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North Korea Leader’s Sister Says ‘Unaware’ of Reported Kim-Trump Communication

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, speaks at the National Emergency Prevention General Meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea. (KCNA via KNS/AFP via Getty Images file)
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, speaks at the National Emergency Prevention General Meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea. (KCNA via KNS/AFP via Getty Images file)
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North Korea Leader’s Sister Says ‘Unaware’ of Reported Kim-Trump Communication

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, speaks at the National Emergency Prevention General Meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea. (KCNA via KNS/AFP via Getty Images file)
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, speaks at the National Emergency Prevention General Meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea. (KCNA via KNS/AFP via Getty Images file)

The powerful sister of Kim Jong Un said Wednesday she was "unaware" of reported communication between her brother and Donald Trump, after the US president hinted at contact with the North Korean leader, but said ties between the two remained "excellent".

Kim Yo Jong's statement came hours after Washington and Seoul announced their annual exercises would end about a week earlier than planned following an order from Trump to scale them back.

Trump said on Sunday that he had told the Pentagon to curtail the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises -- a day before they started -- citing his "good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Asked on Monday whether Kim had responded to his requests for a conversation, Trump said: "Yeah, he has."

But Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, said Wednesday she was unaware of any such contact between her brother and Trump.

"Regarding the recent news from Washington about communication between the leaders of North Korea and the United States, I am completely unaware of it," she said in a statement.

"It is likely the only matter concerning our top leadership's foreign policy that I am unaware of."

Kim Yo Jong nevertheless said her brother still had "good memories and feelings" about Trump and that the relationship between the two leaders remains "excellent".

Earlier Wednesday, Seoul's military said the drills would wrap up on Friday, not on August 27 as originally planned.

"We have decided to adjust the UFS exercise period to run from the 17th to the 21st," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The decision was made "at the suggestion of the US side", it added.

The Pentagon said the "substantially reduced" drills would "preserve essential readiness and... (cause) no degradation to US training objectives".

The exercises are designed to prepare for a possible attack by North Korea.

They were understood to consist of two phases: the first, focused on defending against potential North Korean threats, was due to run until Friday; and the second, focused on a counteroffensive, from August 24 to 27.

The second phase is now understood to have been scrapped.

Kim Yo Jong, however, dismissed the reduction, saying: "We do not consider it worth commenting on and find it completely uninteresting."

She said reducing the scale or duration of the exercise did not change their "provocative and aggressive" character.

Nuclear-armed North Korea has long voiced outrage at the exercises, considering them dress rehearsals for an invasion.

Wednesday's early morning commentary by the state-run Korean Central News Agency said they pose "the most immediate and open threat" to North Korea and "regional security".

That commentary did not mention Trump's order or his desire to resume talks with Kim, with whom he has hinted at being in contact.

- 'Much safer' -

In the initial announcement on his Truth Social platform, Trump described the drills as unfriendly towards a country that had been respectful to him.

South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told lawmakers on Wednesday that Seoul had not been informed in advance of Trump's plan to downsize them.

"Neither our government nor US government officials knew in advance what President Trump revealed via Truth Social," Cho said.

Trump has insisted that he is making the situation "much safer" through his ties with Kim.

"There has been persistent speculation that Washington could seek renewed talks with Pyongyang ahead of the November US midterm elections," Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies, told AFP.

"For Trump, a meeting with... Kim Jong Un could offer a chance to secure a foreign-policy legacy."

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed US officials, that Trump is pushing aides to set up a meeting with Kim as soon as this autumn.

"Reducing exercises could have a positive impact on the possibility of US-North Korea dialogue," Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha Womans University, told AFP.

"The suspension of joint exercises has always been a prerequisite for North Korea to engage in dialogue with the US," he added.

Trump and Kim met three times in his first spell in the White House, but they have not held talks during his second term.

The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to bolster the country's defenses, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Trump has repeatedly criticized longstanding US alliances, casting doubt on Washington's commitment to security in East Asia and alarming regional partners.

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World

China Says US ‘Undermining’ Cooperation as Universities Cut Ties

The US and Chinese flag at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026, in Beijing. (AP)
The US and Chinese flag at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026, in Beijing. (AP)
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China Says US ‘Undermining’ Cooperation as Universities Cut Ties

The US and Chinese flag at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026, in Beijing. (AP)
The US and Chinese flag at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026, in Beijing. (AP)

Beijing accused Washington on Friday of "undermining" scientific cooperation after the US Defense Department said dozens of American universities had cut ties with certain foreign institutions, including some in China, citing security risks.

The two governments are jostling for influence in science and technology and have often accused each other of security threats and interference.

The United States Defense Department announced on Monday that 30 US universities had "fully mitigated" their ties with a list of institutions that pose a "concern to national security".

The docket, most recently published in July, lists dozens of Chinese military, scientific and technological institutions, as well as ones in Russia and Iran.

"China is always opposed to the US practice of overstretching the concept of national security," a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said in response to a question about the US Defense Department's announcement.

"The relevant actions taken by the US side essentially coerce American institutions into 'picking sides'," the unnamed spokesperson said in a statement.

"Deliberately undermining normal scientific cooperation between China and the United States will only weaken the US' own scientific progress and innovation."

China would take "necessary measures" to protect its institutions, the spokesperson said, warning the US to stop imposing "discriminatory and restrictive measures" against them.

