China has stepped up checks on shipments to and from North Korea almost two months after agreeing to new U.N. sanctions that demand greater scrutiny of trade, but the flow of goods in and out of the reclusive state appears largely unaffected.

South Korea said Wednesday it was edging towards a deal with North Korea to ensure the return of the remaining workers at a joint industrial zone that has become a casualty of military tensions.

China has stepped up checks on shipments to and from North Korea almost two months after agreeing to new U.N. sanctions that demand greater scrutiny of trade, but the flow of goods in and out of the reclusive state appears largely unaffected.

Regret etched on their faces, the last groups of South Korean managers began pulling out Saturday from a shuttered factory park in North Korea after their government ordered them to leave the border city.

North Korea says it will soon deliver a verdict in the case of a detained American it accuses of trying to overthrow the government, further complicating already fraught relations between Pyongyang and Washington.

Seoul said Friday that it has decided to withdraw the roughly 175 South Koreans still at a jointly run factory complex in North Korea, raising a major question about the survival of the last symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.

China has cancelled a top annual finance meeting with Japan and South Korea, officials in Tokyo and Beijing said on Friday, amid simmering diplomatic tensions.

South Korea on Thursday gave North Korea 24 hours to agree to formal talks to restart operations at their joint Kaesong industrial zone, warning of “significant measures” if Pyongyang declines.

Popular South Korean software mogul and former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo has finally won elected office with a thumping by-election victory in Seoul.

South Korea said on Thursday it was proposing formal talks with North Korea to discuss restarting work at a joint factory zone located just north of the rivals' heavily armed border that was suspended in early April amid growing security tensions.