London, United Kingdom — On his fourth day as prime minister, Andy Burnham did not stay at Downing Street in London. Nor did he go to Manchester, the home of Number 10 North. He went to Glasgow.
Hours before King Charles and Queen Camilla opened the 2026 Commonwealth Games, Burnham held his first in-person meetings with Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney and Wales’ First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth. The talks were meant to demonstrate, in Burnham’s own words, that growth is needed “in every postcode across the whole of the UK”. A meeting with Northern Ireland’s First and Deputy First Ministers, Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly, is pencilled in for a wider UK tour in August.
Notably absent from the agenda, at Burnham’s insistence, was any discussion of a second Scottish independence referendum.
Just days after being appointed prime minister, Burnham is testing a proposition that will define his premiership. He’s selling a vision that the office itself can be partly relocated out of London to Manchester, the city he governed as mayor from 2017 until his return to UK Parliament in the Makerfield by-election last month.
Stripped of rhetoric, Number 10 North is a written ministerial statement. On July 21, Baroness Smith of Basildon, Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal, confirmed on the government’s behalf that devolution and local growth policy functions are moving out of the housing ministry and the Treasury and into a new Manchester-based operation. There, civil servants will work inside a restructured Office for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, led by Cabinet Secretary Dame Antonia Romeo.
The interim headquarters is Heron House, in the New Islington area of Manchester, chosen partly for its proximity to a planned Manchester Digital Campus.
Caroline Simpson, the outgoing chief executive of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, has been named Burnham’s deputy chief of staff, and will be in charge of day-to-day office operations. Downing Street says Burnham himself expects to work from Manchester “at least one day a week”, though officials caution his diary may change, and insists the arrangement carries no additional cost to taxpayers.
Burnham calls it “the nerve centre of a rewired Britain” and rejects suggestions it is symbolic. “Not a gimmick,” he told his first Cabinet meeting about Number 10 North.
Number 10 North “establishes the plumbing, but the water isn’t flowing yet”, said Mirte Boot of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) North. The institutional architecture is firming up, but fiscal devolution – ie, the transfer of money and tax-raising power – that would make such a policy meaningful doesn’t yet exist, she added.
Still, she calls it “a step in the right direction” after what she describes as “too much power condensed into one postcode”. Leaving Westminster isn’t enough; Number 10 North will need “strong political leadership aside from the prime minister”, she added.
The verdict that Number 10 North contains vision and ambition but currently lacks a detailed plan and delivery mechanism is a recurring response from independent voices.
Jonathan Carr-West of the Local Government Information Unit calls Burnham’s devolution agenda “the most ambitious statement … from a senior politician in a generation”, while warning that English councils are so financially hollowed out that the vision “requires a vehicle” it does not yet have.
Malcolm Morgan, a transport researcher at the University of Leeds, puts it more bluntly: genuine devolution means spending, taxation and regulatory power, not just relocated functions, and “devolution does not create more funding”.
That funding question sits unresolved alongside the national one. The 2026 English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act expanded mayors’ control over transport, planning and housing, but left fiscal devolution to a separate Treasury “roadmap” due alongside the autumn budget. According to Centre for Cities, a UK urban policy think tank, the UK remains the most fiscally centralised country in the G7: some 95 percent of tax revenue flows straight to Whitehall.
For Scotland’s SNP government, the Number 10 North framing is beside the point. First Minister Swinney responded that “rhetoric alone will not cut it” and argued that four consecutive Holyrood elections have handed his party a mandate for Scottish self-determination, something Westminster keeps ignoring, he said. In Glasgow, Burnham declined to engage with that argument directly.
Meanwhile, Wales’ Ap Iorwerth struck a more cooperative note but still said he expected “that Number 10 North would not become Whitehall with a different postcode”.
He also used the meeting with Burnham to press for a new Wales Bill granting policing and justice powers, and a replacement for the Barnett Formula funding mechanism, which Westminster uses to calculate annual changes to the block grants allocated to the UK’s devolved governments, so Wales would have funding parity with Scotland.
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage, from the opposite political direction, warned that a Number 10 in the south and one in the north would simply “fight against each other”.
In Bury, Greater Manchester, Scottish-born Debe Conway sells children’s books at markets and has lived in the area for 56 years, but remains unconvinced about the new prime minister.
Her biggest concern is immigration, which she called Burnham weak on. And as for Number 10 North, she wants to know how it’s being paid for, and asks how long it will last, considering that the UK has had seven prime ministers in the last 10 years.
Rich Carver, who has run pizza restaurants in Manchester for 15 years and is currently “soaking up the energy in the city”, says he cares more about what will happen in the next 10 years.
He’s also tired of the succession of governments and wants this one to last. He likes Burnham and is optimistic enough about the city’s trajectory that he is opening a new restaurant in the coming weeks, something he would not have done five years ago.
“We are all one country,” he says, hoping the rest of the UK (and the media) give the new prime minister time and the chance to implement his vision. Whether that time produces growth, or just relocated offices, is the question Number 10 North still has to answer.
Burnham’s first day as prime minister in No 10 North will include talks with business leaders, including representatives of the Federation of Small Business, the Confederation of British Industry and the British Chambers of Commerce, about how to generate growth and investment.
Labour wants to create a plan that would pull from existing devolution strategy and local growth policy, to allow civil servants, mayors, councils and businesses to work together more closely.
Burnham’s first week in power has seen him make a series of interventions aimed at easing the cost of living, including announcing a 20% cut in business rates for pubs, social clubs and live music venues from April next year.
However, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has criticised his ambitions for being “too small”.
Speaking on Thursday, she urged him to tackle high energy costs for businesses as well as a gap in defence funding.
“When you are mayor of Manchester, you are handed a big pot of someone else’s money, and you decide where to spend it,” she said.
“I’m sure this is great fun. It can make you very popular. But it is not the same as being prime minister.
“Andy Burnham needs to do better. He is behaving like he’s still the mayor of Manchester. He is now the prime minister of the United Kingdom, he needs to start acting like it.”
England and Australia will not play Tests in the north of England after Old Trafford and Headingley not chosen to host.
Published On 23 Jul 202623 Jul 2026
There will be no Ashes matches in the north of England next year, when Australia arrive for Test cricket’s oldest rivalry.
Headingley in Leeds and Manchester’s Old Trafford have both staged some of the most dramatic clashes in the long history of Ashes cricket.
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Don Bradman, arguably cricket’s greatest batsman, scored two triple centuries at Headingley in the 1930s.
Both grounds played host to remarkable individual feats by England hero Ian Botham during the 1981 Ashes series.
Headingley was also the venue for a remarkable unbeaten century by England’s Ben Stokes in a one-wicket win during the 2019 series.
But both venues have been left off the schedule for the 2027 Ashes – a decision criticised by new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, then the mayor of Greater Manchester – when it was announced in 2023.
The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed on Thursday the exact fixture list for next year’s Ashes, with all five matches limited to the Midlands and south of England.
Hampshire’s Rose Bowl, near Southampton, will stage its first Ashes Test from July 21 – the fourth of the series.
It will become the 10th ground in the United Kingdom to stage a men’s Ashes Test.
