South Korea rejects North's offer to send defectors’ relatives to SeoulApril 22, 2016 - 14:20 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - South Korea on Friday, April 22 rejected the North's highly unusual overture to send North Korean relatives to Seoul to reunite with the 13 restaurant workers it says were abducted in China by spies from the South, the Associated Press reports. The workers, from a restaurant North Korea says is in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo, were the biggest group to defect since Kim Jong Un took power in North Korea in 2011. Pyongyang typically accuses Seoul of kidnapping or enticing its citizens to defect, but an attempt to reunite the families is extraordinary. Pyongyang's state media said Friday it had informed Seoul that the North will try to send the relatives through the border village of Panmunjom but did not say when. Seoul's Unification Ministry responded in a brief statement that it cannot accept the North's request because the restaurant workers decided on their own to resettle in the South. North Korea has already warned of unspecified retaliation if South Korea refuses to send back the restaurant workers. Read also:North Korea wants to send defectors’ relatives to Seoul Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham). Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |