Joint Security Area (JSA), looking towards the South Korean side through binoculars

8. Wide of Panmunjom

9. Wide of North Korean soldier guarding Panmunjom

10. Wide of Biden being briefed by US soldier on balcony of Freedom House, on the South Korean side of the Demarcation Line

11. Various of North Korean soldiers moving down steps to get a better look of the South Korean side during Biden's visit

12. Various of Biden shaking hands with US and South Korean soldiers at Freedom House

US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter said on Sunday that it was important to continue trying to resolve the issues surrounding North Korea's nuclear programme through six-party talks.

He was speaking during a visit to the South Korean side of the Korean de-militarised zone.

Carter said that the US is continuously urging North Korea to refrain from provocations or any action that may heighten tension, and to follow through on the denuclearisation process demanded in the six-party talks, in order to bring peace and prosperity to the Korean peninsula.

Carter emphasised the need for a strong US-South Korea alliance, and the necessity of keeping a strong military presence in the sharply divided border areas.

Carter is visiting South Korea for three days from Saturday to Monday to take part in the security consultative meeting (SCM) on Monday with his South Korean counterpart, Han Min-koo.

US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter said on Sunday that it was important to continue trying to resolve the issues surrounding North Korea's nuclear programme through six-party talks.

He was speaking during a visit to the South Korean side of the Korean de-militarised zone.

Carter said that the US is continuously urging North Korea to refrain from provocations or any action that may heighten tension, and to follow through on the denuclearisation process demanded in the six-party talks, in order to bring peace and prosperity to the Korean peninsula.

Carter emphasised the need for a strong US-South Korea alliance, and the necessity of keeping a strong military presence in the sharply divided border areas.

Carter is visiting South Korea for three days from Saturday to Monday to take part in the security consultative meeting (SCM) on Monday with his South Korean counterpart, Han Min-koo.

YONHAP - NO ACCESS SOUTH KOREA

Panmunjom - 1 November 2015

1. South Korean Defence Minister Han Min-koo and United States Defence Secretary Ash Carter arriving at observation post in de-mlitarised zone (DMZ)

2. Han and Carter

3. Close of Carter

4. Various of Carter looking around the observation post

5. Wide of North Korean area

6. North Korean village

7. South Korean and North Korean soldiers at Joint Security Area (JSA)

8. Panmungok, northern side of Panmunjom

9. Various of Carter at Military Demarcation Line (MDL)

10. North Korean soldiers

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ash Carter, US Defence Secretary:

"But we continue, not only the United States, and not only the United States and South Korea, but also China and Japan and Russia, the so-called six-party talks, to call for the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. So that remains our policy, we remain committed to achieving that negotiated outcome with North Korea."

12. Panmungok, northern side of Panmunjom

13. SOUNDBITE(English) Ash Carter, US Defence Secretary:

"And the ever-present danger is the reason why we speak of the ability to 'Fight Tonight,' that's the slogan up here, no one ever wants to have to do that. But deterrence is guaranteed through strength, and that's what the alliance is all about."

14. Various of Carter inside Peace House

15. North Korean soldiers walking down stairs

16. Carter looking around Joint Security Area (JSA)

The South Korean defence ministry warned North Korea on Friday that it would immediately punish any provocation after North Korea said it would "bury the South Korean provokers at the bottom of the sea for good".

"Our military will immediately strike and punish North Korea's provocation on the field without any hesitation or consideration which not only includes the origin of the provocation but also supporting forces and commanding power," said South Korean defence ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok in Seoul.

The North Korean statement earlier on Friday denounced South Korea for commemorating the fourth anniversary of the Yeonpyeong island shelling this Sunday.

"It is the retaliatory will of the stalwart fighters on the southwestern front greeting the fourth anniversary of their victory in the Yeonpyeong Island shelling to bury the provokers at the bottom of sea for good so that they may not say even about retrieval of defeat," said the statement.

"The mad provokers are bound to be beaten or killed by the KPA. It is their inevitable and miserable fate," it went on.

In November 2010, a North Korean artillery bombardment killed four South Koreans on Yeonpyeong.

The poorly marked western sea boundary has been the scene of several bloody naval skirmishes between the two Koreas in recent years.

South Korean defence ministry spokesman Kim said the South Korean military was watching North Korea's movement on all front lines, including the Northern Limit Line and the Demilitarised Zone.

AP TELEVISION

Seoul - 21 November 2014

1. South Korean defence ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok at briefing

2. Journalists sitting in briefing session

3. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Kim Min-seok, South Korean defence ministry spokesman:

"Our military will immediately strike and punish North Korea's provocation on the field without any hesitation or consideration, which not only includes the origin of the provocation but also supporting forces and commanding power. Now, our military is inspecting North Korea's movement through all front lines, like NLL (Northern Limit Line), DMZ (Demilitarised Zone) and so on. In addition, we maintain a thoroughgoing preparatory attitude. We strongly warn North Korea that it should keep in mind that its provocation is the worst choice that leads themselves to self-destruction that cannot be undone."