The series will start at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on June 18, with Lord’s – as is traditional – staging the second Test on June 30 and Edgbaston in Birmingham the third on July 8.
The Ashes will conclude at the Oval in south London with the July 29-August 2 Test.
Old Trafford and Headingley are both set to stage Ashes Tests in 2031.
Australia triumphed 4-1 on home soil during the 2025-26 Ashes. The last Ashes series in England ended in a 2-2 draw in 2023.
England’s last Ashes series success was a 3-2 home victory in 2015.
They are also due to play a one-off Test against Bangladesh at Lord’s from May 28.
The 2027 World Test Championship final will be held at the Oval starting on June 9, the second time the venue has hosted the title match.
Seoul’s military warned Thursday that North Korean landmines in the DMZ may have washed across the border after heavy rainfall. In this photo, water from the Imjin River is released from Gunnam Dam on Tuesday. Photo by Yonhap
SEOUL, July 23 (UPI) — South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Thursday warned that landmines laid by North Korea in the Demilitarized Zone may have been washed into the South after recent heavy rainfall.
“There is a very high possibility that these washed-away landmines could flow into our territory via the rivers shared between the two Koreas, and an explosion of these landmines could cause significant damage,” JCS spokesman Capt. Jang Do-young said during a regular press briefing.
Jang urged the public to be cautious when near inter-Korean rivers and to report any suspected landmine to police or a nearby military unit.
The alert comes days after South Korean authorities issued a flood warning for the Imjin River following heavy downpours and North Korea’s release of water from a dam without advance notice.
Seoul’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said Monday that satellite imagery confirmed water had been released from North Korea’s Hwanggang Dam on the upper reaches of the Imjin River.
A Unification Ministry official on Tuesday said joint responses to natural disasters should be treated as humanitarian matters.
“Responsible cooperation between the two sides is necessary,” the official told reporters.
An unannounced discharge from Hwanggang Dam in September 2009 caused flooding that killed six South Koreans. The following month, North Korea agreed to provide advance notice before future releases. Pyongyang sent notifications on a handful of occasions in 2010 and 2013 but has not done so since.
North Korea released water from the dam several times during last year’s monsoon season, prompting the Unification Ministry to publicly urge Pyongyang to provide advance notice. A ministry spokeswoman said the appeal served as a form of “indirect communication” because Pyongyang had cut off inter-Korean communication channels in April 2023.
Thursday’s warning also comes as Pyongyang continues an extended campaign to fortify the border and harden its military posture toward South Korea, including laying large numbers of landmines inside the DMZ.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared the South a “hostile state” and scrapped an inter-Korean military agreement in late 2023.
Beginning in April 2024, Pyongyang ramped up activity along the DMZ by clearing land, laying mines, reinforcing tactical roads and installing anti-tank barriers near the Military Demarcation Line.
South Korean military officials have said North Korea increased the number of troops assigned to the work from roughly 1,000 last year to about 5,000 this year.
Seoul’s Defense Ministry last month described the activity as a violation of the armistice agreement that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War, an assessment later contradicted by the U.S.-led United Nations Command.
Davis Turner/Getty Images News
Duke Energy (DUK) up 0.6% in Monday’s trading after saying it reached a settlement with North Carolina Public Staff, the agency representing utility customers, that would lower the proposed rate increase by more than half, subject to approval by the North
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) welcomes North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (R) during their meeting in the Moscow Kremlin, Russia. Photo by ARTEM GEODAKYAN / EPA-EFE
July 19 (Asia Today) — North Korea is intensifying engagement with China and Russia as South Korea, the United States and Japan broaden their cooperation to include the overseas deployment of small modular reactors.
The diplomatic activity follows events marking the 65th anniversary of the North Korea-China Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance.
North Korea received a senior Chinese delegation for the anniversary and dispatched Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui to Russia, signaling efforts to manage relations with both of its principal partners.
The moves are widely viewed as an attempt to strengthen alignment among North Korea, China and Russia as Seoul, Washington and Tokyo expand their security and economic cooperation.
The three allies recently signed a memorandum aimed at encouraging cooperation among their civilian nuclear industries and supporting the deployment of small modular reactors in third countries.
The Korean Central News Agency said Choe left Pyongyang aboard a government aircraft Saturday at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry also said Choe was making an official visit to the country.
It was Choe’s first visit to Russia in about nine months and the first major high-level exchange between the countries since the April opening of a memorial in North Korea honoring troops sent to support Russia.
Because the trip was not tied to a major anniversary or previously announced diplomatic event, analysts said Choe could be preparing for a possible visit to Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly invited Kim to visit Russia during their June 2024 summit and again when the leaders attended events in China marking the anniversary of the end of World War II in Asia.
Possible subjects for Choe’s talks include a visit by Kim, recent developments in North Korea-China relations and coordination involving the Tumen River region, where the three countries share geographic and economic interests.
Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said military and diplomatic accomplishments are easier for Pyongyang to demonstrate than economic achievements.
“If Chinese President Xi Jinping visits North Korea and Kim Jong Un subsequently visits Russia, North Korea could present those events as major diplomatic accomplishments,” Park said.
“Practical trilateral cooperation among North Korea, China and Russia has not progressed smoothly, but the Tumen River project could become a vehicle for cooperation among the three countries.”
China ties show signs of recovery
Relations between North Korea and China also appear to be recovering rapidly around the treaty anniversary.
Kim and Xi exchanged messages, a North Korean delegation traveled to China and Wang Huning, chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, led a Chinese party and government delegation to North Korea.
The exchanges could expand cooperation in economic affairs, science and technology, public health and culture.
Wang’s visit to the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area was particularly notable because the resort is one of Kim’s priority development projects.
Analysts have questioned whether Russian tourists alone can generate enough demand to make the resort financially sustainable.
Wang’s visit has therefore raised the possibility that the two countries discussed bringing larger numbers of Chinese tourists to the site.
Tourism is considered an area in which China may be able to support North Korea without directly violating the main restrictions imposed by U.N. Security Council sanctions.
Oh Gyeong-seop, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said attracting Chinese visitors is crucial to the resort’s prospects.
“Bringing in Chinese tourists is an issue that can avoid U.N. Security Council sanctions and is therefore critically important for North Korea,” Oh said.
“Large numbers of Chinese tourists are necessary to revitalize the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area, so related discussions are likely to have continued.”
North Korea’s renewed engagement with China and Russia does not necessarily indicate that the three countries have established a formal trilateral alliance.
Their interests frequently differ, and analysts say much of their coordination remains bilateral.
The latest exchanges, however, demonstrate Pyongyang’s effort to strengthen diplomatic, economic and strategic ties with Beijing and Moscow while South Korea, the United States and Japan deepen their own cooperation.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260720010006651
NORTH West has flashed a massive new face tattoo and lip rings ahead of her tour across the US.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s eldest daughter, who recently showcased two fresh body piercings, debuted her dramatic look on Instagram.
She pulled up her striking blue hair into an up-do so her face art could be showcased to full effect.
After applying pink eyeshadow and black false lashes, North finished off her look with the writing on her right cheek which read: “Are you ready for the Kimokawaii tour?”
