London, Jan 4 : North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il has declared discussion of his succession off limits for three years, despite reports that the women in his life are plotting on behalf of their favourites, the Telegraph reported.

Despite his recent stroke and with his country stricken by food shortages and locked into a political battle with the West over its nuclear arsenal, analysts say Kim is reluctant to allow any of his three sons access to the levers of power.

He is said to be unimpressed with their political abilities. Kim has more confidence in his previously little-known daughter, who has recently emerged from the shadows and has his ear, but is ruled out by her sex in North Korea's chauvinistic society, the paper said.

Seoul  - Communist North Korea plans to strengthen its military
deterrence in 2009 and at the same time kick-start the country's ailing
economy, a joint editorial of the three state-run newspapers said
Thursday.

At the same time, the editorial stressed Pyongyang's determination to
go ahead with the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, while at
the same time accusing South Korea of pursuing a confrontational policy.

"The independent foreign policy of our Republic to denuclearize the
Korean peninsula and defend the peace and security of Northeast Asia
and the rest of the world is demonstrating its validity more fully as
the days go by," the papers said.

Three weeks before US president-elect Barack Obama is to take office,

Seoul  - Nineteen North Korean defectors, who were arrested on December 2 in Myanmar, are going to be tried this week for illegal entry, local newspaper reported Monday.

The North Korean group, which includes four children, was arrested in Tachilek, a town on the Myanmar-Thai border about 550 kilometres north-east of Yangon after they were forced to shift their boat route from Thailand to Myanmar, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported.

Washington, Dec 17 : The development of nuclear arsenals by both Iran and North Korea could lead to "a cascade of proliferation," making it more probable that terrorists could get their hands on an atomic weapon, a congressionally chartered commission has warned.

"It appears that we are at a tipping point in proliferation," the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States said in an interim report to lawmakers that was released yesterday.

Seoul  - In a departure from the stand taken by the United States, China has advocated continued deliveries of energy aid to North Korea despite Pyongyang's refusal to allow nuclear inspections, South Korean media reported Wednesday.

Disarmament talks in Beijing ended in deadlock last week over the issue of North Korea's rejection of a compromise on procedures to verify its disablement of its main nuclear facility.

US officials have said that five nations engaged in talks with North Korea that are aimed at dismantling its nuclear programmes - the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia - agreed to delay delivery of energy aid to the communist state after the negotiations broke down.

Seoul  - The proportion of female drunken drivers is on the rise in South Korea, where an average of 144 people a day were killed or injured alcohol-related accidents, national police said Tuesday.

According to the drunk driving status report of 2006-08, annual arrests increased from about 350,000 to more than 400,000 this year.

The report said women drunken drivers were the fastest-growing group, although men drivers are the overwhelming majority of offenders.

The data showed the number of women arrested for driving under the influence rose from 31,501 in 2006 to 46,677 through November 2008.