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North Korea's hereditary Supreme Leader since 2011, Kim Jong-un has transformed the DPRK into a declared nuclear power and reset its foreign alignment toward Russia while rejecting denuclearisation.

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North Korea fires short-range ballistic missile from Wonsan toward the East Sea, days before US-South Korea military drills begin
North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea on August 6, 2026, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff; it was Pyongyang's first ballistic missile launch since late June, when it tested a tactical missile with a 'special mission' warhead; the launch comes days before the US and South Korea are due to begin their annual summer joint military exercises
The Long Game ·7 takes ·Aug 8
Japan marks 81st Hiroshima atomic bombing anniversary; PM Takaichi reaffirms non-nuclear principles as US ambassador skips
Japan held the 81st atomic bombing memorial at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park on August 6, 2026, with a record 123 countries and the EU attending; Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in her first appearance as Japan's leader, reaffirmed the three non-nuclear principles as the government prepares to revise key security documents; Hiroshima mayor Kazumi Matsui warned that 'downplaying the inhumanity of nuclear weapons' risks another Hiroshima or Nagasaki; the US ambassador did not attend; China used the anniversary to catalogue Japan's rearmament; North Korea's Kim Yo Jong threatened 'additional military options'; and a record 128 Japanese local assemblies have petitioned the Diet to hold the line
The Long Game ·27 takes ·Aug 7
North Korea warns Japan of further military steps over Tokyo's rearmament push, citing cruise missile tests
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warned on August 5 that Pyongyang would not remain a 'passive onlooker' as Japan expands its military capabilities; she cited Japan's test-firing of long-range cruise missiles and participation in US-led military drills, and accused Tokyo of reviving the ambitions of a 'war criminal state'
How Wars Actually End ·12 takes ·Aug 7
North Korea's Kim Yo Jong calls ASEAN's denuclearization demand 'stupid and foolish' as Russia backs DPRK nuclear arsenal at regional forum
Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader's sister and a senior policy voice, dismissed the ASEAN Regional Forum's call for a denuclearized Korean peninsula as 'stupid' and 'foolish' on July 27, days after Russia defended North Korea's nuclear weapons possession at the ARF's annual meeting in the Philippines; Kim said the demand reflects a US-backed position that Pyongyang will never accept
What They're Not Saying ·15 takes ·Jul 28
The Korean Peninsula
The divided 1,100-km landmass at the center of Northeast Asia's active nuclear standoff, home to two hostile Korean states with no peace treaty since 1953.
·4 takes ·Jul 3

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