North Korea reiterated on Saturday that it would not give up its nuclear weapons, rejecting a U.S. condition for talks although it said it was willing to discuss disarmament.

North Korea offered the United States and South Korea a list of conditions on Thursday for talks, including the lifting of U.N. sanctions, signaling a possible end to weeks of warlike hostility on the Korean peninsula.

A U.S. warship designed to fight in coastal areas arrived Thursday in Singapore for its Southeast Asian deployment, underlining President Barack Obama's new strategic focus on Asia.

North Korea barred a delivery of supplies to South Koreans in the closed Kaesong industrial zone Wednesday, as the South's president said it was time to stop rewarding Pyongyang's provocations.

South Korea on Wednesday called for a stronger international stance against North Korea's nuclear threats after Pyongyang said it will not be returning to the negotiating table with the United States.

North Korea on Tuesday threatened the South with “sledge-hammer” military action over anti-Pyongyang protests in Seoul and rejected the idea of entering into a “humiliating” dialogue with the United States.

Oblivious to international tensions over a possible North Korean missile launch, Pyongyang residents spilled into the streets Monday to celebrate a major national holiday, the birthday of their first leader, Kim Il Sung.

A Korean Air flight from Seoul bound for Los Angeles was forced to make an emergency landing at Tokyo's Narita airport on Sunday after smoke filled the cockpit, Japanese media reported.

Bound by threats from North Korea, the U.S. and China agreed Saturday to rid the bellicose nation of nuclear weapons in a test of whether the world powers can shelve years of rivalry and discord, and unite in fostering global stability.

North Korea dismissed on Sunday the South's offer for dialogue on the future of the Kaesong joint industrial zone, calling the offer an “empty” political gesture.