TOKYO (AP) ― Japan’s defense minister on Tuesday ordered interceptor missile units to prepare for North Korea’s rocket launch next month.The ``Unha-3’’ rocket is expected to fly over western Japan after it is launched from a pad on North Korea’s west coast between April 14-16. That has raised concerns that a failed launch, or a falling stage of the rocket, could endanger Japanese lives or property.``We must be fully prepared to protect the safety of our nation,’’ Naoki Tanaka said after issuing

North Korea’s military has elected leader Kim Jong-un as a delegate to the upcoming Workers’ Party conference, the North’s state media reported Tuesday.The development came amid mounting international pressure on the communist country to call off next month’s rocket launch that Pyongyang claims is designed to put a satellite into orbit as part of its peaceful space program.South Korea, the United States and other regional powers suspect the rocket launch could be a disguised test of the North’s

North Korea vowed Tuesday to go ahead with its planned rocket launch next month, defying successive warnings from global leaders attending the Nuclear Security Summit now under way in Seoul.The North’s defiant stance, released through its foreign ministry, came after Pyongyang announced earlier this month it would launch a long-range rocket in mid-April to put a satellite into orbit as part of its “peaceful space program.”North Korea “will not give up the satellite launch for peaceful purposes,

North Korea said Tuesday it would go ahead with a widely criticized plan for a satellite launch and called on U.S. President Barack Obama to drop his "confrontational mindset"."We will never give up the right to launch a peaceful satellite, a legitimate right of a sovereign state and an essential st

North Korea’s military has elected leader Kim Jong-un as a delegate to the upcoming Workers’ Party conference, the North’s state media reported Tuesday.The development came amid mounting international pressure on the communist country to call off next month’s rocket launch that Pyongyang claims is designed to put a satellite into orbit as part of its peaceful space program.South Korea, the United States and other regional powers suspect the rocket launch could be a disguised test of the North’s

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― U.S. President Barack Obama said North Korea’s human rights record is a key factor in Washington’s approach to the communist nation.“Improving human rights conditions is a top U.S. priority in our North Korea policy and it will have a significant impact on the prospect for closer U.S.-DPRK ties,” Obama said in response to a question on North Korea, according to the White House. DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.Obama i

North Korean authorities plan to supply school uniforms to the country’s students by April 15, marking the centenary of the birth of late founding leader Kim Il-sung, a pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan said Monday. “The chief task of textile industries in 2012 is to provide school uniforms to all students in primary and secondary schools as well as universities by the 100th birthday of founding father Kim Il-sung,” the Choson Sinbo said. Up until the late 1980s, school uniforms were provided

Japan is to deploy surface-to-air missiles in central Tokyo in readiness for North Korea's planned rocket launch, its defense minister said Monday.The sitting of an anti-missile battery in the densely packed capital city would be in addition to facilities on the southern island chain of Okinawa Naok

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a mausoleum of his father Sunday to mark the 100th day of the death of the late North Korean leader amid rising tensions over Pyongyang’s plans to launch a rocket.“Kim Jong-un, the supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army and supreme leader of the Workers’ Party of Korea and people, Sunday visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, reflecting the profound condolences of all the service personnel and the people across the country and progressive mankind,

Japan to deploy Aegis warships to intercept what neighbors see as missileNorth Korea has transported the main body of a long-range rocket to a launch site in the northwestern part of the reclusive state, a news report said Sunday.The move indicates that Pyongyang is taking further steps to put a satellite into orbit using a long-range missile between April 12 and 16, a South Korean government official said.A train moved the main body to the launch facility in Dongchang-ri, Cholsan County, North

North Korea is speeding up preparations for two significant meetings in mid-April intended to strengthen the leadership of young dictator Kim Jong-un.The two meetings are the Workers’ Party Conference and the Supreme People’s Assembly, to be held in mid-April and on April 13, respectively, according to the North’s state-run Korea Central News Agency.At the Workers Party meeting, Pyongyang is likely to name Kim Jong-un the General Secretary of the Workers’ Party, the highest post in the ruling pa

North Korea will hold a session of its primary legislative body on April 13, the communist state’s news agency said Saturday.The Korea Central News Agency said the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly Thursday decided to hold the fifth session of the 12th Supreme People’s Assembly in