Captured during the Korean War and imprisoned for decades for refusing to renounce his communist beliefs, 95-year-old Ahn Hak-sop now has a single dying wish: to return to North Korea and be buried alongside his comrades.

South Korea and the United States began their annual large-scale joint military exercise on Monday to better cope with threats by nuclear-armed North Korea.

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said South Korea and its President Lee Jae Myung had a "dual personality" by talking about wanting to pursue peace while holding joint military drills with the U.