PENTAGON chiefs have dispatched its weirdest secret “Star Wars” weapon from Pearl Harbor in Hawaii to intercept North Korean nuclear missiles bound for California. With its huge white globe attached to a table like structure, it has to be mankind’s wackiest looking seagoing vessel ever. According to The Sun, America is pinning its hope on averting a nuclear apocalypse on this extraordinary self-propelled 85 metre, 50,000-tonne mammoth structure.

With two days to go until the US presidential election, it's easy to lose track of the troublesome menace that is North Korea. However, geopolitics took a new turn today as Pyongyang-controlled news broadcaster KCNA announced Kim's request for senior South Korean politicians and soldiers to be killed. KCNA is known for some outlandish claims, especially considering that it is the first news source globally to have discovered a 'unicorn lair'; although threats to wipe out the political and military establishments of South Korea should perhaps be taken more seriously.

South Korea may be doomed. A recent study, conducted by the National Assembly Research Service in Seoul, predicts that the country will reach zero inhabitants by 2750. The report makes it clear where the country's problem lies: A remarkably low birth rate of 1.19 children per woman. But what's really striking is the speed at which it could happen: South Korea's population (currently larger than Spain) could shrink to a level comparable to tiny Switzerland within only a few generations.

Hundreds of thousands of people have rallied in Seoul for a fifth straight week of protests against President Park Geun-hye, in the largest ongoing series of demonstrations in the country since the 1987 movement to democratise South Korea. Prosecutors have indicted her friend, Choi Soon-sil, and are seeking to question the President about her role in the scandal.

South Korea's President Park Geun-hye has once again refused to be questioned by prosecutors in a corruption scandal that has prompted mass street protests. In an SMS message to the prosecutors' office, Park's attorney Yoo Yeong-ha said the President was too busy. "President Park is currently working to control the situation in Korea and also has to pick a special prosecutor by tomorrow so given this schedule it would be difficult," the text read. "Park cannot co-operate with the prosecutors' request to question her face-to-face ... and we regret that."

Hand over your coins. That is the message being sent by the central bank in South Korea as one of the world's most technologically advanced and integrated nations eyes the advent of a "cashless society." The first step is to get rid of the metal, a feat authorities hope to achieve by 2020.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean lawmakers on Friday impeached President Park Geun-hye, a stunning and swift fall for the country's first female leader amid protests that drew millions into the streets in united fury.

Scientists working to make nuclear fusion a viable reality have smashed another record, after the Korean Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) reactor in South Korea maintained 'high performance' plasma in a stable state for 70 seconds this week– the longest ever recorded for this type of reaction. Containing this ultra-hot type of matter is key to unlocking nuclear fusion, so it's a big step forward in our attempts to make this clean, safe, and virtually limitless source of energy something we can rely on.

Danish police have arrested the daughter of South Korean president Park Geun-hye’s friend, Choi Soon-sil, who is at the centre of an influence-peddling scandal that has engulfed her presidency. South Korean authorities had been seeking the arrest of Choi’s daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, for her alleged ties to the scandal, which has paralysed Park’s government and drawn hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets of Seoul for weeks.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye refused to testify Tuesday in the impeachment trial that will decide her future, prompting the prosecutors to question why she has publicly denied the charges of corruption but will not do so before the court. After Park’s refusal, the Constitutional Court delayed the start of oral arguments and asked her to testify on Thursday, when some of her current and former aides are also scheduled to testify. The court cannot force her to appear but can proceed without her if she refuses twice to appear at the hearings.

A South Korean Buddhist monk is in critical condition after setting himself on fire to protest the country's settlement with Japan on compensation for wartime sex slaves, officials said Sunday. The 64-year-old monk suffered third-degree burns across his body and serious damage to vital organs. He's unconscious and unable to breathe on his own, said an official from the Seoul National University Hospital, who didn't want to be named citing office rules.

Ban Ki-moon blames "malign slander" and "various fake news" for his surprise decision.

A South Korean court approved on Friday the arrest of a billionaire heir to Samsung accused of bribery and other charges in connection to a massive corruption scandal, a stunning decline for the princeling of South Korea's richest family. The Seoul Central District Court's decision to issue a warrant to arrest Lee Jae-yong, 48, a vice chairman at Samsung Electronics and the only son of Samsung chair Lee Kun-hee.

Study shows significant increase in lifespan, with South Korea top of league table and other countries not far behind

South Korean intelligence believes suspects wanted for the murder of the half-brother of North Korea’s leader included several officials who worked for the reclusive state’s foreign and security ministries, according to lawmakers in Seoul. Kim Jong Nam was killed earlier this month at a Malaysian airport by assassins using VX nerve agent, a chemical capable of killing in minutes and listed by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction.

Court upholds parliamentary vote as tensions run high in Seoul 

South Korea’s president Park Geun-hye was officially removed from office Friday after the constitutional court affirmed her impeachment by the national assembly. It’s a remarkable outcome for a relatively new democracy, and the scandal holds some important lessons for how impeachment can take place in a political culture deeply dominated by partisanship.

A South Korean court will hold a hearing on Thursday to decide whether to arrest ousted president Park Geun-hye and hold her in a cell for up to 20 days while she is investigated on charges of taking bribes and abusing presidential power.

Samsung Electronics has sold out of initial stock of the Galaxy S8 Plus 128GB model in Korea, five days after pre-orders began, the company said. The South Korean tech giant prepared 150,000 units for pre-orders of the Galaxy S8 Plus 128GB model, which only comes in jet black and has 6GB RAM compared to 4GB RAM of the Galaxy S8. Now initial stock has sold out, those who newly pre-order the phone will get the model as late as end of May, Samsung said.

By Roberta Rampton and Colin Packham SYDNEY (Reuters) - Denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula can still be achieved peacefully because of Washington's new engagement with China, U.S.