World
North Korea’s Kim vows full support for Russia, discusses partnership with Putin
Putin “highly praised” North Korean soldiers fighting against Ukraine and said the two countries’ relations are “special ones of trust, friendship and alliance”, KCNA added.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would “fully support” Russia’s army as a “fraternal duty”, and Russian President Vladimir Putin called the two countries’ ties “special”, state media KCNA reported on Thursday.
Kim and Putin held a meeting on Wednesday on the sidelines of China’s celebrations to mark the formal surrender of Japan in World War Two in Beijing, Reuters reported.
The pair flanked Chinese President Xi Jinping at a massive military parade for the first such gathering of the three countries’ leaders since the early days of the Cold War.
Kim’s Beijing trip offered his first-ever chance to meet Putin and Xi together, as well as mingle with the more than two dozen other national leaders who attended the events.
Analysts view his unprecedented gathering on Wednesday with Xi and Putin as a major propaganda win for the reclusive state’s leader.
State media photos showed Kim standing or walking with Putin and Xi side by side with a smile, and state newspaper Rodong Sinmun’s Thursday edition predominantly featured Kim’s visit.
Kim’s whereabouts remain unclear on Thursday.
“Comrade Kim Jong Un and President Putin exchanged candid opinions on important international and regional issues,” KCNA said.
Putin “highly praised” North Korean soldiers fighting against Ukraine and said the two countries’ relations are “special ones of trust, friendship and alliance”, KCNA added.
North Korea has sent soldiers, artillery ammunition and missiles to Russia to support Moscow in its war against Ukraine, read the report.
South Korea’s intelligence agency estimated this week that some 2,000 North Korean soldiers sent to fight for Russia have been killed.
It believes North Korea plans to deploy another 6,000 troops, with about 1,000 combat soldiers already in Russia.
Kim and Putin discussed in detail the long-term plans for partnership and reaffirmed their “steadfast will” to elevate bilateral relations to a high level, according to KCNA.
After the pair talked and left the room, Kim’s staffer was spotted cleaning a chair and a sidetable touched by the leader, in what analysts say is part of a suite of security measures to keep other countries, even friendly ones, from trying to glean information about his health.
Last year, the two leaders signed a mutual defence treaty, which calls for each side to come to the other’s aid in case of an armed attack.
World
Venezuela quakes leave over 4,300 dead and 16,740 injured
The official tally of injured remained unchanged at 16,740, while 6,462 people have been rescued and about 17,000 have been left homeless.
The death toll from the two earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 4,333, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez told reporters on Saturday, announcing that the distribution of housing to those affected will begin next week, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, 315 of the dead have not yet been identified, the official said.
The official tally of injured remained unchanged at 16,740, while 6,462 people have been rescued and about 17,000 have been left homeless.
Rodriguez said acting President Delcy Rodriguez will allocate the first 200 homes to those affected next week, but did not give any more details.
Rodriguez also said that 856 buildings were affected, of which 190 either collapsed completely or suffered structural collapse.
According to the government’s preliminary estimates, 25,000 homes are needed. Authorities have already identified around 40 plots of land, totaling about 584,000 square meters, for housing projects in Osma and Chuspa.
Rodriguez said search operations are continuing, saying, “As long as there is life, there is hope. We still have one or two sites where the situation remains uncertain, active sites where we are searching for survivors.”
World
Trump says missiles aimed at Iran if Tehran targets US president
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he had ordered the military to be prepared to launch strikes against Iran if the Iranian government carried out or attempted an assassination of the president.
“1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!,” he said in a Truth Social post, Reuters reported.
“Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran.”
World
Russia denounces NATO summit decisions on aid for Ukraine, defence
NATO members at the summit pledged €70 billion ($80 billion) in military assistance to Ukraine for 2026.
Russia denounced NATO’s decisions at a summit in Turkey on Wednesday, saying they could have catastrophic consequences, after the alliance announced military aid to Ukraine and reaffirmed members’ commitment to collective defence, Reuters reported.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said NATO’s priorities remained unchanged: “the militarisation of the European continent, the focus on building up defence capabilities, preparation for an armed conflict with Russia, and, of course, aid to Ukraine”.
“It is a pity, because if NATO strategists had stopped and thought for a moment, they might not have made such irresponsible decisions that could lead to a catastrophe not just for the alliance, but for the whole world,” Zakharova said in a statement on her ministry’s website.
NATO members at the summit pledged €70 billion ($80 billion) in military assistance to Ukraine for 2026.
They reaffirmed their “ironclad commitment” to collective defence under the alliance’s Article 5 pact in a summit declaration and unveiled arms deals worth at least $50 billion.
In her comments, Zakharova said “cracks” between the United States and its NATO partners “have not gone anywhere”.
“Against this backdrop, the Americans do not hide their disappointment with the North Atlantic bloc,” she wrote.
“The issue with Greenland is not being resolved according to the American scenario. There is also resentment that alliance members, as Washington sees it, did not act in a supportive way when the United States needed their backing.”
NATO Secretary Genera Mark Rutte, in an interview with Reuters, said disputes between U.S. President Donald Trump and other NATO leaders showed the alliance’s democratic strength and should serve as a lesson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, read the report.
“I would say to Putin: You should have some more discussions yourself, out in the open,” Rutte told Reuters.
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