North Korea leader’s armoured train arrives in Chinese capital

 North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (right) and his youngest son Kim Jong-un (left) gesture next to a military official during a gala evening to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang on October 10, 2010.

North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il’s armoured train arrived in Beijing today, setting the stage for a summit with Chinese leaders that he will want to underscore the bond between his isolated state and Asia’s biggest economy.

A motorcade later swept down central Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue under unusually tight police guard, suggesting the secretive Kim was in the Chinese capital.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said Kim was there “apparently for a summit meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao”.

Neither China nor North Korea has confirmed the visit.

Kim Jong Il's eldest son attacks choice of his younger brother as North Korea's next leader

Kim Jong Il's eldest son has hit out at his father's choice of successor as his younger brother Kim Jong Un is prepared to take over as ruler of North Korea.

Kim Jong Un - said to be his father's favourite - has become the front-runner to inherit the mantle of leadership, despite his youth and inexperience.

Kim Jong Nam was once considered likely to succeed his ailing father but reportedly fell out of favor after being caught trying to enter Japan on a false passport in 2001.

And it was a Japanese TV programme - TV Asahi - which broadcast footage of Kim Jong Nam making the remarks in Beijing, in which he said he opposes a hereditary transfer of power to a third generation of his family.
 

Passed over: Kim Jong-Nam attacked his father's choice of successor

The chosen one: North Korea leader Kim Jong Il, left, and his son Kim Jong Un observe the huge military parade at the weekend

North Korea confirms for the first time that Kim Jong Un will succeed his father as leader

A North Korean official has confirmed today for the first time that Kim Jong Il's youngest son will succeed him as the communist nation's next leader.

Yang Hyong Sop, a top official in North Korea's ruling party, referred to Kim Jong Un as 'the young general' during an interview with APTN.

He said the nation's people would be honoured to serve him as their leader.

Kim Jong Un would be the third successive generation of his family to lead North Korea, which has a population of 24 million.

His grandfather Kim Il Sung founded the nation in 1948 on a policy of self-reliance called 'juche'.

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Family tradition: Grandfather Kim Il Sung founded North Korea in 1948 and was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Il in 1994. Right, Kim Jong Un will be the next leader

On ceremony: Kim Jong Un standing with other North Korean Army figures. He was promoted to a four-star general last month

South Korea warns of problems when NK power shifts

The United States and South Korea should be prepared for a crisis in North Korea when dictator Kim Jong Il leaves power, South Korea's defense chief said Friday.

The expected transfer of power to Kim's youngest son could have unpredictable consequences in the isolated nation, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said during a visit to the Pentagon.

"When Kim Jong Il's health may deteriorate, or if there's a movement of public opinion in North Korea, we cannot eliminate the possibility of there being an instability situation in North Korea" that would affect the security of the whole peninsula, Kim said through an interpreter.


Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, and South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young hold a joint news conference at the Pentagon, Friday, Oct. 8, 2010.


Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, looks toward South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young at the end of a joint news conference at the Pentagon, Friday, Oct. 8, 2010.

North Korea nuclear threat ‘alarming’, says South

Mercurial North Korea’s nuclear threat has reached an “alarming level” and it is now trying to miniaturise weapons to improve their mobility and impact, a South Korean government official said.

A US think-tank has also said satellite images taken last week showed that construction or excavation activity was taking place at the North’s main Yongbyon nuclear complex.

News that the North was pushing ahead with its nuclear plans in defiance of international pressure comes as Pyongyang, which has just recently set in motion a father-to-son power transition, has said it wants to return to stalled nuclear talks.

North Korea Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il is starting to hand the reins over to his son.

Spot the family resemblance: Has Kim Jong-Un undergone plastic surgery to look more like his grandfather Kim Il-Sung?

Most people look to plastic surgery as a way of turning back time.

But Kim Jong-un, the 27-year-old heir to the North Korean regime, has reportedly taken the opposite tack by going under the knife to look more like his grandfather.

