Pyongyang

North Korea sends top official to China

Seoul: North Korea sent one of its top military officials to Beijing on Wednesday as a "special envoy" of its leader Kim Jong-un, state news agency KCNA reported. There were few details of Choe Ryong-hae's visit, which came amid strained relations between China and North Korea after Beijing backed UN sanctions on Pyongyang for its February nuclear test.

Choe is the most senior North Korean official to visit Beijing since Kim's uncle Jang Song-thaek made the trip in August 2012.

Jang had been seeking a visit to China for Kim Jong-un and to bolster Chinese investment in the impoverished and isolated North. Choe is part of a powerful circle around the North's young leader that is headed by Jang. He is a long-time political administrator and was surprisingly made a vice marshal in the army last year despite having no military background.

China, the North's only major diplomatic ally, publicly condemned the nuclear test and Bank of China recently said it had ceased dealings with the North Korean Foreign Trade Bank, an institution that has been identified as a conduit for Pyongyang's weapons programme....more    

North Korea fires three short-range missiles

Seoul: North Korea fired three short-range missiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Korea's Defence Ministry said, but the purpose of the launches was unknown. Launches by the North of short-term missiles are not uncommon, but the ministry would not speculate whether these latest launches were part of a test or training exercise. "North Korea fired short-range guided missiles twice in the morning and once in the afternoon off...  

North Korea has to pay a price for provocations: Obama

Washington: Emphasising that North Korea has to pay for its recent provocative behaviour, US President Barack Obama and his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-Hye have said that engagement process would be initiated if Pyongyang gives up its nuclear ambitions. "The key is that we will be prepared for a deterrence; that we will respond to aggression; that we will not reward provocative actions; but that we will maintain an openness...  

Pyongyang glitters, but rest of North Korea still dark

Pyongyang: The heart of this city, once famous for its Dickensian darkness, now pulsates with neon. Glossy construction downtown has altered the Pyongyang skyline. Inside supermarkets where shopgirls wear French designer labels, people with money can buy Italian wine, Swiss chocolates, kiwifruit imported from New Zealand and fresh-baked croissants. They can get facials, lie in tanning booths, play a round of mini golf or sip cappuccinos and cocktails while listening...  

After weeks of NKorean fury, calm on key holiday

Pyongyang: North Koreans celebrated the birthday of their first leader Monday by dancing in plazas and snacking on peanuts, with little hint of the fiery bombast that has kept the international community fearful that a missile launch may be imminent. Pyongyang fired off a rocket ahead of the last anniversary of Kim Il Sung's birth - the centennial - but this time the day was simply the start of a...  

North Korea may launch medium-range missile test

Seoul: North Korea may test a new missile to mark the birth anniversary celebrations of state founder Kim il Sung on Monday. The isolated and impoverished state celebrates the former leader's birth anniversary on Monday amidst growing tensions in the east, after weeks of war threats from Pyongyang. Speculation has mounted of an impending medium-range missile test launch in North Korea after reports in South Korea and the United States...  

US stresses limits of North Korea's nuclear firepower

Washington: On the brink of an expected North Korean missile test, US officials focused on the limits of Pyongyang's nuclear firepower on Friday, trying to shift attention from the disclosure that the North Koreans might be able to launch a nuclear strike. They insisted that while the unpredictable government might have rudimentary nuclear capabilities, it has not proved it has a weapon that could reach the United States. A senior...  

N Korea's missile launch would be a 'huge mistake': US

Seoul: US Secretary of State John Kerry warned North Korea on Friday it would be a "huge mistake" to launch a medium-range missile and said the United States would never accept the reclusive country as a nuclear power. Addressing reporters after talks with South Korea's president and leaders of the 28,000-strong US military contingent in the country, Kerry also said it was up to China, North Korea's sole major ally,...  

North Korea warns foreigners to leave South Korea

Seoul: North Korea warned foreigners in South Korea on Tuesday to quit the country because they were at risk in the event of conflict, the latest threat of war from Pyongyang. Soaring tensions on the peninsula have been fuelled by North Korean anger over the imposition of UN sanctions after its last nuclear arms test in February, creating one of the worst crises since the end of the Korean War...  

South Korea expects North Korea to launch missile test this week

Seoul: South Korea expects the North to launch a missile this week. Seoul says it's on military readiness posture and has hit out at Pyongyang's scare tactics. Meanwhile, the US is trying to calm tensions by delaying its own missile test. ...

North Korea seen readying for fourth nuclear test

Seoul: Activity in North Korea appears to show it is preparing for a fourth nuclear test, with movement at its atomic test site similar to events preceding earlier blasts, a newspaper reported on Monday, quoting a senior South Korean government official. North Korea has intensified warnings in recent weeks, declaring it had entered a state of war with Seoul, threatening to strike US targets and blocking access to a border...  

Embassies staying put in North Korea despite tension

Seoul: Staff at embassies in North Korea appeared to be remaining in place on Saturday despite an appeal by authorities in Pyongyang for diplomats to consider leaving because of heightened tension after weeks of bellicose exchanges. North Korean authorities told diplomatic missions they could not guarantee their safety from next Wednesday - after declaring that conflict was inevitable amid joint US-South Korean military exercises due to last until the end...  

No plans to withdraw diplomats from North Korea: UK

London: Britain on Friday said it has no immediate plans to withdraw its diplomats from North Korea and condemned as provocative Pyongyang's warning that it cannot protect foreign embassies after April 10 in the event of a conflict linked to soaring nuclear tensions. "No decisions have been taken and we have no immediate plans to withdraw our embassy," a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) statement said here on Friday. "Earlier...  

US hints at launching pre-emptive strike on North Korea

Washington: The United States has right to launch a pre-emptive military strike against North Korea if there was "solid evidence" that Pyongyang planned to attack the US or South Korea, an influential lawmaker said on Friday. "If we have good reason to believe there's going to be an attack, I believe we have the right to take pre-emptive action," Peter King, the Republican Congressman from New York said. "I don't...  

North Korea presents a real and clear danger: US Defence Secretary

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has said that North Korea presents a real and clear danger. The US has also confirmed that even China has mobilised units along its border with North Korea and that the Chinese military is at Level One readiness which is the highest state of alert in China. This comes after Pyongyang has once again warned USA, saying that the moment of explosion is nearing. ...

North Korea's Twitter account hacked amid tension

Seoul: Hackers have apparently disrupted North Korea's government-run Twitter account. The disruption comes at a time of rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The North's Uriminzokkiri's Twitter account on Thursday displayed four tweets saying "hacked." A fifth tweet said "Tango Down" and was followed by a link to Uriminzokkiri's Flickr page. Both sites were running on Thursday but carrying content that differed sharply from content typically posted by the regime...  

North Korea actions present real danger: US

Washington: The recent rhetoric and actions taken by Pyongyang in past few weeks present a real danger not only to Japan and South Korea but also to the American interests in the region, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said. "Some of the actions they've taken over the last few weeks present a real and clear danger and threat to the interests, certainly of our allies, starting with South Korea and...  

North Korea has option to enter into negotiations: US

Categorically ruling out the possibility of accepting North Korea as a nuclear power, the United States said that Pyongyang has the peaceful option to enter into negotiations for the denuclearisation. ...  

US deploys warship closer to North Korean coast

Amidst escalating tension in the Korean peninsula, the US Navy is moving a warship and a sea-based radar platform closer to the North Korean coast as a shield against any missile attack by North Korea and in order to monitor Pyongyang's military moves. ...  

France calls for North Korean restraint

France has appealed to North Korea for avoiding such steps that may escalate the tension after Pyongyang announced having entered a "state of war". ...