SEOUL, May 18 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un convened a meeting with commanding officers from across the country’s armed forces and called for strengthening frontline defenses along the border with South Korea to create an “impregnable fortress,” state-run media reported Monday.
Kim held the meeting at the headquarters of the ruling Workers’ Party Central Committee on Sunday, the official Korean Central News Agency said. It was the first known gathering of all division and brigade commanders since Kim took power in 2011.
Kim called for the “rapid modernization of the military and technical equipment of our army” and stressed the need to adapt military training to the changing nature of modern warfare, KCNA said.
He emphasized the country’s “territorial defense” policy, including “strengthening the first-line units in the southern border and turning the border line into an impregnable fortress,” according to the report.
KCNA said Kim outlined plans to reorganize the military structure and bolster frontline and other major units with upgraded weapons and technology as part of efforts to strengthen deterrence.
Earlier this month, North Korea announced plans to deploy new 155 mm self-propelled howitzers to three battalions assigned to long-range artillery units along the southern border this year.
The meeting comes as Pyongyang hardens its military posture toward Seoul and formally abandons decades-old reunification language.
North Korea recently revised its constitution to remove all references to reunification with South Korea, cementing Kim’s push to redefine inter-Korean ties as relations between two separate states.
The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry assessed Monday that the meeting appeared aimed at encouraging the military while reinforcing ideological discipline and modernization efforts.
“North Korea has adopted a two-state stance, and there appear to be trends in that regard,” ministry spokesman Yoon Min-ho said at a regular press briefing. “We will continue to closely monitor related trends in the future.”
Asked whether the North’s latest moves could escalate the situation along the border, Yoon said Seoul would continue efforts to reduce military tensions and build trust on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has sought to reduce tensions since taking office in June, including by dismantling border propaganda loudspeakers and calling for renewed dialogue, but Pyongyang has largely ignored the overtures while continuing to expand its military capabilities.
On Monday, the Unification Ministry released its annual white paper, which defined Seoul’s new “Korean Peninsula peaceful coexistence policy.”
The policy is based on principles President Lee outlined in August, including respecting North Korea’s system, rejecting unification by absorption and avoiding hostile acts.
KIM Kardashian’s Met Gala megaboobs were spray-painted at an auto repair shop in Kent — and its owner said tonight it was an “honour”.
Martyn Smith, 55, spent 13 hours on the orange fibreglass creation at his garage in Lydd on Romney Marsh.
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Kim Kardashian’s Met Gala megaboobs were spray-painted in KentCredit: SplashAuto repair shop owner Martyn Smith said it was an ‘honour’ to work on the outfitCredit: SWNSMartyn spent 13 hours on the orange fibreglass creationCredit: SWNSThe breastplate before it was paintedCredit: SWNS
He felt “very proud” at seeing reality star Kim, 45, wear it in New York this week.
The Brit garage owner was asked to do the “top-secret” breastplate paint job — and was only told it was for Kim when he finished.
He said he agreed to drop work after being approached at his auto repair shop on a Kent industrial estate by two local artists.
Martyn, who runs MPS Body & Paint, would not say what he charged — but it was “in the hundreds not the thousands”.
He added: “When I saw it, I felt very proud and honoured. I only had 24 hours to do it.”
The breastplate was co-created by Kent artists Patrick Whitaker and Keir Malem, who then went to Martyn after he had repaired their car a few years earlier.
The dad of two, who works at the auto business with sister Nicki Hill, 50, said: “It looked great, but it had imperfections and tiny air holes which I had to fill with stopper.
Kim Kardashian wearing the breastplate at the Met Gala on Monday nightCredit: GettyMartyn was asked to do the ‘top-secret’ breastplate paint jobCredit: SWNS
“It had mould lines which I had to smooth out, before re-priming it and rubbing it down. It then needed a base coat and a lacquer top coat.
“With drying times, it was a lengthy process, but I knew it had to be perfect. I worked all day on it until 8.30pm.
