Trump says North Korea is 'sort of a nuclear power'U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that North Korea was "sort of a nuclear power" as he left the United States for Asia on a trip that could include a meeting with Pyongyang's leader, Kim Jong-un. Asked aboard Air Force One whether he was open to North Korea's demand to be recognised as a nuclear state as a precondition for dialogue with Washington, Trump replied: "Well, I think they are sort of a nuclear power. "When you say they have to be recognized as a nuclear power, well, they got a lot of nuclear weapons, I'll say that." Trump is expected in South Korea, Wednesday, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting. U.S. media have previously reported officials from his administration have privately discussed setting up a meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim, with whom he last held talks in 2019. Trump has said he hopes to meet Kim again — possibly this year. Kim said last month he had "fond memories" of Trump and was open to talks if the United States dropped its "delusional" demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons. On Friday, South KoreanOct 25, 2025By AFP
N. Korea's Kim pays tribute at tombs of fallen Chinese soldiers ahead of key anniversaryNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has paid tribute at a cemetery for Chinese soldiers who died fighting for the North during the Korean War, as the countries marked the anniversary of China's entry into the war, state media reported Saturday. Kim "visited the Cemetery of the Fallen Soldiers of the Chinese People's Volunteers in Hoechang County, South Pyongan Province and paid a high tribute to them" the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. On Saturday, North Korea and China commemorate the 75th anniversary of Chinese troops' entry into the 1950-53 Korean War to aid the North. The countries observe the anniversary, Oct. 25, the day Chinese troops scored their first military victory in the war in 1950. Kim paid a silent tribute in memory of the fallen soldiers and visited the grave of Mao Anying at the cemetery, a Chinese military officer and the eldest son of Mao Zedong, the founder of the People's Republic of China, where he placed flowers and paid homage, according to the KCNA. The news agency said the faces of the fallen soldiers, who assisted North Korea's revolutioOct 25, 2025By Yonhap
Meeting with Kim not on Trump's schedule during Asia trip, but 'things can change': senior US officialWASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump has no plan to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the current schedule for his upcoming trip to Asia, but "things can change," a senior U.S. official said Friday, noting Trump's openness to reengaging with the recalcitrant leader. In an online press briefing, the official made the remarks, as Trump is set to begin his two-day state visit to South Korea, Wednesday, on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting set to take place in the southeastern city of Gyeongju, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. "Obviously, things can change," he said. "The president, of course, has expressed his willingness to meet with Kim Jong-un in the future. It is not on the schedule for this trip." He was responding to a question about the chances of a Trump-Kim meeting at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas next week. Trump's planned visit to Korea is part of his Asia trip that will also take him to Malaysia and Japan. Speculation had persisted that Trump might seek to resume his personal diplomacy with Kim during his viOct 25, 2025By Yonhap
Trump, Kim urged to use APEC summit as chance for talks: unification ministerUnification Minister Chung Dong-young on Friday called on U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to meet during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, describing it as a "heaven-sent opportunity" to end the Korean War, which has lasted for 72 years, and to advance peace in the region. Speaking at a press briefing at Government Complex Seoul, Chung said the APEC gathering offers a realistic and timely setting for a breakthrough meeting. "If the two leaders let this moment pass, organizing another summit later would be far more difficult given scheduling and negotiation constraints," he said. Chung noted what he described as "signs of readiness" on both sides. He noted the United Nations Command decision to suspend tours at the Joint Security Area and clean-up activities around Panmungak Pavilion — the main building on the North Korean side of Panmunjeom, also known as Phanmun Pavilion — including landscaping and maintenance work that had not been carried out for over a year. The minister acknowledged logistical obstacles, but said they were secondOct 24, 2025By Lee Hae-rin
Vice FM highlights S. Korea's role in safeguarding peace on Korean Peninsula on UN DaySouth Korea will continue efforts to safeguard and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula through its peace initiative toward North Korea, stressing that doing so is its responsibility to the international community, a senior Seoul diplomat said Friday. Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jina made the remarks during an event marking U.N. Day, saying the government will work to realize the peace "dreamed of by the veterans" who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War. "Safeguarding peace on the Korean Peninsula is South Korea's responsibility to the international community," Kim said in her speech at the ceremony held at the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Korea, in the southeastern city of Busan. "The Korean government will realize the peace dreamed of by the U.N. veterans and continue its journey toward global peace together with the U.N. through our 'END' initiative," she said. In his address to the United Nations at the General Assembly in New York last month, President Lee Jae Myung unveiled the initiative as a peace road map for the Korean Peninsula that calls for resuming exchanges (E), normalizinOct 24, 2025By Yonhap