The tour – which spans 14 dates across the US – sees the budding songstress team up with Molly Santana for the shows.
The gigs come after North penned a huge deal with Mariah Carey’s record label and was confirmed to be “recording music”.
While her face tatt – which is likely to be fake or temporary – took centre stage, North made sure her lip and ear bling was on point for the sassy snap.
In her caption, she put two question marks, but fans were quick to reply to the question posed by her body art.
One wrote: “Ohhh yesssss”.
Another confirmed: “Yess can’t wait”.
A third then put: “So pretty omg”.
North is no stranger to vamping up her look.
In another Instagram snap she showcased two piercings on her pointer and middle fingers, which she debuted in November.
Over the last few months, North has flaunted numerous body and face piercings, tattoos, heavy makeup, and drastic hair transformations.
Her followers expect to see even more shocking makeovers now that she’s branched out from posting on a joint-TikTok account with her mother to her own Instagram page.
North shared her first post on the platform on December 19th, sending social media into a frenzy.
Many fans have criticized her mom Kim for allowing her daughter to “grow up fast” and not act her age.
Kanye, 48, has shared the same thoughts, publicly calling out his ex-wife numerous times in the past for letting North be on social media and to dress in a mature way.
The former couple is also parents to a daughter, Chicago, 7, and sons, Saint, 10, and Psalm, 6.
All of their children are primarily in Kim’s care, despite their 2022 divorce settlement granting them joint legal and physical custody.
North Korea on Thursday condemned growing military cooperation between South Korea and Japan. In this June 28 photo, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-Back inspect honor guards at the Defense Ministry in Seoul. File Pool Photo by Kim Hong-ji/EPA
July 9 (UPI) — North Korea on Thursday condemned expanding military cooperation between South Korea and Japan as a “foolish act courting self-destruction.”
The criticism came in a commentary by Kang Chol Su, section chief at North Korea’s Institute of Enemy State Studies, carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
“The military nexus between Japan, a war criminal state dashing toward a military giant, and the ROK has recently got more undisguised, further endangering the security situation in the Korean peninsula,” Kang said, using the official acronym for South Korea.
He cited examples including a South Korean air force squadron refueling at a Japanese military base earlier this year, as well as a joint search-and-rescue drill held last month and recent defense ministerial talks between Seoul and Tokyo.
According to Kang, the deepening security ties are aimed at concluding a military logistics agreement that would facilitate the exchange of supplies and services between the two militaries, potentially including ammunition.
“What should not be overlooked is that the security cooperation between Japan and the ROK is directed to concluding the ‘logistic support agreement’ which provides each other with munitions including ammunition in contingency,” Kang said.
Japan has long sought such an agreement with South Korea, but Seoul has proceeded cautiously because of domestic sensitivities stemming from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea has repeatedly criticized the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a hawkish conservative who took office in February, over efforts to strengthen Japan’s military and expand its regional security role.
In February, North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun described Japan as a “war criminal nation” and warned that Tokyo’s expanding military partnerships amounted to the formation of a “de facto military alliance” with NATO members and regional countries.
Last week, Pyongyang condemned the Resolute Dragon exercise between Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Marines as a rehearsal for war, accusing Tokyo of using the drills to strengthen its offensive military capabilities.
Kang said Japan’s growing security collaboration with South Korea and the United States was part of a broader effort to build a “triangular cooperation system” around North Korea’s nuclear issue, which he claimed was intended to militarily contain neighboring countries.
“The reality goes to prove once again that the DPRK’s continuous development of nuclear force and thorough exercise of its position as a nuclear weapons state are the only way to actively cope with the acute and unpredictably changing international situation,” Kang said, using the official acronym for North Korea.
The commentary followed a trilateral meeting Tuesday among the top diplomats of the United States, South Korea and Japan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where they reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Relations between North Korea and Japan remain deeply strained due to historical grievances, North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes, and growing regional security tensions. In recent years, Japan has significantly increased defence spending and accelerated military modernisation in response to North Korea’s missile launches and China’s expanding military presence.
Tokyo has adopted a new national security strategy that includes acquiring long range strike capabilities, expanding missile defence and strengthening cooperation with the United States and other regional partners. Japan says these measures are necessary to deter growing security threats, while North Korea and China have criticised them as evidence of Japan moving away from its post World War Two defensive posture.
The latest remarks come as North Korea also continues expanding its own naval capabilities and developing new missile systems.
North Korea accused Japan on Tuesday of transforming its military into an offensive force, claiming Tokyo’s overseas military ambitions are now a reality rather than a hypothetical threat.
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A commentary published by the state run Korean Central News Agency criticised Japan’s defence modernisation programme, pointing to plans to develop unmanned submarines, expand long range missile capabilities and acquire advanced weapons from the United States.
The comments come amid growing military activity across East Asia as regional powers continue strengthening their armed forces.
The KCNA commentary argued that Japan is abandoning its long standing policy of maintaining forces solely for self defence.
It claimed Tokyo is developing unmanned submarines capable of carrying torpedoes and naval mines that could be deployed near neighbouring coastlines to conduct pre emptive attacks during a conflict.
The report portrayed these developments as evidence that Japan is shifting toward a more offensive military posture.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment on the allegations.
North Korea also highlighted Japan’s efforts to strengthen its missile capabilities.
According to the commentary, Tokyo is pursuing domestically developed long range missiles, a new ballistic missile with a reported range of up to 3,000 kilometres, upgraded anti ship missiles and hypersonic glide weapons.
The report also criticised Japan’s acquisition of United States made Tomahawk cruise missiles as part of its broader military modernisation programme.
Japan has argued that these capabilities are intended to strengthen deterrence against growing regional threats.
The criticism comes as North Korea continues expanding its own military capabilities.
State media recently reported that leader Kim Jong Un observed the launch of a strategic cruise missile and inspected weapons systems aboard the newly built 5,000 tonne destroyer Kang Kon.
Kim has instructed that the vessel enter operational service within two months as part of efforts to strengthen North Korea’s naval combat capabilities.
Pyongyang has also commissioned another destroyer, the Choe Hyon, and announced plans to construct additional warships, including larger 10,000 tonne vessels.
The exchange of criticism reflects broader security tensions across Northeast Asia.
Japan has strengthened defence cooperation with the United States and regional partners while increasing military investment in response to North Korea’s expanding nuclear and missile programmes and China’s growing military activities.
North Korea has responded by accelerating weapons development, conducting missile launches and modernising its naval forces, further contributing to regional strategic competition.
The latest comments highlight the increasingly confrontational security environment in Northeast Asia, where military modernisation by one country is often cited by others to justify their own defence expansion.
As Japan strengthens its deterrence capabilities and North Korea continues developing advanced weapons, the risk of heightened regional tensions and military competition is likely to remain elevated.
Seeking to strengthen its military capabilities while criticising Japan’s expanding defence posture.
Modernising its armed forces in response to growing regional security threats.
Supporting Japan’s defence strategy as part of its broader Indo Pacific security framework.
Closely monitoring military developments involving both North Korea and Japan.
Watching the evolving security balance as military competition intensifies across Northeast Asia.