World

France Braces for New Protests as Macron Seeks to Restore Order

Workers in hard hats lift a wooden panel to board up a shop window ahead of a demonstration planned for October 24, in central Bordeaux, southwestern France on October 22, 2026. (AFP)
Workers in hard hats lift a wooden panel to board up a shop window ahead of a demonstration planned for October 24, in central Bordeaux, southwestern France on October 22, 2026. (AFP)
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France Braces for New Protests as Macron Seeks to Restore Order

Workers in hard hats lift a wooden panel to board up a shop window ahead of a demonstration planned for October 24, in central Bordeaux, southwestern France on October 22, 2026. (AFP)
Workers in hard hats lift a wooden panel to board up a shop window ahead of a demonstration planned for October 24, in central Bordeaux, southwestern France on October 22, 2026. (AFP)

France was on Friday bracing for a weekend of new protests after some of the worst urban violence in years erupted on the sidelines of demonstrations a week ago, as President Emmanuel Macron sought to reclaim the initiative and restore order.

Macron, who on Thursday announced that only union demonstrations would be authorized this weekend, was to hold a meeting of his defense council of top ministers and officials and also meet security forces.

He was also set to host for the first time representatives of high school pupils, whose protests over conditions at their schools sparked a movement that has broadened nationwide into a show of anger against the government at the rising cost of living.

The protests have come at a critical moment for France six months ahead of elections to replace Macron, with a new poll underlining far-right candidate Marine Le Pen is the frontrunner and showing her position has been strengthened by the latest events.

Adding to tensions, Le Pen is at the weekend due to host her National Rally (RN) party congress in Orleans, with thousands of supporters expected but local authorities fearing clashes as opponents head to the city.

Macron is due to announce "additional decisions" after hosting the meeting of his defense council, on top of the limited curfews already announced, his office said.

At the meeting with students, "we will present our demands to him -- which remain the same: the state of school infrastructure and an overhaul of the Parcoursup (university admissions) system," Nathanael Combary, president of Renouveau Lyceen (High School Renewal) told AFP.

Pierre Sourzat, who heads the organization Les Lyceens (The High School Students), was skeptical: "He'll listen to us, pretend he's understood us, and then nothing will come of it."

Macron's government has sought to draw a line between the legitimate demands of protesters and the looting, burning and ransacking that erupted on the sidelines of protests last Saturday.

In a judicial response of unprecedented firmness, courts have already sent 217 people, half of them first-time offenders, to prison over the events on Saturday, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

On Thursday, Macron called for "the utmost severity" against "acts of delinquency", accusing "ultra-left" groups of having sought to "bring down the republic" last weekend.

- 'Police have a responsibility' -

Demonstrations in Marseille in the south and Lyon in the southeast have been banned at the weekend, while in Paris protesters will only be allowed to march a limited route between Bastille and Nation squares.

Marseille authorities however reversed a decision to halt all public transport in the city on Saturday. But in the capital, leading museums including the Louvre will be closed on Saturday while the Art Basel art fair is being cut short.

Some 20 percent more members of the security forces will be deployed this weekend after heavy criticism of the anticipation and intelligence gathering of police last week.

"In a country governed by the rule of law, the police have a responsibility both to ensure that protests can take place peacefully and safely and to protect the public from violent disorder," said Eva Cosse, senior Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch, expressing alarm over reports of children being severely injured by crowd-control weapons.

The violence has tarnished the image of France ahead of elections that could be a turning point in its modern history, with the government's debt pile also troubling investors.

A new poll by Harris Interactive for M6/RTL made after the violence showed Le Pen soaring ahead on 33-35 percent in the first round of voting for the presidential elections.

It predicted that hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon was on course to face her in the run-off where Le Pen would emerge as an easy winner on some 70 percent of the vote.

World

First Ebola Patients in Nigeria and Kenya Might Have Crossed Paths at Uganda Airport

Kenya Red Cross personnel doff their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during a simulation of the evacuation of remains of an Ebola victim in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on October 22, 2026. (AFP)
Kenya Red Cross personnel doff their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during a simulation of the evacuation of remains of an Ebola victim in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on October 22, 2026. (AFP)
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First Ebola Patients in Nigeria and Kenya Might Have Crossed Paths at Uganda Airport

Kenya Red Cross personnel doff their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during a simulation of the evacuation of remains of an Ebola victim in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on October 22, 2026. (AFP)
Kenya Red Cross personnel doff their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during a simulation of the evacuation of remains of an Ebola victim in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on October 22, 2026. (AFP)

The first Ebola patients confirmed in Kenya and Nigeria might have crossed paths at an airport in Uganda earlier this month, African health officials said Thursday as they race to trace and slow an outbreak that has spread to several African countries.

Both patients are known to have traveled through Uganda's Entebbe International Airport on Oct. 3, said Dr. Wessam Mankoula, head of emergency preparedness and response at the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“One of the issues we are currently investigating has been some sort of interaction between the two cases at the airport,” Mankoula said.

Nigerian Health Minister Muhammed Pate said Nigeria's case remains contained and that contact-tracing is in progress. “We are trying to contain it so it doesn’t go out to the communities. Hopefully, it won’t get to that and we are working hard to ensure that,” Pate said.

The current Ebola outbreak emerged in Congo in May and the disease has since been detected in three other African countries, becoming the continent’s most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak in history.

Nigeria announced its first case on Tuesday, saying the patient had travelled from Uganda. