Hwanghae-Bukto, North Korea News

A resident walks with a bicycle in front of the national parliament building at Sukhbaatar square on Mongolia's annual Car-Free Day, in Ulan Bator March 31, 2013.

The outside world may never find out what type of fissile material North Korea used in its nuclear test four months ago, leaving a key question about the explosion unanswered, officials and experts said on Tuesday.

South Korea marks the 11th anniversary of an inter-Korean naval skirmish this month to pay homage to six soldiers killed while safeguarding the Northern Limit Line, a de facto maritime border.

South Korea has invited North Korea to attend next year's Asian Games to be held in the western port city of Incheon, a senior government official said Tuesday.

High-level talks between South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea were called off last week.

Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui will meet his North Korean counterpart on Wednesday in Beijing.

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy on Tuesday responded coolly to North Korea's proposal of high-level talks with the United States, saying there should not be "talks for talks' sake" with Pyongyang, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

The United States has said it wants "credible negotiations" with North Korea as Pyongyang in its latest offer has expressed desire to start "senior-level" talks with America on ... Our nuclear programmes are completely transparent.

The famous Nazi autobiography was reportedly distributed as what's called a "hundred-copy book," which refers to Pyongyang's practice of circulating an extremely limited number of copies among top officials, though most books are forbidden in North Korea.

The White House says President Barack Obama and South Korea's President Park Geun-hye have discussed North Korea's proposal for high-level talks with the U.S. The two leaders spoke by phone Sunday evening ahead of Obama's trip to Northern Ireland for G-8 meetings.

A cathedral with mosaic works made by North Korean artists will open on June 25, the 63rd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, the Catholic Bishop's Conference of Korea announced Monday.

WARSAW, Poland, June 17 -- Japan agreed to strengthen security and energy cooperation with four Eastern European countries that form the Visegrad Group, or V4, at their summit held in the Polish capital on Sunday, Japan's Jiji Press reported.

North Korea on Sunday proposed wide-ranging "senior-level" talks with the United States, an offer it said Washington should accept without setting any "preconditions" about denuclearization.

Colleague Lindsey Graham echoed those sentiments on "Meet the Press" - saying he has "never been more optimistic" about passing immigration reform, which he predicted will receive more than 70 votes in the affirmative.

The White House said on Sunday that the United States is open to talks with North Korea, but said Pyongyang must comply with UN Security Council resolutions and ultimately agree to denuclearization.

The front entrance of Korea's Diplomatic Duty-Free Shop on the second floor of a building in southern Seoul on Tuesday displays a sign advising patrons that shopping here is for diplomats only.

NORTH Korea has proposed high-level talks with the US aimed at discussing nuclear weapons programs and easing of tension on the peninsula, state media say.

North Korea proposed high-level talks with the United States on Sunday, days after its planned talks with South Korea broke down over the level of their chief delegates.

North Korea asked China last month to be recognized as a nuclear weapons state, a source familiar with Seoul-Beijing affairs said Sunday, amid indications China is taking a firm stance against Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs.

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