Regional attention will remain focused on Japan’s continuing defence modernisation and North Korea’s naval expansion, including the planned deployment of its new destroyers.
Any additional missile tests, military exercises or defence announcements by either country are likely to be closely monitored by neighbouring governments and could further shape the security dynamics of the Indo Pacific region.
With information from Reuters.
July 6 (Asia Today) — North Korea is using tacit support from China and Russia to harden its status as a nuclear-armed state, raising pressure on South Korea to rebuild the kind of international sanctions coordination that brought Pyongyang back to negotiations in 2018 and 2019, analysts said Monday.
North Korea has repeatedly stressed the “constant expansion and strengthening” of its nuclear forces and the “thorough exercise” of its status as a nuclear-armed state, signaling that it has no intention of returning to talks premised on denuclearization.
Diplomatic observers in Seoul say North Korea is taking advantage of a turbulent international environment to consolidate its nuclear status.
Russia, which has become a close partner of North Korea since the war in Ukraine, vetoed the renewal of the U.N. panel monitoring sanctions on North Korea in March 2024. At the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference in May, Russia also opposed including language on North Korea’s nuclear program in a consensus document, according to the report.
China, which has long maintained a formal position supporting denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, did not mention the issue during a North Korea-China summit in June.
The North Korean nuclear issue has become even more difficult to resolve as U.S. attention remains focused on the Middle East and the U.N. Security Council has become increasingly ineffective, analysts said.
Experts say South Korea should pursue denuclearization by maintaining sanctions on North Korea, strengthening its military capabilities in response to Pyongyang’s nuclear buildup and securing diplomatic means to apply pressure through China and Russia.
Kim Tae-woo, former president of the Korea Institute for National Unification, said South Korea must acquire capabilities that can offset North Korea’s growing nuclear threat.
“As North Korea’s nuclear threat grows, South Korea must secure corresponding capabilities to neutralize that threat,” Kim said. “Only when North Korea recognizes that an intensifying arms race will be harmful to both Koreas can nuclear arms control negotiations begin.”
Kim said South Korea should quickly move forward with security consultations under the Korea-U.S. joint fact sheet. He said Seoul should pursue the construction of nuclear-powered submarines, secure what he called “nuclear latent capability” and push for stronger U.S. extended deterrence.
Analysts also said Seoul should wage a more active diplomatic campaign toward China and Russia, which retain significant influence over North Korea.
They said South Korea should work to recreate the diplomatic environment of 2016 and 2017, when the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a series of strong sanctions resolutions in response to North Korea’s nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile launches.
Experts say those sanctions were the key factor that pushed North Korea into inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea denuclearization talks in 2018 and 2019.
A former senior South Korean diplomat, who requested anonymity, said sanctions remain one of the few long-term sources of leverage over North Korea.
“Every area of North Korea except its nuclear program remains backward because of sanctions,” the former official said. “As long as sanctions are not abandoned in the long term, I believe there is still hope for North Korea’s denuclearization.”
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260707010002164
Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik speaks to reporters Friday at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea offices in Seoul. Photo by Asia Today
July 3 (Asia Today) — A possible visit by Pope Leo XIV to North Korea will depend largely on Pyongyang’s attitude and the state of relations between North Korea and the United States, a senior South Korean cardinal said Friday.
“The possibility of Pope Leo XIV visiting North Korea depends on the position of the North Korean authorities,” Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik told reporters in Seoul. “Relations between North Korea and the United States are the most important factor.”
“If even a small door opens, it could become an opportunity to expand relations,” he said. “I hope that time comes soon.”
You, 74, is prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Clergy. He spoke at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea offices in Seoul’s Gwangjin district while visiting South Korea for his summer vacation.
President Lee Jae Myung invited Pope Leo to visit South Korea during their June 15 meeting at the Vatican.
Lee asked the pope to attend World Youth Day, which will be held in Seoul from Aug. 3-8, 2027. The possibility of a papal visit to North Korea was also discussed.
You said he had felt strongly after Leo’s election in 2025 that the new pope could play a role in promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
“When Pope Leo XIV was elected last year, I had a strong intuition that he would do something for peace on the Korean Peninsula,” You said.
“When I shared that hope with him, he replied, ‘I hope that happens as well,'” the cardinal said.
You said conditions inside North Korea would have to change before a papal visit could realistically take place.
“There are Protestant ministers, Buddhist monks and Russian Orthodox priests in North Korea, but there is not a single resident Catholic bishop, priest or nun,” he said.
You said Catholics live in North Korea and some foreign diplomats posted in Pyongyang are also Catholic.
Having one or two resident priests at Jangchung Cathedral in Pyongyang could help create an atmosphere more favorable to a papal visit, he said.
North Korea officially recognizes the Korean Catholic Association and maintains Jangchung Cathedral, but the Holy See does not have formal diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.
Appointment of another Korean cardinal
Asked whether Pope Leo could appoint another South Korean cardinal, You said the decision rests entirely with the pontiff.
“A cardinal’s role is to advise the pope,” he said. “The appointment of cardinals is entirely at the pope’s discretion.”
You noted that Leo has not yet announced his first appointments to the College of Cardinals and said an announcement could come soon.
The Catholic Church in South Korea has produced four cardinals.
Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, who died in 2009, became South Korea’s first cardinal in 1969. Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk died in 2021.
Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, the retired archbishop of Seoul, and You are the two surviving South Korean cardinals.
Attention has focused on Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung of Seoul as a possible future cardinal because he leads the country’s largest archdiocese and serves as president of the local organizing committee for World Youth Day Seoul 2027.
During his Vatican meeting, Lee conveyed the Korean Catholic community’s hope that a serving cardinal could be appointed to a diocese in South Korea.
The pope responded that he would give particular consideration to South Korea’s circumstances if he appoints new cardinals, according to the presidential office.
Preparations for World Youth Day
You said the Vatican and the South Korean Catholic Church are making steady progress in preparing for World Youth Day.
The gathering is expected to bring Catholic young people from around the world to Seoul for religious services, cultural events and meetings with church leaders.
The main events traditionally include an opening Mass, a papal welcoming ceremony, the Way of the Cross, an overnight vigil and a closing Mass.
You called for government assistance with preparations, including more flexible visa requirements for international participants.
Some critics have questioned whether special local ordinances or government support for the event could favor one religion.
You said the economic and diplomatic benefits generated by the gathering would exceed the value of the government assistance provided.
He said he hoped the event would leave young visitors with a positive impression of South Korea.
Asked about declining religious participation among young people, You said falling numbers of priests and candidates for the priesthood are concerns throughout the global Catholic Church.
“The first thing that is important is to listen carefully to young people and open our hearts to them,” he said.
Exorcism and Opus Dei
Reporters also asked You about exorcism and Opus Dei, a personal prelature of the Catholic Church that is under the Vatican dicastery’s jurisdiction for matters involving the Holy See.
You said young people have shown considerable interest in priests authorized to perform exorcisms.
“As the examples of Jesus in the Bible show, the devil clearly exists,” he said.
He stressed that exorcism must never be connected with demands for money.