“It was kept hush-hush as they told me it was top secret.
“I thought it might be for Madonna or Gal Gadot given the design.
The 55-year-old was only told it was for Kim Kardashian when he had finishedCredit: SWNSMartyn runs MPS Body & Paint in KentCredit: SWNS
“When they collected it they finally told me it was for Kim Kardashian.”
Martyn said he knew the name but was more of a fan of her boyfriend, F1 great Sir Lewis Hamilton.
Meanwhile, Nicki discovered Kim would be at the Met Gala on Monday night — her daughter Elli-Jane’s 20th birthday.
“She stayed up to watch it and said: “I was falling asleep as it was late and Elli-Jane shouted, ‘Mum, mum she’s wearing it’.
“She was bouncing up and down with excitement and then I was quite emotional.”
Martyn, who had gone to bed, said his paint job looked “fantastic” when he saw photos the next day, and the reaction since has been “crazy”.
He would welcome similar work but added: “I don’t know many people who have got a breastplate really.”
Kim Kardashian’s hair stylist Chris Appleton has revealed the staggering amount he charges for a cutCredit: InstagramChris has been a key part of Kim’s glam squad for more than a decade and is responsible for some of her most iconic looksCredit: Hulu
The stylist sat down with Jamie Laing for an episode of his Great Company podcast and the Made in Chelsea star wasted no time in putting him on the spot.
Jamie, 37, asked: “Is it true you charge £100,000 for a haircut?”
Superstar Kim previously insisted Chris is more than a stylist to her and is one of her closest confidantsCredit: InstagramShe was on hand to honour him at the Fashion Los Angeles Awards in 2023Credit: Unknown
Chris replied: “Oh god, I should never have said that. I got dragged for that.
Recalling being asked about his fee in a previous interview, Chris said: “It’s more. It’s £200,000. I said £100,000 because I was afraid of what… I was scared.”
Attempting to justify the eye-watering amount, he continued: “There’s so much that goes into it and there are plenty of times where I work for free or I don’t get paid that amount of money.
“Also, fifty percent tax, in America, and then your agent takes half and then your business manager takes five [percent]. So, the answer is yes and no.”
After the clip was shared on social media, fans in the comments were divided.
One wrote: “I don’t get how much goes into it, that’s disgraceful.”
Another said: “That is just a ridiculous amount of money for a haircut.”
But others praised Chris, with someone saying: “He seems humble, grounded and a wonderful person. He’s done incredibly well.”
Kim previously told how Chris is more than a stylist to her and is one of her closest confidants.
Presenting him with the Hair Artist of the Year award at the Fashion Los Angeles Awards in 2023, she said: “I can tell him all of my personal business and it will never get out.
“We can party in Vegas all night long until three in the morning and get tattoos – not me – like we did last night.”
1 of 2 | Joseph DeTrani, right, speaks with Greg Scarlatoiu at the International Council on Korean Studies annual conference titled “Challenges of the U.S.-South Korea Alliance 2026” at the Hudson Institute in Washington on Wednesday. Photo by Asia Today
May 1 (Asia Today) — Former U.S. Six-Party Talks envoy Joseph DeTrani said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un still wants to normalize relations with the United States but is demanding that Washington recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapons state.
DeTrani said U.S. leverage in negotiations with North Korea has weakened sharply compared with the period around the 2005 Six-Party Talks joint statement, as Pyongyang has significantly expanded its nuclear and missile capabilities and China and Russia have effectively shielded the North.
He opposed calls by some Korea specialists in the United States for arms control negotiations with North Korea, saying Washington should maintain complete, verifiable denuclearization as its ultimate goal. At the same time, he said the United States should pursue interim freeze measures, including a halt to nuclear testing and production of fissile material.
DeTrani made the remarks Wednesday during a presentation and discussion with Greg Scarlatoiu, president of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, at the annual International Council on Korean Studies conference, “Challenges of the U.S.-South Korea Alliance 2026,” held at the Hudson Institute in Washington.
