Trump indicates may soon return to region to meet NK Korean leader: reportU.S. President Donald Trump indicated Wednesday that he may soon return to Asia to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Reuters reported. Trump made the remark to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Tokyo to Busan, where he is scheduled to begin a two-day state visit to South Korea. He also downplayed North Korea's latest missile launches Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. "He's been launching missiles for decades, right?" Trump was quoted as saying, apparently referring to Kim. Trump reiterated his wish to meet again with the North Korean leader, saying they "had a really good understanding of each other." The two leaders met three times during Trump's first term to try to reach a deal on North Korea's denuclearization. The talks broke down, however, due to differences over how they would match North Korea's denuclearization steps with U.S. concessions, including sanctions relief.Oct 29, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea test-fired cruise missiles ahead of Trump's visit to S. KoreaNorth Korea said Wednesday it test-fired sea-to-surface strategic cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea the previous day, a provocation that came ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering. North Korea's missile launch came as Trump expressed his wish to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his visit to the South from Oct. 29-30 on the occasion of the APEC meetings. The cruise missiles, improved for ship-based launches, were fired vertically and flew for over 7,800 seconds along a preset route above the Yellow Sea to destroy the target, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, without disclosing other details, including flight distance. The North's leader did not oversee the test firing. State media targeting domestic audience, such as the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, did not report on the latest missile launch. Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, said the North has made important success in putting the country's nuclear forces on a "practiOct 29, 2025By Yonhap
Trump renews call for Kim meeting, but North Korea remains silentU.S. President Donald Trump said he is willing to extend his stay in South Korea in order to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but Pyongyang has offered no response, maintaining its customary silence ahead of this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One during his flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Tokyo on Monday, Trump said, “If he [Kim] wants to meet, I’d love to,” adding that he “could go over there” while in South Korea. He emphasized that he and Kim had a “very good relationship” and that extending the trip would be “easy if needed.” It was the latest in a series of gestures that began before his departure for Asia last week. Trump also referred to North Korea as “a nuclear power,” repeating a phrase he has used since returning to office, and said he is “100 percent open” to another encounter with the North Korean leader. He noted that Washington’s strongest leverage remains “sanctions,” describing them as “a pretty big issue to start fOct 28, 2025By Bahk Eun-ji
N. Korea holds reception marking 75th anniversary of China's participation in Korean WarNorth Korea has held a reception in Beijing to mark the 75th anniversary of Chinese soldiers' participation in the 1950-53 Korean War, vowing to develop its friendly ties with China, state media reported Tuesday. North Korean Ambassador to China Ri Ryong-nam hosted the reception at the North's embassy Saturday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). North Korea and China have observed Oct. 25 as the anniversary of Chinese troops' participation in the Korean War to aid the North. The day marked Chinese soldiers waging their first combat with the U.N. forces. The banquet was also attended by Ling Huanxin, political commissar of China's Academy of Military Sciences, and other key Chinese officials. The KCNA said participants "opposed imperialists' aggressions and hegemony" and expressed a will to develop traditional and friendly ties between the two nations. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first talks in more than six years in Beijing in September in a sign that the bilateral ties have been restored after remaining strained by North KoOct 28, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's FM, Putin vow to strengthen bilateral ties ahead of Trump's visit to SKNorth Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and Russian President Vladimir Putin have reaffirmed their will to strengthen bilateral ties, the North's state media reported Tuesday, ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's trip to South Korea this week. Choe paid a courtesy call on Putin in Moscow the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Choe departed Pyongyang on Sunday to visit Russia and Belarus, a trip that comes as Trump has voiced a wish to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his visit to the South on Oct. 29-30 on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering. Choe and Putin "had good discussions over many businesses to strengthen and develop the North-Russia relations going forward," the KCNA said, without disclosing other details. Putin asked Choe to deliver his "warm greeting" to the North's leader as the top North Korean diplomat conveyed Kim's best wishes to Putin, the report added. Prior to the meeting with Putin, Choe held talks with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. In a press statement published by the KCNAOct 28, 2025By Yonhap
