Tens of thousands of North Koreans rallied in Pyongyang in a display of might and loyalty underscoring their government’s guiding “military first” principle amid tensions with rival South Korea

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

A North Korean soldier fatally shot a South Korean tourist today at a mountain resort in the communist nation, prompting the South to suspend the high-profile tourism programme just as its new president sought to rekindle strained ties between the divided countries.