DeTrani previously served as director of the National Counterproliferation Center under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and as U.S. representative to the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization. He spent 13 years handling negotiations with North Korea and participated in intelligence work that first confirmed the North’s highly enriched uranium program.
DeTrani said the Sept. 19, 2005, joint statement from the fourth round of the Six-Party Talks was meaningful because it explicitly confirmed North Korea’s commitment to abandon “all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs.”
The statement also committed North Korea to returning at an early date to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. The United States affirmed that it had no nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula and no intention to attack or invade North Korea with nuclear or conventional weapons.
But DeTrani said North Korea refused U.S. demands during both plenary and bilateral talks to explicitly include its highly enriched uranium program in the agreement, explaining why the final text did not directly mention the program.
He said North Korea would not have agreed to the 1994 Agreed Framework if Washington had tried to explicitly include highly enriched uranium, adding that Pyongyang has consistently shown since around 2000 that it wanted to pursue such a program for nuclear weapons development.
DeTrani said the U.S. negotiating “tool kit” was relatively strong in 2005 but has lost much of its effectiveness by 2026.
He said Wang Yi, now China’s foreign minister, played an active and constructive role as chair of the Six-Party Talks at the time. Today, however, China and Russia are effectively accepting North Korea as a nuclear weapons state and blocking additional U.N. Security Council sanctions, he said.
DeTrani said China still controls about 90% of North Korea’s foreign trade and oil supply, but added that it is difficult to expect Beijing to use that leverage to move Pyongyang in the direction Washington wants.
On Russia, DeTrani said North Korea is likely receiving assistance for its satellite, nuclear and missile programs in exchange for sending more than 12,000 troops, artillery shells and ballistic missiles to support Russia’s war in Ukraine, following the June 2024 comprehensive strategic partnership treaty between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Still, DeTrani warned against assuming that the alignment among North Korea, China and Russia is permanent. He said historical distrust between Pyongyang and Beijing, along with geopolitical competition between Moscow and Beijing, remains a source of internal friction.
DeTrani estimated North Korea now has 50 to 60 nuclear weapons based on fissile materials such as highly enriched uranium and plutonium and could expand that arsenal to 100 weapons within several years.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi warned during a visit to South Korea on April 15 that North Korea is expanding uranium enrichment capabilities at Yongbyon and at a new facility resembling the Kangson enrichment site in satellite imagery, describing the program as having advanced to a “very serious” level.
DeTrani said North Korea recently displayed the Hwasong-20, a solid-fuel, road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle capability and an estimated range of 15,000 kilometers, demonstrating a potential ability to reach the entire United States.
He said North Korea has more than 400 ballistic missiles, ranging from short-range systems to long-range intercontinental missiles, and is focusing on solid-fuel, road-mobile short-range systems such as the KN-23, KN-24 and KN-25.
DeTrani also said Kim recently visited the second 5,000-ton destroyer, Choe Hyon, and that North Korea aims to build a third and fourth destroyer while securing 12 nuclear-capable destroyers by 2030.
He said North Korea is constructing an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine, a move he described as strengthening the second leg of a nuclear triad intended to preserve retaliatory nuclear capability even after a first strike.
DeTrani said another major change is North Korea’s nuclear doctrine, which now allows for automatic preemptive nuclear use if there is an imminent or perceived imminent threat to the leadership or command and control system.
“With satellite and imagery intelligence, I think we have verification capabilities and will not be deceived,” DeTrani said. “But North Korea remains a black hole, and there is still a great deal of information we cannot access.”
DeTrani said Kim, like his father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung, understands that normalization with the United States could restore international confidence and open the door to institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
He said Kim’s request at the February 2019 Hanoi summit for relief from U.N. Security Council sanctions imposed since 2016, in exchange for steps related to the Yongbyon nuclear facility, reflected that calculation.
