Every day, South Korea's Unification Ministry sends officials to the border village of Panmunjom to call North Korea at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. For more than 18 months, the North hasn't picked up.
As North Korea steps up its nuclear weapons tests and threats, the Unification Ministry, dedicated to improving relations with the North and eventual peaceful reunification, faces an almost existential crisis.
Not too long ago the ministry was one of Seoul's most powerful departments. It had central roles in engineering two historic summits between the leaders of the two Koreas and launching joint economic projects in the 2000s. That is mostly gone after nearly a decade of hard-line conservative rule in the South, and a rapid expansion of missile and nuclear weapons development in the North.
The nuclear problem has become much larger than just a Korean Peninsula issue. North Korea has launched midrange missiles over Japan and flight-tested intercontinental ballistic missiles, confirming fears that it's close to its goal of building a military arsenal that can target the United States and its Asian allies.
The world has responded by stepping up sanctions and military pressure on Pyongyang. In South Korea, the most important decisions on North Korea now come from the president's office and the defense and foreign ministries. The Unification Ministry has been mostly left to issuing boilerplate denouncements of Pyongyang's weapons tests and propaganda outbursts.
"You need both hands to clap and North Korea isn't responding at all," said Baik Tae-hyun, the ministry's spokesman. "But it won't be like this forever. There were times in the past when it took a long time, a year or two, for relations to thaw after periods of animosity."
The election of a liberal president in May, ending nine years of conservative government, briefly raised hopes. But Pyongyang has so far ignored a Unification Ministry proposal in July to hold inter-Korean military and Red Cross talks. In changed circumstances, it is less clear what the Unification Ministry should, or can do.
DASHED HOPES
The ministry has its origins in the National Unification Board, which opened in 1969 when South Korea was ruled by the staunch anti-communist dictator Park Chung-hee. After mostly serving research functions, it became more prominent under Roh Tae-woo, who won the 1987 presidential vote that took place months after military leaders accepted free elections.
Roh sought to improve relations with Pyongyang following the fall of the Berlin Wall. He elevated the unification board to the level of a vice prime-ministerial department. The Koreas held their first-ever prime ministers' talks in 1990, and both countries joined the United Nations at the same time in 1991.
Two liberal presidents, Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, met with North Korea's then-leader Kim Jong Il in 2000 and 2007, respectively. But his son, current leader Kim Jong Un, has conducted four of the country's six nuclear tests and seems to see no value in dealing with Seoul.
Successive conservative governments in South Korea, from 2008 until earlier this year, took a tough line on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, erasing past reconciliatory efforts.
The five-year presidency of President Lee Myung-bak, who took office in early 2008, was marked by animosity with the North, including North Korean attacks on a warship and a border island that together killed 50 South Koreans in 2010. He briefly considered closing the Unification Ministry and transferring its functions to the Foreign Ministry.
His successor, conservative Park Geun-hye, angered Pyongyang by openly talking about a potential regime collapse in the North. She took an even harder line last year as North Korea conducted two nuclear tests.
Her government pulled South Korean companies out of an industrial park in North Korea's Kaesong in February 2016, the last remaining major symbol of cooperation between the two. One of Park's unification ministers became so frustrated that he reportedly said his job could be given to anyone because it wouldn't make a difference. The ex-minister, Ryoo Kihl-jae, declined to comment for this story.
It's still critical that the Unification Ministry keeps knocking on the North's door, said Jeong Se-hyun, who served as unification minister under liberals Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun
"The ministry has to keep pestering Pyongyang over the military and Red Cross talks," he said. "It has to keep placing calls on the Panmunjom telephone. The situation can quickly change and North Korea could feel the need for dialogue. When they do return, they will likely want to deal with the United States first, but let them try to accomplish anything in talks with Washington without the involvement of Seoul — it won't work."
DRIVER'S SEAT TO BACKSEAT
A liberal returned to power in South Korea in May, after a corruption scandal forced Park from office.
President Moon Jae-in harshly criticized the approach of his conservative predecessors, who he said did nothing to stop Pyongyang's nuclear advances and diminished Seoul's voice in international efforts to deal with the North.
He made longtime ministry official Cho Myoung-gyun his unification minister, valuing his experience in preparations for the two summits, including accompanying Roh to the 2007 meeting with Kim Jong Il. He expressed hope that the resumption of inter-Korean talks would help put Seoul in the "driver's seat."
