Asia, North Korea | featured news

The U.S. Navy intercepted a North Korean ship suspected of carrying an illegal shipment of missile parts to Myanmar two weeks ago, the New York Times reported on late on Sunday, citing senior American officials.

North Korea freed an American it held for a half year for reportedly proselytizing, handing him Saturday to a U.S. envoy who said Washington had not promised to provide aid in exchange for the man's release.

This week saw what appeared to be a re-injection of warmth and energy in relations between two longtime ideological allies with a shared history of fighting side by side in war. No. Not that “special relationship” between the U.S. and U.K. That other one, between North Korea and China.

North Korea will fire across a land border with South Korea if Seoul continues its anti-North psychological campaign, the North's official media said on Sunday ahead of an annual, joint military drill between the United States and South Korea.

South Korea agreed on Thursday to hold high-level military talks with rival North Korea, marking a major breakthrough in a crisis on the Korean peninsula and heightening the prospect of renewed aid-for-disarmament talks.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the country was within five years of developing a missile with the potential of hitting Alaska or the West Coast.

North Korea is retaliating for a November artillery attack -- with an onslaught of faxes to South Korea, an official said Wednesday.

Amid South Korean plans to hold live-fire military drills this week and North Korean threats of retaliation, many residents of Yeonpyeong Island are evacuating, afraid of being caught in the middle.

South Korea's new defense minister said his country would respond with airstrikes if North Korea attacks it again, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Friday.

The foreign ministers of the United States, Japan and South Korea are expected to meet in Washington on Monday to discuss North Korea and other issues, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.