DeTrani said President Donald Trump had built a degree of trust with Kim, and that Kim has conditionally signaled a willingness to meet Trump again.
But DeTrani said in his presentation that it would not be surprising if North Korea had given up on the United States and South Korea, given the Iran conflict, tensions between the United States and NATO, and China and Russia’s de facto acceptance of North Korea’s nuclear status.
He said if Washington recognizes North Korea as a nuclear weapons state, Pyongyang would claim victory and use that recognition to extract more concessions from China and Russia.
Asked about proposals for nuclear nonproliferation or arms control talks with North Korea, DeTrani said, “I absolutely disagree.”
Such an approach, he said, would reinforce the North Korean regime’s belief that the United States will eventually accept it as a nuclear weapons state and would damage the broader nuclear nonproliferation system.
DeTrani identified North Korea’s nuclear program as the biggest challenge facing the U.S.-South Korea alliance in 2026. He also cited additional alliance issues, including debate over the possible use of about 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea in a Taiwan Strait or South China Sea contingency and support for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.
SHE’S been branded arrogant, entitled and irritating by people who’ve watched her growing up on The Kardashians.
And as I braced myself to listen to North West’s debut EP N0rth4evr, I was expecting to absolutely hate it. But in all honesty, I love it.
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North West has released her debut EP N0rth4evr – and it is surprisingly goodCredit: SplashThe 12-year-old daughter of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian does actually have talentCredit: Getty
The six-track record proves that the 12-year-old daughter of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian does actually have talent.
She mixes heavy-metal guitar riffs with rage-rap and a flavour of the Japanese culture she loves so much.
Critics will argue that having two of the most famous people on the planet as parents would mean she couldn’t produce something that’s utterly rubbish.
But I’d argue North has a flair of originality and authenticity on all the tracks.
Kanye West’s daughter North has a flair of originality and authenticity on all the tracksCredit: PAShe samples Mumford & Sons’ 2009 track Little Lion Man on punchy and pacy Th!s t!meCredit: Getty Images – Getty
She samples Mumford & Sons’ 2009 track Little Lion Man on punchy and pacy Th!s t!me, and the final 28 seconds of W0ah crunching has an electric guitar solo.
For a child who has grown up knowing only fame and privilege, North carries the expectations on her shoulders in her lyrics.
No doubt she’s had a big helping hand, working with American rock siblings Meg and Dia Frampton, but it opens your eyes to what life might really be like as a kid everyone thinks they know.
On How I Feel, North sings: “In the back of the Lamb’, it get lonely, they be all up in my comments like they know me.
“If they approach me no phones please, lot of eyes on me that I don’t need.”
While on Th!s t!me, she raps: “They hear the name, they don’t hear what I’m sayin’.
“They want the fame, but you know I ain’t playin’.”
North4evr links to Kanye’s 2018 track Violent Crimes, where he rapped about protecting daughter North from danger.
On it, she sings: “So much people ’round me, but I know they all fake, so much goin’ in my head that I can’t say.
“Know my minds in a place that is not safe.”
She balances the pitfalls with plenty of not-so- humble brags though, and on D!e boasts about her influence on fashion and culture.
The track, which contains some influences of Post Malone, has her rapping: “How am I younger than you, but I’m who you look up to?
“Once they on trend, I’m already off it.
“I’m a rock star, you could tell by my closet. Once they on trend, I’m already off it.”
The apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree, clearly.
Beyonce has dropped yet another hint that her new rock-inspired album is comingCredit: She posted a video of Destiny’s Child hanging out with Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks in 2001Credit: X
BEYONCE’s next era is just around the corner – and she’s dropped yet another hint that her new rock-inspired album is waiting.
The singer removed all the country- inspired Cowboy Carter merchandise from her website last night as she prepares to start promoting the record.
Bey also dropped another big clue about the direction she is heading by posting a video on her website of Destiny‘s Child hanging out with Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks on the set of their Bootylicious video from 2001.
