Military generals from North and South Korea have met at a border village for talks on how to ease animosities between the rival countries after two clashes last week, South Korean media said.

North Korean officials visiting the South in a surprise trip have agreed to a second round of high-level talks.

The captain of the ferry that sank off South Korea, leaving more than 300 missing or dead, was arrested today on suspicion of negligence and abandoning people in need.

Figure skater Ashley Wagner has launched a blistering attack over the controversial result of the Winter Olympic women’s singles competition, calling for an overhaul of the sport and its judging process.

A bombing that killed three South Koreans and an Egyptian driver on the Sinai Peninsula targeted a bus filled with Korean Christians who had saved for years to visit sites mentioned in the Bible on their church’s 60th anniversary, officials said today.

North Korea fired a short-range missile from its east coast, a day after launching three more of these missiles, a South Korean news agency said.

South Korea said there was “very high” probability that North Korea, engaged in weeks of threats of war, would launch a medium-range missile at any time as a show of strength despite diplomatic efforts to soften its position.

North Korea warned foreign embassies in Pyongyang that it was unable to guarantee their safety after Apr 10 and they should consider evacuating their missions amid soaring nuclear tensions.

North Korea put its missile units on standby to attack US military bases in South Korea and the Pacific, after the US flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula in a rare show of force.

North Korea’s new leader delivered his first major public speech yesterday as the impoverished state celebrated the centenary of its founder’s birth, calling for a push to “final victory” despite a failed rocket launch two days earlier.

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.

THE death of Kim Jong Il could halt talks aimed at getting the country to give up its nuclear weapons.

Marines fired rifles at a South Korean civilian plane as it was descending to land after mistaking it for a North Korean military aircraft, an airline official 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.

The US and South Korea prepared for war games tomorrow as South Koreans demanded vengeance over a deadly North Korean artillery bombardment that has raised fears of more clashes between the bitter rivals.

NORTH KOREA staged an artillery drill yesterday within earshot of a South Korean island shelled earlier this week, and warned that an upcoming US-South Korean naval exercise heightens the risk of war.

South Korea’s president pledged today to boost security around islands near the site of a North Korean artillery attack as the North warned of more retaliation for any “reckless military provocations”.

Somali pirates freed a hijacked South Korean-operated supertanker and its 24 crew after seven months of captivity, officials said amid reports that a record ransom was paid.

SECRETIVE North Korea put its leader-in-waiting on display at a massive military parade in Pyongyang, showcasing the youngest son of current ruler Kim Jong-Il in a rare live television broadcast.

NORTH KOREA declared yesterday that it would sever all communication and relations with Seoul as punishment for blaming the North for the sinking of a South Korean warship two months ago.

A SOUTH Korean naval ship sank near the disputed maritime border with North Korea yesterday, prompting the South’s military to rush vessels to the site to rescue its sailors and raising fears of an attack by the North.

A number of South Korean sailors died today when their navy ship sank after an explosion off an island near North Korea, reports said.

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

A South Korean couple addicted to an internet game about raising a virtual child were arrested for neglecting their real three-month-old daughter and letting her starve to death, news reports said.

Yonhap news agency said that the militaries of North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire along their disputed western sea border.

South Korea’s troops went on high alert today for possible retaliation by North Korea after one of its navy ships was nearly destroyed and an officer reportedly killed in a skirmish with the South, ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama.

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 KOREA fired five short-range missiles off its east coast yesterday, a news report said, even as South Korea proposed talks with its neighbour.

North Korea fired five short-range missiles off its east coast today, a news report said, even as South Korea proposed working-level talks with its communist neighbour.

North Korea might release two convicted American journalists if the US offers a gesture such as an official apology, a US-based scholar who visited Pyongyang said in interviews released today.

North Korea fired seven ballistic missiles off its eastern coast today, South Korea said, a violation of UN resolutions and an apparent message of defiance to the United States on its Independence Day.

North Korea fired three missiles off its eastern coast today, South Korea said, in what was likely to be seen as a message of defiance to the United States on its Independence Day holiday.

An American destroyer is following a North Korean ship suspected of transporting weapons toward Burma, as anticipation mounted today that the North could soon test-fire short- or medium-range missiles off its eastern coast.

North Korea appears to be preparing to test an advanced missile designed to reach the United States, a US official said, ratcheting up tensions after its second nuclear blast.

NORTH KOREA has transported its most advanced missile, believed to be capable of reaching Alaska, to a launch site on its west coast near China, news reports said.

Chinese fishing boats were pulling out of the Yellow Sea possibly in fear of military clashes between North and South Korea, it was reported today.

US spy satellites have detected signs that North Korea has restarted its nuclear plant, it was reported today.

South Korea said today it would join a US-led initiative to intercept ships suspected of spreading weapons of mass destruction, as the United Nations swiftly condemned North Korea for testing a powerful nuclear bomb.

A South Korean news agency has said that North Korea test-fired a short-range missile, a report that came shortly after the communist nation declared that it successfully conducted a nuclear test today.

The third son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has been assigned to a post at the country’s all-powerful National Defence Commission, it was reported, a possible sign that he is being groomed as his father’s successor.

North Korea has released a new photograph of leader Kim Jong Il amid intense speculation over his health, it was reported today.

PICTURES of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il issued by the communist state may be several months old and possibly taken before his reported illness, South Korean media have said, raising more questions about his health.

North Korea’s Kim Jong Il is on the road to recovery from a stroke and still in control of his isolated country’s communist regime, South Korea has suggested, disputing reports that the leader is gravely ill.