4. Briefing room

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide of plane carrying US Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, arriving

2. Various of plane taxiing after arrival

3. Wide of red carpet in front of plane

4. Clinton descending stairs

5. Clinton being greeted by official

6. Pan from honour guard to Clinton walking

7. Clinton shaking hands with officials

8. Various of Clinton in front of car, waving

9. Clinton getting into car

10. Car departing

STORYLINE

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Seoul on Wednesday morning to hold a conference with US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates and their South Korean counterparts later in the day.

Clinton and Gates will be visiting the Demilitarised Zone dividing the two Koreas on Wednesday to demonstrate their "steadfast commitment" to South Korea, where Washington stations 28,500 troops as deterrence against the North.

After their trip to DMZ, Clinton and Gates will meet with South Korean foreign minister Yu Myung-hwan and defence minister Kim Tae-young, and hold a joint press conference.

SHOTLIST:

Seoul, 7 July 2006

1. Lee Kwan-se, South Korea's Unification Ministry official, walking into the briefing room

2. Wide of Lee at podium

3. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Lee Kwan-se, Unification Ministry official:

"The government judged that it's necessary to continue with dialogue efforts to resolve the current situation over the North's missile launch."

Seoul, 21 June 2005

4. Wide of 15th inter-Korean Cabinet-level talks

5. Delegates from both Koreas talking (Kwon Ho Ung from North Korea on the left, and Chung Dong-young from South Korea on the right)

Seoul, 7 July 2006

6. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Lee Kwan-se, Unification Ministry official.

"Key topics for the talks will be North Korea's missile launch and its return to six-party talks."

7. Reporters

8. Computer screen

9. Reporters in briefing room

Demilitarised Zone, South Korean side - 7 July 2006

10. Various of Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), seen from the South Korean side

11. Various of South Korean soldiers patrolling the fortifications

12. Various of South Korean soldier at his post

12. Various of flag and buildings in North Korea seen from South Korean side

13. Various of tourists viewing North Korea through high-powered binoculars

STORYLINE:

South Korea will hold Cabinet-level talks with North Korea next week as scheduled, despite the uproar over Pyongyang's missile tests, the South's Unification Ministry announced on Friday.

"The government judged that it's necessary to continue with dialogue efforts to resolve the current situation over the North's missile launch," said Lee Kwan-se, a Unification Ministry official.

The talks, to begin on Tuesday in the southern port city of Busan, are the highest-level regular talks between the two Koreas.

They were started after a historic North-South summit in 2000.

North Korea test-launched seven missiles on Wednesday.

Though the missiles landed harmlessly in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, the tests triggered wide condemnation among countries opposed to Pyongyang's further development of missile technology.

Seoul, while criticising the launches, has pledged to continue its efforts to engage the North in dialogue rather than pushing for sanctions.

The tests, however, will be high on the agenda of the talks, which are scheduled to last until Friday, Lee said.

"Key topics for the talks will be North Korea's missile launch and its return to six-party talks," Lee said, referring to stalled negotiations on dismantling the North's nuclear weapons programme.

Pyongyang is boycotting the nuclear talks - comprising the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia - to protest a US crackdown on its alleged counterfeiting, money-laundering and other financial crimes.

As tensions remain high on the Korean peninsula, the dividing line between the two countries remains calm.

On Friday, South Korean troops patrolled their side of the Demilitarised Zone and kept watch from vantage points overlooking their northern neighbour, just as they do at other times.

Intelligence reports led South Korea to believe that the North could have another long-range rocket at a launch site.

But officials said there was no indication yet that the missile was on the launch pad so a new test-firing was not thought to be imminent.

The border between North and South Korea remained calm on Wednesday amid North Korea's strong warning against South Korea's annual Hoguk military exercise.

A North Korean soldier stood in front of the Panmungak building, directly facing South Korean soldiers.

No unusual movement was reported from the area.

South Korea started its 12-day Hoguk (Safeguard) exercise on Monday.

This is a nationwide joint military exercise involving the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps in preparation for military action by North Korea.

The South Korean Defence Ministry has said that this year's exercise will involve about 330-thousand troops, the largest number since the it started in 1996.

North Korea's Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea released a statement on Wednesday stating that the South "clearly proved that it does not hope for dialogue, but has attempted to use it as a camouflage in order to escalate confrontation and war moves."

"The army and people of the DPRK will mercilessly wipe out the South Korean puppet forces if they provoke the DPRK even a bit," warned the statement.

The Korean Peninsula remains in a technical state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

About 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea to help deter potential aggression from North Korea.

AP TELEVISION

Paju - 12 November 2014

1. South Korean soldiers standing in line facing the North Korean building Panmungak and the Joint Security Area (JSA) in between

2. A North Korean soldier standing by the Panmungak building on the North Korea side of the border

3. Close-up of panel reading (Korean) "Panmungak"

4. A North Korean soldier standing by the Panmungak building

5. Close-up of a North Korean soldier

6. Various South and North Korean soldiers standing to attention facing each other

7. South Korean soldiers standing to attention

8. South Korean soldiers standing as soldier patrols behind them

9. Various of North Korean national flag on top of mast

10. A monument with inscription reading (Korean) "Our wondrous marshals Kim Il Song and Kim Jong Il will always be with us" standing in North Korean territory

11. North Korean buildings as seen from South Korea

12. North Korean security post and a North Korean soldier standing inside the post

13. North Korean hillside seen from South's side

14. North Korean building seen from South Korea

15. North Korean national flag flying on top of mast

Two South Korean soldiers were injured on Tuesday in an explosion in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) located between two Koreas, a South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman told a news conference in Seoul.