Speculation is rife in North and South Korea over the striking similarity between Kim Jong-un and Kim Il-sung, the founder of the family dynasty.

Gone is the slender youth shown in earlier pictures of the youngest son of ailing North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

Doppelgangers: North Korea's founder and former leader Kim Il-sung (left), his son and current leader Kim Jong-il (centre) and the person believed to be the latter's youngest son, Kim Jong-un (right)

Kim Jong Il youngest son Kim Jong Un promoted to 4 star general set to take over North Korea Presidential.

Many North Korean defectors living in South Korea said they are not surprised that a son of leader Kim Jong Il has been appointed to prominent party posts, a move thought to signal the start of a leadership succession.

Propagandists tell North Koreans that supreme leader's son is a successor in ...

Kim Jong Il promotes son, several others to general - Kim Jong Un, and Kim Kyong Hui

The top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Monday issued an order promoting his son Kim Jong Un and several commanding officers to the rank of general, the official KCNA reported early Tuesday.

Top leader Kim Jong Il's son Kim Jong Un, and Kim Kyong Hui, Choe Ryong Hae and three others from the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) were promoted to general, said the order.

The order also give the rank of colonel general to Ryu Kyong, lieutenant general to Ro Hung Se, Ri Tu Song and four others, and the rank of major general to Jo Kyong Jun, Jang To Yong and Mun Jong Chol and 24 others.

Youngest of Kim Jong Il's three sons set to replace him next week as leader's health worsens

North Korea will hold its biggest political meeting in three decades next week amid speculation leader Kim Jong Il will give his son an important post, paving the way for his possible succession.

Two years after suffering a stroke and reportedly in poor health, the 68-year-old is believed to be bolstering his plan to take the Kim dynasty into a third generation - appointing his heir to a senior position at the Workers' Party conference.

But the succession process is shrouded in secrecy.

Kim Jong Il (L) and the man believed to be his son Kim Jong Un (R) in 1992. North Korea will hold its biggest political meeting for three decades on September 28

South Korea marks 60th anniversary of historic battle with dramatic re-enactment involving hundreds of troops

South Korea has staged a dramatic military re-enactment to mark the 60th anniversary of one of the most important battles of the Korean War.

Around 14,000 people took part in the event, which involved ships, aircraft and soldiers from South Korea, Australia and the United States, at the coastal city of Incheon.

The re-enactment of the Incheon Landing took place despite protests from North Korea that the original landing was a 'crime committed with the aims of bringing down the Korean people'.

A North Korea state newspaper said the ceremony was planned to deliberately provoke Pyongyang and showed its enemies' 'ambition for invasion... remains unchanged though over half a century has passed'.

The rapid amphibious invasion was followed by a bloody 11-day advance in Seoul, with U.S General Edward Almond eventually declaring the city liberated on September 25 1950

China paper defends North Korea as Kim eludes

It is in Beijing’s interest to have a stable relationship with North Korea, a state-controlled newspaper said today during a reported visit to China by the impoverished state’s reclusive leader Kim Jong-il and his son.

A source with knowledge of the secretive trip told Reuters at the weekend that the two Kims were on a trip to China but there has been no official confirmation from either government.

“Maintaining and stabilising the current relationship between China and North Korea is of maximum benefit to China,” the popular Chinese-language tabloid, Global Times, said in an editorial.

China is the only major supporter for North Korea, which is largely isolated from the international community over its nuclear weapons programme and which has come under further condemnation after South Korea accused it of sinking one of its warships earlier this year.

China’s Premier Wen Jiabao (right) shakes hands with Kim Jong-il during a meeting in Pyongyang October 5, 2009.

North Korea's Kim not seen heading for retirement yet

North Korea's ruling party holds its biggest meeting in 30 years early next month to pick a new leadership and likely anoint an heir to the dynasty as Kim Jong-il's health deteriorates.

