KIM Jong-un did the world a small favour by appointing an economic reformer to the country’s premiership on Apr 1, right in the middle of the Great Sabre Rattle.

US secretary of state John Kerry has warned North Korea it would be a “huge mistake” to test launch a medium-range missile.

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.

Escalating tensions with North Korea will backfire, not only for its neighbours but its citizens who should matter as much, writes Yoon Young-kwan

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.

THE North Korean capital of Pyongyang is emerging from a tough few months.

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 passing of North Korean strongman Kim Jong-il has been marked by plunging temperatures, mourning bears and now, according to North Korean state media, by flocks of magpies.

As North Korea enters political transition, its new leaders must face the reality that it cannot depend on the same policies of oppression and military provocation forever, writes Rosemary Righter

NORTH KOREA called on its people to rally behind new leader Kim Jong-un and protect him as “human shields” while working to solve the “burning issue” of food shortages by upholding the policies of his late father, Kim Jong-il.

NORTH Korea warned the world there would be no softening of its position towards South Korea after Kim Jong-il’s death as Pyongyang strengthened his son and heir’s authority with a new title: Great Leader.

ABOVE the ballooning dress of Marilyn Monroe is the face of the late North Korean despot Kim Jong-il.

NORTH Korea’s power brokers publicly declared Kim Jong-un the supreme leader for the first time at a massive public memorial for his father Kim Jong-il, cementing the family’s hold on power.

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.

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 introduced its heir apparent to the world yesterday, a chubby- faced young man with a serious expression, combed back hair cut high and tight on the sides and wearing a communist-style black suit.

NORTH KOREA will this week launch its biggest political meeting for 30 years, apparently paving the way for another dynastic succession in the impoverished hardline communist nation.

NORTH Korea’s uncharacteristic request for aid following the country’s deadly train explosion has come to be regarded as a hint of possible change and openness in the tightly controlled, secretive country.