The soldiers were on a search operation when the blast occurred and were sent to a military hospital with leg injuries.

The cause of the explosion was being investigated, although most probably it was a land mine, Kim Min-seok said.

AP TELEVISION

Seoul - 4 August 2015

1. South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok arriving for briefing to give comments on explosion at Demilitarised Zone (DMZ)

2. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Kim Min-seok, South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman:

"First of all, we are sincerely sorry about the accident occurred during the (search) operation (at the DMZ), and we hope for a rapid recovery of the injured soldiers. Although it seems that the incident was a land mine explosion, we quickly took immediate actions and it has been reported that the injuries are not life-threatening."

3. Journalists at briefing

4. Close of Kim

5. Wide of briefing

The South Korean fire department and military are trying to extinguish a fire that started on the North Korean side of their shared border early on Monday (local time).

South Korean military said the blaze started around 11 a.m. (0200 GMT) near the North Korean guard post in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ).

It quickly spread close to the Dora Observatory located in the border city of Paju, South Korea, a popular site for tourists to view North Korea.

The South Korean military said more than 50 firefighters, helicopters, and a dozen vehicles are trying to put out the fire near the border.

The military added that the North's side is also trying to put out a smaller fire on their side.

The cause of the incident is still unknown.

AP TELEVISION

Paju - 23 March, 2015

1. Various of South Korean fire truck passing gate to Demilitarised Zone (DMZ)

2. Wide shot of the gate

3. Helicopter descending to scoop up water

4. Wide shot of Imjin River

5. Various of helicopters carrying water

6. Wide shot of gate to DMZ

7. Various of helicopters involved in the operation

8. Wide of the area in South Korea near DMZ

RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY

SHOTLIST

AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Seoul - 22 May, 2015

1. South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol entering room for briefing

2. Wide of the briefing

3. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Lim Byeong-cheol, South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman:

"Our government is urging North Korea to look back on its past wrongdoings and restrain itself as it is disgracing our citizens' self-esteem and slandering us, belonging to the same race, by emphasising North Korea's 'Socialism in One Country' and 'our people' and using crude and vulgar expressions that are ignoring the least courtesy, common sense, and international rule."

4. Various cutaways

5. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Lim Byeong-cheol, South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman:

"We are demanding North Korea to immediately stop any kind of behaviour hurting separated families, and we insist they show a more responsible attitude towards solving the separated families issue."

6. Cutaway of briefing

7. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Lim Byeong-cheol, South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman:

"If the North's report is true, we believe that the event has deviated from one that was promoted as non-political, as our government initially understands. So, we are looking forward for this event to be in accordance with South Korea's law once they enter South Korea."

8. Reporters

9. Lim leaving

STORYLINE

South Korea on Friday called on North Korea to stop its "slandering" after a recent series of critical statements made by the North Korean government.

One of the North's recent criticisms was aimed at South Korean President Park Geun-hye after the South called for a resumption in efforts to reunite families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

The North blamed the South for souring ties.

South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol on Friday called on the North to "show a more responsible attitude towards solving the separated families issue."

Lim also said that if a group of female peace activists, who embarked on a symbolic march across the Demilitarised Zone aimed at ending the tensions between the Koreas, praised North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, the South no longer considered it a "non-political" campaign.

The rare crossing of the DMZ, approved by both Koreas, is to take place on Sunday.

The event has raised controversy, with critics accusing the group of being propaganda pawns for the totalitarian North Korean government.

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SHOTLIST:

Panmunjom

1. Wide of military officers and their families in front of Panmunjom

2. Participants taking group photo

3. Close-up of military officials

4. Three North Korean soldiers marching towards group

5. Wide of group at Panmunjom

6. North Korean officer watching through binoculars

7. Wide of military officials

8. North Korean soldiers walking down steps of building

9. North Korean officer giving explanation to North Korean group of visitors

10. Wide of Panmungak, a building on the North Korea side

11. North and South Korean soldiers standing together

12. North and South Korean soldiers together, North Korean soldier with video recorder

13. Close-up of North Korean soldier looking towards the South side, pull focus to South Korean soldier in background

14. Wide of military officials

15. SOUNDBITE: (English) Walter J. Natynczyk, Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces:

"So many Canadians sacrificed their lives for Korean peace and security. And so when I go to Seoul today and there be able to see a very, prosperous people, I feel the sacrifice of Canadians has really been justified."

16. Military officials walking out of entrance to building

17. Various of South Korean military officials looking at North side through telescope

18. Various of North Korea seen from border

Dora, three kilometres from Panmunjom

19. Various of miniature of North Korean border area surrounding city of Kaesong in observation post briefing room

20. Medium of military official visitors

21. Wide of military official visitors

22. Wide of post briefing room

STORYLINE:

Delegates from the Asia-Pacific regional Chiefs of Defence conference visited the Demilitarised Zone between North and South Korea as part of their programme of activities on Wednesday.