He also said priests should avoid unnecessary physical contact during an exorcism, particularly when ministering to women, because such contact could raise ethical concerns or lead to misunderstandings.
Under Catholic canon law, a priest may conduct a formal exorcism only after receiving specific authorization from the local bishop.
You also addressed questions about whether Opus Dei could receive greater prominence under Pope Leo as the church considers declining birthrates and family issues.
Opus Dei emphasizes the pursuit of holiness through ordinary professional, family and social life.
You supported the establishment of Opus Dei activities in South Korea while serving as bishop of Daejeon.
He declined to speculate about the organization’s future position under the new pope.
“It is not a question that can easily be answered in one or two sentences,” You said. “There are complex discussions taking place within the Catholic Church.”
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260703010001262
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday took his maiden voyage on a new Air Force One — a retrofitted Boeing 747 worth $400 million gifted by Qatar that embeds his personality more deeply into the institution of the American presidency.
Gone is the trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into the sky. The refurbished jet is painted to Trump’s preferred color scheme of a navy blue belly and red and gold stripes. It has the luxury features that the president believes a commander-in-chief’s entourage should have — plush carpets, lie-flat seats, wood paneling and a presidential seal on the seat belts, according to reported tours of the plane.
Trump told reporters that he was proud of the luxurious plane. “You can do two things: You can low-key it, or you can show it,” he said.
Reporters are generally not permitted to take photos on the plane unless Trump is present. But on Wednesday, Trump administration staffers posted images of the plane’s interior on social media.
White House communications director Steven Cheung posted a photo of aides gathered around a circular table that had off-white place mats and leather captain’s chairs. Monica Crowley, the chief of U.S. protocol, posted a picture of herself perched on a leather couch between a pair of Air Force One throw pillows. Mounted on the wall behind her was a framed photo of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.
The jet carried Trump to North Dakota to see the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, its first official visitor ahead of its opening on the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The gift from the Middle Eastern power raised ethical concerns, but Trump saw the plane as a necessary replacement to the 35-year-old planes that had previously ferried him as president.
“This is a gift from a country that has treated us very well,” Trump said.
The new jet will only temporarily be in the nation’s service, as Boeing is expected to deliver in 2028 long-delayed planes that will permanently serve as Air Force One. Trump, a Republican, has said in the past that the Qatar plane would end up in a presidential library.
The Air Force has said that it did little to change the cabin layout of the plane and that it spent less than $400 million on security upgrades.
Nikhinson and Boak write for the Associated Press.
A promotional poster announces the 36th Gospel Unification Conference, scheduled from 1:30 p.m. Monday through noon Friday at the Osanri Choi Jasil Memorial Fasting Prayer Mountain in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. Capture from Esther Prayer Movement website.
June 29 (Asia Today) — The Esther Prayer Movement began a five-day fasting prayer conference Monday in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, to pray for the salvation of North Koreans and what organizers call “gospel unification.”
The 36th Gospel Unification Conference, also called the Fasting Prayer Assembly for North Korea’s Salvation, will continue through Friday at the Osanri Choi Jasil Memorial Fasting Prayer Mountain.
Organizers use “gospel unification” to refer to reunification accompanied by religious freedom and the spread of Christianity in North Korea.
The interdenominational gathering brings Christians together to pray for what the organization describes as “a holy South Korea,” the salvation of North Koreans and gospel-based reunification.
The fasting prayer gathering began in January 2009 and has since been held twice a year, during the second week of January and the first week of July. The conferences run for five days and are livestreamed on YouTube for viewers in South Korea and abroad.
At its 35th conference in January, the organization announced a 40-day fasting prayer campaign for the country during 2026.
About 600 pastors and church members registered for the campaign, which is continuing throughout the year, organizers said. Members also participated in a 150-day special overnight prayer campaign from Jan. 17 through June 14.
The organization said the latest gathering is intended to draw attention to North Koreans living under the rule of the Kim family.
It said North Koreans are subjected to the state-sponsored deification of the ruling family and compelled to show reverence to statues and portraits of former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.
Lee Yong-hee, head of the Esther Prayer Movement, cited Hebrews 13:3, which calls on Christians to remember prisoners and people who are mistreated.
He also cited 1 Timothy 5:8, which says believers should care for their relatives and immediate families.
“The Korean church should fulfill its responsibility toward fellow Koreans,” Lee said.
Lee said he had recently heard accounts that North Korean Christians who fasted and prayed during the gatherings experienced what they described as divine grace, including speaking in tongues.
“Let the underground church in North Korea, Korean churches overseas and churches around the world unite and do their utmost in fasting and prayer to bring forward the day of gospel unification,” Lee said.
He said Christians should make every effort if greater participation in fasting and prayer could hasten that day.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260629010009929
1 of 2 | Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo on June 26, 2026. Photo by Asia Today
June 26 (Asia Today) — Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday that North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs have made the pursuit of nuclear disarmament increasingly difficult, but Japan must not abandon its goal of a world without nuclear weapons.
Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo, Kishida said East Asia is facing its most severe security environment since the end of World War II.
“Japan must strengthen its defense capabilities and further reinforce the Japan-U.S. alliance,” Kishida said. “At the same time, we must not give up the ideal of pursuing a world without nuclear weapons.”
Kishida, a lawmaker whose constituency is in Hiroshima, made nuclear disarmament a major diplomatic priority during his tenure as prime minister.
He cited Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, instability in the Middle East and North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs as evidence that the international security situation surrounding nuclear weapons is “undeniably severe.”
Kishida said stronger national security and nuclear disarmament should not be viewed as mutually exclusive goals.
“Reality and ideals are not incompatible,” he said. “The issue is not choosing one or the other, but determining how to bring reality closer to the ideal.”
Kishida recalled becoming the first Japanese prime minister to attend a review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 2022.
At the conference, he presented the Hiroshima Action Plan, a series of practical steps intended to advance nuclear disarmament while acknowledging the international security environment.
The plan calls for maintaining the record of non-use of nuclear weapons, increasing transparency surrounding nuclear forces, continuing reductions in global nuclear stockpiles, strengthening nuclear nonproliferation and promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
“We must narrow the gap between reality and the ideal one step at a time,” Kishida said.
Ukraine warning for East Asia
Kishida linked the war in Ukraine to security concerns in East Asia.
He recalled his unannounced visit to Kyiv in March 2023, when he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and expressed Japan’s solidarity with Ukraine.
Kishida said he delivered the message that “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow.”
Russia’s invasion demonstrated that security in Europe and the Atlantic cannot be separated from security in the Indo-Pacific, he said.
East Asia faces overlapping concerns including North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, China’s growing military power and tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
Kishida said Japan’s vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific seeks to improve regional connectivity, promote prosperity, reject coercion and intimidation and uphold freedom and the rule of law.
Kishida stresses U.S. alliance and international rules
Addressing U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump, Kishida said “America First” should be regarded as a structural trend rather than a temporary development.
He said countries such as Japan, which have limited natural resources and relatively constrained domestic markets, depend on international law, multilateralism, free trade and the rule of law.
Kishida emphasized the importance of maintaining the Japan-U.S. alliance while preserving an international system governed by widely accepted rules.
