North Korea | featured news

Russia's foreign minister will visit North Korea next week, a source said on Friday, as regional powers try to prevent the state from restarting its nuclear arms plant and defuse tensions that have rattled regional security.

Japan will call an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss a possible response if North Korea launches a long-range rocket in the coming days, Japan's U.N. envoy said on Thursday.

USA TODAY's Asia correspondent Paul Wiseman explains the significance of the launch planned for this month and examines why North Korea is defying the international community yet again.

North Korea accused the United States of spying on the site of an impending rocket launch and threatened Wednesday to shoot down any U.S. planes that intrude into its airspace.

North Korea is preparing to launch a close- to mid-range ballistic missile separately from the long-range missile that Pyongyang has said it will launch next month, the Sankei Japanese daily reported on Sunday.

Japan says it will intercept and destroy any parts of a North Korean rocket that might fall on its territory.

North Korea announced its intention to launch the satellite in February. Regional powers worry the claim is a cover for the launch of a long-range missile capable of reaching Alaska. National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said earlier this month that all indications suggest North Korea will in fact launch a satellite.

The United States says North Korea has assured U.S. officials that two detained American reporters will be treated well.

Kim Jong Il was unanimously re-elected to North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament, state media said Monday, in elections closely ...

U.S. envoy Stephen Bosworth said Saturday he wanted dialogue with North Korea but also spoke against the communist nation's move to launch a long-range missile, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.