South Korean prosecutors said Thursday they had charged five people with spying for North Korea, one of whom had been ordered personally by the North's founding father to organize revolution in the South.

The five were accused of leading an underground communist ring on instructions from North Korea's ruling communist party, the prosecutors said in a statement.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Il on Wednesday promised Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in rare talks, that his reclusive state was prepared to renounce nuclear testing and allow transit of a gas pipeline.

The meeting followed Kim's four-day train ride through Russia's Far East and Siberia, his third visit to the giant neighbor in the last decade but first since 2002.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's armored train arrived Tuesday in an eastern Siberian city for a summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The North Korean leader stepped out of his train in Ulan-Ude, the capital of Buryatia, a Buddhist province near Lake Baikal, Russian news agencies reported. Kim's motorcade left town in the direction of Turka, a picturesque village on the shores of Baikal, the Russian ITAR-Tass news agencies reported.

North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong Il on Monday swept through Siberia aboard his special armoured train to the city of Ulan-Ude for talks with President Dmitry Medvedev later this week.

Kim is widely expected to meet Medvedev for a rare summit, possibly Tuesday or Wednesday.

North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong Il on Sunday received a red carpet welcome in the Amur region where he also toured a hydro power station ahead of talks with President Dmitry Medvedev.

Kim on Saturday kicked off a week-long secrecy-wrapped visit to the Russian Far East and Siberia, a rare trip out of a country battling isolation and hunger.

North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-Il on Saturday arrived in his armored train in Russia and plans to meet President Dmitry Medvedev, the Kremlin said.

During the visit, his first since 2002, Kim is expected to meet with the Kremlin chief for talks in Siberia to discuss North Korea's nuclear program, bilateral economic projects and a worsening food crisis in the isolated state.

North Korea said Friday it would discuss with the United States the recovery of U.S. soldiers killed during the Korean War after a six year suspension.

Its foreign ministry spokesman said the North had accepted a U.S. proposal for talks on the resumption of the excavation of remains of American soldiers killed during the 1950-53 war.

South Korea and the United States launched a massive joint military exercise on Tuesday, prompting the North to condemn the maneuvers as provocative and warn that "all-out war" could erupt.

The two allies have described the 10-day Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise as defensive and routine but the North habitually terms such joint drills a rehearsal for invasion and launches its own counter-exercises.

North Korea on Sunday lashed out at South Korea for accusing Pyongyang of hacking Seoul online game sites and stealing prize money, rejecting the allegations as an "unacceptable provocation."

Seoul police said earlier this month they had busted a criminal gang which hired some 30 elite North Korean computer hackers to break into online game sites and steal prize points worth 6.4 billion won ($5.9 million).

South Korea fired warning shots Wednesday after a North Korean artillery shell landed near the flashpoint Yellow Sea border, Seoul's defense ministry said.

The incident highlights the tensions along the disputed borderline, which has been the scene of bloody naval skirmishes in recent years.