SKorea keeps close eye on North

by Alex Jensen

SEOUL

South Korea's ability to spy on North Korea was boosted by the arrival of new mini-drones Wednesday -- as Seoul also suggested efforts were still underway to fulfill a recent inter-Korean cooperation deal.

The South's defense acquisition agency released a statement confirming the delivery from a local manufacturer.

"The drone deployment will greatly improve infantry battalions' combat power," an official was quoted by local news agency Yonhap as saying of the 1.4 x 1.8 meter (4.6 x 5.9 feet) unmanned Remoeye-002B, which will be deployed to frontline units over the next two years.

Several suspected North Korean drones have been detected by South Korea in recent years around the world's one of the most heavily-guarded borders.

Meanwhile, the South's Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong welcomed the arrival of United States envoy Sung Kim as "timely".

During their meeting Wednesday, Kim -- who is assigned to Pyongyang affairs -- agreed that it was "an important period in terms of our North Korea coordination," according to Yonhap.

Last week the North announced both the restart of its main nuclear complex as well as the planned launch of satellites, which analysts believe could coincide with a key anniversary marking 70 years since the founding of the North Korean Workers' Party on Oct. 10.

Pyongyang is barred under United Nations resolutions from either launching long-range rockets or carrying out nuclear tests.

Even against the backdrop of such heightened concerns, Seoul appears to be pushing ahead with preparations for family reunions scheduled to start Oct. 20 as part of last month's inter-Korean breakthrough.

The South's Unification Ministry has confirmed that dozens of officials and technicians would be allowed to travel north of the border this Thursday to work on the planned venue for the reunions at Mount Kumgang.

A day earlier, however, the same ministry had played down the possibility of imminent talks with Pyongyang, casting doubt on whether the Koreas would even be able to stick to their promise of reuniting hundreds -- picked by the Red Cross among thousands -- of family members separated from their relatives by the border for decades.