US President Barack Obama’s envoy began a rare trip to North Korea today as a senior US official warned of strong sanctions unless the communist nation rejoins international nuclear talks.

North Korea threatened South Korea with possible punishment today over a skirmish that left one of its warships badly damaged and a crew member dead.

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.

Top nuclear envoys from South Korea and the US held talks today on a strategy to bring North Korea back to disarmament negotiations, a day after the North claimed to have succeeded in experimental uranium enrichment.

North Korea said today that it was in the final stages of enriching uranium, a process that could give the nation a second way to make nuclear bombs in addition to its known plutonium-enriching programme.

South Korean officials headed to North Korea today for their first Red Cross talks in nearly two years amid a push by the North to reach out to Seoul and Washington after months of provocations, including nuclear and missile tests.

North Koreans went to the polls today to elect MPs to the country’s rubber-stamp parliament as observers watched closely for hints that leader Kim Jong Il may be grooming a successor.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said today North Korea could expect no change in its relationship with Washington if the regime continued to insult, provoke and shut out dialogue with the South.