US President Donald Trump has hinted at the possibility of engaging with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again, despite previous diplomatic efforts failing to halt North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Trump recalled past negotiations with Russia and China for arms control but cited his 2020 election loss as a disruption to these efforts.

As North Korean troops dispatched to Russia become increasingly involved in combat with Ukraine, China is upping its pressure on North Korea with crackdowns on North Korean workers.

Pyongyang has since reopened the border to some trade and official delegations, and North Korea last year permitted Russian tourists to enter the country for the first time since the pandemic.

(Reuters) - Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran on Friday that follows similar pacts with China and North Korea. All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine.

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 has renamed its DMZ entry permits and expanded travel permits for citizens of the capital, Daily NK has learned.

North Korea's state media on Wednesday reported U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration but without any commentary on his presidency, but did accuse the United States of committing atrocities during the 1950-53 Korean War.

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 impeached president is using unsubstantiated claims of election interference by China and North Korea to justify his failed self-coup bid.

The loose arrangement of hostile powers could pose a series of conundrums for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state.

During the Cold War, there was a time when China would have been paranoid about Russia and North Korea conspiring behind its back. Those worries, however, are now relics of a bygone era characterized by a radically different balance of power among this authoritarian triangle.

With the fate of suspended South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol hanging in the balance, the country has also been left facing an uncertain future as it battles through the resulting political turmoil.