Despot surrounded in scenes more often associated with the likes of Harry Styles or Justin Bieber

Crew riots and captain attempts suicide as officials board vessel

Fishermen freed as speculation grows that Beijing may be planning for regime change

US State Department urges Kim Jong-Un's reclusive government to 'exercise restraint'

North Korea is still trying to import and export nuclear and ballistic missile-related items but financial and trade sanctions are slowing progress on development of their prohibited weapons, UN experts say in a new report.

I loved the chipper ferocity of John Sweeney's tour guides. But where are they now?

The former CIA officer sets his crime novels in the Communist state after years of extraordinary access. Clifford Coonan met him in Beijing

The Independent spoke to Joo-il Kim, a North Korean defector who now lives in New Malden, Surrey, about his life and the current political stand-off in Korea. His story of what led to him escaping is one of shocking sadness, but since coming to the UK - where he is working on a newspaper to smuggle into the country - he has been able to lead a much happier life.

Joo-il Kim believes the rhetoric is just a distraction

Where once China bought electricity from its neighbour, now it sells used clothing. Clifford Coonan reports from Tumen

Mr Kerry arrived South Korea as part of a unusual diplomatic journey, traveling directly into a region bracing for a possible North Korean missile test

A former North Korean spy has claimed Pyongyang’s threats of military action are a sign that Kim Jong-un is struggling to control his armed forces.

Shutting border unit represents a major blow to heavily indebted economy of North

Anonymous collective suspected to be behind attacks on Twitter, Flickr and official state information site