North Korea has freed Jeffrey Fowle, one of three Americans detained by the country, and he is being flown home to his family in Ohio, the White House said on Tuesday.
High-ranking military officials from North and South Korea met secretly on Wednesday to discuss recent border altercations that involved gun fire, a South Korean opposition lawmaker and news reports said.
South Korea said on Monday it had warned North Korea of a "strong" response if it provoked an incident similar to one last week that sparked an exchange of machinegun fire across their border.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in firm control of his government but hurt his leg taking part in a military drill, a source with access to the secretive North's leadership said, playing down speculation over the 31-year-old's health and grip on power in the nuclear-capable nation.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been out of sight for over a month and if he does not appear at a key political event early on Friday, speculation will intensify over his health and grip on power in the secretive country.
A South Korean naval ship fired warning shots on Tuesday after a North Korean patrol boat crossed a disputed sea border off the peninsula's west coast and fired shots back before retreating, a South Korean defense official said.
South Korea wants to discuss the reunion of families separated by the Korean War in talks expected soon with North Korea, the South's Unification Ministry said on Monday, after a surprise high-level visit by North Korean envoys at the weekend.
Isolated North Korea sent its highest level delegation to South Korea on Saturday to attend the Asian Games closing ceremony amid a flurry of diplomatic activity which has raised hopes for improved ties between the arch rivals.
One of three Americans held in North Korea on charges of crimes against the state said he was anxiously awaiting his trial and appealed for U.S. government help to secure their freedom, a news report said on Thursday.
North Korea has told Japan it would not pass on findings from an investigation into the fate of Japanese people abducted by North Koran agents and proposed that Japan sends representatives for talks, Japan's prime minister said on Tuesday.
Japanese and North Korean officials will meet next week for an update on the North's probe into the fate of Japanese citizens it kidnapped decades ago, Japan's top government spokesman said on Thursday.
Matthew Miller, the American held in North Korea since April for "hostile acts", began a six-year hard labor sentence on Thursday that he said involved farm work and isolation, media reports said.
An American recently sentenced to six years hard labor by a North Korean court pretended to have secret U.S. information and was deliberately arrested in a bid to become famous and meet U.S. missionary Kenneth Bae in a North Korean prison, state media said on Saturday.
North Korea has told Japan it can only give a preliminary report on the status of its investigation into the fate of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang decades ago and of other missing Japanese, the government spokesman in Tokyo said on Friday.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye, thwarted so far in ambitious plans to begin the process of reunifying the Korean peninsula, said the door is open for talks with the North during the upcoming U.N. General Assembly.
North Korea sentenced U.S. citizen Matthew Todd Miller to six years hard labor for committing "hostile acts" as a tourist to the isolated country, a statement carried by state media said on Sunday.
Just before one of three Americans detained in North Korea is due to go on trial, a senior U.S. official on Friday accused the communist Asian country of using U.S. citizens as human "pawns."
North Korea is ready to provide Japan with initial findings from a special investigating team that looked into the fate of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang's agents decades ago, Kyodo news agency quoted a North Korean diplomat as saying.
Matthew Miller, one of three detained Americans in North Korea, will face trial next week, a short statement carried by state media said on Sunday, without elaborating any further on what charges the U.S. citizen faced.
Three American citizens detained in North Korea appealed to the U.S government on Monday for help returning home, speaking in rare interviews with U.S. media that were set up by the North Korean government and may signal an attempt by Pyongyang to reopen a long-stalled dialogue.
Several who are familiar with global diplomacy had told Reuters that there would be difficulty getting a consensus from countries to try leaders in North Korea over alleged crimes against humanity.
