All articles tagged with #kim jong un
President Donald Trump said he will meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un this year, confirming reports he’s pursuing a high-profile summit. The two leaders have met before (2018 in Singapore, 2019 in Vietnam), and the administration recently downsized joint exercises with South Korea; Trump declined to say whether they’re exchanging letters again, and NBC News is seeking more details about the plan.
President Donald Trump said he will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this year, highlighting Kim’s nuclear arsenal and a favorable personal rapport, while noting a recent shift in U.S.-South Korea military drills that could influence negotiations.
Trump praises Kim Jong Un after a “very positive” exchange and orders a scale-back of Ulchi Freedom Shield drills with South Korea, signaling a possible autumn summit to leverage Seoul over Iran and bolster his foreign-policy stance ahead of midterm elections, while North Korea remains wary of the renewed outreach.
President Trump halved the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises to appease Kim Jong Un, a move critics say could slow South Korea’s plan to regain wartime operational control of its forces and complicate burden-sharing with the United States, potentially weakening deterrence as Pyongyang’s capabilities grow.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung urged boosting Seoul's independent military capabilities after Trump ordered a substantial cut to U.S.-South Korea joint drills, stressing that Ulchi Freedom Shield is defensive and backing expansion of Seoul's nuclear-powered submarine program while hoping for improved U.S.–North Korea dialogue.
President Trump says Kim Jong Un has responded to his outreach and called the exchange positive, as the Pentagon scales back joint drills with South Korea; Pyongyang has not publically commented, Seoul says drills continue, and analysts warn a new summit could be possible but would likely take time amid broader tensions over Iran and Russia.
President Trump says Kim Jong-un has responded to his overtures about scaling back joint US-South Korea exercises, but offered no further details; the live feed also covers other Trump administration news, including comments on the USS Abraham Lincoln, tensions with Iran, and related foreign policy developments.
Slate’s Fred Kaplan argues that Trump’s weekend post to reduce joint exercises with South Korea, combined with redeploying a carrier to the Middle East, signals a retreat from East Asia security and undermines U.S. credibility with allies like South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, while potentially emboldening Kim Jong-un and complicating denuclearization efforts.
President Donald Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his very good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the drills’ cost, while also criticizing Seoul for not helping with Iran.
North Korea's Kim Jong Un told Vladimir Putin that their countries' ties will deepen, marking Korea Liberation Day; Moscow pledged cooperation across sectors as Pyongyang has supported Russia's war in Ukraine, including sending troops and weapons. A Russian ship visited Wonsan, while South Korea urged talks toward a peace regime to end the Korean War, despite Pyongyang's rejection of U.S.–South Korea drills.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told Vladimir Putin he was proud of the two countries’ strong ties after Pyongyang provided military support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine; Putin described their relationship as a comprehensive strategic partnership, as Kyiv accuses Russia of using North Korean missiles and hints at North Korean troop deployments.
North Korean state media is touting cooling foods like dog-meat soup and samgyetang to cope with a heat wave, while portraying Kim Jong Un as enduring the heat alongside ordinary citizens; temperatures hit 36.7C (98.1F), the hottest on record, with coverage blending health tips and tourism updates and reinforcing a propaganda narrative of the leader’s perseverance, though no official heat-death data has been released.
North Korea’s 5,000-ton destroyer Kang Kon, after a botched May 2025 debut, is now seaworthy and testing its weapons—including a main gun, autocannon, and strategic cruise missiles—per state media; Kim Jong Un attended the tests and ordered the ship ready for active duty within two months, part of Pyongyang’s drive to build a nuclear-capable navy with two more destroyers, a 10,000-ton warship, and other projects such as the Hero Kim Kun Ok submarine launched in 2023.
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un supervised tests of a nuclear-capable cruise missile, the Kang Kon’s main gun and automated cannons, and electronic-warfare and targeting systems aboard the newly repaired 5,000-ton destroyer, and ordered the trials wrapped up within two months to put the vessel into active duty as Pyongyang accelerates its push to field a nuclear-armed navy with Russian assistance and ambitions for underwater-launch missiles.
BBC examines Kim Jong Un’s mother Ko Yong Hui, born in Osaka to Zainichi Koreans and never publicly named by the regime, and how the Paektu bloodline myth secures legitimacy; the secrecy surrounding her could undermine North Korea’s hereditary system if her origins were exposed, while Kim’s public wife Ri Sol Ju is used to bolster stability.