North Korea, United Nations | featured news

North Korea on Thursday demanded the lifting of United Nations sanctions and an end to joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises as preconditions for starting dialogue.

The global attempt to establish a universal standard to regulate the sale of conventional weapons suffered a temporary setback on Thursday after Iran and North Korea opposed the draft Arms Trade Treaty, blocking the consensus needed for it to pass after years of arduous negotiations.

Seven years of U.N. sanctions against North Korea have done nothing to derail Pyongyang's drive for a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States. They may have even bolstered the Kim family by giving their propaganda maestros ammunition to whip up anti-U.S. sentiment and direct attention away from government failures....

North Korea threatened the United States on Thursday with a preemptive nuclear strike, raising the level of rhetoric while the U.N. Security Council considers new sanctions against the reclusive country.

North Korea has made significant progress in the construction of a light water atomic reactor over the past year, a U.N. watchdog report said, a facility that may extend Pyongyang's capacity to produce material for nuclear weapons.

North Korea rejected Tuesday international findings that it sank a South Korean ship, warning at the United Nations that the dispute could lead to war.

North and South Korea will address the U.N. Security Council separately on Monday over the deadly sinking of a South Korean naval ship in March that has raised tension on the Korean peninsula, an official said on Monday.

North Korea has sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council rejecting accusations from South Korea that it was behind the sinking of one of its neighbor's navy ships, saying it was the victim of a U.S.-led conspiracy.

As world leaders began gathering for the General Assembly, the puzzle of how to confront Iran and North Korea continued to stymie diplomats.

Indian authorities have detained a North Korean vessel and are searching it for radioactive material, the first time a ship has been seized and boarded under sanctions adopted by the United Nations Security Council in June.