Dialogue with China remains necessary
Kishida also called for continued dialogue with China despite security concerns and political tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.
China is Japan’s largest trading partner, while Japan remains one of China’s major economic partners, he said.
“That is precisely why dialogue is important,” Kishida said.
He recalled meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping twice during international gatherings while serving as prime minister. Kishida also held talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang during meetings connected to Southeast Asian nations and a trilateral summit involving Japan, China and South Korea.
“It is regrettable that fewer people are now willing to engage in dialogue between Japan and China,” Kishida said.
He called for communication not only between governments but also through business, people-to-people exchanges, sports and culture.
Stable relations between Japan and China would serve both countries’ national interests and contribute to regional peace and stability, he said.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260626010009412
From left, People Power Party lawmaker Song Seok-jun, Committee for Ten Million Separated Families Chairman Jang Man-soon and Kenneth Bae, president of New Korea Foundation International, attend a news conference opposing the South Korean government’s two-state approach to inter-Korean relations at the National Assembly in Seoul on Thursday. A sign-language interpreter is at far right. /Citizens’ Solidarity for ONE KOREA
June 25 (Asia Today) — A South Korean civic leader proposed creating a satellite communications network modeled on SpaceX’s Starlink to provide outside information to people in North Korea.
Jang Man-soon, chairman of the Committee for Ten Million Separated Families and a co-chair of Citizens’ Solidarity for ONE KOREA, called the proposed system “Korea Link.”
“If we place a system similar to Starlink over North Korea, we could inform North Koreans who have access to approximately 8.5 million mobile phones about the realities and conditions in South Korea,” Jang said during an interview Thursday at the National Assembly in Seoul.
The figure was Jang’s estimate and could not be independently confirmed.
Jang said the network could communicate the importance of freedom to North Korean residents and correct historical accounts and information distorted by the North Korean government.
He said it could also help North Koreans develop pride in the goal of Korean unification.
Jang argued that a new means of communication is necessary because traditional methods of reaching North Koreans, including radio broadcasts and border loudspeakers, have become increasingly restricted.
He said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s “two hostile states” policy is partly intended to isolate residents from outside information.
“North Korea is at a disadvantage in politics, economics, culture and military power, so the government is trying to block outside information from reaching its people,” Jang said.
Jang also discussed the declining prospects for families separated by the division of the Korean Peninsula and the 1950-53 Korean War.
“The wish of separated families is no longer simply to reunite with relatives,” he said. “It is to set foot in their hometowns.”
Many first-generation separated family members are now in their 90s, and few still have living parents in North Korea, he said.
“Their greatest wish is to visit their hometowns before they die,” Jang said.
He warned that public awareness of separated families is fading with each generation.
Jang called for expanded unification education for young people, opportunities to hear testimony from first-generation separated family members and educational visits to areas near the inter-Korean border.
“The reality is that only about half of the public now believes unification is necessary,” he said. “We are preparing various activities, including youth education, testimony from first-generation separated families and visits to border regions.”
Jang urged the South Korean government to participate in practical projects intended to support North Korean residents and preserve awareness of freedom and unification.
“If we view the people of North Korea as members of the same nation, I hope the government will participate in the practical plans we are pursuing,” he said.
“We must work together to establish a foundation that will allow future generations to understand the meaning of genuine freedom in the Republic of Korea.”
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260625010009002
North Korea has revealed its largest-ever warship that leader Kim Jong Un says can carry nuclear-capable missiles. The 5,000-metric-ton destroyer is part of the country’s growing navy, which is set to expand sharply over the next five years.
Published On 24 Jun 202624 Jun 2026
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In this photo released Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) speaks during a plenary meeting of the Ninth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang. Kim called for the expansion of Pyongyang’s nuclear forces, citing military cooperation between Seoul and Washington. Photo by KCNA/EPA
SEOUL, June 23 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for accelerating the expansion of North Korea’s nuclear forces, citing increasingly hostile military cooperation between Seoul and Washington and an unstable global security environment, state media reported Monday.
Kim led a plenary meeting of the Ninth Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea from Saturday through Monday to review progress on national goals for the first half of the year and outline priorities for the remainder of 2026, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
The meeting reaffirmed Pyongyang’s commitment to strengthening and expanding its nuclear forces, describing them as “the core of the military sovereignty of the country” and the foundation of its war deterrent.
“To thoroughly exercise the position of a nuclear weapons state is the most correct and unique way to actively and confidently cope with the unpredictable international military and political situation,” KCNA said.
North Korea passed a law declaring itself a nuclear-armed state in 2022. Kim later amended the country’s constitution to enshrine the permanent growth of its nuclear arsenal, calling the status “irreversible.”
The remarks come weeks after Kim toured a newly inaugurated nuclear fuel production facility and vowed to continue expanding the country’s fissile material at an “exponential rate.”
In an address to the meeting, Kim said it was necessary to bolster North Korea’s defense capabilities in response to an increasingly volatile international environment.
“Wars, bloodshed and political and economic instabilities are becoming a daily occurrence in the world due to the gangster-like and unlimited geopolitical greed and misuse of strength,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
The North Korean leader criticized the U.S.-South Korea military alliance, citing regular joint military exercises and Seoul’s pursuit of a nuclear-powered submarine.
Kim also singled out the allies’ Nuclear Consultative Group, which met in Seoul earlier this month, calling it a “nuclear war body” and accusing Washington and Seoul of developing plans for a nuclear strike against North Korea.
He further accused Japan of transforming itself into a “war state” and warned that military buildups in Northeast Asia were heightening regional tensions.
In addition to expanding the country’s nuclear program, Kim outlined broader military modernization goals, including construction of a 10,000-ton strategic guided missile cruiser, expansion of munitions production and the development of new naval facilities. He also called for completing ongoing efforts to harden the border with South Korea.
The remarks come as North Korea continues extensive fortification work near the Military Demarcation Line inside the DMZ, including the installation of barbed-wire fencing and preparations for mine-laying operations.
South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Monday called the activity a violation of the armistice agreement that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War.
North Korea has revised its constitution to remove all references to reunification with South Korea, formalizing Kim’s push to redefine inter-Korean ties as relations between two separate states.
“In particular, it is essential to thoroughly adhere to the principle of struggle against the enemy set forth by our party which defined the ROK as the most hostile state,” Kim said, using the official acronym for South Korea.
The remarks underlined Pyongyang’s continued rejection of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s outreach efforts since taking office last year.
Last week, Lee said he discussed North Korea with U.S. President Donald Trump during the Group of Seven summit in France, arguing that sanctions had failed to halt Pyongyang’s nuclear development and suggesting a more phased approach.
Trump met Kim three times during his first term and has repeatedly said he would be open to meeting the North Korean leader again since returning to office.
“President Trump said it was time to pay attention to the North Korea issue again,” Lee said.
OMAHA, Neb. — The way its regular season unfolded, a national championship for Oklahoma would have seemed impossible.
The way the postseason unfolded, well, there was no stopping the Sooners.
