63 h. ago A diminished Russia risks losing control of Far East territory as China and North Korea expand influence

A diminished Russia risks losing control of Far East territory as China and North Korea expand influence  Milwaukee Independent

Events

3 d. ago Russia says no Ukraine compromise reached after Putin meets Trump envoys

Russia and the US did not reach a compromise on a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine after a five-hour Kremlin meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s top envoys, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. Trump has repeatedly complained that ending Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II has been one of the elusive foreign policy aims of his presidency. The US president has at times scolded both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Talks in Moscow between...

Politics

3 d. ago China’s ‘dirt cheap’ missiles could shake up global defence market: state media

Chinese aerospace firm Lingkong Tianxing unveiled a hypersonic glide missile last week that has a range of up to 1,300 km (800 miles) and a top speed of Mach 7. The YKJ-1000 has been nicknamed the “cement-coated” missile for its use of civilian-grade materials such as foamed concrete in its heat-resistant coating. According to slides widely circulated online, the unit production cost of this missile, already in mass production after successful combat trials, may be as low as 700,000 yuan (around...

Events

4 d. ago North Korea’s Kim flaunts daughter, air power in hunt for Russian fighter jets

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter was thrust back into the spotlight late last week at a military spectacle that analysts say was as much about succession planning and extracting concessions from Russia as it was about unveiling new missiles. Ostensibly held to mark the 80th anniversary of the North Korean air force, the ceremony on Friday seemingly served two other purposes: pressing Russia for advanced military technology in return for Pyongyang’s help in the Ukraine war, and acting...

Politics

4 d. ago Kim flaunts daughter, missiles as North Korea eyes Russian jets

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter was thrust back into the spotlight late last week at a military spectacle that analysts say was as much about succession planning and extracting concessions from Russia as it was about unveiling new missiles. Ostensibly held to mark the 80th anniversary of the North Korean air force, the ceremony on Friday seemingly served two other purposes: pressing Russia for advanced military technology in return for Pyongyang’s help in the Ukraine war, and acting...

Events

4 d. ago North Korea unveils new missiles, angles for Russian jets amid Ukraine war deal

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter was thrust back into the spotlight late last week at a military spectacle that analysts say was as much about succession planning and extracting concessions from Russia as it was about unveiling new missiles. Ostensibly held to mark the 80th anniversary of the North Korean air force, the ceremony on Friday seemingly served two other purposes: pressing Russia for advanced military technology in return for Pyongyang’s help in the Ukraine war, and acting...

Events

1 week ago Ukraine and Russia exchange deadly barrages as negotiators race to refine deal

Ukraine and Russia counted casualties on Tuesday after trading deadly overnight strikes, as negotiators scrambled to revise a framework to end the nearly four-year conflict ahead of a US-imposed deadline. US President Donald Trump has given Kyiv until November 27 - the American holiday of Thanksgiving - to respond to his proposal to end the fighting, a timeline and blueprint that European leaders have baulked at. Kyiv and its allies nonetheless spent the weekend hammering away at Washington’s...

Events

1 week ago Ukraine and Russia exchange deadly strikes as negotiators race to refine deal

Russia rained missiles and drones overnight on Kyiv, killing six people, authorities said Tuesday, as three people died in Russia’s Rostov region in massive Ukrainian strikes. The heightened attacks came after US President Donald Trump initially gave Kyiv until November 27 - the American holiday of Thanksgiving - to respond to his proposal to end the fighting, a timeline and blueprint that European leaders have baulked at. Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said four people...

Events

1 week ago ‘Could be a decoy’: North Korea’s nuclear upgrades are visible from space

New satellite imagery suggests North Korea has spent the past year steadily enlarging and modernising its main fissile material site, in what analysts call a concrete response to leader Kim Jong-un’s demand for his nuclear arsenal’s “exponential growth”. Commercial satellite images of the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Centre from October and November show renovation and large-scale expansion across the complex, according to 38North, a website from US think tank the Stimson Centre devoted...

Events

1 week ago North Korea’s nuclear arsenal shows ‘exponential growth’ in new satellite images

New satellite imagery suggests North Korea has spent the past year steadily enlarging and modernising its main fissile material site, in what analysts call a concrete response to leader Kim Jong-un’s demand for his nuclear arsenal’s “exponential growth”. Commercial satellite images of the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Centre from October and November show renovation and large-scale expansion across the complex, according to 38North, a website from US think tank the Stimson Centre devoted...

