South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the incursion off its east coast lasted roughly 10 minutes. Beijing later said the warplanes entering South Korea's air defense identification zone was part of an exercise.

With four months to go until election day, the two top candidates for the presidency are already at the center of allegations of corruption and abuse of power, with debate over policy relegated to the background.

Nearly 70 years after the conflict ended in stalemate, Seoul is pushing hard for a declaration that will formally end the Korean War. But Washington is reluctant to reward the regime in Pyongyang.

South Korea has launched its first domestically developed space rocket but failed to put its dummy payload into orbit, a setback in the country's attempts to join the ranks of advanced space-faring nations.

Pyongyang last cut off the hotline in August after joint US-South Korea military drills. The move comes amid a series of weapons tests by the North.

South Korea's ministry of defence releases footage of a successful a submarine ballistic missile launch, making the country the seventh in the world with the advanced technology and raising the prospect of a regional arms race. The test, supervised by President Moon Jae-in, comes hours after nuclear-armed North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea, according to the South's military, and as China's foreign minister visited Seoul.

As the US and other countries withdraw development staff and aid, China's regional rivals are watching whether Beijing can extend its sphere of influence by building ties with a new Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Resource-poor South Korea wants to spend billions on wind power to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, but its plans are being delayed by fishermen who say the fight against climate change threatens their catches.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of the North Korean dictator, lashed out at Washington as top US diplomatic and military representatives are set to visit Seoul.

A South Korean TV station has released CCTV footage of a North Korean defector in South Korea on 16 February before he was caught. The man, reportedly in his 20s, landed north of the town of Goseong on the east coast. The North Korean defector wore a diving suit and fins during a daring six-hour swim around one of the world's most fortified borders and was caught only after apparently falling asleep. A South Korean TV station has released CCTV footage of a North Korean defector in South Korea on 16 February before he was caught. The man, reportedly in his 20s, landed north of the town of Goseong on the east coast. The North Korean defector wore a diving suit and fins during a daring six-hour swim around one of the world's most fortified borders and was caught only after apparently falling asleep. A South Korean TV station has released CCTV footage of a North Korean defector in South Korea on 16 February before he was caught. The man, reportedly in his 20s, landed north of the town of Goseong on the east coast. The North Korean defector wore a diving suit and fins during a daring six-hour swim around one of the world's most fortified borders and was caught only after apparently falling asleep. A South Korean TV station has released CCTV footage of a North Korean defector in South Korea on 16 February before he was caught. The man, reportedly in his 20s, landed north of the town of Goseong on the east coast. The North Korean defector wore a diving suit and fins during a daring six-hour swim around one of the world's most fortified borders and was caught only after apparently falling asleep. A South Korean TV station has released CCTV footage of a North Korean defector in South Korea on 16 February before he was caught. The man, reportedly in his 20s, landed north of the town of Goseong on the east coast. The North Korean defector wore a diving suit and fins during a daring six-hour swim around one of the world's most fortified borders and was caught only after apparently falling asleep. A South Korean TV station has released CCTV footage of a North Korean defector in South Korea on 16 February before he was caught. The man, reportedly in his 20s, landed north of the town of Goseong on the east coast. The North Korean defector wore a diving suit and fins during a daring six-hour swim around one of the world's most fortified borders and was caught only after apparently falling asleep. A South Korean TV station has released CCTV footage of a North Korean defector in South Korea on 16 February before he was caught. The man, reportedly in his 20s, landed north of the town of Goseong on the east coast. The North Korean defector wore a diving suit and fins during a daring six-hour swim around one of the world's most fortified borders and was caught only after apparently falling asleep. A South Korean TV station has released CCTV footage of a North Korean defector in South Korea on 16 February before he was caught. The man, reportedly in his 20s, landed north of the town of Goseong on the east coast. The North Korean defector wore a diving suit and fins during a daring six-hour swim around one of the world's most fortified borders and was caught only after apparently falling asleep. A South Korean TV station has released CCTV footage of a North Korean defector in South Korea on 16 February before he was caught. The man, reportedly in his 20s, landed north of the town of Goseong on the east coast. The North Korean defector wore a diving suit and fins during a daring six-hour swim around one of the world's most fortified borders and was caught only after apparently falling asleep. A South Korean TV station has released CCTV footage of a North Korean defector in South Korea on 16 February before he was caught. The man, reportedly in his 20s, landed north of the town of Goseong on the east coast. The North Korean defector wore a diving suit and fins during a daring six-hour swim around one of the world's most fortified borders and was caught only after apparently falling asleep. A South Korean TV station has released CCTV footage of a North Korean defector in South Korea on 16 February before he was caught. The man, reportedly in his 20s, landed north of the town of Goseong on the east coast. The North Korean defector wore a diving suit and fins during a daring six-hour swim around one of the world's most fortified borders and was caught only after apparently falling asleep.

Moon Jae-in called on the US president-elect to continue talks with North Korea. Talks between Trump and Kim Jong Un stalled earlier over sanctions and limited progress on the North's nuclear program.

It's the first civilian legal case in South Korea regarding so-called "comfort women" who were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II. The unprecedented ruling is likely to spark ire in Japan.