Across Asia: Republic of Korea

Ship inspections planned

The Republic of Korea (ROK) coast guard said yesterday it is drawing up guidelines on how to inspect Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) ships suspected of carrying banned items - a move expected to enrage Pyongyang, which has warned it would consider such inspections a declaration of war. The move came as a senior US diplomat met with the ROK's nuclear envoy about implementing UN sanctions against Pyongyang for its latest nuclear test and getting the DPRK to return to talks on its nuclear program.