The annual five-day conference is being hosted by South Korea in the capital, Seoul, and brings together top defence officials from 27 countries in the region with the goal of strengthening military cooperation.

Participants included U.S. Pacific Command Commander Robert Willard and General Ryoichi Oriki, Japan's Chief of joint self-Defence forces, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

The officials were given a tour of Panmunjom, the "peace village", which is the only place where it is possible for North and South Korean officials to hold talks.

North Korean soldiers could be seen in close proximity to their South Korean counterparts during the visit, some were observing the event with binoculars and filming it on camcorders.

They also viewed North Korea from the Dora observation post.

There have been recent signs that tension on the divided peninsula is easing.

The two Koreas on Monday restored a key hot line that had been severed after March's deadly sinking of a South Korean warship, which caused relations between the Koreas to plunge to their lowest point in years.

The sinking killed 46 sailors and which an international investigation blamed on a North Korean torpedo attack.

North Korea has denied any responsibility in the incident.

SHOTLIST

1. North Korean side seen from the South at the border village of Panmunjom

2. North Korean soldier looking at South side through binocular

3. Participants of a Panmunjom tour looking at border

4. Wide of North Korean soldier

5. Close of South Korean military police

6. Sign at the border, reading (English) "United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC) Conference Building"

7. US soldier and a South Korean soldier talking

8. Various of North Korean soldiers on North Korean side of Panmunjom

9. Sign on the North Korean side, reading (Korean) "panmungak"10

10. Tracking shot of Panmunjom

11. Wide of North Korean side with a flag poll seen from an observatory at border

12. Tourists looking at North side at the observatory

13. Wide of border

14. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Jeong Su-mok, 14-year-old Student:

"I hope the United States and China do not fight with each other, and I just hope that China does not get in the middle between the North and the South and play one against the other when dealing with North Korean issues."

15. Road near border

16. Wide of border

STORYLINE

The border village of Panmunjom, where South and North Korea directly face each other remained quiet on Wednesday, as Chinese President Hu Jintao travelled to the US to discuss security concerns including North Korea's nuclear programme with US President Barack Obama.

The US considers China a vital player in attempts to contain North Korean aggression against South Korea and its development of a nuclear weapon.

Recent flare-ups on the Korean peninsula, which led to military and civilian deaths and massive war exercises, were largely tolerated by China, despite happening in China's backyard.

China also wants the six nations involved in long-stalled disarmament talks return to the table and talk peace.

The six are the US, South Korea, Japan, Russia, China and North Korea.

Tension on the peninsula spiked after North Korea unleashed artillery shells on a front-line South Korean island near their disputed sea border,

killing four people.

The shelling came eight months after a deadly warship sinking that South Korea and the US have blamed on Pyongyang.

The North has denied responsibility for the sinking that killed 46 sailors, and it says the South provoked the island attack with nearby military drills.

The meeting between Hu and Obama also comes as North Korea pushes for unconditional talks with South Korea to ease tensions on the divided

peninsula.

South Korea has consistently dismissed calls by Pyongyang for negotiations and urged the North to show it has changed through actions, not words.

SHOTLIST

AP TELEVISION

1. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon shaking hands with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak

2. Various of meeting between Ban and Lee

3. Wide of media conference at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club

4. Cutaway of media

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General:

"We expect that they (North Koreans) will return to the six-party-talks and cooperate fully in realising the denuclearised Korean peninsula."

6. Wide of media conference

7. Cutaway of media

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General:

"For my part, as the Secretary-General of the United Nations, I will do my best (during the G20 Seoul Summit) to ensure that the leaders of the world's biggest and strongest economies build solutions for the poorest and the most vulnerable people around the world, into their plans."

9. Ban shaking hands with officials

AP TELEVISION

10. Zoom in to ceremony to honour veterans of 1950's Jangjin "Chosin" Reservoir battle, at Korean War Memorial Museum in Seoul

11. Commander of US Forces in South Korea General Walter Sharp at ceremony

12. Tilt-up of wreath

13. Close of US and South Korean flags

14. SOUNDBITE (English) General Walter Sharp, Commander of US Forces in South Korea:

"We who continue in your foot steps and work to deter aggression on the Korean Peninsula vow that we will continue to sweat, and bleed if necessary, to fulfil our regional UN mandate of restoring international peace and stability as long as a threat remains. Should deterrence fail, we will always be ready and remain ready to fight and win."

15. Participants clapping

16. Close of banner with a soldier's photo

17. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Kim Tae-young, South Korean Defence Minister:

"As the host for this G20 meeting, the Republic of Korea will lead the historical summons contributing to the currency issue, reform of global financial organisations and continuing development of the global village."

18. Various of US honour guards at ceremony

19. Various of South Korean honour guards performing

20. Mid of drummers

POOL

21. Various of South African President Jacob Zuma's plane taxiing on runway

22. Various of Zuma disembarking plane with his wife and meeting officials

23. Wide of plane and officials

24. Zuma walking towards vehicle

25. Zuma's convoy leaving airport

AP TELEVISION

26. Activists gathered to protest against the US and the South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA); two activists wearing caricature masks of US president Barack Obama and South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak

27. Various of activists chanting

28. SOUNDBITE: (English) Cathy Feingold, Director of the International Department of American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisations:

"We feel that at this point it (South Korea-US FTA) still represents corporate interests. It does not represents the interests of workers. We are concerned about the impact it will have on both of our industrial sectors, on the technology sector of the United States, as well as the agricultural sector here in South Korea."

29. Close of an activist tearing a sign reading (Korean): 'South Korea-US FTA. Complete Opening of Agriculture'

30. Activist throwing ripped up pieces of paper

STORYLINE

As leaders began arriving for the Group of 20 Summit, the Secretary General of the United Nations, said on Wednesday in Seoul that he expects North Korea to return to the nuclear talks and fully cooperate to denuclearise the Korean Peninsula.

Ban Ki-moon arrived in Seoul to attend the G20 Summit, which is being held in Asia for the first time.

After his arrival, Ban held talks with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at the presidential office, before addressing the media at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents Club.

Ban said, even though North Korea had conducted several nuclear tests in the past and composed threatening actions like firing missiles, he expects North Korea to return to the six-party-talks to realise the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea carried out two nuclear tests in 2006 and in 2009 in the country's northeastern area, drawing international sanctions each time.

Just before the second test, North Korea walked out of six-nation talks aimed at ending its nuclear programmes.

North Korea has recently expressed its willingness to rejoin the negotiations, which involve the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.

Seoul and Washington have said North Korea must first take specific moves to demonstrate its sincerity.

As the major rich and developing nations' leaders gathered for Group of 20 summit, South Korean soldiers along with US forces, commemorated the fallen soldiers of a battle during 1950's Korean war.

During the ceremony, Commander of the US Forces in South Korea General Walter Sharp said that the US was ready "to deter aggression on the Korean Peninsula."

"Should deterrence fail, we will always be ready and remain ready to fight and win," he added.

Meanwhile during the ceremony, South Korean Defence Minister Kim Tae-young, said that his country was aiming to contribute to various global issues which will be addressed in the upcoming summit, including the "currency issue."

Tensions over currencies and trade gaps have been simmering in recent weeks, especially after America's move to launch a new 600 (b) billion US dollar stimulus package raised concerns of new flows of money into Asian economies.

US President Barack Obama emphasised US concerns shortly before his expected arrival in Seoul, speaking out in Indonesia about countries intervening in currency markets to maintain an advantage.

Obama also took a veiled shot at China for keeping its own currency, the yuan, low to benefit Chinese exporters.

There is huge expectation for the G20 to manage a way out of this worsening economic standoff.

South Korea's President Lee Myung Bak has identified the global currency dispute, reform of the International Monetary Fund, and development of poorer economies as major concerns for this G20 summit to address.

Regarding the summit, Ban added that he would do his best as the Secretary-General of the UN to ensure the world leaders find solutions for the poorest and the most vulnerable people around the world.

The forum, established in 1999, features leaders from a combination of rich nations, developing economies, rising powers and consumers and producers of natural resources.

It took the financial crisis, however, to thrust the G-20 into a position of global leadership, supplanting the Group of Seven club of advanced nations.

The leaders are also widely expected to express support for a proposal to give developing countries more voting power at the International Monetary Fund and more seats on the board of the key global lender.

South Korea has deployed a 50-thousand-strong security force to protect the G20 summit venue.

Protest rallies have been banned within two kilometres (1.2 miles) of the leaders' meeting.

Despite those measures, approximately 70 activists opposing the US and the South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) gathered in front of a South Korean government building to denounce the FTA negotiations.

Members of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) on Friday visited the symbolic truce village of Panmunjom, which divides North and South Korea.

The members looked around the heavily armed demilitarised zone (DMZ) and were briefed by United Nations Command officials at the Freedom House located in the Joint Security Area (JSA).

The members are visiting Seoul this week for talks on ways to strengthen international nuclear non-proliferation.

AP TELEVISION

Paju - 26 June 2015

1. Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO), Lassina Zerbo (centre) and members of Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) posing for group photo during their tour of Demilitarised Zone (DMZ)

2. Close of Zerbo

3. North Korean soldier on the North Korean side of DMZ

4. Various of Zerbo and the members of GEM touring Panmunjom (area on the border between North and South Korea)

5. Soldiers on South Korean side of Panmunjom

6. GEM officials

7. North Korean soldier standing to attention

8. Wide of Panmunjom

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation:

"I think we are coming with a message of peace for both sides to be able to engage in dialogue, we are encouraging dialogue from the North Koreans for them to be able to talk to their neighbours and then try to fit in the international community framework where they are asked to observe a moratorium on nuclear testing and refrain from testing and that's the message that we are doing. And being here, the 65th Anniversary, it's a clear message to them that we are here for peace and we want them to observe peace with the international community."

10. North Korean soldier walking along

11. Various of South Korean soldiers

12. Zerbo and GEM members standing around

13. Various of Zerbo and GEM members in meeting room at Panmunjom

SHOTLIST:

AP TELEVISION

1. Wide of vehicles passing through the entrance of the Inter Korea Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) located in Paju, South Korea, returning from the Kaesong Industrial Complex

2. Wide of vehicles passing through gate of CIQ

3. Mid of vehicles driving along road

4. Mid of Joint Chairmen of an Emergency Committee for the Normalisation of Operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex Kim Hak-kwon, preparing to address media

5. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Kim Hak-kwon, Joint Chairman, Emergency Committee for the Normalisation of Operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex:

"Due to partial decay on equipments and humidity, there is a lot of damage to sensors. We believe we might need partial replacement. And in terms of maintenance and repair of machines, we think it requires a lot of time and expense, so we figure that more than 10 people of our workforce should stay (in Kaesong), and do about three to four weeks of repair work."

