A government official said that Mr Ryoo had intended to say that North Korea has long been ready to conduct a nuclear test

$1 billion move follows increasingly aggressive rhetoric from the secretive regime 

Just last month a North Korean official has threatened South Korea with “final destruction” during a debate at the UN Conference on Disarmament

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned as “deplorable” North Korea's nuclear test today, and UN diplomats said the Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting to discuss the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Pyongyang.

Foreign Secretary William Hague “strongly condemned” a nuclear test carried out by North Korea today, calling it a “violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions”.

The top governing body has warned that the regime will defy the UN by conducting a third nuclear test, and made clear that its rockets are designed to carry not only satellites but also warheads aimed at striking the US.

The move, which comes in defiance of a resolution issued by the UN on Tuesday, is likely to once again raise tensions in the region over the North Korean missile program

Downing Street said UK troops will not engage in combat operations in Mali  but transport planes will provide logistical assistance

Britain is to transport foreign troops and equipment to Mali amid efforts to halt an advance by rebels.

Security concerns deepened in the capital of Central African Republic after the US ambassador and other diplomats were evacuated by plane overnight amid fears rebels could try to take the capital.

Al-Qa'ida-linked militants step up their campaign of atrocities, raping women and young girls and recruiting boy soldiers

Mali's prime minister has presented his resignation on state television, hours after soldiers who led a recent coup arrested him at his home in Bamako.

North Korea may postpone the controversial launch of a long-range rocket that had been slated for liftoff as early as this week, state media said Sunday, as international pressure on Pyongyang to cancel the provocative move intensified.

Political allies signed electoral pact in what is seen as an attempt to avoid trial at The Hague