North Korea Travel News

PYONGYANG, North Korea - After months of ignoring Chinese warnings to give up nuclear weapons, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a high-level confidant to Beijing on Wednesday, in a possible effort to mend strained ties with his country's most important ally and a sign that he may be giving diplomacy a chance.

There has been a lot of speculation about what exactly North Korea fired into the East Sea in recent days.

The boat's owner claims the 16-strong crew were held at gunpoint and then seized by North Koreans in Chinese waters on May 5. Yu Xuejun, who was not on board at the time, has said a 66,000 fee was demanded for the return of the vessel.

North Korea has released 16 Chinese fishermen and their boat, media reports said.

The Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang asked North Korea to release a private Chinese fishing boat and its crew soon after its owner reported the detention 10 days ago, state media said.

The government is assessing the conditions of local companies involved in North Korean ventures outside of an inter-Korean industrial complex that were forced to pull out of the country due to strained cross-border relations, an official source said Thursday.

Rare visit: Isao Iijima, right, adviser to Japan's Cabinet, arrives at Pyongyang airport on Tuesday.

A Western tour company in China said Tuesday it has obtained permission from North Korea for Westerners to make day trips into the country from the Chinese border.

Lewis, 81, a retired dentist, has visited many places - Vietnam, Mexico, the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean, and even Iran and Cuba.

Historic sites in North Korea's border city of Gaeseong are almost certain to be added to the world heritage list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization , according to the U.N. body's Web site Monday.

North Korea's sentencing of Kenneth Bae to 15 years of hard labor likely is meant to provoke the United States.

President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday told the U.S. Congress that North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and economic development in tandem is "incompatible" and urged Pyongyang to embrace reforms that could lead to support from South Korea.

Forget "Gangnam Style" for a moment and consider what influence the tiny country of South Korea has on the planet.

We begin in Washington where President Park Geun-hye held her first summit with her U.S. counterpart Barack Obama.

North Korea is threatening the U.S. and South Korea over joint naval drills taking place this week in tense Yellow Sea waters ahead of a Washington summit by the allies' leaders.

Patrick Boehler has written for Time, Bloomberg, Le Monde Diplomatique and the Chinese weekly Shidai Zhoubao.

The prevailing image of North Korea in Western minds is a closed society where the people have little sense of life beyond its borders.

North Korea is likely using Kenneth Bae of Lynnwood as bait in a desperate game for political legitimacy.

Glossy new construction downtown has altered the Pyongyang skyline. Inside supermarkets where shopgirls wear faux French designer labels, people with money can buy Italian wine, Swiss chocolates, kiwifruit imported from New Zealand and fresh-baked croissants.

Henry Rollins is a musician, activist and world traveler. Though a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq, he participated in several USO tours for troops involved in action in Iraq and Afghanistan.