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North Korea Vows Nuclear-armed Navy as US Ally Drills Open

Kim Jong Un has vowed my North Korea's navy a nuclear force. KCNA / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
Kim Jong Un has vowed my North Korea's navy a nuclear force. KCNA / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
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North Korea Vows Nuclear-armed Navy as US Ally Drills Open

Kim Jong Un has vowed my North Korea's navy a nuclear force. KCNA / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
Kim Jong Un has vowed my North Korea's navy a nuclear force. KCNA / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP

Leader Kim Jong Un vowed to build North Korea's navy into a nuclear-armed force, state media reported Monday as US allies' maritime drills kicked off.

This week's maneuvers involving Japan, South Korea and the United States were established in 2023 in what officials called an effort to deter Pyongyang's missile and nuclear threats, said AFP.

Kim's comments came at the commissioning of the Kang Kon -- a warship that partially capsized when launched in May 2025 -- in the port city of Wonsan on Sunday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

"We should make sure that the diversified and effective operation of nuclear combat systems is conducted for an actual war through developing our navy into a nuclear armed force," Kim reportedly told the ceremony.

"Once ordered anytime, the new-generation destroyer should deal a deadly retaliatory blow at the enemies as it is a force involved in the state nuclear counteraction system," he said.

Photos released of Kim showed him accompanied by his daughter, Ju Ae, who is reportedly designated as a successor to her father.

Kim oversaw in July a test of the Kang Kon -- one of two 5,000-ton class warships launched last year -- just over a year after it was damaged during its launch.

Kim's reference to a "nuclear-armed navy" suggests the vessels could serve as launch platforms for tactical nuclear-capable cruise missiles, said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University.

Kim also said North Korea was carrying out an "important plan" to strengthen its navy that would be demonstrated to the world "in eight months".

That could foreshadow the unveiling of a major strategic asset, such as a new submarine capable of carrying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), Lim said.

By deploying the Kang Kon in the East Sea, Pyongyang is also seeking to keep the joint maritime exercises and deployments of nuclear assets "directly and within range", Lim said.

This week's US allies' drills, dubbed Freedom Edge, are set to run to Friday in international waters east and south of South Korea's Jeju Island.

The maneuvers have pushed ahead despite President Donald Trump curtailing another set of drills with South Korea as the US leader aims to reopen diplomacy with Pyongyang about its nuclear program.

Despite Trump's overtures, North Korea has shown little sign of reciprocating, firing missiles and condemning the downsized drills as well as Washington's approval of arms sales to South Korea and plans to fund programs documenting human rights abuses in the North.

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World

G20 Trade Officials Meet under Shadow of Tariffs, Overcapacity

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is hosting counterparts from G20 countries in Milwaukee for two days of talks. Jim WATSON / AFP/File
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is hosting counterparts from G20 countries in Milwaukee for two days of talks. Jim WATSON / AFP/File
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G20 Trade Officials Meet under Shadow of Tariffs, Overcapacity

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is hosting counterparts from G20 countries in Milwaukee for two days of talks. Jim WATSON / AFP/File
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is hosting counterparts from G20 countries in Milwaukee for two days of talks. Jim WATSON / AFP/File

G20 trade ministers are set to open talks Wednesday in the United States, in meetings strained by President Donald Trump's tariffs as Washington targets partners regarding forced labor and overcapacity.

The gathering of officials from the Group of 20 major economies -- which includes China, India, Russia, Japan, Germany and France -- takes place in the Midwestern city of Milwaukee.

But analysts expect the two days of talks to be deadlocked as Trump's tariffs weigh on relationships while China rejects concerns about its exports, which critics see as driven by excess industrial capacity.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer defended Washington's approach at a Tuesday roundtable in Milwaukee, saying the administration "is not anti-trade."

He added that countries are facing similar challenges with global overcapacity and "non-market policies."

This week, key US trading partners like Canada and the European Union are also expected to push for deeper trade ties outside the United States.

"Don't expect any breakthroughs in Milwaukee," Josh Lipsky of the Atlantic Council think tank told AFP, noting Trump's preference for bilateral negotiations.

Even as G20 partners will be anxious to find ways to cooperate with the world's biggest economy, "they will also be under pressure to voice their concerns with tariffs," added former US trade official Wendy Cutler, now at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

The United States holds the rotating presidency of the G20, which comprises 19 nations plus the EU and the African Union.

- 'Unfairly targeted' -

Trump has unleashed a barrage of tariffs on trading partners since last year, separately targeting sectors like steel and autos.

Although the Supreme Court struck down Trump's country-specific tariffs in February, Washington has since alleged insufficient action against forced labor to slap new tariffs on 60 economies.

These include China, India and the EU.

The president's sectoral duties remain intact too, straining ties.

And Washington is investigating 16 partners over excess industrial capacity, a complaint commonly levied at China. Critics say this floods markets, unfairly suppressing prices.

But ongoing US probes go beyond the world's number two economy, bringing the threat of more tariffs to the EU and G20 countries like Japan and South Korea.

Cutler expects some countries will "mince no words" regarding the investigation, feeling "they are being unfairly targeted."

