North Korea on Tuesday served up its latest round of threats against the United States, saying it plans to place military units on combat ready status to prepare for possible strikes on U.S. bases.
The North Korean Supreme Command "will put our military on number one combat ready status with strategic rocket units and long-range artillery unit to prepare for possible strikes against the U.S. mainland, Hawaii and Guam and other American and South Korean military units in the Pacific," the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported.
FULL STORYNorth Korea reacted with indignation to a United Nations decision to investigate allegations of human rights abuses inside the isolated state, claiming it has one of the best systems worldwide for protecting citizens' rights.
The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva said delegates agreed Thursday to set up a commission of inquiry to examine what it called "grave, widespread and systematic" violations of human rights in North Korea.
FULL STORYThe North Korean military on Thursday issued a fresh burst of ominous rhetoric, warning that U.S. bases in Guam and Japan are within its "striking range."
The statement from the Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army, carried by the North's state-run news agency, follows the announcement by the United States this week that its B-52 bombers were making flights over South Korea as part of military exercises.
FULL STORYThe suspected cyber attack that appeared to target South Korean banks and broadcasters Wednesday originated from an IP address in China, South Korea's Communications Committee said in a statement Thursday.
The attack damaged 32,000 computers and servers of media and financial companies, the committee said.
South Korean officials are analyzing the cause and are working to prevent any further damage, the committee said.
The attack infected banks' and broadcasters' computer networks with a malicious program that slowed or shut systems down, officials and the semiofficial Yonhap News Agency said.
FULL STORYA new North Korean propaganda video shows images of what appears to be an imagined missile attack on U.S. government buildings in Washington, including the White House and the Capitol.
The roughly 4-minute video was posted Monday in the YouTube channel of the North Korean government website Uriminzokkiri.
It carries a montage of clips of different weapons, including artillery guns firing and large missiles on display at military parades.
Just before the 3-minute mark, it cuts to footage of target sights honing in on the White House and then a simulated sequence of the Capitol's dome exploding.
FULL STORYThe United States' plans to beef up its missile defenses against North Korea are likely to inflame tensions that are running high over Pyongyang's nuclear program, China said Monday.
"Bolstering missile defenses will only intensify antagonism, and it doesn't help to solve the issue," Hong Lei, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.
FULL STORY
A day after the United States promised new missile defense interceptors to guard against a North Korean attack, Pyongyang responded Saturday by blasting the Americans' "hostile policy" and saying it won't negotiate with them over its nuclear program.
"(North Korea's) nuclear weapons serve as an all-powerful treasured sword for protecting the sovereignty and security of the country," a foreign ministry spokesman said, according to the state-run KCNA news agency. "Therefore, they cannot be disputed ... as long as the U.S. nuclear threat and hostile policy persist."
FULL STORYThe United States will deploy additional ground-based missile interceptors as part of efforts to enhance the nation's ability to defend itself from attack by North Korea or Iran, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Friday.
Still relatively new in his post, the Pentagon chief told reporters that 14 additional interceptors would bring the total to 44. He said the expansion should be completed by 2017.
Part of the move would involve reopening a missile field at Fort Greely, Alaska, Hagel said.
FULL STORYSouth Korea is keeping a close watch on North Korean moves "as there are possibilities that these activities could lead to provocations," South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-suk said Tuesday.
The South is also making sure its combined forces with the United States are prepared in case of such provocation, in which "we will respond in a more resolute and destructively manner," the spokesman said.
FULL STORY[Updated at 7:39 a.m.] North Korea has taken a step it's warned about for a few days: It declared invalid the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953.
That news, from the official newspaper of the country's ruling Workers' Party, comes four days after the U.N. Security Council passed tougher sanctions against North Korea in response to its February 12 nuclear test.
It remains to be seen whether the invalidation means that either North Korea or South Korea can resume hostilities. However, the North has nullified the agreement on several occasions in the past.
[Posted at 3:57 a.m.] Joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States began Monday, the South Korean defense ministry said.
The latest military drills involving the two allies are called Key Resolve and follow the Foal Eagle joint exercises that began March 1, which are scheduled to last two months.
North Korea has called the annual training exercises "an open declaration of a war," but South Korea says it notified Pyongyang that the drills "are defensive in nature."
FULL STORYThe U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday for a resolution strengthening sanctions on North Korea.
The Security Council resolution targeting North Korea and its nuclear program includes tough new financial sanctions, travel restrictions, and inspection powers.
