North Korea

The tensions between South Korea and North Korea have heightened after an exchange of artillery fire across their heavily fortified border on Thursday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered his front-line troops to be in full preparedness and declared a state of "semi-state of war" at an emergency meeting late on Thursday, the BBC reports.

South Korea said it fired tens of artillery rounds towards North Korea on Aug. 20 after the North launched a shell towards a South Korean loudspeaker that had been blaring anti-Pyongyang broadcasts, as tension escalated on the peninsula.

No decision has yet been taken on replacing German Patriot anti-missile systems and NATO is continuing consultations on the issue after Germany decided to pull out its Patriot batteries in Turkey, a Turkish diplomat has told the Hürriyet Daily News.  

Tens of thousands of South Korean and US troops kicked off a large-scale military exercise Monday simulating an all-out attack by North Korea, which has condemned the joint drill as a "declaration of war."

North Korea’s Vice Premier Choe Yong-Gon has been executed for expressing his disagreement on Kim Jong-Un’s policies, according to South Korean Yonhap news agency. Choe was reportedly executed by firing squad in May after he voices his frustration on forestry policies claims a source from the new agency close to North Korea.

North Korea has erected a new, taller launch tower at its missile base, possibly in preparation for firing a long-range rocket to mark an important national anniversary in October, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on July 22.

Local elections in North Korea saw a massive 99.97 percent voter participation rate on July 19, state media reported.

North Korea has opened a sleek new airport terminal, hailing it as a showcase of leader Kim Jong-Un's achievement after its construction had to be stopped halfway and redone at his whim.
 
Terminal 2 of Pyongyang International Airport, which is reserved for international civilian flights, opened for service on July 1, state media said.
 

The fledgling group of MIKTA, which includes Mexico, Indonesia, Republic of Korea (ROK), Turkey and Australia, nations broke new ground July 1, with the first meeting of their parliamentary leaders in the South Korean capital.

Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Australia formed the MIKTA association in 2013.

The United Nations on June 22 opened a new office in Seoul to monitor North Korea's human rights record, after accusing the isolated regime of abuses "without parallel in the contemporary world" in a report published last year.