Oklahoma completed the improbable run to its first national championship since 1994 with a 13-2 victory over North Carolina in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the College World Series finals Monday night, a performance that featured the prodigious offensive production and clutch pitching the Sooners rode through the NCAA tournament.
“I think we knew the talent was always in the room,” said Jaxon Willits, named the CWS most outstanding player. “We got hot at the right time, and now we’re national champions.”
The Sooners (43-23) won the Southeastern Conference’s seventh straight title, quite an accomplishment for a team picked 14th in the 16-team conference in the preseason, finished 11th and entered the postseason off losses in seven of nine games.
To get to Omaha, they beat No. 2 national seed Georgia Tech twice on the road in regionals and swept upstart Kansas on the road in super regionals. To get to the finals, they beat No. 3 Georgia twice in bracket play.
“They got really confident the last month,” Sooners coach Skip Johnson said. “They care about each other. They didn’t want to give in. They were selfless.”
North Carolina (54-14-1) was runner-up for the third time since 2006 and now has 13 CWS appearances without a title. Only Florida State, with 24, has more without winning it all.
The Sooners were back in top form offensively after managing only four singles in a 6-2 loss in Game 2 and handed the Tar Heels their most lopsided loss of the season.
“We ran out of gas when all is said and done,” North Carolina coach Scott Forbes said.
Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson hoists the championship trophy after his team beat North Carolina in the CWS finale Monday in Omaha.
(Rebecca S. Gratz / Ap Photo/rebecca S. Gratz)
When Jackson Cleveland struck out Jake Schaffner to end the game, he and catcher Deiten Lachance embraced and then headed to the dogpile that formed near third base. Players waving national championship towels rushed back toward their dugout to salute the celebrating Sooner faithful on the first-base line, football greats Barry Switzer and Brian Bosworth among them.
Kyle Branch, the No. 9 batter who came into the game one of 16 (.063) in the CWS, drove in six runs with a pair of singles and a home run. His homer came on his last at-bat, just as brother Kolby’s did for Georgia last Wednesday.
“Pure joy. Pure joy for our team,” Branch said. “I had a teammate tell me I was going to do something special, and for him to tell me that with the way things have been going, it has to be a God thing.”
He joined Dayton Tockey as the seventh and eighth Oklahoma players to homer in Omaha. Willits had three hits, reached base five times and finished the CWS 13 of 25 (.520).
Oklahoma’s Kyle Branch celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against North Carolina in the College World Series finale Monday in Omaha.
(Rebecca S. Gratz / Ap Photo/rebecca S. Gratz)
The pitching matchup of Carolina’s Jackson Rose (5-1) and Oklahoma’s Nick Wesloski was the first between freshmen in a CWS winner-take-all game since 1993. Neither got out of the third inning.
LJ Mercurius (7-7) turned in another strong performance out of the bullpen, shutting down a threat when Oklahoma led 3-1 in the third and holding the Tar Heels to one run in 5 2/3 innings. He gave up just two runs in 12 1/3 innings over four CWS appearances.
The Tar Heels’ pitching staff, which had the best ERA in the Atlantic Coast Conference, had been good and occasionally great in the CWS. It was neither Monday, with eight pitchers combining to yield 14 hits, issue eight walks, throw three wild pitches with one hit batter.
ACC freshman of the year Caden Glauber, who had given up just one run in 10 1/3 innings in four CWS appearances, was called on for a fifth one day after he threw 65 pitches in five shutout innings. It was apparent coach Forbes went to the well one time too many.
Glauber was called for a clock violation before he even threw his first pitch. He issued a four-pitch bases-loaded walk and Willits followed with a two-run single to make it 6-1 in the fourth. That was all for Glauber, who threw seven pitches, five of them balls. The Tar Heels had won all 29 games in which Glauber had pitched before Monday.
“This group loved each other all season and took us on a ride and came up just short,” Forbes said. “I’d take that ride every day of the year. While we’re sad, the sadness will go away. We talk about joy. Joy doesn’t go away. These guys have given me, our coaching staff, our fans, administration, everybody, a ton of joy and a ton to be proud of.”
Olson writes for the Associated Press.
Former South Korean Minister of Unification Jeong Se-hyun speaks during International Convention for Peace and Prosperity in the Asia-Pacific, in Goyang, South Korea. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
June 22 (Asia Today) — Former South Korean unification ministers criticized President Lee Jae Myung’s North Korea policy Monday, arguing that his national security team is continuing some of the previous administration’s hard-line positions.
Chung Se-hyun, who served as unification minister under President Kim Dae-jung, delivered the criticism at the 2026 International Korean Peninsula Forum organized by the Unification Ministry in Seoul.
The forum was held under the theme “Peaceful Coexistence on the Korean Peninsula Built Together With Civil Society.”
Chung criticized a joint statement issued by South Korea and the European Union that condemned North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and its military cooperation with Russia.
“The Lee Jae Myung administration’s view of North Korea has returned to where the Yoon Suk Yeol administration stood in its final years,” Chung said.
He described the joint statement as “pouring concrete over a wall where we were trying to make even a pinhole” for progress in inter-Korean relations.
Chung accused Lee’s national security aides of steering the administration away from engagement.
“President Lee followed what his advisers wrote for him and ended up returning to a relationship of permanent hostility with North Korea,” Chung said. “Civil society must hold the president’s foreign and security policy advisers accountable.”
The former minister identified joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises, Seoul’s participation as a co-sponsor of a United Nations resolution on North Korean human rights and the South Korea-EU statement as policy mistakes.
“I believe the Lee government’s National Security Office is following the Yoon administration’s position on North Korea,” Chung said.
Chung is generally associated with a policy faction that favors resolving inter-Korean issues primarily through dialogue led by the two Koreas.
He has frequently criticized officials who place greater emphasis on the South Korea-U.S. alliance, multilateral diplomacy and international pressure in addressing North Korea’s nuclear program.
His recent criticism has included Wi Sung-lac, Lee’s national security adviser, who is viewed as a leading advocate of alliance-centered diplomacy.
The South Korea-EU statement issued during Lee’s June 10 summit in Brussels condemned North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and called for the complete denuclearization of North Korea in accordance with U.N. Security Council resolutions.
It also condemned North Korea’s military cooperation with Russia.
Lee Jae-joung, who served as unification minister under President Roh Moo-hyun, also participated in Monday’s discussion.
Lee said the government should avoid placing North Korea’s complete denuclearization at the forefront of its peace policy.
“It would be more realistic to recognize the current situation and establish nuclear freezing and reduction as the basic direction of our policy,” Lee said.
He also called for a structural and institutional system that would give the Unification Ministry a central coordinating role in policies involving peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, meanwhile, said a recent social media post by U.S. President Donald Trump could indicate the possible revival of personal diplomacy between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump posted a photograph showing himself walking with Kim during their 2018 summit in Singapore without providing a caption.
The unification minister cited an interpretation offered by Lee Jung-chul, a professor at Seoul National University, who suggested that Kim may have sent Trump a letter for the U.S. president’s birthday and that the photograph could have been Trump’s response.
“I found that interpretation impressive and plausible,” Chung Dong-young said.
No public evidence has confirmed that Kim recently sent Trump a letter.