North Korea's top diplomat meets with Putin on a visit to RussiaMOSCOW — North Korea's top diplomat visited the Kremlin on Monday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which followed last month's meeting between the countries' leaders. Putin and Kim Jong-un met in Beijing in September after attending a major military parade in the heart of the Chinese capital that marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Putin asked North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui on Monday to convey his best wishes to Kim, noting that they had a very warm meeting, according to his televised remarks at the start of the talks. Before attending the Kremlin meeting with Putin, Choe held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who again hailed North Korean troops for fighting alongside the Russian military in the Kursk region after a surprise Ukrainian incursion. “These heroic deeds will, of course, further strengthen the bonds of friendship and historical unity in our shared struggle for justice,” Lavrov said. Choe noted a “considerable progress" in relations between the two countries and stressed Pyongyang's “unwavering" supportOct 28, 2025By AP
N. Korean FM tells Lavrov ties reached 'new height' with Kim-Putin meeting in Beijing: reportNorth Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui highlighted last month's meeting between the North's leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing as an event that raised the bilateral ties to a "new height," Russian media reported Monday. Choe made the remark at the talks with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Moscow, referring to the two leaders' bilateral talks that took place when they visited Beijing on Sept. 3 to attend a military parade marking China's Victory Day. Choe said the meeting was a "significant event that raised the entire previous strategic partnership between North Korea and Russia to a new height," according to Russia's RIA Novosti. She was quoted as restating the North's continued support for Russia's "policy of upholding territorial integrity." Choe also plans to meet Putin later in the day, according to the media. Lavrov said that relations between Russia and North Korea have "received a powerful impetus" over the past 3 1/2 months, through the agreements reached at the leaders' level. North Korea has deepened its relationship with Russia, sOct 27, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea stresses self-reliance as key to development ahead of Trump's visit to S. KoreaNorth Korea on Monday stressed self-reliance as the only path to national development and prosperity amid attention over whether leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump may meet on the occasion of this week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering. The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, underscored in a front-page article that self-reliance is a "powerful weapon" for the nation's growth and prosperity no matter how "conditions and the environment change." "It is equivalent to self-destruction to try to move forward or progress with the help of others," the paper said. Trump said he wants to meet with Kim during his stop in South Korea on Oct. 29-30 on the occasion of the APEC gathering. Trump's trip has spawned speculation about a repeat of their meeting at the border village of Panmunjom in 2019, but North Korea remains silent about Trump's proposal. The North's leader earlier said he has "good memories" of Trump and remains open to talks with the United States should Washington drop its demand for the North's denuclearization.Oct 27, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's top diplomat departs Pyongyang for trip to Russia, Belarus: KCNANorth Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui has departed Pyongyang for a trip to Russia and Belarus, state media reported Monday. On board a private jet, Choe left Pyongyang International Airport the previous day to visit the two countries at the invitation of their foreign ministers, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. The KCNA first announced the two-nation trip Sunday without providing a detailed itinerary, while Russia's foreign ministry later disclosed that Choe's visit to the country will run from Sunday through Tuesday. Her trip to Russia will mark her first in about a year. She last visited Moscow in November 2024 and paid a courtesy call on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Choe's overseas trip coincides with South Korea's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 in the southeastern city of Gyeongju. Her absence from North Korea during the APEC period suggests that no talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump are likely to take place on the occasion of the global gathering. As Trump departeOct 27, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea slams Japan's defense buildupNorth Korea on Monday criticized Japan's recent defense buildup, warning it could make Tokyo the target of strong retaliation from neighboring countries. The Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's most widely read newspaper, issued the warning in its Monday edition, citing Japan's recent launch of the sixth Taigei-class attack submarine, mass production of an improved Type 12 surface-to-ship missile and other defense buildup plans. The newspaper said such weapon systems are preemptive-strike means with ranges that extend far beyond Japan to other nations, describing their development as a "dangerous" act by a former "war criminal country." "It will result in nothing but subjecting the archipelago to the common target of strong retaliation by neighboring countries," the newspaper warned. The daily also accused Japan of complicating and accelerating the regional security situation under the pretext of "threats" from neighbors, in an explicit display of aggressiveness.Oct 27, 2025By Yonhap