Events

1 week ago Chanel cosmetics, fur coats expose North Korea’s widening wealth chasm

North Korea’s wealth gap is reportedly widening, as luxury goods circulate among affluent border residents while ordinary citizens face growing extreme poverty. Economic disparities in areas near the Chinese border have become more pronounced compared with the period before trade resumed, according to Daily NK on Friday. In cities such as Hoeryong in North Hamgyong province and Hyesan in Ryanggang province, cross-border commerce through customs offices has increased, and the number of high-end...

Politics

1 week ago How South Korea’s nuclear sub deal with US could torpedo inter

South Korea, under President Lee Jae-myung, has repeatedly proclaimed its desire to improve relations and re-engage in diplomacy with North Korea. Yet a landmark agreement with Washington formalised last week reveals a starkly different priority: advancing military capabilities that will almost certainly drive the two Koreas further apart. The United States has officially approved South Korea’s pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines while supporting Seoul’s efforts to secure uranium enrichment...

Events

2 w. ago ‘Hostile to the end’: North Korea’s shock at US subs approval sinks talk hopes

North Korea is expected to remain largely impervious to Western diplomatic overtures for the foreseeable future as it rails against its rivals’ “hostile” policies. On Tuesday, North Korean state media denounced last month’s summit between US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung as proof of the “confrontational will” of its adversaries to “remain hostile to the end”. The North was taken aback by the outcomes of the Trump–Lee summit, according to Professor Cho Han-bum...

Events

2 w. ago Ukraine’s Zelensky secures ‘greatest air defence’ with 100 French Rafale jets

Ukraine signed a letter of intent with France to obtain 100 Rafale warplanes over the next 10 years, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday as he seeks to bolster the country’s long-term military capacity to fight Russia’s invasion. Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Paris for talks with President Emmanuel Macron at a time when heavy Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine have increased in recent weeks and Moscow has reported ground advances in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region. “It...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Don’t mention the war’: EU recalibrates China discourse amid rare earths deal

Under pressure from Beijing’s chokehold on rare earths and the simmering feud over chipmaker Nexperia, EU officials have been asked to tone down their public rhetoric on Beijing, even as the bloc moves forward aggressively with its de-risking plans. Brussels is in “de-escalation mode”, several official sources confirmed, as it looks to convince China to issue more licences for the export of the critical minerals vital to hi-tech manufacturing and ensure the supply of chips from beleaguered...

Events

3 w. ago South Korea’s Yoon accused of goading North into conflict to justify martial law

South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk-yeol, removed from office and arrested earlier this year for attempting to impose martial law, is facing new charges alleging he sought to provoke North Korea to justify his failed power grab. Prosecutors say Yoon and senior aides orchestrated risky military operations near the border to draw a retaliation from Pyongyang, which they hoped would legitimise the emergency decree Yoon signed on December 3 while still in office. Those operations allegedly...

Events

3 w. ago ‘Create instability’: Yoon accused of provoking North Korea to justify coup

South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk-yeol, removed from office and arrested earlier this year for attempting to impose martial law, is facing new charges alleging he sought to provoke North Korea to justify his failed power grab. Prosecutors say Yoon and senior aides orchestrated risky military operations near the border to draw a retaliation from Pyongyang, which they hoped would legitimise the emergency decree Yoon signed on December 3 while still in office. Those operations allegedly...

Politics

4 w. ago North Korea prepared for war after South’s drone mission to Pyongyang: report

South Korea flew military drones over Pyongyang just weeks before then-president Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law last December, a provocation that triggered North Korea to prepare for war, according to Seoul’s defence intelligence agency. The revelation, disclosed in a closed-door parliamentary briefing on Wednesday, adds to mounting scrutiny over Yoon’s final months in office, with opposition lawmakers accusing him of attempting to fabricate a national security crisis to justify an...

Events

4 w. ago North Korea slams US for ‘wicked’ hostility over sanctions linked to cybercrime

North Korea has denounced new US sanctions targeting its cybercrime networks, accusing Washington of harbouring “wicked” hostility, but analysts have said Pyongyang’s unusually restrained response suggests it is leaving the door open to future dialogue. “Now that the present US administration has clarified its stand to be hostile towards the DPRK to the last, we will also take proper measures to counter it with patience for any length of time,” read a statement by North Korean Vice-Foreign...

Events