SEOUL: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said yesterday it would reopen its border with the Republic of Korea (ROK), and restart stalled tourism ventures in a major gesture of conciliation after nearly 18 months of rising tensions.

But in a reminder of tensions on the peninsula, the DPRK's KCNA news agency followed the report on the border deal with one warning of a "merciless and prompt annihilating strike", including nuclear weapons, if US and ROK military drills that started yesterday infringe on its sovereignty.

The latest developments coincided with ROK's Yonhap news agency report that China's chief nuclear negotiator Wu Dawei "is likely to visit North Korea later on Monday" in an attempt to persuade Pyongyang to return to six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.