Threats from North Korea - A Week in Review (May 4, 2013)

And now, the week in review of what's what at the Korean peninsula...

April 28, 2013

- South Korean workers at the Kaesong complex in North Korea returned home today, day after the government announced to withdraw most of its workers following the North Korean rejection to the dialogue.

- With North Korea's bellicose provocation continues, the US House of Representatives is pushing for a legislation to cut off funds to Pyongyang.

April 29, 2013

- The South Korean Government set up a task force to support companies hit by the suspension of the Kaesong complex in the North Korean border.

- US House Commitee plans to hold a hearing next week to focus on tightening financial sanctions against North Korea.

- North Korea allowed 43 South Koreans to return home from the Kaesong Industrial Complex. Originally, all 50 remaining workers were scheduled to cross the DMZ at 5PM but it was delayed due to departure reasons.

- South Korean president Park Geun-hye criticized the North for being "too unpredictable" over the Kaesong complex suspension during a meeting with two U.S. lawmakers - Rep. Steve Chabot (chairman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee of Asia-Pacific) and Rep. Eni Faleomavaega (Democrat from American Samoa).

April 30, 2013

- Seoul's unification minister said that the South will not accept any unjust North Korean preconditions for the normalization of the Kaesong Complex...as such does little to promote inter-Korean cooperation.

- The US-South Korean military drills codenamed Foal Eagle came to an end. Despite tensions at the peninsula, this year's drills displayed Washington's stronger commitment to protect South Korea.

May 1, 2013

- South Korean government and the ruling party agreed to provide emergency funds to companies affected from the Kaesong complex suspension in North Korea.

- South Korea's nuclear negotiator Lim Sung-nam is on a two-day visit to Beijing, China to meet with Wu Dawei, China's nuclear negotiator, to discuss the current situation on North Korea as well as its full range of issues.

May 2, 2013

- Seven South Korean personnel remaining at the Kaesong complex failed to return home as they're still negotiating with North Korean officials regarding unpaid wages and others.

- The Kaesong standoff became an economic mess for South Korean firms shut out of the factory park. The South Korean government plans to provide low-interest loans for South Korean companies affected by the Kaesong closure.

- While there's not even a single threat coming from the North Korea...somewhere in Beijing...top nuclear negotiators in South Korea and China agreed on the need to restart talks with the North to find solutions to unresolved issues.

May 3, 2013

- Seven remaining South Korean workers at the Kaesong complex finally returned home, completing the pullout of all the workers in the midst of the tensions happening at the Korean peninsula.

- Financial institutions in South Korea are joining in government efforts to provide emergency funding in South Korean companies affected by the Kaesong closure.

- China's top nuclear envoy suggested that they will not accept North Korea as a "nuclear-armed state", adding that Seoul, Washington, and Beijing reached a consensus on the stance.

- South Korean president Park Geun-hye leaves for Washington on Sunday and hold a bilateral summit with US President Barrack Obama on Tuesday, where the 60th anniversary of the Korea-US alliance takes place.