N. Korea proposes talks on peace treaty with U.S. North Korea has twice in the span of a week suggested that it and the U.S. should sign a peace treaty. On October 1, at United Nations General Assembly, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong urged that the U.S. establish a permanent peace treaty with the North. Six days later, North Korea reiterated their call for a peace treaty with the U.S. For North Korea to make the same call in less than a week is unusual.

N. Korea proposes talks on peace treaty with U.S. North Korea has twice in the span of a week suggested that it and the U.S. should sign a peace treaty. On October 1, at United Nations General Assembly, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong urged that the U.S. establish a permanent peace treaty with the North. Six days later, North Korea reiterated their call for a peace treaty with the U.S. For North Korea to make the same call in less than a week is unusual. Visit NK News for more Memories of Pyongyang: How Kim Jong Un / authorities could improve the capital - Survey In part seven of a major new NK News expert interview series, we spoke with six former and current residents of the capital – both foreigners and defectors – to get a sense of what needs to change in Pyongyang. Many talk of problems that impact life all over the country, from unreliable power to an overbearing degree of state control over daily life, but also on the need for expanding mobile phone services and food choices. Visit NK News for more U.S. bolsters missile defense with N. Korea in mind The U.S. Department of State has detailed recent measures to bolster its missile defense to account for growing threats from states like North Korea and Iran. Speaking in Madrid, Frank A. Rose Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, outlined the Obama Administration’s recent steps to counter DPRK Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) launches. The U.S. has been working with its allies to improve its ICBM defense network, highlighting improvements and aid from several allies, including Romania, Poland and Spain. Visit NK News for more Where does North Korea buy its hyenas?, By Leo Byrne Recent articles from North Korea’s state media and satellite imagery indicate one of North Korea’s large scale construction projects, the Pyongyang Central Zoo, is nearing completion. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) claims the zoo is increasingly populated with exotic animals like hyenas and antelope. In the last two years however only three countries have made any significant animal exports to North Korea: Russia, Holland and South Africa. We took a look at North Korea's exotic trade links. Visit NK News for more N.Korean boy gets asylum in Sweden following protests A controversial case involving a North Korean defector, some questionable decisions by Swedish immigration authorities, and the threat of deportation and a brutal reception back home appears to have had a happy ending.What’s more, the decision to overturn the previous rejection of a North Korean defector’s asylum application may have far-reaching consequences for other defector looking to Europe for salvation. NK News analyses what happened and why. Visit NK News for more

Top Stories Today

Costly and complicated – why many Koreans can't face reunification (The Guardian)
Twice a month a North Korean defector and a South Korean professor meet at a cafe in downtown Seoul for a caffeine-fuelled argument.

Park, Obama to discuss more N.K. sanctions, but not THAAD: envoy (The Korea Herald)
Amid North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats, Seoul and Washington will explore the possibility of additional sanctions and other ways to deter another major provocation. 

N Koreas rice, corn production down 14 pct in 2015: FAO (Yonhap News)
North Korea's production of key food produce is estimated to decline on-year in 2015, data showed Friday, apparently due to unfavorable weather conditions.

Cash Crunch Hits North Korea's Elite (WSJ)
China’s economic slowdown and a plunge in coal prices are depriving North Korea of critical foreign currency, threatening to stir discontent among the small, elite class.

N. Korea preparing to put on one of largest-ever military parade (Yonhap News)
Recent satellite imagery shows North Korea is preparing to put on one of the country's largest military parades to mark the 70th anniversary this week of the founding of its Workers' Party.