North Korea

Pyongyang says an unidentified man was found in North Korean waters and that he murmured he was from South Korea but then stopped responding to soldiers' questions and appeared to try to flee.

The 47-year-old fisheries official, whose name was not released, apparently jumped off a patrol boat near the maritime border between North and South and floated into North Korean waters.

With a view to reaching English-speaking and South Korean audiences, the videos show glimpses of Pyongyang, highlight consumerism and try to dispel notions that life is restricted and people are poor.

Her political star has risen since Kim Jong Un took power in 2011, leading to speculation that she could one day become the country's first female leader — if North Korea's patriarchy would allow it.

South Korea conscripted more than 30,000 soldiers between the ages of 14 and 17 for the war. An estimated 3,000 of them died. One survivor prays daily for their souls.

Pyongyang says forces will be sent to Kaesong, an inter-Korean industrial park along the border where a liaison office was blown up by North Korea earlier this week.

The office, north of the Demilitarized Zone, appears to have been empty when it was destroyed. The act follows threats from Pyongyang, and experts say provocations from the North will likely continue.

The move is the latest sign of deterioration in relations between North and South Korea. On Tuesday, North Korean officials did not answer a routine daily call from the South.

The North Korean leader's public absence and reports of a recent surgery have prompted a flurry of rumors about his health. But South Korean officials said Tuesday, "There is nothing we can confirm."

Satellite imagery shared exclusively with NPR suggests that North Korea is moving ahead with plans to expand its capabilities.

Pyongyang says it has mobilized to fight for its "national survival." Experts say North Korea's track record of fighting epidemics does not bode well for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

He stopped short of saying he was breaking off nuclear negotiations with the U.S. President Trump has repeatedly touted the testing moratorium as a political victory.