North, South Korea Back Off War Footing at Deadline

The West is not waking up to a shooting war between North and South Korea, despite an ultimatum by the North to that effect. Instead: peace talks. Pyongyang had demanded that the South dismantle its propaganda-blaring loudspeaker systems along the border by about 4am Eastern or risk "all-out war," reports AP. The loudspeakers didn't come down, but high-level representatives from both countries met in the border village of Panmunjom, reports Reuters. It's the first such meeting in a year. No word on any breakthroughs, but the meeting raises hopes that both sides can save face and avoid a confrontation, says an analyst at a Seoul research institute. (More North Korea stories.)