6. Wide of Kim and Sung Hyun-sang - the Chairman of the Damage Response Subcommittee for the South Korean companies operating in the Kaesong Industrial Complex facing media

7. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Sung Hyun-sang, Chairman of the Damage Response Subcommittee for the South Korean companies operating in the Kaesong Industrial Complex:

"Yes, a long time passed and then we met again, so we grabbed each others hands, embraced each others hearts, welcomed and exchanged greetings. And we expressed our positive attitude and towards normalising a space where we can do much better in future."

8. Zoom into Kim Hak-kwon talking with journalists as news conference ends

9. Mid of company employees returning through CIQ

10. Vehicle owners taking off signs that indicated they were allowed to visit Kaesong from their vehicles

11. Wide of vehicles on road

12. Various of vehicles passing checkpoint

STORYLINE

South Korean company officials and workers visited Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea on Wednesday, to inspect facilities following a shutdown that has continued for three months.

Talks between the rival Koreas aimed at restarting the stalled inter-Korean factory park ended meanwhile with no breakthrough.

But both sides agreed Wednesday to meet again next week in a North Korean border town.

The complex, just north of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas, was the centrepiece of cross-border co-operation projects hatched during a previous era of warming ties.

But it was closed in April as tensions rose between the rivals when North Korea angrily reacted to South Korea's annual military exercises with the US.

North Korea pulled its 53-thousand workers out of the industrial park, and South Korea then ordered its managers to leave as well, against their wishes.

Tension later gradually eased after North Korea toned down its warlike rhetoric.

The rivals recently agreed on a desire to reopen the complex but are still discussing how to do that.

Officials of the two Koreas met last month and agreed to hold senior-level talks on Kaesong and other inter-Korean issues but the plan collapsed over a protocol dispute.

However, working-level talks took place last week at a North Korean building located in the truce village of Panmunjom, inside the DMZ, and the upcoming talks expected to take place at the Kaesong Industrial Complex will follow the second round of the talks.

South Korean officials crossed back into their own country later on Wednesday at the Inter Korea Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) located in Paju, South Korea.

Kim Hak-kwon, Joint Chairman of the Emergency Committee for the Normalisation of Operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, told journalists that some equipment at the plant needed repair and replacement.

He said the work would require a team of ten people for up to three to four weeks.

The Chairman of the Damage Response Subcommittee for the South Korean companies operating in the Kaesong Industrial Complex gave an upbeat account of meeting with North Korean officials.

"Yes, a long time passed and then we met again, so we grabbed each others hands, embraced each others hearts, welcomed and exchanged greetings," said Sung Hyun-sang.

"And we expressed our positive attitude and towards normalising a space where we can do much better in future."

The Kaesong complex, which has successfully combined South Korean knowhow and cheap North Korean labour, has been seen as the two countries' last remaining major cooperation project.

SHOTLIST:

AP TELEVISION

1. South Korean delegates arriving at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine office before heading to the Kaesong Industrial Complex for working-level talks

2. Suh Ho, director-general of the South Korean Unification Ministry's Inter-Korean District Support Directorate, talking to media

3. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Suh Ho, Director-general, South Korean Unification Ministry's Inter-Korean District Support Directorate:

"We will put our efforts into accomplishing developmental normalisation of the Kaesong Industrial Complex through an agreement in accordance with common sense and international rules, based on our government's 'trust-building process' in the Korean Peninsula. We will do our best and will come back."

4. Various of Suh Ho and delegation leaving

5. Wide of Kim Hak-kwon, joint chairman of the Emergency Committee for the Normalisation of Operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, speaking to media

6. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Kim Hak-kwon, Joint Chairman, Emergency Committee for the Normalisation of Operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex

"From the point of view of those of us who run businesses at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, we hope the two Koreas come to an agreement as soon as possible so that operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex can be normalised."

7. Various of South Korean delegation and company officials leaving

8. Various of buses taking South Korean delegation and company officials

9. Wide of buses going through by the security check-point

10. Various of buses and other vehicles on road

STORYLINE:

A South Korean delegation headed to the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea on Wednesday to hold working-level talks on restarting the jointly run factory park.

The complex, just north of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas, was the centrepiece of cross-border co-operation projects hatched during a previous era of warming ties.

But it was closed in April as tensions rose between the rivals when North Korea angrily reacted to South Korea's annual military exercises with the US.

North Korea pulled its 53-thousand workers out of the industrial park, and South Korea then ordered its managers to leave as well, against their wishes.

Tension later gradually eased after North Korea toned down its warlike rhetoric.

Officials of the two Koreas met last month and agreed to hold senior-level talks on Kaesong and other inter-Korean issues but the plan collapsed over a protocol dispute.

