Xi Jinping is set to visit North Korea for the first time in nearly seven years to meet Kim Jong Un. The talks aim to strengthen China–North Korea ties amid shifting alliances involving Russia, nuclear policy concerns, and regional geopolitical competition
North Korea’s defence minister warned Pyongyang would exercise its “self-defence” right if provoked during upcoming US–South Korea military drills. He called the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise a “direct provocation” and “real threat” to stability on the Korean Peninsula.