Pyongyang has denied any sanctions-busting weapons trade with Russia, but with diplomacy long stalled, it declared South Korea its "principal enemy" this year and recently moved nuclear-capable weapons to border areas.
North Korea has offered to send more than 200 cheerleaders to the Winter Olympics in the South and attend the Paralympics, Seoul says as the two Koreas meet to discuss athlete numbers in the latest in a flurry of cross-border talks.
North Korea's under-20 women's soccer team paraded through the streets of Pyongyang in a flower-covered vehicle on Tuesday, celebrating their World Cup win upon their return to the isolated nation's capital.
Undaunted by sanctions and hard realities on the pitch, North Korea's lone football academy has set its sights high -- producing players better than Lionel Messi, and teams that can dominate the world.
South Korea's foreign minister says that North Korea's nuclear capability is expanding fast, echoing alarm around the world over the isolated state's fifth nuclear test carried out in defiance of UN sanctions.
The leader of North Korea has said the country will not use nuclear weapons unless its sovereignty is threatened.
North Korea fires another short-range missile off its east coast on Friday, South Korean officials said, as regional leaders met in Washington to discuss the threat of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.
China and the United States will work together to try and prevent further missile tests by North Korea, US President Barack Obama says.
North Korea warns that its military is ready to attack Seoul's presidential palace unless South Korean President Park Geun-hye apologizes for "treason" and publicly executes officials responsible for what Pyongyang says are plans to attack its leadership.
North Korea has brought forward the possible date of a controversial "satellite" launch to as early as Sunday, regional governments say.
The North Korean authorities say they have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb amid reports of a tremor near the main nuclear test site.
Twitter has sent warnings to a number of users that their accounts may have been hacked by "state-sponsored actors".
30 women activists cross the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea in an attempt to promote peace.
North Korea rejects South Korean calls for an apology over the sinking of a warship Cheonan which went down five years ago with the loss of 46 lives