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North Korea Calls Pelosi ‘Destroyer of International Peace’

04 August 2022, South Korea, Panmunjom: US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (L) visits a Military Armistice Commission building in the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom. (dpa)
04 August 2022, South Korea, Panmunjom: US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (L) visits a Military Armistice Commission building in the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom. (dpa)
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North Korea Calls Pelosi ‘Destroyer of International Peace’

04 August 2022, South Korea, Panmunjom: US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (L) visits a Military Armistice Commission building in the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom. (dpa)
04 August 2022, South Korea, Panmunjom: US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (L) visits a Military Armistice Commission building in the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom. (dpa)

North Korea on Saturday called US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “the worst destroyer of international peace and stability,” accusing her of inciting anti-North Korea sentiment and enraging China during her Asian tour earlier this week.

Pelosi traveled to South Korea after visiting Taiwan, which had prompted China to launch military exercises including missile strike training in waters near the self-governed island. China views Taiwan as part of its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary.

While in South Korea, Pelosi visited a border area with North Korea and discussed the North’s nuclear program with South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin Pyo. According to Kim, the two agreed to support their governments’ push for denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula based on strong, extended deterrence against the North and diplomacy.

On Saturday, Jo Yong Sam, director general at the North Korean Foreign Ministry's press and information affairs department, slammed Pelosi over her visit to the border and discussion of anti-North Korean deterrence.

“Pelosi who had come under a volley of due criticism from China for destroying regional peace and stability by visiting Taiwan, stirred up the atmosphere of confrontation” with North Korea during her stay in South Korea, Jo said in a statement carried by state media.

Calling Pelosi “the worst destroyer of international peace and stability,” Jo argued Pelosi’s behavior in South Korea clearly showed the Biden administration’s hostile policy toward North Korea.

“It would be a fatal mistake for her to think that she can go scot-free in the Korean Peninsula,” Jo warned. “The US will have to pay dearly for all the sources of trouble spawned by her wherever she went.”

Pelosi’s visit to the Joint Security Area at the Korean border on Thursday made her the highest-profile American to go there since then-President Donald Trump visited in 2019 for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Located inside the world’s most heavily fortified border, the area is jointly controlled by the American-led United Nations Command and North Korea. US presidents and other top officials have previously traveled to the area to reaffirm their security commitment to South Korea in times of animosities with North Korea.

During her JSA visit, Pelosi didn’t make any strong public statements against North Korea. She uploaded several photos from the JSA on Twitter and wrote: “We conveyed the gratitude of the Congress and the Country for the patriotic service of our servicemembers, who stand as sentinels of Democracy on the Korean Peninsula.”

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain high following North Korea’s torrid run of missile tests earlier this year. US and South Korean officials said North Korea is ready to carry out its first nuclear weapons test in five years.

North Korea has said it would not return to denuclearization talks and instead focus on expanding its nuclear program unless the United States drops its hostile policies, in an apparent reference to US-led international sanctions on the North and its regular military drills with South Korea.

After Pelosi visited Taiwan and reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to defending democracy on the self-governing island, North Korea on Wednesday issued a statement berating the US and supporting China, its main ally and biggest aid benefactor.

Pelosi was the first House speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years.

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World

North Korea's Kim Revamps Private Security Detail, South Says

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gestures as he visits a greenhouse farm construction site along the country's border with China, in North Korea, January 2, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gestures as he visits a greenhouse farm construction site along the country's border with China, in North Korea, January 2, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS
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North Korea's Kim Revamps Private Security Detail, South Says

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gestures as he visits a greenhouse farm construction site along the country's border with China, in North Korea, January 2, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gestures as he visits a greenhouse farm construction site along the country's border with China, in North Korea, January 2, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has replaced three top officials in charge of his personal security, Seoul said Tuesday, a sign the despot may increasingly fear assassination plots.

Seoul's Unification Ministry -- responsible for managing relations with Pyongyang -- said three state agencies handling Kim's security had new bosses, AFP said.

