The Latest on Koreas: Talks again stretch deep into night

SEOUL — The latest on the tensions on the Korean Peninsula (all times local):

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10:20 p.m.

High-level talks between North and South Korea have stretched deep into the night again.

The first round of talks between the rivals, who are trying to defuse mounting tensions that have pushed them to the brink of a possible military confrontation, lasted 10 hours, starting Saturday evening and ending just before dawn yesterday.

They resumed the talks yesterday afternoon, and were still meeting late yesterday night.

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4:30 p.m.

Even as North and South Korea resumed talks yesterday, South Korea's military is reporting that it detected unusual troop and submarine movements in North Korea that indicated Pyongyang was strengthening its capacity for a possible strike.

An official from Seoul's Defense Ministry, who didn't want to be named because of office rules, says about 70 percent of the North's more than 70 submarines and undersea vehicles had left their bases and were undetectable by the South Korean military as of Saturday.

The official also says the North had doubled the strength of its front-line artillery forces since the start of the high-level talks early Saturday evening.

"It seems that the North is pursuing dialogue on one side and preparing for battle on another side," he said.

— Tong-hyung Kim, Seoul

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4 p.m.

South Korea's presidential office says South Korean and North Korean officials have resumed the second round of talks in the border village of Panmunjom on yesterday.

— Tong-hyung Kim, Seoul

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1:30 p.m.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is welcoming the dialogue between the two Koreas and is urging both sides to de-escalate the situation.

In a statement issued by his spokesman, Ban called on the two sides to "redouble efforts to resolve differences through dialogue while refraining from taking any measure that is not conducive to dialogue."

The statement says Ban took note of the agreement to resume the discussions later yesterday.

— Edith Lederer, United Nations

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10:15 a.m.

North Korean media have reported that more than 1 million young people have volunteered to join or rejoin the military to defend their country should a conflict break out with the rival South Korea and its US ally.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency reports that "young people across the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are turning out in the sacred war for defending the country with their faith and will to annihilate the enemies."

Despite such highly charged rhetoric in the media, which is itself not particularly unusual, activity in the capital remains normal and calm yesterday.

People in Pyongyang are going about their daily routines as usual.

Truckloads of soldiers singing martial songs can occasionally be seen driving around the city, and a single minivan with camouflage netting was parked near the main train station for a time as the talks with South Korea began Saturday and are set to resume later yesterday.

— Eric Talmadge, Pyongyang

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5:15 a.m.

South Korea's presidential spokesman says the first-high-level talks in nearly a year between South Korea and North Korea have adjourned and will resume yesterday afternoon.

The rivals, who are trying to defuse mounting tensions that have pushed them to the brink of a possible military confrontation, began their meeting in the border village of Panmunjom at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Spokesman Min Kyung-wook said the meeting adjourned at 4:15 a.m. yesterday and the two delegations will resume talks at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT, 2 a.m. EDT). He did not disclose any other details about the talks.

The talks were held shortly after a Saturday deadline set by North Korea for the South to dismantle loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda at their border. North Korea had declared that its front-line troops were in full war readiness and prepared to go to battle if Seoul did not back down.

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1:15 a.m.

The first high-level talks in nearly a year between South Korea and North Korea have stretched into the early hours of yesterday.

The rivals, who are trying to defuse mounting tensions that have pushed them to the brink of a possible military confrontation, began their meeting in the border village of Panmunjom early Saturday evening.

An official from South Korea's presidential Blue House said after midnight that the talks were still going on, and that the delegates were taking a break. Marathon talks are not unusual for the Koreas, who have had long negotiating sessions in recent years over much less momentous issues.

The talks were held shortly after a Saturday deadline set by North Korea for the South to dismantle loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda at their border. North Korea had declared that its front-line troops were in full war readiness and prepared to go to battle if Seoul did not back down.

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6:50 p.m.

High-level talks between North Korea and South Korea have begun in an effort to defuse mounting tensions that have pushed the rivals to the brink of a possible military confrontation.

An official from South Korea's Unification Ministry, who didn't want to be named because of office rules, says Saturday's talks are being held at the border village of Panmunjom.

The meeting comes after a Saturday deadline set by North Korea for South Korea to dismantle loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda at their border. North Korea has declared its front-line troops are in full war readiness and prepared to go to battle if Seoul doesn't back down.

The South Korean presidential office said earlier that the country's national security director, Kim Kwan-jin, and Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo would sit down with Hwang Pyong So, the top political officer for the Korean People's Army, and Kim Yang Gon, a senior North Korean official responsible for South Korean affairs. Hwang is considered by outside analysts to be North Korea's second most important official after supreme leader Kim Jong Un.