Summary of inter-Korean news this week

SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of inter-Korean news this week.

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Gov't to launch new team to support vulnerable N. Korean defectors

SEOUL -- The South Korean government is preparing to launch a new team to step up support for North Korean defectors suffering from economic and psychological difficulties after resettlement here, officials said Thursday.

The team -- which will comprise of officials from different government agencies, including the unification ministry and the police -- is expected to be set up by next month to provide defectors with tailored support in fields ranging from education and employment to living and psychological counseling.

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(LEAD) N.K. defector redefected even after military cameras caught him 5 times

SEOUL -- A North Korean defector crossed the eastern inter-Korean border into the North over the weekend despite surveillance cameras having caught him as many as five times, South Korea's military said Wednesday in a sign of a major security failure.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) released the results of its dayslong on-site investigation into how the 30-something man, who defected to the South in November 2020, returned to the North largely undeterred Saturday night.

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(LEAD) Moon urges N. Korea to make efforts for dialogue after Pyongyang fires suspected missile

SEOUL -- President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday called for North Korea to make efforts for dialogue in a more earnest manner, after Pyongyang launched a suspected ballistic missile into the sea in this year's first show of force.

"This morning, North Korea test-fired an unidentified short-range projectile," Moon told a groundbreaking ceremony for a railway at an inter-Korean border town. "Because of this, there are concerns that tensions could rise and a stalemate of inter-Korean relations could further deepen."

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Seoul says N.K. defector presumed as border crosser received due settlement support

SEOUL -- The North Korean defector who is presumed to have crossed the tense inter-Korean border to return home last week had received due resettlement support from the South Korean government, Seoul's unification ministry said Tuesday, amid reports he suffered economic difficulties after his defection.

The man crossed the heavily fortified eastern border into the North over the weekend, about a year after he reached the South, also using an eastern front-line route in November 2020, according to the military.

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(2nd LD) Weekend border crosser identified as N. Korean defector: S. Korea's military

SEOUL -- The man who crossed the eastern inter-Korean border into North Korea over the weekend was found to be a North Korean defector, an official at South Korea's defense ministry said Monday.

Citing surveillance footage, the official said the man is the 30-something defector who had also used an eastern front-line route to reach the South in November 2020 but stressed no evidence of espionage has been found.

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(LEAD) Moon pledges to pursue 'irreversible path to peace' with N. Korea until his term ends

SEOUL -- President Moon Jae-in said Monday he will pursue an "irreversible path to peace" on the Korean Peninsula until his term ends, calling for dialogue and cooperation with North Korea.

In his final New Year's speech as president, Moon admitted South Korea still has a long way to go to improve inter-Korean relations, despite many achievements during his five-year term.
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