World News for Students of English

28-08-2015 15:00

It’s thought North and South Korea could be on the brink of war as tensions have been rising between the two countries. North Korea’s state-run television KRT released a video today showing young North Koreans signing petitions to be allowed to join the army.

This young North Korean says, “We, the young generations, are waiting to wipe out the U.S. and South Korean gangsters from this peninsula.”

Meanwhile, many South Korean reservists expressed willingness to rejoin the army on social media. They posted photos of their military uniforms with messages such as “South Korean men are all ready” and “I will fight for South Korea”.

The current tensions between the two countries began when two South Korean soldiers were wounded by land mines along the border. South Korea said North Korea planted the mines, something North Korea denies. South Korea has also angered their neighbour by restarting propaganda broadcasts after more than ten years.

Both sides say the other fired the first shot in artillery exchanges that have brought the countries to the brink of war. Officials have been holding talks over the situation.

Difficult words: brink (a point at which something bad is about to happen), tension (a nervous feeling because of something bad), peninsula (a piece of land which is almost surrounded by the water), reservist (a member of the military reserve forces), plant (to place), hold (to organise).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com