As I told you last week, Beyonce is planning to reveal all about her new record around the Met Gala in New York on Monday.
The album, believed to be called Betty Black, is the third in a trilogy of records following on from 2022’s Renaissance and Cowboy Carter in 2024.
We first revealed in July that Beyonce was working on a rock-themed album.
She hinted the record could be called Betty Black in a reclaiming of the African-American work song Black Betty which was remade in 1977 by rock group Ram Jam.
He has also rescheduled the Manchester AO Arena gig to May 24.
His concert at London’s O2 Arena is still planned to take place on May 23.
Zayn said he was recovering and wanted to come back “stronger”.
Roses taxman tussle
The Stone Roses have been stuck in a secret battle with HMRC over their former touring firmCredit: Getty
THE STONE ROSES have been locked in a secret 13-year battle with the taxman involving their failed touring company.
HMRC has been fighting the indie rockers – who made £26million from two huge reunion tours – over an unpaid £127,000 corporation tax bill from BMSW Ltd.
Over the years, the figure has risen to £158,000. The touring firm collapsed and went into liquidation.
Documents filed at Companies House reveal the Roses tried to close down BMSW Ltd in July 2013 after the end of the first tour, with £10million being distributed to the band after paying a £3.1million tax bill.
But there was a change in HMRC policy, which meant liquidators asked the group – late bassist Gary Mounfield, singer Ian Brown, guitarist John Squire and drummer Alan Wren – for £32,000 each.
That was received badly by the lads, below, who felt “extremely aggrieved” after signing an indemnity protecting them from such a liability.
It meant the firm moved from a member’s voluntary liquidation into a creditor’s voluntary liquidation in 2022 . . . and the battle is still going on.
Graham: Traitors turn-off
Graham Norton says he is not interested in taking part in Celebrity Traitors for one clear reasonCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
1 of 4 | Rep. Young Kim, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, leads a roundtable with 11 North Korean defectors at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington on Tuesday. Photo by Asia Today
April 30 (Asia Today) — U.S. Rep. Young Kim on Tuesday pledged to work for the swift reauthorization of the North Korea Human Rights Act, which has lapsed for more than six years, vowing to serve as a “voice” for North Korean defectors.
Kim made the remarks while chairing a roundtable at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington attended by 11 North Korean defectors as part of North Korea Freedom Week.
“I will do my best to ensure the North Korea Human Rights Act is reauthorized as soon as possible in this Congress,” Kim said.
Kim stresses urgency of reauthorization, shifts from English to Korean
Kim opened the meeting in English, noting that she has been involved in North Korea human rights issues for more than 30 years, including 21 years as a congressional staffer and later as an elected lawmaker.
After listening to defectors’ testimony, she switched to Korean without an interpreter, appearing to emphasize her commitment more directly.
“The most important thing from what you said is that we must work together to reauthorize the North Korea Human Rights Act,” she said in Korean.
She highlighted that a key component of the legislation is funding for broadcasting into North Korea.
“Broadcast resources are essential,” Kim said, noting that transmissions into North Korea have weakened, including those from outlets such as Radio Free Asia and Voice of America.
“I will be your voice and speak with my colleagues to ensure the act is reauthorized,” she said.
Susan Scholte, head of the North Korea Freedom Coalition and the Defense Forum Foundation, said Sen. Tim Kaine is preparing to introduce a Senate version of the bill corresponding to the House legislation.
Kim says human rights conditions worsening despite greater information access
Kim said North Korea’s human rights situation has not improved over decades and has in some respects worsened.
“Even after decades, nothing has changed,” she said. “If anything has changed, it is that North Korean people now know more about the outside world than ever before, while crackdowns on external media have reached unprecedented levels.”
She argued that any meaningful change in North Korea must come from within, driven by the spread of information.
“If regime change happens, it must come from inside,” Kim said. “It should begin with people like those here who share information through broadcasting.”