Kim, suspected of suffering a stroke in 2008, is believed to have accelerated succession plans, but analysts say the meeting of the Workers' Party won't send its supreme leader into retirement just yet.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (C) visits the Pyongyang Cornstarch Factory in this undated picture released on August 26, 2010 by North Korea's KCNA news agency.

American Held in North Korea Returns.Mother of Nkorea Prisoner Thankful for Release.NKorea Frees American Imprisoned Since January

N.Korea leader on way home from China trip: reports

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il appeared to be heading home from China Saturday, news reports said, with Beijing's diplomatic and financial support for an eventual handover of power to his son.

Kim left a hotel in northeastern China on Saturday where he is believed to have met with Chinese President Hu Jintao, according to South Korean media.

YTN TV and Yonhap news agency said a convoy of some 20 cars, protected by 10 Chinese security vehicles, left the hotel in the city of Changchun at 9:05am (0005 GMT).

North Korea’s Kim Jong-il, son visit China

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is visiting China, his only powerful ally, with his son and heir apparent, South Korean media reported.

The visit comes ahead of a rare meeting next month of the North Korea’s Workers’ Party, which rubber stamps major policy decisions. Analysts say this meeting could set in motion the succession of the leader’s son, Kim Jong-un.

“Kim Jong-un accompanied his father on a visit to China and we are trying to figure out their exact destination,” the South’s YTN television quoted a presidential source as saying.

Yonhap news agency also quoted a high ranking South Korean official as saying Kim appeared to have travelled to China.

Kim returns a salute as he reviews a military parade in Pyongyang October 10, 2005

U.S. citizen freed from North Korean jail after former President Jimmy Carter flies to Pyongyang to negotiate release

Protest: Aijalon Gomes is pictured in January near the disputed border between North and South Korea during a peace rally, days before his trespass offence and subsequent imprisonment

An American citizen was free today after spending almost seven months in a North Korean prison thanks to the intervention of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

Aijalon Gomes, 31, had been sentenced to eight years' hard labour for trespassing and committing a 'hostile act' in the isolated dictatorship.

But former President Carter personally intervened, flying to North Korea's capital Pyongyang to negotiate with representatives of the state's reclusive leader Kim Jong Il.

Gomes - who is believed to have entered North Korea in support of another jailed American citizen - was pardoned by the 'supreme leader'.

North Korean leader’s son seen making debut

Hidden from even the North Korean public, the youngest son of leader Kim Jong-il has for months been the focus of speculation that he will next lead the impoverished state.

South Korean media reported today that Kim Jong-un was accompanying his father on a visit to China ahead of a rare meeting next month of the North Korea’s Workers’ Party, which rubber stamps major policy decisions.

The meeting, the first of its kind in more than 40 years, is expected to elect a new leadership, likely giving the junior Kim an official party role and formally initiate the grooming for succession.

Swiss-educated Jong-un, thought to be 26 and whose name in Chinese characters translates as “righteous cloud”, is the youngest of Kim’s three known sons.
He is thought to speak English and German, and bears a striking resemblance to his father, informed sources have been quoted in local media as saying.

Carter in North Korea to free US prisoner

Former US President Jimmy Carter arrived in North Korea today to try to win the release of an American jailed for illegally entering the reclusive state, media reports said.

The visit comes amid heightened tensions on the peninsula after the torpedoing in March of a South Korean warship, which Seoul blames on the North and which prompted Washington to announce expanded sanctions against Pyongyang.

North Korea’s Kim Jong-il visits China

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visited China early today, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing a government source.

The purpose of his visit was not immediately clear.

Kim, who suffered a stroke in 2008, visited China in May when he met President Hu Jintao.

“There are signs Kim Jong-il has made a visit to China,” Yonhap said, quoting a high-ranking South Korean official. “Exact purpose or destination of the visit is being figured out.”

China’s foreign ministry had no immediate comment on his reported visit. South Korea’s foreign ministry declined comment