InterviewTrump’s Asia tour fuels speculation over peacemaker diplomacy with N. KoreaU.S. President Donald Trump’s upcoming Asia tour, which begins late Friday (Washington time) with his first stop in Malaysia, has raised a pressing question: Will he attempt to broker another peace deal — this time on the Korean Peninsula — following his decisive role in securing the Gaza ceasefire earlier this month? Trump will arrive in Busan on Wednesday after wrapping up a three-day visit to Japan, where he is scheduled to meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for a summit. He will also deliver a keynote address at a luncheon for CEOs on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) event in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. Later that day, he will attend a U.S.-APEC leaders’ working dinner. On Thursday, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to hold a summit on the sidelines of the APEC event. But one potential encounter, if realized, could overshadow all others: another handshake with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Trump met Kim briefly in 2019 at Panmunjeom, the border village dividing the two Koreas, becoming the first sitting U.S.Oct 24, 2025By Kang Hyun-kyung
N. Korea breaks ground on memorial museum for its troops killed in Russia's war with UkraineNorth Korea has held a groundbreaking ceremony for a memorial museum in Pyongyang to honor its troops who died while fighting alongside Russia in the war with Ukraine, calling it a "great symbol" of the North's ties with Moscow, state media reported Friday. The North held the ceremony for the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at the Overseas Military Operations the previous day, with leader Kim Jong-un and other key officials present, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). During a speech at the ceremony, the North's leader called the memorial hall a "great symbol" of bilateral relations between North Korea and Russia that are being "consolidated day after day." "In the battlefields of fierce conflict between justice and injustice in the world, the relations between the two countries have passed the strictest test for their solidity," Kim said. "Pyongyang will always be with Moscow." Since October last year, North Korea has sent around 15,000 troops to participate in the Russia-Ukraine war following a mutual defense treaty signed in June 2024. South Korea's spy agency said in AOct 24, 2025By Yonhap
Around 20 North Korean soldiers briefly cross MDL, retreat after warning shotsAround 20 North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the heavily fortified inter-Korean border and retreated after South Korean soldiers fired warning shots earlier this week, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday. The soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in the border city of Paju, northwest of Seoul, on Oct. 19, according to the JCS. South Korean troops monitoring their movement issued several warning broadcasts and fired warning shots when the soldiers continued to move southward, it said. The North Korean soldiers then retreated without showing any particular response. The JCS said the soldiers, believed to be doing work near the border such as clearing land or laying mines in the buffer zone, likely crossed the border temporarily while working. Some of them were armed. The incident took place on the same day a North Korean soldier defected across the border in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, the first such case since the Lee Jae Myung government took office. Military officials, however, said the two incidents appear to be unrelated given the difference in their time anOct 23, 2025By Yonhap
USFK condemns N. Korea's missile launch as 'destabilizing'The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) on Thursday denounced North Korea's recent ballistic missile launch as "unlawful" and "destabilizing," urging it to refrain from further provocations that violate U.N. security resolutions. On Wednesday, North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles northeastward at around 8:10 a.m., which flew about 350 kilometers. The following day, the North confirmed the missile launch, saying it was intended to enhance its strategic deterrence. "We are fully aware of the DPRK's multiple ballistic missile launches and their relentless pursuit of long-range missile capabilities," the USFK said in a statement, calling North Korea by the acronym of its formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "The United States condemns these unlawful and destabilizing actions, and we call on the DPRK to refrain from further acts in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution," it said. The USFK said it is closely consulting with South Korea and that its commitment to the South Korea-U.S. alliance remains "ironclad." "Our focus is on maintaining theOct 23, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea holds 1st int'l film festival in 6 yearsNorth Korea has kicked off an international film festival in Pyongyang for the first time in six years, state media reported Thursday. The 18th Pyongyang International Film Festival held its opening ceremony at the Pyongyang International Cinema House in the capital city the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The ceremony was followed by the screening of an art film jointly produced between Russia and China, titled "Red Silk." The head of North Korea's national cinema agency said during the ceremony that the latest event will serve as an opportunity to deepen friendship among progressive countries and filmmakers across the world. Founded in 1987 as the only international film festival in the reclusive country, the festival had been held every two to three years before it switched to an annual event in 2018. Following the 2019 edition, it had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. North Korea has been making efforts to revitalize its tourism industry by resuming international events this year that were halted during the pandemic. In April, the North hosted theOct 23, 2025By Yonhap