Defectors recount hardships, escapes and role of outside information
Defectors at the roundtable shared personal accounts of life in North Korea and their paths to escape.
One defector said he came to understand the reality of the regime after listening to foreign radio broadcasts, which ultimately influenced his decision to flee.
Another described being detained in Russia after drifting into its waters while fishing and later seeking help from human rights groups after exposure to South Korean media via USB devices.
Others recounted losing family members to starvation, enduring forced labor and being trafficked into China before eventually reaching South Korea.
One defector said she had been forcibly repatriated to North Korea eight times and was separated from her young child, whose fate remains unknown.
Survey shows role of broadcasts, concerns over China surveillance
Kim Ji-young, head of Free North Korea Radio, presented survey results of 75 defectors who arrived in South Korea after 2022.
She said 66% reported accessing foreign broadcasts at least once a week, which inspired aspirations for freedom and motivated their escape.
All respondents said North Korea’s so-called “three major repressive laws” reflect fears of regime instability and efforts to maintain authoritarian control.
Kim also raised concerns about defectors in China, including cases in which children born to North Korean women and Chinese fathers are left stateless, as well as reports that Chinese authorities use artificial intelligence-based facial recognition to track and repatriate defectors.
One participant said she has avoided traveling to China due to fears of abduction or poisoning, adding that South Korean authorities have advised her against visiting.
U.S. lawmaker calls for stronger joint efforts
Rep. James Moylan said the United States and South Korea should strengthen cooperation to bring about meaningful change in North Korea without another decades-long delay.
In an interview with Voice of America, Moylan said radio broadcasting is an effective tool for change, adding that increased access to information, combined with support from advocacy groups and the United States, can help drive transformation.
KIM Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton’s romantic beach pictures prove that they’ve hard launched a VERY different relationship.
Body language expert Judi James has revealed that Kim, 45, and Lewis, 41, appear to be the real deal with “genuine displays of intimacy”.
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Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton’s relationship appear to be the real dealCredit: BackGridBody language expert Judi James said the couple are showing ‘genuine displays of intimacy’Credit: BackGridKim appears to be taking the lead in the relationship, according to Judi JamesCredit: BackGrid
TheSkimsfounderlooked in her element as she enjoyed a surf lesson with her beau.
TV personality Kim showed off her incredible figure in a skintight wetsuit and a black bikini top.
The F1 star wore a pair of black shorts and a matching T-shirt.
They were seen all over each other as they struggled to keep their hands off one another.
Judi has now revealed that the beach snaps illustrate just how much this famous couple are compatible, despite fears that they were a showmance.
Even though it’s early days, Judi believes that their is already a strong level of trust between the pair.
She exclusively told The Sun: “They might have been seen on a couple of chaste-looking dates where Lewis’s body language primarily spelled out ‘gentleman’ but these photos and the video look like the hard launch of a more tactile, sexual and romantic relationship between Kim and Lewis.
“Kim’s leading the plunge here, swimming ahead of Lewis as he seems to be struggling to catch up with her and touch her.
“When they are together in the ocean there are signs of an uninhibited and playful, mutually clinging relationship with Kim encircling Lewis with her arms and throwing her head back with an open-mouth laugh of sheer pleasure, with her relaxed neck-baring a sign of strong levels of trust in the relationship.”
The expert insisted that Kim appears to be in charge of the relationship but also seem to be rather like-minded and on the same page.
“Kim does look like the leader in the body language stages here, at one point she stands with her feet slightly splayed and her back arched as she performs a preening, confident pit-bare gesture as she squeezes the water out of her hair,” Judi shared.
“Lewis’s response is reciprocal as he shows his admiration by placing one hand out and onto the upper part of her bum.
“During a playful-looking moment Kim turns her torso in towards his, pressing it against his torso in an intimate pose as she places one hand on his waist and here he responds with one hand curved right around the shape of her bum.
