BERLIN -- Kim Ok, the rumored fourth wife of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was treated for a cervical disk problem and coxitis at a hospital in Berlin in May, sources here said Saturday.Kim, 48, arrived in the German capital via Beijing and stayed at a hotel while receiving treatment at the Charite hospital, according to multiple South Korean residents here, who asked not to be named.Kim,

The successor to Moon Sun-myung, the deceased founder of the Unification Church, made a surprise visit to North Korea on Friday, his spokesman said.Moon Hyung-jin, Moon’s youngest son and successor as church leader, crossed the border early Friday, spokesman Ahn Ho-yeol told journalists.Moon Sun-myung, the self-styled messiah who founded the church famed for its mass weddings and business empire spanning cars to sushi, died Monday at the age of 92 due to complications from pneumonia. Although a

South Korea has proposed sending emergency relief aid to North Korea, the first such offer since relations sank into a deep freeze after the death of the North’s leader last December.The South’s Red Cross chief sent a proposal on Monday, calling for talks with North Korea on aid shipment, the Unification Ministry, which handles cross-border affairs, said Friday.Official aid from the South to the North often goes through the Red Cross as a matter of formality.South Korea last sent such aid two ye

The United States believes that North Korea may use biological weapons some day, which poses another major security threat on top of its nuclear weapons drive, according to an annual U.S. government report."The United States judges that North Korea may still consider the use of biological weapons as an option," the State Department said in its new report on international agreements and commitments

North Korea apparently made for an easy, simple discussion between the top diplomats from two of the most powerful nations -- the United States and China, as they struggle to deal with the crisis in Syria and Beijing's territorial disputes with its smaller neighbors.After talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Beijing Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said they had "product

South Korea's top nuclear envoy met with his Chinese counterpart on Wednesday and discussed North Korea's nuclear weapons program, after a U.N. nuclear watchdog cited major progress in the construction of a light water atomic reactor in the North. Lim Sung-nam, Seoul's chief negotiator to six-party talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear ambitions, had talks with Wu Dawei during his two-day trip

Prosecutors said Wednesday they have notified a Japanese suspect he faces questioning later this month for setting up a provocative wooden post in central Seoul to lay claim to South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo. Nobuyuki Suzuki, known as a conservative activist, allegedly tied a post with the phrase, “Dokdo is Japanese territory” to a symbolic statue of a wartime Korean sex slave in front of the Japanese embassy in downtown Seoul in June.He then took photos and made a recording of the sc

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent condolences Wednesday over the death of Unification Church founder Moon Sun-myung, fueling speculation he might send a rare delegation to South Korea for the funeral.Moon, a self-styled messiah who gathered a global following behind his church and spawned a multi-billion business empire, died on Monday at the age of 92.His funeral will be held September 15 at the church’s headquarters in Gapyeong, east of Seoul.Although a staunch anti-communist, Moon began bu

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed condolence over the death of Unification Church founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Wednesday."Kim Jong-un sent a message of condolences to the bereaved family of Moon Sun Myung," the state news media said in a brief English-language dispatch.Kim said in the message that "Though he passed away, his effort

A strong typhoon which hit North Korea last week killed 48 people and left more than 50 injured or missing, the country's state news agency said on Monday.Typhoon Bolaven pounded the Korean peninsula last Tuesday, leaving a trail of death and damage in the two Koreas. In addition to the casualties, 21,180 people were left homeless by the storm, which destroyed or inundated 6,700 houses, toppled mo

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a restaurant in Pyongyang, the country’s state media reported Saturday, as he conducted his first inspection in the economic field in almost a month.Kim went around different sections of Haemaji Restaurant along with his wife Ri Sol-ju, according to the Korean Central News Agency.Kim “expressed great satisfaction” over the construction of the restaurant, saying the environment is very friendly and he likes everything there, the KCNA dispatch said.The dispa