The reshuffle was spotted during a military parade in October, the ministry said.

The changes at the Bodyguard Command in particular, which handles security measures against drone or electronic attacks, could be linked to Kim's decision to send troops to aid Russia's war in Ukraine, an expert said.

"Change in the pattern of Kim's security detail was detected from October 2024, when he deployed North Korean troops to Russia," Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP.

"He could have judged there could be an assassination attempt against him involving Ukrainians amid heightened international spotlight due to the deployment," he added.

Seoul's spy agency previously said Kim had upgraded the level of security around him due to the risk of attempts on his life.

Kim's office sought to obtain equipment capable of jamming communications and drone detection gear in response, the agency said.

In the past year, Kim has often been seen accompanied by his daughter Ju Ae on official duties including the inspection of a nuclear-powered submarine.

Analysts say she is likely next in line to run the nuclear-armed dictatorship.

This month's capture by the United States of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has also likely heightened security fears in Pyongyang, analysts say.

The operation represents a nightmare scenario for North Korea's leadership, which has long feared a so-called "decapitation strike" of that kind and accused Washington of seeking to remove it from power.

World

Leaders of Japan and South Korea Discuss Economy and Regional Challenges at Summit

13 January 2026, Japan, Nara: Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung at the start of their summit meeting in Nara. (dpa)
13 January 2026, Japan, Nara: Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung at the start of their summit meeting in Nara. (dpa)
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Leaders of Japan and South Korea Discuss Economy and Regional Challenges at Summit

13 January 2026, Japan, Nara: Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung at the start of their summit meeting in Nara. (dpa)
13 January 2026, Japan, Nara: Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung at the start of their summit meeting in Nara. (dpa)

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi agreed to step up cooperation between the neighbors, whose relations are occasionally strained, as they both face growing uncertainty and regional challenges.

"I believe cooperation between Korea and Japan is now more important than ever and anything else, as we have to continue moving forward to a new, better future amid this complex, unstable international order," Lee said at the outset of the summit Tuesday.

Takaichi said she renewed her determination to further improve Japan's relations with South Korea “as I believe the two countries should cooperate and contribute for the stability in the region.”

“This year I will elevate Japan-South Korea relations even higher," said Takaichi, who aims to secure stable ties with Seoul while Tokyo struggles with a worsening dispute with China.

The meeting could deliver a political win as Takaichi seeks to shore up her power. A few months after taking office, she enjoys strong approval ratings but her party has a majority in only one of two houses of Parliament. There is growing speculation she may be planning a snap election in hopes of gaining more seats.

Takaichi is hosting Lee in her hometown, Nara, an ancient capital known for its treasured deer and centuries-old Buddhist temples, following a request by Lee during the October APEC meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea.

Nara, the center of cultural exchanges between the Korean Peninsula and Japan in ancient times, “carries a special meaning at a time Korea-Japan exchanges are more important than ever," Lee said.

Takaichi was in Nara on Monday to prepare and posted on X: “I hope to further push forward Japan’s relations with South Korea in the forward-looking way as we meet in the ancient capital of Nara with more than 1,300 years of history and longstanding cultural exchanges between Japan and the Korean Peninsula.”

The Japanese prime minister faces intensifying trade and political tension with China over a remark about Taiwan that angered Beijing days after she took office. Takaichi said that potential Chinese military action against Taiwan, the island democracy Beijing claims as its own, could justify Japanese intervention.

Tuesday's meeting was intended to focus on trade and the challenges of China and North Korea, as well as efforts to deepen trust between the two countries.

Japan and South Korea, both key US allies, must also figure out how to deal with President Donald Trump’s unpredictable diplomacy, and both countries are under US pressure to increase defense spending.

Lee was in Beijing last week for talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as China steps up economic and political pressure against Japan and seeks to cozy up to Seoul. During the visit, the South Korean leader told reporters that relations with Japan are as important as those with China but that South Korea's ability to broker reconciliation between its neighbors is limited.

