Seoul - Two women were found dead Friday in South Korea in circumstances similar to the apparent suicide of a top South Korean television and film actress, raising fears of copycat acts, news reports said.

Choi Jin Sil, 39, an icon of South Korean prime-time television dramas, was found hanging Thursday from the shower stall in a bathroom at her Seoul home with an elastic band tied around her neck.

Depression, malicious rumors and fallout from an ugly divorce in 2004 have been cited as factors that drove the mother of two to her death.

Seoul - US envoy Christopher Hill has extended his stay in North Korea for at least a day, leading to speculation Thursday that there may be progress in his efforts to save a disarmament deal.

South Korea was informed by the US that Hill, who traveled overland Wednesday to Pyongyang, would not return to Seoul on Thursday and had extended his stay until at least Friday, according to a Foreign Ministry official cited by Yonhap News Agency.

Seoul - The first military talks between North and South Korea in eight months ended shortly after they began Thursday with no concrete progress and North Korea accusing the South of spreading propoganda in its territory.

Pak Rim Su, the leader of the North's delegation, accused the South Korean side of not being prepared to solve problems at the talks in Panmunjom, a village inside the demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

Seoul - The first military talks between North and South Korea in eight months ended shortly after they began Thursday with no significant progress and North Korea accusing the South of spreading propoganda in its territory, South Korean media reports said.

Pak Rim Su, the leader of the North's delegation, accused the South Korean side of not being prepared to solve problems at the talks in Panmunjom, a village inside the demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

North Korea called the talks to protest propoganda leaflets that South Korea has been disseminating in his country, Pak said.

Seoul  - Military officers from North and South Korea are to meet Thursday for the first time in eight months, the Defence Ministry in Seoul said.

On the agenda at the talks in Panmunjom, a village inside the demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas, is the implementation of agreements already made between the neighbours' militaries, the ministry said Wednesday.

In a surprise move last week, North Korea proposed to hold the discussions Tuesday, and South Korea's military later accepted but moved the talks back two days.

It was the first offer by North Korea to hold such a dialogue since conservative South Korean President Lee Myung Bak took office in February.

Seoul - The United States' top negotia