The uncle of North Korea dictator Kim Jong-un was eaten alive by 120 starving dogs after being stripped naked and locked in a cage, it has been reported.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has described his once-powerful uncle and mentor, whom he purged and executed, as “factionalist filth” in a new year message in which he boasted of a surge of internal strength.

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 state media says Kim Jong Un’s uncle has been executed, calling the leader’s former mentor “worse than a dog”.

Kim Jong Un’s uncle has been executed, with the state media calling the leader’s former mentor “worse than a dog”.

North Korea announced it had sacked leader Kim Jong Un’s uncle, long considered the country’s second-in-command, saying corruption, drug use, gambling, womanising and generally leading a “dissolute and depraved life” had caused Pyongyang’s highest-profile fall from grace since Kim took power two years ago.

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 Korean space officials have moved all three stages of a long-range rocket into position for a controversial launch, vowing yesterday to push ahead with their plan in defiance of international warnings against violating a ban on missile activity.

THE world watched anxiously as North Korea staged a huge funeral in the capital, Pyongyang, for former leader Kim Jong-il, searching for signs of what to expect from the isolated nation that may be close to attaining nuclear weapons capacity.

NORTH KOREA will shift to collective rule from a strongman dictatorship after last week’s death of Kim Jong-il, although his untested young son will be at the head of the ruling coterie, a source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing said.

Jerry Guo looks at how power is shifting in the hermit state, the Kim dynasty and who really pulls the strings

Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa, the world’s top two players, set up the prospect of a thrilling weekend battle after the second round of the Michelob ULTRA Open at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Paula Creamer reeled off four birdies in her last five holes to win the Fields Open in Hawaii by one stroke ahead of South Korea’s Jeong Jang.

Riot police arrested dozens of opposition activists protesting against President General Pervez Musharraf today as Pakistan's Supreme Court dismissed two legal challenges to his re-election bid.

South Korean prosecutors indicted a Korean American and four others today for allegedly spying for North Korea in what officials dubbed the biggest spy case since the beginning of reconciliation between the two Koreas.

China’s president Hu Jintao appears to have sent a special envoy to North Korea, a former South Korean politician said today, amid speculation that the North might conduct another nuclear test.

North Korea informed China it may drop its plan to test its first atomic bomb if the US holds bilateral talks with the communist country, a former South Korean lawmaker said today.

Jeong Jang, the reigning Weetabix Women’s British Open Champion, continued a run of South Korean dominance on the LPGA Tour when she won the Wegmans LPGA in Rochester, New York.

Reigning Women’s British Open Champion Jeong Jang set her sights on a second LPGA title after a third-round 66 in the Wegmans LPGA in Rochester, New York.

Jeong Jang carded a six-under-par 66 to take a three-shot lead after the third round of the LPGA Corning Classic in New York.

Teenage sensation Michelle Wie and Women’s British Open champion Jeong Jang could both make history next year by trying to qualify for the Open Championship at Hoylake.

IF Soo-Yun Kang was feeling the pressure of playing with the lead, she sure didn’t show it.

If Soo-Yun Kang was feeling the pressure of playing with the lead, she hid it well to claim the first LPGA Tour win of her career.

TEENAGE sensation Michelle Wie made a pleasing debut in the Weetabix Women’s British Open but she has already targeted playing in the men’s event in the near future.

JEONG JANG became the fourth South Korean to win a women’s major yesterday when she held off a challenge from former champion Sophie Gustafson with a final round 69 in the Weetabix Women’s British Open at Royal Birkdale.

South Korea’s Jeong Jang, the leader from round one, too an even firmer grip on the Weetabix Women’s British Open after a third round 69 today at Royal Birkdale.

SOUTH KOREAN Jeong Jang was the player to catch at the midway stage of the Weetabix Women’s British Open at Royal Birkdale.

SOUTH KOREA’S Jeong Jang shot an amazing 68 to lead the field after the first round of the Weetabix Women’s British Open at Royal Birkdale, ruined by cold, wind and rain.

The South Korean contestant in this year’s Miss World has withdrawn from the competition after it was marred by religious violence that killed more than 220 people in Nigeria.

The wife of kidnapped Wall Street Journal Reporter Daniel Pearl appealed for his release tonight.