The pair seem to be mirroring each other in another sign that they’re in it for the long haulCredit: BackGridDespite showmance fears, the couple seem to already have strong levels of trust for each otherCredit: BackGrid
“Kim and Lewis have dressed in coordinating swimwear here to signal they are a couple and their mirrored movements and poses at some points suggest a like-minded relationship too.”
Kim and Lewis packed on the PDA and were seen strolling along the beach and were pictured smiling and laughing together.
The lovebirds were then seen splashing about in the sea and were spotted with their arms wrapped around one another.
They appeared to be the real deal as they kept eye contact and smooched while riding the waves in the sea.
They were also seen showing off their surf skills during the sporty outing, with Kim jumping on top of the board, while Lewis kept an eye on her.
They seemed comfortable in each other’s presence as they clung to each other and rode the waves.
Last week, Kim sparked Kim rumours that she is moving in with Lewis as they went rug shopping in LA.
Lewis attempted to go incognito with black sunglasses and a baseball cap.
The two were seen heading back into a vehicle as they made their way home after the shopping trip.
Just last week, Kim made an 11,000-mile round-trip to spend 24 hours in London with Lewis.
She flew to the UK on her private jet to see her man in a bid to keep their long-distance romance alive.
She left Los Angeles last Monday and landed at Farnborough, Hants, at 4pm on the Tuesday before being chauffeured on a 90-minute journey to Lewis’s £18million home in Kensington, West London.
The couple stayed holed-up in his six-bedroom mansion while their security teams kept guard.
She then left on Wednesday afternoon, taking off from Oxford at 5.30pm to return to the US.
A source said: “Lewis and Kim are two of the busiest people in showbiz, but they are determined to do everything to see each other when they have any spare time.
“Kim spent Easter weekend with her family and then had a photoshoot in Los Angeles on Monday morning, then flew across the Atlantic to see Lewis.
“They didn’t have long together because she had commitments in the US to get back to, but it was quality time.”
Kim’s romance with Lewis became public knowledge after The Sun revealed she flew in from Los Angeles on her £100million private jet to spend an evening with him.
On January 31, the couple enjoyed a brief stay at the exclusive Estelle Manor in the Cotswolds, with insiders saying they had the spa to themselves, before enjoying a meal in a private room.
Proving they’re the real deal, the sports star recently met Kim’s children while they were out in Tokyo ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.
The couple were joined by three of her children -Saint, 10, Chicago, nine, and six-year-old Psalm – while they were on spring break.
“It’s more than just a casual connection. It takes a lot to capture Kim’s interest and she’s definitely intrigued,” an insider told People.
“He’s just an easygoing guy with great energy.
“Her family likes him and Kim’s very into him. They are both busy with their careers, but see each other as much as possible.”
Lewis’s response is reciprocal as he shows his admiration by placing one hand out and onto the upper part of her bumCredit: BackGridKim and Lewis were seen on surf boards togetherCredit: BackGrid
The missiles were fired near the city of Sinpo on North Korea’s east coast at about 6:10am on Sunday (21:10 GMT, Saturday), South Korea’s military said in a statement. It added that South Korea had bolstered its surveillance posture and was closely exchanging information with the United States and Japan.
Japan’s government posted on social media that the ballistic missiles were believed to have fallen near the east coast of the Korean Peninsula. No incursion into Japan’s exclusive economic zone was confirmed.
South Korea’s presidential office said it has held an emergency security meeting, according to media reports.
Such tests violate United Nations Security Council resolutions against North Korea’s missile programme. The diplomatically isolated country rejects the UN ban and says it infringes on its sovereign right to self-defence.
The launches come as China and the US prepare for a summit in mid-May, in which Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, are expected to discuss North Korea.
North Korea has made “very serious” advances in its ability to turn out nuclear weapons, with the probable addition of a new uranium enrichment facility, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday.
Late last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country’s status as a nuclear-armed state was irreversible and that expanding a “self-defensive nuclear deterrent” was essential to national security.
