North Korea’s vice premier was executed by firing squad this year after showing discontent with the policies of the country’s leader Kim Jong Un, a South Korean media report said yesterday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has executed 70 officials since taking power in late 2011 in a “reign of terror” which far exceeds the bloodshed of his dictator father’s early rule, South Korean officials said.

North Korea has executed its defence chief by putting him in front of an anti-aircraft gun at a firing range, the latest in a series of high-level purges since Kim Jong-un took charge.

South Korea’s spy agency said yesterday it has solved the mystery of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s six-week public absence, which set off a frenzy of speculation around the world.

North Korea said today that it executed Kim Jong Un’s uncle as a traitor for trying to seize supreme power, a stunning end for the leader’s former mentor, long considered the country’s No 2.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s uncle, seen as his nephew’s political regent and one of the most powerful men in the country, has apparently been ousted and several associates executed, South Korea’s spy agency said.

NORTH KOREA was preparing a massive farewell to late leader Kim Jong-Il yesterday as it strove to strengthen a new personality cult around his son and successor Kim Jong-Un.

Tens of thousands of mourners packed Pyongyang’s main square today to pay respects to former leader Kim Jong Il.

North Korea has tightened internal security and put troops on alert since the announcement of leader Kim Jong Il’s death, South Korean intelligence indicated today.

A North Korean defector allegedly armed with poison needles has been arrested on suspicion of plotting to attack a leading activist, South Korean officials said today.

President Lee Myung-bak's choice for new defence minister said today that South Korean jets will bomb North Korea if Pyongyang stages an attack similar to last week's deadly artillery barrage.

North Korea executed a former senior official as punishment for the country’s botched currency reform, reports said today.

North Korea was the source of high-profile cyber attacks in July that caused massive internet failures in South Korea and the US, it was reported today.

North Korea reportedly test-launched five short-range missiles in what analysts said was an attempt to improve its bargaining position before possible talks with the US.

NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong Il has life-threatening pancreatic cancer, a news report said yesterday, days after fresh images of him looking gaunt spurred speculation that his health was worsening following a reported stroke last year.

South Korea’s spy agency lowered the country’s cyber attack alert as affected websites returned to normal after a series of assaults that have cast suspicion on North Korea.

SOUTH Korean intelligence officials believe North Korea or pro-Pyongyang forces committed cyber attacks that paralysed major South Korean and US government websites, aides to two lawmakers said yesterday.

North Korea was today blamed for sophisticated cyber attacks that paralysed major US government websites.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has been living at a coastal villa since mid-May and is probably convalescing after reportedly suffering a stroke last year, a newspaper said today, citing US and South Korean intelligence.

The youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has taken charge at the country’s spy agency to prepare him to inherit the leadership of the communist nation from his father, reports claimed today.

The US and South Korea have pinpointed 11 underground sites in North Korea where a third nuclear test could be conducted, a newspaper reported today ahead of a summit between the two allies on the communist regime’s growing atomic threat.

NORTH KOREA’S communist regime has warned of a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula while vowing to step up its atomic bomb-making programme in defiance of new UN sanctions.

NORTH KOREA’s Kim Jong Il has anointed his 26-year-old son – said to be competitive, proficient in English and a heavy drinker – as the next leader of the communist state, it emerged yesterday.

South Korean officials have detected “brisk” activity at a North Korean nuclear test site, a news report said today, days after the communist country threatened to conduct nuclear and missile tests.

North Korea is loading a Taepodong rocket on its east coast launch pad in anticipation of the launch of a communications satellite early next month, US officials said today.

South Korean intelligence indicates that ailing North Korean leader Kim Jong Il suffered a serious setback and has been taken to hospital, it was reported today.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s health appears to have improved, according to South Korea’s spy chief.

North Korea will make an “important announcement” tomorrow amid speculation over the health of its leader Kim Jong Il, a Japanese newspaper reported today.

South Korean officials believe North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has recovered enough from a stroke to brush his own teeth but that sporadic spasms forced him to skip his country’s 60th anniversary celebrations.

North Korea may have launched a barrage of short-range missiles off the country’s west coast, a news report said today.

North Korea may be preparing to shut down its main nuclear reactor, news reports said today.

North Korea today boasted that it successfully tested a nuclear weapon, sparking a barrage of global condemnation and threats of harsh sanctions over an underground blast that appeared to thrust the volatile communist state into the elite club of nuclear-armed nations.

North Korea has removed all long-range missile equipment from a launch site, significantly lowering the possibility of a new test launch, the chief of South Korea’s main spy agency said today, according to Yonhap news agency.

North Korea declared today it is free to conduct missile tests, saying it is not bound by prior agreements to refrain from testing and that outsiders do not have right to interfere, a news report said.

North Korea today warned that US moves to build a missile shield were fuelling a dangerous arms race in space, as countries in the region urged the communist nation to halt apparent plans to launch a long-range missile.

TWENTY-ONE members of North Korean cheering squads who travelled to South Korea for international sports events are reportedly being held in a prison camp for talking about what they saw in the South.

Asian leaders expressed shock and dismay today over the bomb attacks in London that killed dozens of people as the world’s most powerful leaders met at the G8 summit in Scotland. From China to Malaysia to Australia, leaders urged greater cooperation in fighting terrorism.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s eldest son escaped an assassination attempt in China last year, according to a report today.

North Korea may have manufactured nuclear bombs but it lacks the technology to deliver them by missile, South Korean intelligence officials said today.

North Korea has ordered its people to be ready for a protracted war against the United States, issuing guidelines on evacuating to underground bunkers with weapons, food and portraits of leader Kim Jong Il.

SOUTH KOREA’S intelligence agency believes North Korea has reprocessed a small number of spent fuel rods in a step that could yield nuclear weapons materials.

South Korea’s intelligence agency believes North Korea has reprocessed a small number of spent fuel rods in a step that could yield nuclear weapons materials.

The British plane spotters on spying charges could be transferred to an overcrowded and violent high security prison because of a delay in inspecting their photographs, their lawyer said today.

Seventeen North Koreans recently arrived in Seoul after escaping their impoverished homeland, South Korea’s main intelligence agency said today.