Trump and Kim met three times during Trump’s first term, but nuclear negotiations stalled after their February 2019 summit in Hanoi ended without an agreement.
South Korea’s government has said its policy seeks peaceful coexistence and renewed dialogue with North Korea while maintaining international cooperation over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260622010007522
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) offering flowers to the portrait of late Russian extraordinary ambassador to North Korea Aleksandr Ivanovich Matsegora, during his condolence visit to the Russian embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea. Photo by KCNA / EPA
June 19 (Asia Today) — North Korea marked the second anniversary of its defense treaty with Russia on Friday by calling the agreement an “essential legal weapon” for achieving global strategic stability and pledging to further strengthen bilateral ties.
The Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, published an article titled “The Power of the North Korea-Russia Alliance Is Being Demonstrated More Forcefully” to commemorate the anniversary of the treaty.
The newspaper described the agreement as “a reliable guarantee” for establishing a new international order and securing a brighter future for humanity.
“It is the unwavering position and will of the government and people of our republic to permanently expand and develop the traditional North Korea-Russia friendship through close and multifaceted solidarity in all fields on the basis of the new interstate treaty,” the newspaper said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024. The agreement includes a mutual defense clause requiring either country to provide assistance if the other comes under armed attack.
The Rodong Sinmun said the treaty had led to an unprecedented increase in communication across politics, economics, culture, defense, diplomacy and security.
It also said cooperation had expanded in trade, science and technology, education, public health and the arts.
The newspaper cited the construction of a North Korea-Russia friendship hospital, the resumption of direct flights between Pyongyang and Moscow and North Korea’s participation in Russia’s war against Ukraine as results of the closer relationship.
“The victory of the sacred common cause of the peoples of North Korea and Russia is certain,” it said. “The great friendship between the two countries, forged in blood and growing stronger by the day, will remain immortal.”
North Korea has sent troops and weapons to support Russia’s war against Ukraine. Pyongyang and Moscow have presented their military cooperation as an implementation of the strategic partnership treaty.
Separately, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior Workers’ Party official, condemned a Group of Seven statement calling for the denuclearization of North Korea.
In a statement Thursday, Kim accused the G7 leaders of repeating what she called an outdated demand and said denuclearization was a matter that had been permanently closed.
“The nuclear weapons we acquired to defend ourselves after being subjected to constant and persistent nuclear threats from our adversaries should cause concern to no one except those who intend to harm us,” Kim said.
She said North Korea’s nuclear status was written into its constitution and portrayed the country’s arsenal as a defensive and retaliatory capability.
“Possession of nuclear weapons is our core interest that must be firmly defended, and denuclearization is an irreversible line that can never be crossed,” Kim said.
She warned that challenging the core interests of what she called a nuclear-armed state would be “the worst and most disastrous choice.”
South Korea’s Unification Ministry reiterated that Seoul remains committed to pursuing North Korea’s denuclearization through a phased and realistic approach.
“Our position remains unchanged that, based on reality, we must develop phased and feasible measures that are acceptable to both sides to achieve a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula,” Deputy Ministry spokeswoman Jang Yun-jeong said at a regular briefing Friday.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260619010006805
Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (2-L) speaks during the 2024 Jeju Forum for peace and prosperity at a convention center on the country’s southern Jeju Island, South Korea. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
June 19 (Asia Today) — Former North Korean diplomats have alleged that a North Korean education specialist affiliated with UNESCO and being considered as a speaker at an international forum in South Korea may be connected to Pyongyang’s intelligence apparatus.
Jang Kwang-chol is under consideration to participate by video in a session titled “UNESCO and the Future of Education: Challenges and Prospects” at the 21st Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, according to forum organizers.
The forum, jointly hosted by South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, the Jeju provincial government and other organizations, is scheduled to take place from Wednesday through June 26 at Haevichi Hotel & Resort Jeju and Jeju Stone Park.
The former diplomats’ allegations regarding Jang could not be independently verified. Neither UNESCO nor the North Korean government was quoted as responding to the claims.
Several former North Korean diplomats said Pyongyang selects Foreign Ministry officials for assignments at United Nations agencies to secure international assistance, collect information about foreign governments and South Korea and earn foreign currency.
They alleged that officials selected for such work sometimes receive fabricated or altered professional backgrounds tailored to the agency where they will serve.
Before deployment, the officials may formally transfer their affiliation to an intelligence organization such as North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau, the former diplomats claimed. Such an arrangement, they said, allows the officials to operate with greater independence than ordinary North Korean diplomats.
UNESCO materials identify Jang as an education specialist who earned a doctorate in education from Kim Hyong Jik University of Education and previously worked for North Korea’s Education Ministry.
The former diplomats alleged that at least part of that professional background could serve as a cover for intelligence-gathering duties.
Ko Young-hwan, a former first secretary at the North Korean Embassy in the Republic of Congo, told Asia Today that North Korea has frequently dispatched what it calls international civil servants to U.N. organizations.
“When they were sent abroad in the past, their affiliations were transferred to organizations under the Workers’ Party, such as the United Front Department or the External Information Investigation Department, also known as Office 35,” Ko said.
“After those organizations were consolidated, I understand that their affiliations were transferred to the Reconnaissance General Bureau.”
Ko, who later headed South Korea’s National Institute for Unification Education, said he believed Jang could fall into that category.
North Korea created the Reconnaissance General Bureau in 2009 by combining intelligence and operational units that had previously been divided among the Workers’ Party and the military.
South Korean authorities have described the bureau as North Korea’s principal organization for overseas intelligence collection, cyber operations and clandestine activities.
Former North Korean diplomats also said officials assigned to international organizations operate with fewer restrictions than diplomats posted to embassies.
Ko recalled an official who worked at UNESCO headquarters in Paris while he was serving in the North Korean Foreign Ministry.
“He attended a weekly self-criticism session at the embassy only once a week and did not have to report unless something unusual occurred,” Ko said.
Ryu Hyun-woo, a former acting North Korean ambassador to Kuwait, said such officials can operate independently under special circumstances.
“They are diplomats who act alone in exceptional situations,” Ryu said. “I understand that they receive separate, specialized training before being dispatched.”
The Jeju Forum’s organizers said education innovation is one of this year’s major themes and that Jang is being considered because he is a UNESCO-affiliated official suited to the education session.
The organizers have not publicly suggested that his proposed participation is connected to intelligence activity.
Some observers, however, have interpreted the invitation as a possible attempt to reopen communication with North Korea amid strained inter-Korean relations.
The outreach comes after the Jeju provincial government provided North Korea with about 160 million won ($116,000) worth of agricultural and medical supplies, including hallabong citrus seedlings, chemicals used to combat pine wilt disease and kidney dialysis equipment.
The provincial government’s North Korea assistance program has also drawn scrutiny following reports that Jeju Gov. Oh Young-hun had contact with Ri Ho-nam, a former counselor at the North Korean Embassy in Beijing who has been identified by South Korean sources as an operative involved in inter-Korean affairs.
No evidence was presented in the article showing that Jang had engaged in espionage or other illegal activity in connection with the Jeju Forum.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260619010006871
