Korean navies exchange fire

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South Korea chases pirates away from North Korean ship

South Korean snipers hovering in a helicopter Monday chased away pirates pursuing a North Korean freighter, a rare instance of cooperation between the two Koreas.

A South Korean ship has been operating off Somalia since last month on a mission to protect its cargo ships from Somali pirates, whose acts of high-seas crime have exploded in recent years as the bandits continue to get ransoms in the millions of dollars.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the 4,500-ton-class warship sent a Lynx helicopter to assist the North Korean vessel shortly after receiving a distress call that it was being chased by the pirate ship.

North Korea threatens ships, rejects 1953 truce

North Korea threatened military strikes on U.S. and South Korean ships Wednesday and renounced a 1953 truce halting the Korean War fighting in an escalation of tensions in the wake of the North's nuclear test.

The threats, which follow South Korea's decision to join more than 90 nations in stopping and inspecting ships suspected of transporting banned weapons, raised the prospect of a naval clash off Korea's west coast.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton responded by saying North Korea faces consequences for its nuclear and missile tests and denouncing its "provocative and belligerent" threats. She also underscored the firmness of the U.S. treaty commitment to defend South Korea and Japan, which are in easy range of North Korean missiles.

North Korea resumes firing artillery amid tension

North Korea fired more artillery near its disputed western sea border with South Korea on Thursday, a day after it lobbed dozens of shells during military exercises that prompted the South to respond with warning shots.

North Korea fired several artillery shells early Thursday that are believed to have landed in its waters, an official at Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity citing department policy, said South Korea did not respond but was closely watching the North's maneuvers.

The poorly marked sea border - drawn by the American-led U.N. Command at the end of the Korean War - is a constant source of tension between the two Koreas. Their navies fought a skirmish in November that left one North Korean sailor dead and three others wounded, and engaged in bloodier battles in the area in 1999 and 2002.

SKorea leader says he's ready to meet NKorea's Kim

South Korea's president says he is willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Il this year to discuss the North's nuclear weapons program despite a recent flare-up in border tensions.

President Lee Myung-bak made the comment as North Korea fired artillery shells for a third day Friday in what it said were military exercises near its disputed western sea border with South Korea.

The shellings, which on Wednesday prompted return artillery fire by the South, caused no reported casualties or damage. They came amid mixed signs from the communist North, which has recently appeared more eager to engage the South in dialogue after ballistic missile and nuclear tests last year drew U.N. sanctions, while still threatening its rival.

SKorea leader says he's ready to meet NKorea's Kim

South Korea's president says he is willing to meet North Korea's leader this year to discuss its nuclear weapons program despite a recent flare-up in border tensions.

President Lee Myung-bak made the comment in an interview aired Friday, as North Korea fired artillery for a third day during military exercises near its disputed western sea border with the South.

The firing, which on Wednesday prompted return artillery fire by the South, has caused no reported casualties or damage. It comes amid mixed signs from the communist North, which has recently appeared more keen to engage the South in dialogue after ballistic missile and nuclear tests last year drew U.N. sanctions, while still threatening its rival.