N.Korean ruling party to choose new leaders: media

North Korea said Tuesday the Korean peninsula was headed for "thermo-nuclear" war and advised foreigners in South Korea to consider evacuation, in the latest in a series of apocalyptic threats.

North Korea announced on Tuesday that its biggest political meeting for decades will be held next week, a move seen as paving the way for a power transfer from the ailing Kim Jong-Il to his youngest son.The conference of the ruling communist party "for electing its supreme leadership body will take place in Pyongyang on September 28", the Korean Central News Agency said, describing it as an "historic" meeting.The event had been scheduled for early September but it was postponed without any explanation from the secretive state.

North Korea announced Tuesday its ruling party will hold its biggest meeting for three decades next week, paving the way for a likely dynastic power transfer from the ailing Kim Jong-Il to his youngest son.The conference of the communist party "for electing its supreme leadership body will take place in Pyongyang on September 28", the Korean Central News Agency said, describing it as an "historic" meeting.The North had scheduled the event for early September but it was postponed without any explanation from the secretive state.

SEOUL, South Korea — So when will it be? North Korea vowed last month to carry out its third nuclear test but has said nothing about timing. As a result, the building suspense in Seoul has prompted many to look at the dates Pyongyang has chosen for past atomic tests, as well as rocket and missile launches.

North Korea is preparing to carry out two nuclear tests, either simultaneously or in rapid succession, to demonstrate to the world the advances it has made in its weapons programme, according to intelligence reports.

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New satellite images reveal ongoing activity at North Korea's atomic test site, according to a US research institute, as expectation mounts of an imminent nuclear detonation by the isolated state.

PYONGYANG, North Korea — As the world watches to see what North Korea’s next move will be in a high-stakes game of brinksmanship with the United States, residents of its capital aren’t hunkering down in bunkers and preparing for the worst. Instead, they are out on the streets en masse getting ready for the birthday of national founder Kim Il Sung — the biggest holiday of the year.