China "will continue to deny the issue of exporting overproduction," by trying to convince others that it is doing good by providing high-quality and low-priced goods, she said.

"This will be a hard sell," Cutler told AFP, as countries see employment and commercial fallout from waves of Chinese imports.

"Meanwhile, members are wondering how much they should agree to with the Trump administration, given trade policy could change in the US after 2028," Lipsky said, referring to the next US presidential election.

- Diversifying -

With Trump's trade wars, all eyes are on G20 members' efforts to deepen trade ties outside the US, or strike deals with his administration.

Canada and the EU are expected to try and boost trade and investment with others, as a spat between Ottawa and Washington intensifies.

Canada's international trade minister Maninder Sidhu stressed Ottawa's support for "open, predictable and rules-based trade."

He plans to speak with partners to "reinforce a multilateral trading system," as officials try to diversify an economy they see as too reliant on an increasingly protectionist United States.

Others like India could finalize a long-awaited trade deal with the United States. Observers are also monitoring for signs of further pressure on Iran.

Outside the G20, workers and activists are protesting what they see as the Trump administration's broken promises to improve conditions for workers, farmers and smaller businesses.

John Drew, who chairs the political arm of the United Auto Workers union in Wisconsin, laments the loss of manufacturing jobs in the state.

While the UAW does not rule out using targeted duties to protect jobs, he said, Trump's sweeping "use of tariffs has done nothing to bring back jobs and rebuild manufacturing."

World

Somali Pirates Kill 5 Crew Members Before Tanker Rescue

File photo: Ships have been affected in the Gulf of Aden. AFP
File photo: Ships have been affected in the Gulf of Aden. AFP
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Somali Pirates Kill 5 Crew Members Before Tanker Rescue

File photo: Ships have been affected in the Gulf of Aden. AFP
File photo: Ships have been affected in the Gulf of Aden. AFP

Somali pirates killed five crew members of the hijacked MT Honour 25 petroleum products tanker before it was rescued by security forces, Somalia's semi-autonomous state of Puntland said on Tuesday.

Puntland's authorities said they also rescued a second vessel on Tuesday that had been hijacked in May.

The deaths aboard the Palau-flagged ship appear to be the first at the hands of Somali pirates in over a decade, said Reuters.

The ship with 17 crew members was seized by pirates ‌in April during a ‌resurgence of Somali piracy that experts have attributed, ‌in ⁠part, to impacts ⁠of the Iran war, including elevated oil prices that make tankers more attractive targets.

Puntland's information ministry said in a statement that a rescue mission had successfully freed the ship and captured 16 pirates.

"Before the operation begun, the pirates on board the ship killed five of the crew. Among those killed were three from Pakistan, one ⁠from Myanmar and one from India," it ‌said.

Four crew members - three Pakistanis ‌and one Indian - were also injured, the statement said.

The rescue follows another ‌rescue mission last week, when Puntland's maritime police force freed ‌the US-sanctioned tanker Sibu 1, which Somali pirates had hijacked in August.

Puntland's Maritime Police Force (PMPF) said in a statement late on Tuesday that it had also rescued an oil tanker called MT Eureka which had ‌been hijacked in May after its hijackers fled when police approached the vessel.

"As PMPF forces approached ⁠the area, ⁠the pirates fled towards the shore and moved inland," it said.

"PMPF forces continue to pursue the individuals involved and are conducting further operations to apprehend those who escaped."

The two rescues bring the total to five out of the six ships held by pirates off the Somali coast as of late August that have now been freed.

A previous wave of piracy from 2008 to 2014 disrupted one of the world's busiest shipping routes, cost the global economy billions of dollars and resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom payments.

World

Russian Attack Kills Two, Wounds Four in Kyiv

S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system after being deployed at a military base outside Gvardeysk near Kaliningrad, Russia, on March 11, 2019 (Reuters)
S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system after being deployed at a military base outside Gvardeysk near Kaliningrad, Russia, on March 11, 2019 (Reuters)
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Russian Attack Kills Two, Wounds Four in Kyiv

S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system after being deployed at a military base outside Gvardeysk near Kaliningrad, Russia, on March 11, 2019 (Reuters)
S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system after being deployed at a military base outside Gvardeysk near Kaliningrad, Russia, on March 11, 2019 (Reuters)

Russian strikes killed two people and wounded four others in the Ukrainian capital overnight, officials said Wednesday, as explosions rang across Kyiv after a ballistic missile alert.

Kyiv has increasingly faced Russian drones and missiles as Europe's worst conflict since World War II grinds through its fifth year.

The night attacks took place after Ukraine's air force warned of a ballistic missile threat and later said they were headed towards Kyiv.

AFP journalists heard several dozen explosions across the city and observed some disruption to power distribution.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said on Telegram "2 people were killed. 4 people were injured" in the attacks.

Officials said the strikes sparked fires and caused damage across Kyiv and the surrounding region.

"Kyiv region has come under another enemy missile and drone attack," regional military administration head Tymur Tkachenko said.

In the capital, emergency workers responded to blazes in houses, warehouses, commercial buildings and other sites.

Russia has been deploying newer jet-powered drones that move faster and are harder to intercept than the traditional models, which are based on Iranian Shahed drones.