S. Korea's presidential office convened a working-level National Security Council coordination meeting after N. Korea claimed it shot down drones

South Korea launched a probe into possible civilian drone flights after North Korea accused Seoul of airspace violations. President Lee Jae Myung warned of serious security consequences amid rising inter-Korean tensions.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement it detected several ballistic missile launches from North Korea's capital region around 7:50 a.m. It stated that the missiles flew approximately 560 miles and that South Korean and U.S. authorities were analyzing the details of the launches.

Kim Jong Un oversaw hypersonic missile tests as North Korea ramped up weapons displays ahead of a major political conference, state media reported.

North Korea condemned on Monday what it called "shameless" moves by the United States that it said undermined the United Nations and accused Washington of a "hideous criminal act".

And yet: some observers wonder whether a society as patriarchal as North Korea’s could accept a female leader. Under Mr Kim, several women have gained big jobs. The second-most powerful person in the country is Mr Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong. For the first time in its history North Korea has a female foreign minister: Choe Son Hui.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung says he asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to serve as a mediator to help resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis and ease animosities between the two Koreas.

North Korea fired unidentified ballistic missiles toward waters off its eastern coast, South Korea’s military said, a day before leaders from South Korea and China hold a summit in Beijing.

North Korea is preparing for a massive, landmark meeting of its ruling Workers' Party. The expansion of the capital city Pyongyang, and its current burst of building is bigger than before, resulting in two giant skyscrapers,