Reuters - North Korea has replaced five ministers in the past few months, a South Korea government agency said on Tuesday, while a leading daily newspaper said the impoverished state was shaking up its leadership team.

AFP - North Korea has replaced at least nine cabinet ministers in a major reshuffle seen as an attempt to improve the country's ailing economy, officials said Tuesday.

AP - Tens of thousands of North Koreans rallied in Pyongyang in a display of might and loyalty underscoring their government's guiding "military first" principal amid tensions with rival South Korea.

AFP - North Korea Monday held a mass rally in the capital Pyongyang, vowing to launch a new year drive to rebuild its economy, state media said Monday.

AFP - North Korea has sacked two top officials, including a once key aide to leader Kim Jong-Il, blaming them for worsening cross-border ties with South Korea, a South Korean newspaper said Monday.

AFP - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has visited an artillery unit, state media said Monday, in his second such inspection to be reported this year.

AP - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il paid a new year's visit to soldiers from a leading tank unit in his first reported public appearance of 2009, state-run media reported Saturday.

AFP - North Korea Friday resumed its criticism of the United States, a day after dropping its customary harsh words from a policy-setting New Year message.

AP - North Korea ushered in 2009 with an appeal Thursday to unite around leader Kim Jong Il and bolster the country's military while reaffirming its commitment to denuclearization.

AFP - North Korea Thursday lashed out at South Korea but dropped its customary criticism of the United States in a policy-setting New Year message which called for a stronger military and economy.

AP - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak indicated no softening of his hard-line stance on North Korea and vowed Wednesday to work closely with Washington to end the communist nation's nuclear ambitions.

AFP - North Korea will use parliamentary elections in 2009 to lay the groundwork for the post Kim Jong-Il era, by promoting younger economic experts, a South Korean government think-tank says.

AFP - A family of four has defected from communist North Korea to South Korea by sea, the South's spy agency said Wednesday.

AFP - North Korea's first foreign-funded university is finally expected to open next year after being delayed by international tensions, the foundation behind the landmark project said Tuesday.

Reuters - South Korea has been drawing up plans to buy the release of more than 1,000 of its citizens held in North Korea, hoping such aid can help it improve ties with its impoverished neighbor, local media reported on Tuesday.

AFP - A South Korean Buddhist group said Tuesday it has shipped a fresh consignment of food aid for mothers and children in impoverished North Korea.

Reuters - North Korea threatened to stop taking apart its nuclear plant that makes bomb-grade plutonium unless Japan provides it with energy aid as part of an international disarmament deal, Kyodo news agency said on Monday.

Reuters - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il made his first appearance at a mass public event since his suspected stroke in August when he attended a concert and was met by a cheering crowd, according to a state media report on Monday.

AFP - North Korea might stage a second atomic test to raise the stakes in nuclear disarmament negotiations next year but the new US administration is unlikely to yield, a South Korean think-tank said Monday.