Update, 19 August: Per Yonhap:
South Korea suspended Wednesday the launch of its first space rocket with just under eight minutes remaining in the countdown due to a technical glitch.
Original post: South Korea’s first space launch vehicle (KSLV-1) is set for a 19 August launch from the new Naro Space Center. This is causing some [...]

The title assumes North Korea did test a nuclear device, which I think likely, and not an equivalent amount of TNT, initially thought a possibility in 2006 until radioactive isotopes of krypton and xenon were detected.
There are several reasons for a North Korea to conduct a nuclear test and it’s difficult if not impossible [...]

Update, North Korea’s announcement: Full text of the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announcement of the nuclear test, presumably a TV broadcast (via the Independent):
“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea successfully conducted one more underground nuclear test on May 25 as part of the measures to bolster up its nuclear deterrent for self-defence in [...]

The UN’s audit of the UNDP – which last June the internal audit was noted as being somewhat of a fiasco – has, surprise, surprise, cleared the UNDP and itself of any wrongdoing in the matter:
The case has in part revolved around accusations that some of the hard currency UNDP spent in North Korea ended [...]

The UNDP worker who brought attention to the illegal hemorrhaging of UN cash in North Korea was retaliated against, according to a UN ethics official:
The top U.N. ethics official has found preliminary evidence that the U.N. Development Program retaliated against an employee who exposed abuse and rules violations in the agency’s programs in North Korea.
But [...]

The UN oversight report on the UNDP’s inappropriate handling of funds in North Korea was released last week, while a U.S. Department of State report offers a few details on what a small portion of the funds were used for:
About $3 million in United Nations money intended to help impoverished North Koreans was diverted by [...]

The OpinionJournal has this stinging evaluation of the UN’s internal audit of how and why UNDP officials gave cash to North Korea (possibly to the tune of US$100 million) for years with apparently no oversight:
The case of U.N. hard currency for Kim Jong Il took its latest turn Friday with the release of the much-awaited [...]

It’s been brought to my attention that there is a new online petition to put pressure on the “United Nations to adhere to the commitments of the 1951 Convention regarding the Status of Refugees,” particularly in regard to North Koreans being forcibly repatriated by China.
China has ignored its obligations under the 1951 United Nations Convention [...]

Update: Kevin points out French disappointment at Ban’s apparent inability to speak their language well. As someone who struggles to maintain a bit of proficiency in a language I seldom need to speak, I have some sympathy in this area.
Original post: Ban Ki-moon, the former ROK Foreign Minister and current UN Secretary General elect (takes [...]

The new 45-foot North Korean Motor Vessel (M/V) Omrani-II’ apparently had mechanical problems and was towed to Bombay on 29 October. An inspection of the empty vessel caused suspicions, as they could not explain why there were underway to Iran in an empty ship:
“They have told us that because it is a new ship they [...]