North Korea appears to be more open to resuming six-nation talks on its nuclear program, U.S. academics and former officials said on Friday after meeting Ri Gun, Pyongyang’s second-ranking nuclear negotiator. No current State Department officials...

For Kim Jong Il’s birthday, North Korean insurance managers prepared a special gift. In Singapore, they stuffed $20 million in cash into two heavy-duty bags and sent them, via Beijing, to their leader in Pyongyang, said Kim Kwang Jin, who worked...

Financial markets in Asia have risen sharply, with the Nikkei gaining 13% in morning trading, and Sydney up 5%.