With 3000 rooms, it's the world's largest hotel - and North Korea's Ryugyong Hotel might celebrate its 30th birthday next year by opening for the very first time.

Photographs from high above North Korea show what observers say are concerning developments in the regime's arsenal of repression.

Kiwi freestyle skier Sam Smoothy and filmmaker William Lascelles have gone on a snow trip like no other, exploring the slopes of North Korea.

Searching for "Kim Fatty the Third" in China? You're out of luck.

Rumours are circulating that Kim Jong-Un's wife is pregnant after disappearing from public view for seven months.

Once hailed as South Korea's saviour, Park Geun-hye's reputation has been left in tatters this week after a political scandal was revealed.

A bizarre propaganda video has emerged from North Korea showing Kim Jong-Un flying supposedly flying a plane, shooting guns and riding

COMMENT: It is time to sober up. The superpowers are drunk on rhetoric, mistrust and posturing. They are dragging us all towards the brink.

Until a few months ago, if you wanted a bird's eye view of North Korea's capital, there was basically only one option: a 150m-tall tower across the river from Kim Il Sung Square.

Foreign Affairs officials are investigating how a New Zealand-made aircraft turned up at a North Korean military air show painted up in the hermit state's colours.

An air festival featuring sky diving, air force demonstrations and lots of beer is North Korea's latest attempt to attract more foreign tourists.

The parents of a Utah man who disappeared from China believe he was taken by the North Korean regime.

Gerard van Bohemen, NZ's Ambassador to the UN, announces "appropriate measures" aimed at Pyongyang being developed after 'insane' nuclear threat.

Pyongyang claim that it had advanced its ability to make a nuclear weapon by miniaturising and mounting a warhead on a missile.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has had a senior official executed because he did not sit properly in a meeting.

A student who was presumed dead after going missing in China in 2004 has reportedly turned up in North Korea - acting as Kim Jong-un's tutor.

Kim Jong-un ordered the execution of two high-ranking officials by anti-aircraft gun over fears that the dictator is preparing another purge against his people.

A selfie of two gymnasts whose nations are sworn enemies has melted hearts, with one saying this is what the Games are about.

North Korea said it will end a diplomatic communication channel with the US and hinted at harsher punishment for Americans detained there in retaliation for U.S. sanctions.

A US surfer who recently visited North Korea has described it as "the New Zealand of Asia".

Wandering through Times Square, past the Naked Cowboy and the Elmos and the ticket touts, she could be any immigrant trying to live the American Dream.

North Korea detained a BBC journalist over his reporting and he was to be expelled, according to media reports.

Kim Jong Un has announced North Korea's first "five-year plan" since the 1980s.

North Korea sees foreign prisoners as a valuable tool to exert pressure on its enemies - and none are more valuable than Americans.

North Korea is ready to halt its nuclear tests if the United States suspends its annual military exercises with South Korea.

Pyongyang may be one of the few major cities left on Earth where you can't find a Starbucks.

North Korea detonates a sea-launched nuclear missile over Washington DC in a fantasy video released by the Ministry of Propaganda.

OPINION: It's been 37 years since the movie Midnight Express painted a grim picture for travellers pondering the thrill of breaking local laws.