During the second day of talks between two Koreas, S.Korea urged its northern neighbor to shut down its nuclear reactor and gradually open their heavily armed border to regular train traffic.

A delegation of high-ranking North Korean officials is in the South Korean capital for talks aimed at improving cooperation between the two countries. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul that Pyongyang's failure to meet a deadline for halting some of its nuclear-weapons production has given authorities in Seoul second thoughts about sending aid to the North.

North and South Koreas plan to hold a new round of high-level reconciliation talks this week despite the North's refusal to start dismantling its nuclear program and the South's apparent decision to hold back promised food aid to its impoverished neighbor.

South Korean officials say it is unlikely that massive rice shipments will be sent to North Korea by the end of the month, as previously scheduled. The impoverished North, which badly needs food and basic supplies, has not taken initial steps it promised towards ending its nuclear weapons program. As VOA Seoul correspondent Kurt Achin reports, North Korean officials are using a diplomatic forum in the Philippines to warn Pyongyang's disarmament will not come quickly.

Blizzard Entertainment Inc. unveiled its sequel to the widely popular game StarCraft. Thousands of fans were in celebratory mood.

North and South Korea have sent trains across their heavily armed border for the first time in 56 years, marking a new milestone in the two countries' on-again, off-again efforts to improve relations.

On the eve of a historic advance in contacts between North and South Korea, there are indications that a major obstacle to ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programs may be resolved. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul.

Thousands of North Korean defectors have made the dangerous and illegal journey to South Korea by way of China in the past 10 years. When they arrive, they often encounter adjustment difficulties in a place that looks and sounds Korean, but is very different from home. To cope, some defectors are turning to the Internet - and each other.

The first top-level military talks between North and South Korea in a year have had a rocky start. The meeting was intended to focus on providing security for a test of a rail line linking the two countries. But the North injected a new element into the talks, insisting on also discussing a disputed sea border. Claudia Blume reports from VOA's Asia News Center in Hong Kong.

South Korean officials say their agreement Sunday to send rice to help North Korea feed its people will only go through if Pyongyang honors a pledge to begin dismantling its nuclear weapons program. And President Bush's special envoy monitoring human rights in North Korea says Pyongyang must change its ways before normalization of U.S. relations can take place.

The U.S. ambassador to South Korea says Washington and Seoul do not have widely divergent views on North Korea, despite an announcement Sunday that the South is ready on its own and outside the six-party nuclear talks framework to provide food aid to the North. VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Washington.

Hundreds of North Koreans who fled their country have begun a hunger strike in Thailand, where they are being held in custody. The North Koreans say they are upset by what they describe as delays by South Korean authorities in helping them immigrate to the South. In a separate case, South Korea has reportedly assumed custody of three North Korean teenagers in Laos.