North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in firm control of his government but hurt his leg taking part in a military drill, a source with access to the secretive North's leadership said, playing down speculation over the 31-year-old's health and grip on power in the nuclear-capable nation.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been out of sight for over a month and if he does not appear at a key political event early on Friday, speculation will intensify over his health and grip on power in the secretive country.
A South Korean naval ship fired warning shots on Tuesday after a North Korean patrol boat crossed a disputed sea border off the peninsula's west coast and fired shots back before retreating, a South Korean defense official said.
Isolated North Korea sent its highest level delegation to South Korea on Saturday to attend the Asian Games closing ceremony amid a flurry of diplomatic activity which has raised hopes for improved ties between the arch rivals.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could go to China on his first foreign trip since taking power, China's ambassador to South Korea said on Wednesday, according to a report from South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye, thwarted so far in ambitious plans to begin the process of reunifying the Korean peninsula, said the door is open for talks with the North during the upcoming U.N. General Assembly.
Three American citizens detained in North Korea appealed to the U.S government on Monday for help returning home, speaking in rare interviews with U.S. media that were set up by the North Korean government and may signal an attempt by Pyongyang to reopen a long-stalled dialogue.
The Guardian said in a report that North Korea under leader Kim Jong-un refused to acknowledge the actions and the results of the investigation launched by a UN commission to review the reported human rights abuses against its citizens.
The three-member UN Commission of Inquiry led by retired Australian judge Michael Kirby concluded as per evidence that North Korea conducted an array of crimes against humanity, and will formally turn its findings over to the International Criminal Court, said an anonymous source who had been briefed of the conclusions of the commission report.
The United States deployed stealth fighter jets to South Korea on Sunday as part of an ongoing joint military exercises between the two countries. The F-22 Raptors were sent to the main U.S. Air Force Base in South Korea amid rising tension - and bellicose language- from Kim Jong-un in the North.
Since North Korea conducted underground nuclear tests on February 12, the international community has taken renewed interest - and consternation- by their bellicose actions. These tests prompted the United Nations Security Council to order harsher sanctions against the already isolated country. In return, North Korea has threatened the U.S., and its allies "all out war."
