World - North Korea

TOKYO (AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il took youngest son Kim Jong-Un on a "field guidance" trip as part of his grooming to take over the Stalinist nation, a Japanese newspaper reported Sunday. Full Story »

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea sees prospects for a US-North Korean meeting next month as "dark" because Pyongyang has yet to promise to return to six-party nuclear disarmament talks, a news report said Sunday. Full Story »

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak said he was open to any type of dialogue with his North Korean counterpart if it would help resolve the nuclear stand-off. Full Story »

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea's president announced Friday he is willing to meet North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il in order to resolve the nuclear stand off on the divided peninsula and tackle other thorny issues. Full Story »

SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea leader Kim Jong-Il has urged the country's navy to bolster its forces, state media said Friday, amid increased cross-border tensions caused by the inter-Korean naval clash last month. Full Story »

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean soldiers and police executed nearly 5,000 citizens during the early months of the 1950-53 Korean War, fearing they could collaborate with invading North Korean troops, a government commission said Thursday. Full Story »

BEIJING (AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told China's defence minister Wednesday that relations between the two nations were "unbreakable," citing their joint military ties, state press said. Full Story »

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on Wednesday told the visiting Chinese defense minister that his isolated country's friendship with China was "unbreakable," even as ties have been tested by the North's nuclear tests. Full Story »

SEOUL (AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has inspected the nation's security force headquarters, state media said on Sunday, in what Seoul media say is a bid to further tighten his control on society. Full Story »

SEOUL, South Korea - Buddhist monks from South and North Korea held a joint ceremony at a temple in the communist country Saturday in a continuation of civic exchanges between the nations despite a bloody naval skirmish earlier this month. Full Story »

BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie will visit North Korea soon, state-run media said on Friday, amid efforts to draw Pyongyang back to nuclear disarmament talks. Full Story »

UNITED NATIONS - A key U.N. committee expressed "very serious concern" Thursday at widespread reports of torture and other grave human rights violations in North Korea and strongly urged the government to put an end to the violations. Full Story »

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A special committee of the U.N. General Assembly condemned North Korea and Myanmar on Thursday for what it said were widespread human rights violations in the two Asian countries. Full Story »

SEOUL (AFP) - President Barack Obama announced Thursday a US envoy would visit North Korea early next month, as he joined South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak in urging the communist state back to nuclear talks. Full Story »

Osan Air Base, Osan, South Korea - There was no doubt it. President Barack Obama got by far the loudest cheers of his six-day East Asian odyssey Thursday in a rousing 15-minute talk before about 1,000 troops. Full Story »

SEOUL (AFP) - State media in communist North Korea, which is grappling with severe food shortages and a crumbling economy, has taken time out to urge its people to keep their hair tidy. Full Story »

SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said he was willing to help North Korea repair its economy and end decades of international isolation if Pyongyang stopped a cycle of threats and finally moved toward nuclear disarmament. Full Story »

SEOUL (AFP) - US President Barack Obama left South Korea for home Thursday, a US embassy spokesman said, wrapping up his four-country debut Asian tour. Full Story »