3xwy Blog

The foot of snow that fell on Beijing on Sunday and Monday was enough to shut down schools and highways on the first working day of the new year. It did the same for other parts of north China and the Korean peninsula as well. In Seoul, the state weather agency says the snowfall was the worst since South Korea began conducting meteorological surveys in 1937.

President Obama arrived in Tokyo on Friday, hoping to shore up relations with a new Japanese government, which is seeking to be more assertive with Washington. The trip is the start of a weeklong tour that will include stops in Singapore, China and South Korea.

The two Koreas briefly exchange naval fire along their disputed western sea border in the first such clash in seven years. Each side blamed the other for violating the border, and South Korean officials said a North Korean ship suffered heavy damage before retreating.

Pyongyang’s announcement to free four South Korean fishermen came hours after the two Koreas agreed to hold a new round of reunions next month for families separated by the Korean War — the first in nearly two years.

The rocket was carrying a satellite aimed at observing the atmosphere and oceans, but the satellite couldn’t be traced in orbit after it separated from the rocket. North Korea said it would be “watching closely” for the international response after its own launch drew condemnation.

The meeting comes amid signs of thawing tensions between the two Koreas. The six North Korean officials arrived in Seoul on Friday to mourn former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who died Tuesday.

The launch of what would be the country’s first rocket into space threatened to heat up tensions with rival North Korea even as they joined in mourning the death of a former president who pushed for reconciliation.

North Korea on Thursday freed a South Korean worker detained for months in the communist country, officials said, brightening prospects for improved relations on the tense peninsula.

Two American journalists who were pardoned by North Korea have been reunited with their families. Former President Bill Clinton helped gain their release. Now analysts speculate if Clinton’s visit created a new opening for North Korea to return to negotiating talks over its nuclear program.

Former President Bill Clinton’s trip to North Korea brought back more than two American journalists freed from detention in Pyongyang. Analysts say he gathered insight into North Korean President Kim Jong Il and the posture of his shadowy regime — and whether new openings for talks exist.