The centrifuges were still spinning. The Chinese president was on his way. And Kim Jong Un's sister had one message for the world: the bombs are not up for discussion.
Beijing's latest diplomatic outreach to Pyongyang comes as North Korea balances ties with both China and Russia while expanding its nuclear capabilities.
North Korea has raised the mandatory retirement age for office workers by three years to reflect the country's population aging and demographic changes, according to a North Korean academic paper on Wednesday.
Japanese authorities have urged residents, particularly in coastal and northern regions, to remain vigilant and follow official updates. Emergency protocols for aviation and maritime sectors were also activated as a precaution.
North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, in a back-to-back launch that came after President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over drone flights by individuals into the North.
North Korea on Tuesday denounced the release of a joint fact sheet between South Korea and the United States on their trade and security agreements as "formulating" as policy their confrontational stance against Pyongyang, warning that the North will take countermeasures.
North Korea has remained tight-lipped about US President Donald Trump's repeated offer to meet leader Kim Jong-un, responding only with a cruise missile test-fire, a move analysts interpreted as likely 'rejecting' the offer.
US Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll has said North Korea and China are both "basic threats" in regional security as President Donald Trump's administration might seek to adjust the role of American troops stationed in South Korea to better counter the threat from China.
Kim reiterated that "there will never be any negotiations like trading something with enemies for sanctions relief."
A UN report reveals how North Korea turns art, music, and leisure into propaganda, leaving citizens without real entertainment or creative freedom.
