World
North Korea’s Kim directs cruise missile test as South Korea-US drills begin
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a test of strategic cruise missiles, state media KCNA said on Monday, as South Korea and the United States kicked off annual military drills that Pyongyang sees as a rehearsal for war.
Kim visited a navy fleet stationed on the east coast to oversee the test aboard a warship, KCNA said, without specifying the date of his trip.
The launch was aimed at verifying the “combat function of the ship and the feature of its missile system,” while improving the sailors’ capability to carry out an “attack mission in actual war”, KCNA said, noting that the ship’s missile hit its target.
Kim touted the ship for maintaining “high mobility and mighty striking power and constant preparedness for combat to cope with sudden situations,” KCNA said.
South Korea’s defense ministry said that it had detected signs of the launch, but that the claims in KCNA were “exaggerated” and “different from the facts,” without elaborating.
The latest missile test came as South Korea and the United States began the Ulchi Freedom Shield summer exercises on Monday, designed to enhance their joint responses to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, Reuters reported.
Pyongyang has denounced the allies’ military drills as a rehearsal for nuclear war.
South Korea’s military has said this year’s exercises will be held on the “largest scale ever”, mobilizing tens of thousands of troops from both sides, as well as some member states of the U.N. Command.
President Yoon Suk Yeol said the drills would be conducted under several contingency scenarios, including cyber, terror and drone attacks, and a disinformation campaign from the North.
“True peace is preserved only by overwhelming force, not by one-sided begging or goodwill,” Yoon told a meeting of the National Security Council. “North Korea talks about preemptive nuclear strikes and preparations for an offensive war, but we will immediately and overwhelmingly retaliate for any provocations.”
South Korean lawmakers have said the North could test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile or take other military action to protest the allies’ drills or last week’s summit of South Korea, the United States and Japan.
World
Norway to give over $9 billion to Ukraine in 2027
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and leaders from across the Nordic and Baltic region are visiting Kyiv on Sunday in a show of support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.
Norway plans to give another 85 billion Norwegian crowns ($9.2 billion) in financial support to Ukraine in the 2027 fiscal year, in line with the amount given in 2026, the Nordic country’s government said in a statement on Sunday.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and leaders from across the Nordic and Baltic region are visiting Kyiv on Sunday in a show of support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.
Norway plans to give another 85 billion Norwegian crowns ($9.2 billion) in financial support to Ukraine in the 2027 fiscal year, in line with the amount given in 2026, the Nordic country’s government said in a statement on Sunday.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and leaders from across the Nordic and Baltic region are visiting Kyiv on Sunday in a show of support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.
Russia and Ukraine are both ramping up drone campaigns aiming to cripple each other’s economic infrastructure, often striking targets far beyond the frontlines of the war started by Moscow, as fighting on the battlefield grinds toward the 4-1/2-year mark.
World
Israel strikes southern Syria; Damascus condemns attack
Israeli troops continue to operate in southern Syria, and Israel occupies territory in southwest Syria it seized after the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
Israel said it targeted a “terrorist” in southern Syria on Saturday in what Syria’s foreign ministry said was a drone strike on a civilian vehicle on the outskirts of Damascus in a “blatant” violation of its territory.
The Syrian foreign ministry said the drone had hit a civilian car on a road near Beit Jinn village in the countryside west of the capital, which caused injuries amongst civilians.
Syrian state TV reported one person was injured.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it fired in southern Syria toward what it described as a terrorist, whose activity posed an immediate threat to its soldiers. It did not say how it fired.
Tensions between Israel and Syria flared up this week after Israel bombed an airbase in the northwest on Tuesday, an escalation U.S. special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, called “unnecessary.”
Syria’s foreign ministry said the strike was part of a pattern of repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory, and was a “blatant violation” of its sovereignty. It held Israel accountable for the consequences of such actions.
Israeli troops continue to operate in southern Syria, and Israel occupies territory in southwest Syria it seized after the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
World
Trump says Iran ‘Not Ready’ for the right deal as war nears six-month mark
The continuing US-Israeli strikes on Iran, along with Israeli attacks on Lebanon, have reportedly killed thousands of people and displaced millions across the region.
US President Donald Trump has said he does not believe Iran is ready to make what he described as the “right deal,” as the war between Tehran and Washington approaches its six-month mark, Reuters reported.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said the United States was continuing to assess developments in the conflict when asked whether Washington’s military options against Iran had become limited.
“It just means that we’re seeing what happens,” Trump said.
Trump also claimed that the United States had “total control” over the region surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically vital waterway that previously carried around one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28.
“They would love to make a deal, but they’re not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion,” Trump said.
The remarks come after Washington pledged this week to impose what it described as the toughest financial penalties in history against Iran, with the stated aim of increasing pressure on the country’s leadership, read the report.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said further details of the planned sanctions would be announced on Monday, following Trump’s warning that any country providing “any type of lifeline” to Iran could face serious economic consequences.
Meanwhile, disruptions to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have continued as Iran retains missile and drone capabilities that have affected oil tanker traffic in the waterway.
Iran responded to the initial attacks on February 28 with strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases.
The continuing US-Israeli strikes on Iran, along with Israeli attacks on Lebanon, have reportedly killed thousands of people and displaced millions across the region.
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