North Korea's only response has been more missile launches and its sixth nuclear test. Moon is now scrambling to ramp up the South's military capabilities, saying dialogue is currently "impossible" after North Korea's most powerful nuclear test ever on Sept. 3.
Some experts say the stakes have become too high for the reins to remain with Seoul. The belief that improvements in inter-Korean relations alone could lead to meaningful breakthroughs over the nuclear problem are outdated views from a time when the North's threat was weak, said Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul
"Seoul needs to move with the international community to deal with the challenge posed by North Korea's nuclear missiles, instead of approaching it as a matter of who gets to lead," he said.
Chung Dong-young, a lawmaker who served as unification minister under Roh Moo-hyun, disagrees, saying Seoul should still try to lead the process and push harder to resume talks with Pyongyang.
As Seoul's special envoy, Chung went to Pyongyang in June 2005 to meet with Kim Jong Il and try to persuade him to return to multilateral negotiations on North Korea's then-nascent nuclear program. The North months earlier had declared it would no longer attend the six-party talks by the Koreas, the United States, China, and Russia that had been launched in 2003.
The June meeting helped set up North Korea's return to talks three months later in Beijing, where it agreed to end its nuclear weapons program in return for security and energy benefits.
"That was when South Korea was actually in the driver's seat," Chung said.
The six-party agreement of September 2005 foundered quickly, and the North detonated its first nuclear device in October 2006.
Las Vegas witness shares her harrowing escape: 'I'm only 18, I shouldn't be seeing stuff like that'
For Jaelyn Duran, the Route 91 Harvest Festival was a last-minute excursion. The three-day country music festival had been sold out for weeks, but she, her sister, Sarah Duran, and her sister's boyfriend, Billy, managed to secure 11th-hour tickets to the event that attracted more than 22,000 fans to the famous Las Vegas Strip.
"It was a really, really good day," Jaelyn Duran, 18, told ABC News, sharing how she took off from her job as a restaurant server to early Sunday to attend the concert. It was the first time that she and Sarah attended a concert together and they listened to a few acts throughout the evening and danced at a silent disco before pushing through the crowd to get as close to the stage as possible for a performance by the event's headliner and one of the sisters' favorite artists, Jason Aldean.
But the fun evening turned deadly when suspect Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire at concertgoers from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino across the street.
At first, Jaelyn Duran said she had no idea what was happening -- the teen had never heard gunfire before. But when Aldean turned away from his microphone and abandoned the stage, confusion turned to fear.
"When he ran off, everyone kind of panicked," Jaelyn Duran said. It was at that moment, as bullets pierced the air in a rapid staccato, that Jaelyn Duran realized she was in the middle of a shooting -- one that would soon become the deadliest such incident in U.S. history, claiming 59 lives and injuring more than 500.
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As the venue's lights flashed on, illuminating the lot that hosted the festival, Jaelyn Duran looked next to her to see a woman she recognized. Moments earlier they had been standing beside each other, singing and laughing as Aldean performed. Now, the woman was on the ground, bleeding out from a wound to her back.
"I'm only 18, I shouldn't be seeing stuff like that," said Jaelyn Duran.
Suddenly, clutched by her sister and Billy, she was running away from the stage. They worked their way through the crowd and hopped a fence, with Jaelyn Duran's cowboy-booted feet landing in a puddle of blood. At that moment, the gravity of the situation began to sink in, she said.
"I was hysterical. I was crying," she said, recalling the sound of bullets ricocheting off the fence behind her.
The group took off again, trekking further through the masses and scaling a second fence. Jaelyn Duran's knees were cut and her legs were covered in dirt and blood as she ran past a concession stand, where the trio were captured fleeing by a Getty Images photographer.
They eventually came upon a garbage receptacle and hid inside. Jaelyn Duran said she quickly called her father but could barely talk to let him know she was OK. From there, they spotted an open gate to the adjacent McCarran International Airport and made their way to a nearby hangar where other concertgoers had congregated; at least two had bullet wounds, Jaelyn Duran said.
Those at the hangar were eventually transported to the Thomas and Mack Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where Jaelyn Duran, Sarah Duran and Billy were picked up by Billy's mother.
"I finally felt safe," she said.