However, working-level talks took place last week at a North Korean building located in the truce village of Panmunjom, inside the DMZ, and the upcoming talks expected to take place at the Kaesong Industrial Complex will the second round of the talks.

"We will put our efforts into accomplishing developmental normalisation of the Kaesong Industrial Complex through an agreement in accordance with common sense and international rules, based on our government's 'trust-building process' in the Korean Peninsula. We will do our best and will come back," said Suh Ho, director-general of the South Korean Unification Ministry's Inter-Korean District Support Directorate.

Officials from several South Korean companies accompanied the government delegation to inspect their facilities and figure out which products they can bring out.

"We hope the two Koreas come to an agreement as soon as possible so that operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex can be normalised," said Kim Hak-kwon, joint chairman of the Emergency Committee for the Normalisation of Operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

The closing of Kaesong has dealt a symbolic blow to reconciliation efforts between the divided Koreas.

The project, which facilitated almost 2 billion (b) US dollars a year in cross-border trade, had been the last joint project left as relations soured over the past five years.

SHOTLIST:

1. Medium of tourists inside the unification observatory tower

2. Close-up of miniature map of Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

3. Close-up sign on map reading in Korean, English, and Chinese, "North Korea"

4. Medium of DMZ map

5. Wide of tourists standing around map

6. SOUNDBITE (Korean) vox pop, Kim Byeong-seok, Office worker:

"I feel so anxious, but nothing is clear about how it will turn out. Still, I feel so worried, and my children as well."

7. SOUNDBITE (Korean) vox pop, Kim Tae-hyeon, Office worker:

"I hope (both North and South Korea) don't provoke each other and will take peaceful steps toward unification."

8. Close-up tourist looking through binoculars

9. Medium of tourist using binoculars

10. Close-up of tourist using binoculars

11. Close-up of North Korean checkpoint from observatory

12. Wide of North Korean checkpoint

13. Close-up of North Korean checkpoint

STORYLINE:

Tourists visiting the South Korean side of the border with North Korea on Saturday expressed their concern over heightened tension in the Korean peninsula, a day after North Korea warned foreign diplomats in Pyongyang that it couldn't guarantee the safety of embassies in the event of a conflict and suggested they may want to evacuate their staff.

Kim Tae-hyeon, an office worker, said he hoped North and South Korea "don't provoke each other and will take peaceful steps toward unification".

More South Koreans began to leave North Korea and the factory park where they work on Saturday, four days after Pyongyang closed the border to people and goods.

Twenty-one South Koreans returned from the Kaesong industrial park on Saturday morning, and about 100 of the roughly 600 still there were expected to return home by the day's end, the Unification Ministry in Seoul said.

The industrial park is the last remnant of North-South cooperation. Pyongyang's blocking of traffic there is among many provocative moves it has made recently in anger over UN sanctions for its February 12 nuclear test and current US-South Korean military drills.

North Korea suggested earlier this week that diplomats in Pyongyang leave for their own safety.

North Korea said last week it had entered a "state of war" with South Korea, but officials in Seoul say they have seen no preparations for a full-scale attack, while the chance of a localised conflict remains.

Earlier Pyongyang threatened a nuclear attack on the United States.

North Korea has not forced South Korean workers to leave Kaesong, but some of the South Korean companies working there are running out of raw materials because goods are being blocked at the border.

1. Wide of Yu Woo-ik, South Korean Unification Minister, arriving at "Global Forum on North Korean Economy"

2. Close-up of Yu

3. Wide of Yu on stage delivering speech

4. Cutaway of forum delegates

5. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Yu Woo-ik, South Korean Unification Minister:

"North Korea's long-range rocket launch is a grave, provocative act and a serious security threat against South Korea and the international community. I cannot help a feeling of regret in relation to the North Korean regime's senseless attitude. Ignoring the reality, in which North Korean people are becoming refugees crossing the border to come to a foreign country, after suffering from political oppression and starvation, and enforcing the long-range rocket launch, which is an enormous expense."

6. Close-up of delegates

7. Wide of Yu on stage delivering speech

8. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Yu Woo-ik, South Korean Unification Minister:

"Even though North Korea's action is very disappointing, the South Korean government will not fall short on expectations of the common benefit and mutual prosperity of the South Korea-North Korea relationship. We ask for our people to remain patient, and we are going to continue to open the door for dialogue."

9. Wide of delegates

10. Mid of Yu bowing after speech and turning to walk off stage

11. Wide of Yu shaking hands with forum delegates after speech

SCRIPT

A senior South Korean official has described North Korea's plans to launch a rocket as a "grave, provocative act" and a "serious security threat."

Speaking at a forum on North Korea's economy in Seoul on Wednesday, Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik described Pyongyang's attitude as "senseless."

North Korea announced on Friday that it would fire an observation satellite into space on a new rocket as part of celebrations next month to mark the 100th anniversary of late President Kim Il Sung's birth.

Kim's grandson, Kim Jong Un, has led the nation of 24 (m) million since his father, Kim Jong Il, died in December.

The US, Japan, Britain and others have urged North Korea to cancel the planned launch, calling it a threat to diplomatic efforts, and warning that it would violate a UN ban on nuclear and missile activity because the same rocket technology can be used for long-range missiles.