"These sanctions will bite and bite hard," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice told reporters after the unanimous resolution vote on Thursday.
FULL STORY$85 billion in automatic across-the-board spending cuts became law last week, as President Obama and Congress struggle to find a solution to the crisis. Watch CNN.com Live for continuing coverage on this story.
Today's programming highlights...
10:00 am ET - North Korea policy hearing - As North Korea makes new threats amid possible U.N. sanctions over its nuclear ambitions, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee meets to discuss existing U.S. policy toward Pyongyang.
The United States and China reached a tentative deal for a proposed U.N. Security Council resolution on more sanctions for North Korea after its latest nuclear test, a senior Obama administration official told CNN.
The full council is expected to deal with the issue on Tuesday.
Report: North Korea threatens to end armistice
FULL STORY
North Korea is not pleased with U.S.-led moves to slap new sanctions against it over its recent nuclear test – and because of this it's threatening to end its 60-year truce with South Korea, the South's Yonhap news agency reported.
The North's military said Tuesday it will also cut off direct phone links with South Korea at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom, Yonhap said, citing North Korea's news outlet. Both North and South Korea have technically been at war for decades. The 1950-53 civil war ended in a truce.
The U.N. Security Council is expected to meet Tuesday to consider a proposed resolution to authorize more sanctions against North Korea following the secretive regime's controversial nuclear test last month.
FULL STORYAhead of annual, routine military exercises between South Korea and the United States, North Korea issued its usual caustic objections Saturday.
Though customary, the stark posturing by the North stands in the shadow of an underground nuclear test two weeks ago, which was preceded by the launch of a long-range missile capable of transporting a warhead.
FULL STORY
[Updated at 11:09 a.m. ET] The U.N. Security Council strongly condemned North Korea's nuclear test and will start work on "appropriate measures" in a council resolution, South Korea's foreign minister said on Tuesday.
[Updated at 7:07 a.m. ET] China has summoned the North Korean ambassador to China over its "dissatisfaction" with the country's third nuclear test, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
[Updated at 6:49 a.m. ET] North Korea's Foreign Ministry releases more on today's nuclear test: "This nuclear test is our first measure which displayed our maximum restraint. If the U.S. continues with their hostility and complicates the situation, it would be inevitable to continuously conduct a stronger second or third measure," the ministry says in a statement via state-run media.
[Updated at 6:39 a.m. ET] North Korea's latest nuclear test was a defensive measure against the United States for their "hostile activity against North Korea", the North Korean foreign ministry says in a statement.
[Posted at 6:35 a.m. ET] North Korea says it has conducted a new, more powerful underground nuclear test using more sophisticated technology, jolting the already fragile security situation in Northeast Asia and drawing condemnation from around the globe.
It is the first nuclear test carried out under the North's young leader, Kim Jong Un, who appears to be sticking closely to his father's policy of building up the isolated state's military deterrent to keep its foes at bay, shrugging off the resulting international condemnation and sanctions.
FULL STORYPresident Obama will deliver his fourth State of the Union address before Congress tonight. Watch CNN.com Live for all of your political coverage.
Today's programming highlights...
Ongoing coverage: North Korea's nuclear test
9:30 am ET - Military sequestration hearing - What would threatened across-the-board budget cuts mean for the U.S. military and national defense? Top Pentagon and military officials discuss the matter before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Ever wondered how to drive from the center of Pyongyang, the showcase capital of North Korea, to Yongbyon, the location of the secretive regime's main nuclear complex?
Well, a recent update to Google Maps has the answer for you.
It has filled in the big, largely blank space that previously lay north of the well-mapped South Korea with streets, towns and landmarks.
Users curious to virtually explore one of the world's most reclusive states can zoom into the heart of Pyongyang and pull up photographs of the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, which houses the bodies of the revered former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.
FULL STORYNorth Korea said Thursday that it plans to carry out a new nuclear test and further long-range rocket launches, all of which it said are a part of a new phase of confrontation with the United States.
The North's National Defense Commission said the moves would feed into an "upcoming all-out action" that would target the United States, "the sworn enemy of the Korean people."
Carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, the defense commission statement followed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Tuesday that condemned North Korea's recent rocket launch and expanded existing sanctions.
FULL STORYNorth Korea's state news agency has put out some photos of the rocket launch earlier this week that is believed to have put a satellite into orbit.
This image from KCNA shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un celebrating with troops.
And here's a shot of the launch.
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