Korea

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has replaced its "number top" cadre in political hierarchy, Choe Ryong-hae.

In a report on May Day events by North Korea's mouthpiece KCNA it was revealed that Hwang Pyong-so would be the new military politburo chief, according to The South China Morning Post.

North Korea is preparing a nuclear test in the coming days, a South Korean government official has warned.

According to the anonymous official cited by CNN, the entrance to North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site was sealed, a sign of completed preparation for a nuclear test.

Relatives of the people missing in the sunken South Korean ferry protested and clashed with police over the “slow” rescue operation. 

Police prevented up to 100 angry relatives marching from Jindo island to Seoul on Sunday.

The latest death toll from the capsized ferry off the coast of South Korea has climbed to 4, with 292 people still unaccounted for.

The Sewol Ferry was carrying 459 people from the port city of Incheon to the resort island Jeju when it capsized at around 9 AM local time on Wednesday, CNN reports. 325 of the passengers were school children from the capital Seoul.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has warned of a "very grave" situation on the Korean peninsula, quoted by North Korea's official KCNA agency. 

Earlier this week South and North Korea exchanged artillery fire across the sea  border and Kim threatened a new nuclear test. 

North Korea fired 30 short-range missiles on Saturday.

According to the General staff of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's army, the missiles flew about 30 km before falling into the Sea of Japan near the Korean Peninsula, ITAR-TASS has reported.