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COREN: The Indian army says it's meeting with Chinese military leaders to defuse a dispute that has left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead. What India called a violent face-off took place over a disputed border between the two countries in the Himalayan mountains. A large buildup of troops has reportedly been taking place for weeks on both sides of the border. Sources tell CNN U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo is set to meet with Chinese officials in Hawaii on Wednesday. CNN producer Vedika Sud joins us now from New Delhi. These deadly clashes, the first in 45 years in the border area, are extraordinary escalation intentions. Tell us what happened.</s>VEDIKA SUD, CNN PRODUCER: This is going to lead to heightened tensions in the next few days. We have been hearing from the Indian government and the Indian army ever since May, when the first standoff was reported between the two sides and the line of action control, one of the largest undymarket (ph) borders in the world. What we got to know from them and the defense minister of India over the last few weeks is that things are being sorted out at a military and diplomatic level. On the night of the 15th of June, things suddenly changed and turned around. There have been 20 deaths as far as the Indian army was concerned. This has been a huge setback for the Indian army. It comes at a time when there are talks on the two sides. On the 6th of June, the top military representatives from India and China met. They decided they would go ahead and withdraw the troops from the disputed area. The understanding had taken place nine days before this incident took place. On the 15th night, there was a violent standoff between both sides, according to the army, which led to 20 Indian army personnel, including the commanding officer, dying at the spot. And, also we do know from the Indian army statement that there were casualties on both sides, something that China has not owned up to yet.</s>SUD: They have not come out with the casualty figures. This is a huge setback for the bilateral ties between the two countries, especially after last year, when, in October, you saw the leaders of both countries in south India. And that was known as a reset of the Wuhan spirit, where prime minister Modi met with the Chinese president two years ago as well. So this is a huge blow to the diplomatic ties between the two countries. The opposition within our country of India is now demanding answers from no one else but the prime minister. They say it is time he tells us what exactly happened on June 15th. Why did we have so much army personnel dying in that disputed area between India and China -- Anna.</s>COREN: Vedika Sud, joining us from New Delhi, we appreciate the update. Thank you. Another area of escalating tension is the Korean Peninsula. After blowing up the joint liaison building in the DMZ on Tuesday, North Korea followed up with threats of military deployment along the border. Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, says inter-Korean talks are over, calling South Korea's president "a pro U.S. flunky." So it is pushing back.</s>JEON DONG-JIN, SOUTH KOREAN ARMY JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF (through translator): Such a move can immediately thwart (ph) the efforts and achievements made by the two Koreas to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula. And the North will surely pay if these measures are put into action.</s>COREN: Our Kristie Lu Stout joins us now from Hong Kong. Kristie, is this the death knell for relations between North and South Korea?</s>KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: The tension is certainly spiking between North and South Korea right now, after North Korea destroyed the inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong in North Korea. This morning, following a flurry of announcements from KCNA, the North Korean state-run news agency, including the announcement that the North Korean military planned to re-enter Kaesong and other DMZ areas, effectively unraveling what was achieved in 2018 during those historic landmark inter-Korean talks. We also learned that North Korea flatly rejects the offer from South Korea to send envoys across the border to help defuse the tension. There was also a lengthy statement published by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong-un, in which she slams the South Korean president Moon Jae-in. She says she, quote, "despises him" and calls him a two-faced liar. In the last two hours, we have heard from the office of the president of South Korea. This is what the spokesperson had to say.</s>STOUT: We have also received a statement from the Blue House, saying this. Quote, "This harms the trust that the two Korean leaders have built in its roots and we clearly warn that we will no longer endure North Korea's senseless comments and actions like these." The actions that we have seen North Korea take after the threats is a real slap in the face for the administration of the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, which has been a champion of engagement. It was just two years ago when we saw the historic scene of the South Korean president and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un holding hands as they crossed the border together -- Anna.