North Korea’s sole major ally China urged “all relevant parties” to show restraint Thursday after Pyongyang said it planned to carry out a third nuclear test and more rocket launches aimed at the US.

Seoul urged Pyongyang on Wednesday to discuss the fate of hundreds of South Koreans said to be detained in North Korea, in response to its neighbour's repeated demand for the return of four defectors.

Pyongyang urged Seoul on Monday to bring four North Korean would-be defectors to the border so they can confirm in front of their families that they want to stay in South Korea.

Recent satellite images show that North Korea has completed a launch tower at its new missile base, a key step in efforts to test a missile which could eventually reach the United States, experts say.

North Korea on Thursday proposed high-level military talks with South Korea to discuss "pending issues" following months of high tension, Seoul's defence ministry said.

South Korean marines and naval forces will hold joint war games this week to simulate an infiltration by North Korean troops across the tense Yellow Sea border, military officials said Tuesday.

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak on Monday reached out to North Korea, saying Seoul was open to talks and offering closer economic ties despite high tensions on the peninsula.

North Korea’s military on Tuesday threatened a “physical counter-attack” to a South Korean naval exercise set to start this week in the Yellow Sea, the communist state’s official media reported.