Military ties, the ministry says. two high-level visits by russia and china coming at a crucial time for kim's regime, rapidly rising tensions with the u.s., north korea's longest-ever icbm test. a barrage of ballistic and cruise missile launches. a rare stopover in south korea by a nuclear-capable u.s. submarine. and one week ago an american soldier's surprise sprint into north korea. u.s. army private travis king, the first active duty u.s. service member to cross the heavily armed border in more than 40 years. >> the korean dmz is one of the most heavily fortified border areas in the world....