North Korea has replaced its hawkish armed forces minister with a younger general. The move comes as the US and South Korea launch new naval war games, which Pyongyang decried as “blackmail” and a “provocation.” General Kim Kyok-sik – who reportedly ordered the 2010 shelling of a South Korean island – was appointed to his post last November. In... 

Washington has refused to recognize North Korea as a nuclear-armed state, effectively closing the door on negotiations with Pyongyang. North Korea said it would only conduct talks with the US as an equal nuclear state. “North Korea’s demand to be recognized as a nuclear weapons state is neither realistic nor acceptable,” US Assistant Secretary... 

North Korea’s military supreme command has issued an ultimatum to South Korea demanding apologies for “all the major and minor hostile actions.” It has also threatened an immediate military response to any “insulting” action the South undertakes. “The supreme command of the Korean People’s Army Tuesday issued an ultimatum to the South Korean... 

North Korea is ready to develop peaceful relations with world nations – but only as a nuke state, the DPRK’s nominal head of state Kim Yong-nam said on Sunday. This comes as the US, Japan, and China call for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. North Korea, which, despite tension, is getting ready to celebrate the birthday of the country’s founder... 

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington is “fully committed” to protecting Tokyo days after it received nuclear threats from North Korea. The latest comments by Kerry come after North Korea vowed to launch a strike on Japan if it continued with its “hostile posture” against Pyongyang. “The United States is fully committed to the... 

A journalist tells Press TV that a possible nuclear attack on North Korea by the US forces will raise anger of South Korean people. Tensions in Korea continue to mount as the North has decided to shut down the jointly-operated Kaesong manufacturing area. Established in 2004, Kaesong, which houses 123 factories, is the biggest employer in North Korea’s third-largest... 

Pyongyang warned that Tokyo would be its primary target if war broke out on the Korean Peninsula, if Japan maintains its “hostile posture.” It also threatened a nuclear strike against the island nation if it intercepts any North Korean test missiles. In the comments, carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday, Pyongyang lambasted Tokyo’s... 

A missile is displayed during a military parade marking 100 years since the birth of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012. South Korea has raised its military surveillance alert to “vital threat” amid claims that North Korea would test-launch a medium-range missile. The decision was made on Wednesday after South... 

Pyongyang has issued a warning urging foreign nationals to evacuate South Korea, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. The statement was followed by threats from North Korea of “thermonuclear” war on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea has warned all foreign nationals to prepare to evacuate the South in the event of conflict. “We do not wish... 

Russia has warned that a possible nuclear conflict on the Korean Peninsula would be far more destructive than the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. “I would make no secret about it, we are worried about the escalation on the Korean Peninsula because we are neighbors,” Russian President Vladimir Putin made the comment at a joint press conference with the... 

A North Korean vehicle carrying a new missile passes by during a mass military parade in Pyongyang to celebrate the centenary of the birth of the late North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, April 15, 2013. The South Korean government says North Korea is likely to test-launch a missile this week. Kim Jang-Soo, director of national security for South Korean President... 

South Korean soldiers man K-55 self-propelled howitzers at a military training field in the border city of Paju on April 5, 2013. North Korea has asked foreign embassies, including that of Russia, to consider the possibility of evacuation due to an upsurge of tensions on the Korean Peninsula. “A representative of the North Korean Foreign Ministry suggested... 

The United States has deployed chemical weapons and a battalion equipped to deal with nuclear and chemical attacks in South Korea. Japan has warned North Korea against its ‘provocative statements’ after Pyongyang stepped up its war rhetoric against the US threats. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Thursday, “Our government does not... 

North Korean army says it has final approval for nuclear attack on the US, the official KCNA news agency says. This comes shortly after the Pentagon said the US military prepares to deploy an advanced missile-defense system to Guam. “Merciless operation of its revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and ratified,” said... 

The guided missile destroyers USS Lassen (L) and USS Fitzgerald are seen at a South Korean naval port in Donghae, about 190 km east of Seoul, on March 9, 2013. The United States is shifting a guided-missile destroyer in the Pacific to waters off the Korean Peninsula as tensions mount with North Korea, a US military official say. The official, who spoke on condition...