</s>COREN: Yes, how times have changed. Kristie Lu Stout, many thanks. We appreciate it. John Delury is in Seoul, South Korea. He is an associate professor at Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies. He joins us now. John, great to have you with us. Why did North Korea do this now? Balloons with propaganda leaflets have flown over the DMZ for years. What tipped them over the edge?</s>JOHN DELURY, YONSEI UNIVERSITY  GRADUATE SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Yes, that is a great question, Anna. And I am not sure any of us really know. My own speculation is that we might be seeing sort of the results of a postponed plan that we would have seen earlier in the year, were it not for coronavirus, which put North Korea on pause, just like it put the whole world on pause. But if you remind yourself of where we were, back in December of last year, CNN reported on North Korea threatening a Christmas gift. North Korea experts were expecting the year to get off to a very, very rocky start and I do think that COVID sort of set that back. Now we're seeing it play out and really, all of last year, inter- Korean relations were pretty hostile, making no progress. And I think now North Korea feels ready to really push out on that and act on some of the issues that they feel strongly about.</s>DELURY: I agree with you, I don't think leaflets are really the key issue.</s>COREN: North Korea had been making threats since last week. They have followed through with their actions. But surely, that does not bode well for its new threats of military action against South Korea.</s>DELURY: If you are looking at these North Korean statements, demolishing the liaison office, that's just the beginning. Kim Jong- un's sister talked about a series of actions. So that's the first. They have already started following through on the others. They are moving military assets into the ironically named demilitarized zone. There will be an increased chance of an altercation between the two Koreas and their disputed maritime border on the West Sea or the Yellow Sea. And also, we have to consider the possibility that this suddenly shifts back into the North Korea-U.S. channel, because at anytime, we could have a major test of missile capability or nuclear capability. And that sparks that whole fire again, which has been dormant, hasn't it, for quite awhile. So the signals are very negative in terms of North Korea being ready to go another round. And today, the Blue House response, they are kind of, I guess, trying to match the rhetoric. I am not sure how well that will play out. It could accelerate the process of conflict that we are seeing emerge.</s>COREN: You mentioned Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo Jong. She's playing quite a prominent role in this. What do you make of that and why do you think Kim Jong-un is giving her the limelight?</s>DELURY: The thing about Kim Yo Jong is she has been a key player for years now. She has been steadily moving her way up the ladder. And we have seen her portfolio expanding. I think experts can have legitimate disagreements about this. But I think there's some misinterpretation that this has to do with succession, because also I think we misinterpreted that something was wrong with Kim Jong-un. So we are conflating all of these things together. I think Kim Yo Jong has proven herself over many years. She has earned the trust of her brother, maybe of others in the senior hierarchy. And she has been expanding her portfolio. Within North Korean traditions, family members have played very important roles, including brothers and sisters of the leader over the long history, over the decades. So there is plenty of precedent for her role. And so, she has emerged as a real power player. And obviously, her brother trusts her. It's very important that she is -- Kim Jong-un has remained aloof from this. He is not commenting publicly. There was a politburo meeting and Kim Jong-un evidently talked about the chemical industry. They was nothing of all this so they are leaving room for him to step in at some point, possibly to de- escalate. But I think we are a ways away from that.</s>COREN: Together, they are a formidable duo. John, how much of this is aimed at the United States?</s>DELURY: That's another very good question. Right now, its focus, North Korea's anger, is focused towards the South, the situation is actually contained when it is purely an inter-Korean context. As Kristie Lu Stout pointed out, no one was hurt. Compare that to what we are seeing on the India-China border, where 20 people lost their lives. No one was hurt and, actually, not a single South Korean, as far as I know, has been killed in any conflict with North Korea since Kim Jong-un took power. As long as that's the case, there's a lot of symbolic conflict but it is still symbolic. The situation actually gets more dangerous and unstable is if and when it shifts over to that nuclear and missile kind of threat, exchange with the United States. The United States is very unstable right now in terms of its domestic politics. I would be very concerned how President Trump would respond to a direct challenge by Kim Jong-un. They are not signaling that at this stage. At any point, though, I would not be surprised if it suddenly shifts over from the inter-Korean context to a North Korea-U.S. context.</s>COREN: Yes, watch this space. John Delury, great to have your insight. Many thanks. Well, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Still to come, jumping for joy. The world's most popular football league returns. It's been a long 100 days and project restart can't happen soon enough for the fans.