Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara has met with Sakie Yokota, the mother of Megumi, who was abducted by North Korea in 1977. In the meeting, Sakie said she hopes there will be some progress this year on the issue. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/20/japan/politics/megumi-yokota-mother-kihara-abduction/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sakieyokota #megumiyokota #minorukihara #northkorea #northkoreajapanrelations

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday is expected to reconfirm improving bilateral ties as Japan faces a diplomatic falling-out with another key neighbor, China. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/13/japan/politics/japan-south-korea-takaichi-lee-nara/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #southkoreajapanrelations #southkorea #leejaemyung #sanaetakaichi #china #chinajapanrelations #indopacific #defense #taiwan #northkorea

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, urged South Korea to investigate recent drone incidents ​for detailed explanations, in a statement ‍carried by ⁠state media Sunday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/11/asia-pacific/north-korea-kim-sister-drones/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #southkorea #northkorea #kimyojong #drones

North Korea accused the South on Saturday of flying another spy drone over its territory this month, a claim that Seoul denied. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/10/asia-pacific/north-south-korea-drone/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #southkorea #leejaemyung #drones

North Korea has very kindly said that UK political dissidents will be accepted as asylum seekers

#UK #NorthKorea #Dissidents

North Korea has very kindly said that UK political dissidents will be accepted as asylum seekers

#UK #NorthKorea #Dissidents

China's Xi Jinping has urged visiting South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung to make the “correct" choices, as Beijing seeks a united front amid its standoff with Japan over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/06/japan/politics/china-south-korea-xi-lee-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #southkorea #southkoreajapanrelations #leejaemyung #xijinping #taiwan #pla #sanaetakaichi #chinajapanrelations #indopacific #northkorea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un linked a weekend military drill featuring a hypersonic missile system to an unnamed “recent geopolitical crisis" — an apparent reference to the U.S. toppling of Venezuela's president. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/05/asia-pacific/north-korea-hypersonic-missiles-venezuela/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #missiles #nuclearweapons #kimjongun #us #venezuela #donaldtrump

North Korea launched what appeared to be at least one ballistic missile on Sunday, Japan’s Defense Ministry said, less than a week after it test-fired two long-range “strategic” cruise missiles. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/04/asia-pacific/north-korea-missile-first-2026/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #defense #defenseministry #missiles #nuclearweapons #kimjongun

@randahl
Next will be #Taiwan, taken by China, then #Trump will take #Greenland.

Then #Russia, by the helping hand of #Trump, #China, #Iran, #Northkorea will be able to take #Ukrain.
The new world order is already established...

#Europe ? Not part of the game. It will be next.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter, Ju Ae, who is likely being prepared as his successor, accompanied her ​parents on her first public visit to the Kumsusan mausoleum to pay respects ‍to former ⁠leaders. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/02/asia-pacific/kim-daughter-state-mausoleum/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #kimjongun #northkorea #eastasia

Asia in 2026 will be more volatile as a fragile Trump–Xi thaw masks worsening U.S.-China relations, pressure on Taiwan intensifies and a more confident Kim Jong Un leverages nuclear advances and Beijing-Moscow ties. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/02/world/buckle-up-asia-for-a-volatile-year/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #northkorea #china #kimjongun #xijinping #donaldtrump #chinausrelations #taiwan #defense

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has praised his troops fighting abroad as forging an "invincible alliance" with Russia in a new year's message, state media said Thursday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/01/asia-pacific/north-korea-kim-russia-letter/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #russia #russiaukrainewar #ukraine #kimjongun

"Security autism" isn’t a moral failing; it’s a cognitive one. Just as individuals on the autism spectrum struggle with social cues and environmental awareness, nations can lose the ability to read geopolitical signals. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/30/japan/beware-of-security-autism/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #us #china #usjapanrelations #chinajapanrelations #defense #sdf #northkorea #donaldtrump

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has toured a factory making new multiple rocket launchers that could target South Korea, touting their ability to "annihilate the enemy," state media has reported. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/30/asia-pacific/north-korea-rocket-launchers/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #missiles #kimjongun

Ironically the two stop gap measures in this potential World War 3 scenario are #NorthKorea 🇰🇵 (who have military defense treaties with China 🇨🇳 & Russia 🇷🇺) & #India 🇮🇳 (who China 🇨🇳 fears could make a move if they invade Taiwan 🇹🇼).

👉🏾 #Russia 🇷🇺 vows to support #China 🇨🇳 if #Taiwan 🇹🇼 contingency flares up: top diplomat https://asia.nikkei.com/politics/international-relations/japan-china-tensions/russia-vows-to-support-china-if-taiwan-contingency-flares-up-top-diplomat

The Japanese government under then-Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa faced trouble dealing with a strong U.S. request for support during the 1994 North Korea nuclear crisis, according to newly disclosed records. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/25/japan/politics/japan-diplomatic-records-north-korea-crisis/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #morihirohosokawa #foreignministry #northkorea #usjapanrelations #billclinton

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-firing of long-range surface-to-air missiles at a launch site near its east coast, state media has ​reported. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/25/asia-pacific/north-korea-long-range-missiles/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #southkorea #kimjongun #nuclearweapons #missiles #us #submarines

The government has adopted a new cybersecurity strategy, stipulating a new system enabling the police, the Defense Ministry and the SDF to work together in neutralizing critical attacks. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/23/japan/crime-legal/new-cybersecurity-strategy-police-sdf/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #japanesepolice #sdf #china #russia #northkorea #defense #defenseministry #cybersecurity #ai

South Korea may need to pursue a separate bilateral accord with the U.S. to secure the right to build nuclear-powered submarines, the country’s national security adviser said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/17/asia-pacific/south-korea-nuclear-submarines-us-deal/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #southkorea #nuclearenergy #submarines #us #donaldtrump #northkorea