Hwanghae-Bukto, North Korea News

A Thai court on Monday extended the detention of the crew of a plane that flew a cache of heavy weapons out of North Korea, as Washington hailed the seizure as proof sanctions were effective.

The seizure in Thailand of 35 tons of war weaponry from North Korea and the arrest of five foreigners charged with illegal possession of arms may prove a blow to efforts by the United States to negotiate a halt to Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, observers said Sunday.

The Obama administration's special envoy for North Korea said Monday he is 'encouraged' by the talks he had with North Korea last week and said that the US is ready to sign a peace agreement if the Korean peninsula is denuclearized.

Laos News.Net Monday 14th December, 2009 A Thai court Monday ordered a 12-day detention period without bail for one Belarus national and four Kazakh citizens who landed a cargo plane with 35 tonnes of weapons at a Bangkok airport on the weekend.

A cargo plane seized in Thailand suspected of smuggling arms from North Korea was owned by a Kazakh airline before being sold to a Georgian firm two months ago, officials said Monday.

Another year has passed in the world's standoff with Iran and North Korea over nuclear weapons, and the situation has only gotten worse.

North Korean government is ready to flee the country, suggested Hwang Jang-yop, a former secretary of the North's Workers' Party during a program on Free North Korea Radio, a Seoul-based anti-Pyongyang station.

Thai police officers and soldiers remove boxes of war weaponry from a suspect foreign-registered cargo plane onto trucks at Don Muang Airport Saturday in Bangkok.

Pyongyang, Dec 11 The DPR of Korea has confirmed on Friday that negotiations with the United States has reached an understanding on the need of renewing six-party talks and the importance of implementing the 2005 Joint Declaration.

Update on North Korean websites Dear Hobbyists or friends of Korea! To my big surprise the official North Korean website http://www.kcckp.net/ provides audio on demand wav.-files for the daily Korean language programmes of the Korean Central Broadcasting Station from Pyongyang, North Korea .

Huge weapons shipment found aboard plane seeking refuelling stop en route from N Korea to undisclosed location; E European crew held, as cargo declared as military spare parts More than 35 tonnes of weapons aboard a Russian-made IL76 cargo plane were impounded yesterday after it stopped over at Don Mueang Airport for refuelling.

Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada met with the top U.S. official on North Korea policy on Saturday in Tokyo following the official's recent trip to Pyongyang aimed at persuading the country to return to the six-party denuclearization talks.

Five foreigners were detained and their foreign-registered aircraft impounded after it landed in the Thai capital Saturday with tons of war weaponry on board that originated in North Korea, Thai officials said.

The photo provided by the official Korean Central News Agency on Dec. 12, 2009 shows Kim Jong Il , top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , inspects the Kim Il Sung University, which is named after his late father, in Pyongyang.

Special U.S. envoy in Beijing after getting a pledge from North Korea to work with the United States on resolving differences over resuming nuclear disarmament talks U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy on North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, answers a reporter's questions during a press briefing after returning from North Korea at the Foreign ...

Mobile phone subscriptions have spread fast in North Korea and are due to reach 120,000 early next year only a year after service began, AFP reported on Wednesday.

In his speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, President Barack Obama said there are circumstances when war is justified.

North Korean authorities have publicized the age of Kim Jong-un, leader Kim Jong-il's third son and heir apparent, as 27 since June, a year older than he was previously thought to be, NHK quoted experts as saying Thursday.

A senior U.S. envoy said Thursday his talks with North Korea were "very useful," a report said, as he wrapped up a rare trip to the communist nation aimed at prodding it back to international nuclear negotiations.

There were far fewer swine flu deaths across the country in the Public Health Agency of Canada's most recent reporting period, which ended Tuesday.