Chinese Premier Li Qiang will visit North Korea for celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of its ruling Workers' Party of Korea later this week, Beijing and Pyongyang announced Tuesday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/07/asia-pacific/politics/north-korea-china-li-qiang/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #northkorea #china #kimjongun #liqiang #missiles #defense #nuclearweapons #donaldtrump #russia

Vietnam's Communist Party chief To Lam will travel to North Korea this week, marking the first visit by a Vietnamese leader to the largely isolated nation in nearly 20 years. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/06/asia-pacific/politics/vietnam-leader-north-korea/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #vietnam #northkorea #kimjongun

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country has deployed "special assets" in response to what he called Washington's arms build-up in the South, state media reported Sunday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/05/asia-pacific/north-korea-special-assets/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #southkorea #us #kimjongun #nuclearweapons #missiles #donaldtrump #usmilitary

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has said the country's defense budget for next year would rise by 8.2% to $47.1 billion, adding that peace would only be possible on a strong foundation of security. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/01/asia-pacific/politics/south-korea-defense-budget-2026/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #southkorea #defense #budgets #leejaemyung #northkorea

What is billed as the biggest exhibition of North Korean art held outside the reclusive state is the latest sign of warming ties between Moscow and Pyongyang. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/30/asia-pacific/russia-north-korea-art-exhibit/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #russia #northkorea #vladimirputin #kimjongun #russiaukrainewar #art #museums

North Korea sent a senior official to the U.N. for a speech for the first time since 2018, while its top diplomat visited Beijing — part of a flurry of diplomacy as it doubles down on its position as a nuclear power. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/30/asia-pacific/politics/north-korea-china-un-diplomacy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #northkorea #un #china #us #nuclearweapons #defense #donaldtrump #kimjongun

A meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a regional economic summit in South Korea next month cannot be ruled out, a Seoul official reportedly said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/27/asia-pacific/politics/trump-kim-south-korea/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #northkorea #donaldtrump #us #southkorea #kimjongun #nuclearweapons #missiles #apec

China, Russia and North Korea used the Beijing parade to signal a united challenge to the West, underscoring the need for stronger allied responses amid a growing revisionist threat. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/09/24/world/orwellian-lesson-from-xi-and-putin/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #china #russia #northkorea #xijinping #vladimirputin #kimjongun #defense #ukraine #us #russiaukrainewar #donaldtrump

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung vowed on Tuesday to end a "vicious cycle of unnecessary military tensions" with North Korea, with the aim of achieving peaceful coexistence and shared growth. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/24/asia-pacific/politics/koreas-lee-new-era/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #southkorea #us #donaldtrump #northkorea #nuclearweapons #leejaemyung #kimjongun

Japan’s growing security challenges from China, North Korea and Russia, combined with doubts about U.S. commitments, raise the question of whether it should consider developing its own nuclear deterrent. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/09/23/japan/can-japan-arm-itself-with-nuclear-weapons/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #us #usjapanrelations #nuclearweapons #defense #china #russia #northkorea

Japan, South Korea and the U.S. reaffirmed their “resolute commitment” to Pyongyang's “complete denuclearization,” pouring cold water on heated speculation that Donald Trump could soon meet North Korea's Kim Jong Un. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/23/japan/politics/us-japan-south-korea-denuclearization/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #southkoreajapanrelations #southkorea #usjapanrelations #us #northkorea #nuclearweapons #donaldtrump #takeshiiwaya #marcorubio #leejaemyung #kimjongun #missiles #china #taiwan

North Korea's Kim Jong Un said he is open to talks with the U.S. if it drops its denuclearization demand — remarks that came as South Korea's leader said he would back a deal to freeze Pyongyang's nuclear program. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/22/asia-pacific/kim-trump-north-korea-denuclearization/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #us #kimjongun #nuclearweapons #donaldtrump #missiles #southkorea #leejaemyung

Japan will consider whether to allow North Korean athletes to participate in next year's Asian Games in Nagoya after the North expressed its intention to take part, the Japanese government said Thursday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2025/09/18/more-sports/north-korea-asian-games-nagoya/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #moresports #northkorea #northkoreajapanrelations #2026asiangames #nagoya #aichi

Ahn Hak-sop was captured during the Korean War by the South and imprisoned for more than 40 years. Now 95, he wants to return to the North to die. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/16/asia-pacific/politics/north-korea-communist-warrior/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #southkorea #northkorea #us #pow

Recent moves raise broader strategic questions for U.S. forces in South Korea beyond simple troop numbers. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/09/16/world/trump-and-the-south-korea-alliance/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #southkorea #us #southkoreausrelations #china #northkorea #defense#leejaemyung

North Korean hackers have used ChatGPT to help forge deepfake identification document for use in a phishing target in South Korea, according to cybersecurity researchers. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/15/asia-pacific/crime-legal/north-korean-hackers-chatgpt-deepfake/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #crimelegal #northkorea #hacking #ai #chatgpt #deepfakes #southkorea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister condemned upcoming joint military drills by South Korea, the U.S. and Japan as a "reckless show of strength" that would bring "bad results." https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/14/asia-pacific/north-korea-military-exercises/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #kimyojong #kimjongun #northkorea #nuclearweapons #southkorea #usmilitary #sdf #defense

The Defense Ministry plans to have the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis destroyer Chokai test-fire a U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missile in the United States by next summer. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/14/japan/msdf-chokai-test-fire-tomahawk/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #defense #msdf #missiles #aegis #usjapanrelations #sdf #usmilitary #china #northkorea #russia

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Pyongyang will unveil a policy to advance both its nuclear arsenal and conventional military power at an upcoming key ruling party meeting, state media said Saturday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/13/asia-pacific/north-korea-kim-nuclear-conventional-military/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #kimjongun #russia #nuclearweapons