North Korea argues that such launches are part of a peaceful space programme that is exempt from any disarmament agreements.

It said the launch would be a test of satellite technology.

Yu urged South Koreans to "remain patient" and said that "we (South Korea) are going to continue to open the door for dialogue."

The US has warned that a deal to resume stalled food aid to the North could be jeopardised if North Korea goes ahead with the launch.

US President Barack Obama plans to visit the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea at the start of an international trip next week, the White House said on Tuesday.

The DMZ trip is Obama's first stop on a three-day visit to Seoul, South Korea, for an international summit on keeping nuclear weapons materials out of the hands of militant extremists.

North Korea has built and tested nuclear devices and is suspected in the spread of weapons of mass destruction to other countries.

North Korea is not invited to the security gathering.

US Ambassador to UN Samantha Power met with South Korean Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyon on Monday to discuss issues pertaining to North Korea.

Power arrived in South Korea on Saturday for a four-day visit which will end on Tuesday.

On Sunday, Power visited the South Korean side of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) and had a meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn.

Seoul - 10 October 2016

1. South Korean Unification Minister Hong Yong Pyo and US Ambassador to UN Samantha Power shaking hands

2. Pan from Hong to Power

3. Wide of meeting

4. Mid of Power speaking

5. Wide of meeting

6. Close of Power speaking

7. Mid of Hong speaking

8. Wide of meeting

9. Mid of officials

10. Wide of meeting

The South Korean Defence Ministry released its 2014 biennial review paper on Tuesday in which it stated that the North's military power is continuing to develop including its technology to miniaturise nuclear warheads.

During a briefing in Seoul, a ministry official said that according to the report "the North Korean navy is improving its strike capabilities on water and underwater constructing various kinds of high speed special vessels."

South Korean Defence Ministry's deputy minister for defence policy Ryu Jeh-seung also said that that it seemed North Korea was constructing new, smaller submarines "able to load ballistic missiles."

Acquiring such technology takes around two to seven years in general and eight years have passed since the North conducted its first nuclear test, Ryu pointed out.

The defence paper also said after an order from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the North has set up a new corps-scale military unit near the South-North border in North Hankyong Province.

It added that the North had approximately 1.2 (m) million regular servicemen as of October 2014 which is around 10,000 more than 2012.

The Korean Peninsula remains in a technical state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

AP TELEVISION

Seoul - 6 January 2015

1. South Korean Deputy Minister for Defence Policy Ryu Jeh-seung entering briefing room to make announcements regarding 2014 South Korean Defence White Paper

2.SOUNDBITE (Korean): Ryu Jeh-seung, South Korean Deputy Minister for Defence Policy

"North Korean ground forces are increasing the strengths of artillery and mechanised units, and it seems like its special warfare units will be building facilities for invasion near DMZ (Demilitarised Zone) in case of a war. The North Korean navy is improving its strike capabilities on water and underwater constructing various kinds of high speed special vessels, and we are judging they are consistently constructing new forms of submarines, including the ones able to carry ballistic missiles."

3. Defence ministry officials

4. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Ryu Jeh-seung, South Korean Deputy Minister for Defence Policy

"the Northern Limit Line at the Yellow Sea is the practical sea border our military has protected for the last 60 years by blood and our military is regarding it as the territorial boundary."

5. Ryu speaking

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel met with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Seoul on Monday.

Park welcomed Hagel, whose visit comes as Washington and Seoul commemorate the 60th anniversary of the South Korea-US alliance.

Earlier in the day Hagel paid his first visit to the heavily armed demilitarised zone (DMZ).

Amid escalating threats from North Korea, US and South Korean defence officials are meeting to discuss whether to extend America's wartime control over the South's armed forces, 60 years after a truce ended the Korean War.

Hagel flew to Seoul on Sunday, and said there will be conversations about the possible extension of the 2015 deadline, but likely no decisions will be made.

US officials have acknowledged that the South Koreans have informally expressed an interest in delaying the deadline when Seoul is supposed to assume wartime control of the forces that would defend the country in the event of an attack by North Korea.

The target date initially was in 2012, and was pushed back to 2015.

Defence officials said they expect to have discussions about it with the South Koreans that will help map out the way ahead.

Officials said that South Korea's military capabilities have continued to improve, including its ability to communicate and co-ordinate with the US on missile defence, particularly with American navy ships deployed to the region.

But the South still needs to strengthen a number of military and intelligence capabilities, including surveillance and reconnaissance as well as its missiles.

US control of the forces is a holdover from the Korean War, and America has been trying for years to build South Korea's capabilities.

But it has proved difficult to wean the South off its dependence on the US military, particularly as the threat from North Korea has escalated.

Hagel will spend several days in South Korea, then head to Japan, where he and Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with Japanese leaders.

AP TELEVISION

1. South Korean President Park Geun-hye shaking hands with US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel

2. Close pan from Hagel to Park

3. Wide of South Korean presidential office's meeting room

4. Close of Hagel

5. Close of Park

6. Wide of US delegation

7. Close of Hagel

8. Mid of Park

9. Close of Hagel

10. Wide of Park and other government and military officials

11. Mid of Hagel and US military officials

12. Wide of South Korean presidential office's conference room