North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has fathered another child, reports said Tuesday, after his wife dropped out of the public eye for several months. First lady Ri Sol-Ju delivered the couple's third child in February, the Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday, citing South Korean lawmakers who were briefed by the National Intelligence Service. Ri had disappeared for an extended period last year, raising speculation that she could be pregnant. News of the new arrival emerged as North Korea fired a ballistic missile over northern Japan. According to previous intelligence reports from Seoul's spy agency, Ri married Kim in 2009 and gave birth to their first child the following year, with their second born in 2013. Kim is the third generation of his dynasty to rule North Korea, but little has been revealed about the country's first family. Former NBA star Dennis Rodman, following his trip to the North in 2013, has been the only source of information about the couple's second … [Read more...] about North Korea’s Kim has third child: reports
Dennis rodman north korea
Rodman leaves for North Korea for basketball on leader Kim’s birthday
BEIJING - Former NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman left Beijing for North Korea on Monday with a team of retired basketball players to mark the birthday of "nice guy" North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. This will be Rodman's fourth trip to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, where he and his team of fellow former National Basketball Association stars will hold basketball games on Kim's birthday, which is believed to fall on Wednesday, although it has never been officially confirmed. On previous visits, Rodman spent time dining as a guest of Kim, with whom he says he has a genuine friendship, though he did not meet Kim on his third trip. Rodman said he will not interfere in the country's politics. "People always say that North Korea is like a really communist country, that people are not allowed to go there," Rodman told reporters at an airport in Beijing. "I just know the fact that, you know, to me he's a nice guy, to me." "Whatever he does political-wise, that's not my job. … [Read more...] about Rodman leaves for North Korea for basketball on leader Kim’s birthday
North Korea’s ‘princess’ moves closer to center of power
This image from March 2014 shows Kim Yo Jong (left), the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. She has been named senior party official. (Yonhap Files via AFP) In her slim-fitting trouser suits and black-heeled shoes, Kim Yo Jong cuts a contrasting figure to her pudgy older brother, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. On Thursday, state media said the younger Kim, 27, had taken a senior position in the ruling Workers' Party, confirming speculation she had moved closer to the center of power in the secretive state. … [Read more...] about North Korea’s ‘princess’ moves closer to center of power
Worried US warns North Korea, boosts troops to South
WASHINGTON - The United States said Tuesday it would send another 800 troops to South Korea as the allies warned North Korea against any provocation, amid deepening worries over the regime's stability. "We will not accept North Korea as a nuclear state," Kerry said at a joint press appearance with Yun, rejecting a top demand of that country. "We remain fully committed to the defense of the Republic of Korea, including through extended deterrence and putting the full range of US military capabilities in place," Kerry said, referring to the South by its formal name. "We will continue to modernize our capabilities so that we are prepared to face any threat," Kerry said. The Pentagon said that the US Army would deploy another 800 soldiers, armored vehicles and tanks starting next month at camps Hovey and Stanley near the demarcation line with the North Korea. The rotational deployment from the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment is part of the US strategic shift toward the … [Read more...] about Worried US warns North Korea, boosts troops to South
Rodman returns to Pyongyang but says won’t bring back jailed American
SINGAPORE/BEIJING - Flamboyant former basketball star Dennis Rodman left for North Korea on Tuesday for a five-day visit, his second this year, but said he had no plans to negotiate the release of a jailed American missionary. "I'm not going to North Korea to discuss freeing Kenneth Bae," Rodman told Reuters in a telephone interview before he left Beijing for Pyongyang. "I'm just going there on another basketball diplomacy tour." Kim, the third of his line to rule North Korea, is a basketball fan and appeared to get on well with Rodman on the earlier visit, with the two of them pictured laughing, eating and drinking together and watching an all-star basketball match. Rodman's latest trip is being sponsored by Irish bookmaker Paddy Power. Wearing his trademark dark sunglasses, the 6-foot 7-inch (2.01 metre) Rodman pushed through a throng of journalists on Tuesday as he made his way to his plane at Beijing's international airport, a common waystation for travelers to North … [Read more...] about Rodman returns to Pyongyang but says won’t bring back jailed American