As political changes loom, South Korea's leadership crisis could affect ties with China, Japan and the US, observers say With the fate of suspended South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol hanging in the balance,

China's trade with North Korea in 2024 fell 5 percent from the previous year to about $2.18 billion, official data showed Saturday, as two-way trade lacked momentum despite Beijing and Pyongyang marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

John Kirby, White House national security communications adviser, said of Hegseth's remarks on North Korea's status as a nuclear power: "We've not made such a recognition. I can't speak to what the incoming team will—how they'll characterize it. We've not gone so far as to make that recognition."

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea's military said, marking Pyongyang's latest show of force just days ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's return to office.

Tour operators said Thursday that North Korea had reopened a border city to foreign tourists, five years after Pyongyang sealed its frontiers in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Japan on Thursday formally inaugurated an independent mission to the NATO military alliance as Tokyo and NATO seek to bolster cooperation amid escalating tension from Russia, China and North Korea.

Now former President of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, staged a just before the end of 2024. The result? It was over before it started, however, the short-lived coup rocked Korean politics to its core, and the ripple effects are still felt to this day.

The U.S. Air Force has maintained a rotational presence of fighter jets at Kadena Air Base in Japan, which serves as an air power hub in the first island chain.

The Christian faith is considered treasonous and a "crime of all crimes" in North Korea, punishable by being sent to a gulag or execution, the Christian charity Open Doors says.

China cannot say it wants to maintain good relations with the West while continuing to fuel the war in Europe, says NATO military committee chair Admiral Bauer - Anadolu Ajansı

NATO Military Committee Chairman Admiral Rob Bauer has described the participation of North Korean forces on Moscow's side in Russia's war against Ukraine as a strategic mistake. He specifically pointed to the low effectiveness of the North Korean military and its high casualties,