Lee, in an interview Monday with Japan’s NHK television, noted his interest in gaining Japanese backing for South Korea's participation the 12-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. He said that would involve South Korea lifting a ban on imports from Fukushima and nearby Japanese prefectures affected by the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and may take time because of health concerns among South Koreans.

Lee also said his country wants to cooperate with Japan on security under a trilateral framework that includes the US, but “what’s really important is the issue of deep mutual trust.”

Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have begun improving in recent years in the face of shared challenges such as growing China-US competition and North Korea’s advancing nuclear program.

There were early concerns about Takaichi's ability to work with Lee, fed by her reputation as a security hawk and an assumption by some that the left-wing South Korean leader would tilt toward North Korea and China. But so far, both leaders have sought to set aside their differences.

While the two leaders are expected to avoid discussing their historical disputes, media reports say they may discuss possible humanitarian cooperation in the ongoing effort to recover remains from a former undersea mining site in western Japan where 180 workers, mostly Korean forced laborers, were killed in a 1942 accident.

World

People Inside Iran Describe Heavy Security and Scattered Damage in First Calls to Outside World

Members of the Iranian police attend a pro-government rally in Tehran, Iran, January 12, 2026. Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Members of the Iranian police attend a pro-government rally in Tehran, Iran, January 12, 2026. Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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People Inside Iran Describe Heavy Security and Scattered Damage in First Calls to Outside World

Members of the Iranian police attend a pro-government rally in Tehran, Iran, January 12, 2026. Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Members of the Iranian police attend a pro-government rally in Tehran, Iran, January 12, 2026. Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iranians could call abroad on mobile phones Tuesday for the first time since communications were halted during a crackdown on nationwide protests in which activists said at least 646 people have been killed.

Several people in Tehran were able to call The Associated Press and speak to a journalist there. The AP bureau in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was unable to call those numbers back. The witnesses said SMS text messaging still was down and that internet users in Iran could connect to government-approved websites locally but nothing abroad.

The witnesses gave a brief glimpse into life on the streets of the Iranian capital over the four and a half days of being cut off from the world. They described seeing a heavy security presence in central Tehran.

Anti-riot police officers, wearing helmets and body armor, carried batons, shields, shotguns and tear gas launchers. They stood watch at major intersections. Nearby, the witnesses saw members of the Revolutionary Guard's all-volunteer Basij force, who similarly carried firearms and batons. Security officials in plainclothes were visible in public spaces as well.

Several banks and government offices were burned during the unrest, they said. ATMs had been smashed and banks struggled to complete transactions without the internet, the witnesses added.

However, shops were open, though there was little foot traffic in the capital. Tehran's Grand Bazaar, where the demonstrations began Dec. 28, was to open Tuesday. However, a witness described speaking to multiple shopkeepers who said the security forces ordered them to reopen no matter what. Iranian state media had not acknowledged that order.

The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Iran says it communicated with Washington

US President Donald Trump has said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike country over its crackdown.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to Al Jazeera in an interview aired Monday night, said he continued to communicate with US envoy Steve Witkoff.

The communication “continued before and after the protests and are still ongoing," Araghchi said. However, “Washington’s proposed ideas and threats against our country are incompatible.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran’s public rhetoric diverges from the private messaging the administration has received from Tehran in recent days.

“I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,” Leavitt said. “However, with that said, the president has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.”

Meanwhile, pro-government demonstrators flooded the streets Monday in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Others cried out, “Death to the enemies of God!” Iran’s attorney general has warned that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty charge.

Trump imposes tariffs on Iran trading partners

Trump announced Monday that countries doing business with Iran will face 25% tariffs from the United States. Trump announced the tariffs in a social media posting, saying they would be “effective immediately.”

Trump said Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

Iran, through the country’s parliamentary speaker, warned Sunday that the US military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if Washington uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,700 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the latest death toll early Tuesday. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 512 of the dead were protesters and 134 were security force members.

With the internet down in Iran, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government hasn’t offered overall casualty figures.