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.

North Korea is stepping up criticism of South Korea's new President Lee Jae Myung as he prepares for his first summit with U.S President Donald Trump, calling Lee's efforts to engage with Pyongyang a "pipedream".

Kim Yo Jong's remarks fit a longstanding pattern of aggressive language during ongoing South Korea-U.S. military drills, which the North has long denounced as invasion rehearsals, but also reflect a shift in Pyongyang’s approach to its rival.