Twenty hours later, Jaelyn Duran said she still hasn't been able to fall asleep and knows the memories of Sunday will stick with her the rest of her life. She repeated a sentiment heard all too often by those affected by mass shootings.
"You always think this will never happen to you."
Las Vegas witness shares her harrowing escape: 'I'm only 18, I shouldn't be seeing stuff like that'
UN says election in Congo key to ending political crisis
Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS – A strategic review of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo says holding a long delayed presidential election that is credible will be key to ending the political crisis that is the main driver of increasing violence and human rights abuses.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns in the report to the U.N. Security Council that Congo risks "sliding back into conflict." But he says President Joseph Kabila also has a "historic opportunity to cement his legacy" as the first Congo president to hand power to an elected successor.
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The U.N. chief says in the report that "all efforts" must be geared to keeping alive an agreement calling for elections by the end of 2017 "and ensuring the protection of civilians and human rights."
Without evidence, Islamic State claims Las Vegas shooting
Without providing any evidence to support the claim, the Islamic State group on Monday said the gunman in the mass shooting in Las Vegas was "a soldier" from its ranks who had converted to Islam months ago.
Authorities have yet to identify a motive for the shooting, and said initially there was no evidence of any connection to international terrorism.
The extremist group has a history of exaggerated or false claims, including earlier this year, when it claimed an attack on a casino in the Philippines that turned out to have been a botched robbery carried out by a heavily indebted gambling addict.
The group's Aamaq news agency released two brief statements hours after the shooting at a country music concert that killed at least 59 people and wounded more than 500. The group later released Spanish language versions of these statements.
In a third statement released hours later, IS name the purported attacker as "Abu Abd el-Bar al-Amriki (the American)," saying he responded to calls by the group's top leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to "target the countries of the Crusader coalition" battling the extremist group in Iraq and Syria. It added that he caused 600 casualties before he exhausted his supply of ammunition and "martyred" himself.
Police have identified the shooter as Stephen Craig Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, and have said he killed himself after the shooting. Authorities have not commented on his religious background or said what might have motivated the attack.
Most IS attacks have been carried out by much younger men.
Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said authorities believe it was a "lone wolf" attack, and the U.S. Homeland Security Department said there was no "specific credible threat" involving other public venues in the U.S.
The extremist organization has suffered a string of major setbacks in Iraq and Syria, where it has lost much of the territory it once claimed as part of a self-styled Islamic caliphate. However, the group remains active in recruiting followers on social media, and has repeatedly called on its supporters to carry out attacks in Western nations.
The IS group often claims attacks by individuals inspired by its message but with no known links to the group.
Before Sunday, the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history took place in June 2016, when a gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people. The shooter, Omar Mateen, had pledged allegiance to IS and it claimed the attack.
IS claimed the attack on a casino in the Philippines that killed dozens of people, but police later identified the attacker as a Filipino gambling addict who was $80,000 in debt, saying it was a botched robbery that was not terrorism-related.
North Korea threatens Japan with nuclear destruction
North Korea on Tuesday threatened Japan with nuclear destructions in response to Tokyo’s attempts to convince the international community to reject dialogue in favour of applying more pressure on Pyongyang.
In an article released by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang responded to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s speech at the UN General Assembly last month, in which he called for “pressure, not dialogue” to force North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
Kim Jong-un’s regime accused Abe of “using the ‘theory of crisis on the Korean peninsula'” for political purposes, and in particular to “facilitate Japan’s militarisation and at the same time strengthen inside unity and save the present rulers driven into a tight corner with corruption and irregularities”, reports Efe news.
The article added that Abe had already shown his “sinister political goal” with measures such as increasing defence costs and calling snap elections.
“Japan’s rackets inciting the tension of the Korean peninsula is a suicidal deed that will bring nuclear clouds to the Japanese archipelago.
“No one knows when the touch-and-go situation will lead to a nuclear war, but if so, the Japanese archipelago will be engulfed in flames in a moment,” the article said, stressing that if the Japanese people, “the first victim of nuclear disaster in the world, are offered in sacrifice owing to handful militarist reactionaries’ political aim, it will be a tragedy of the century”.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have escalated to its highest levels over Pyongyang’s ongoing nuclear weapons programme.
After a series of missile launches this year, North Korea detonated a hydrogen bomb at a nuclear testing facility on September 3, which prompted another round of UN sanctions and international condemnation.
