Two South Korean hostages freed from Taliban captivity arrived home today, as 19 of their compatriots remain held by the insurgent group in Afghanistan.

A high-level delegation from North Korea arrived in Seoul today for talks with the rival South in an atmosphere of optimism after North Korean leader Kim Jong-il pledged to seek reconciliation and hinted at a return soon to nuclear disarmament negotiations.

The second wave in the biggest mass defection of North Koreans to South Korea arrived today on a flight from an unidentified Southeast Asian country, bringing the total in the two-day airlift to nearly 460.

A former South Korean soldier who was captured in 1953 during the Korean War finally returned home today, after 50 years of captivity in North Korea.

South Korea today kicked out the leader of a religious sect that claimed it had produced the first cloned human, amid fears he may engage in human-cloning activities during his stay.

North Korea today said it has no intention of making nuclear weapons and repeated Pyongyang’s position that the stand-off can be resolved through dialogue with the US, officials said.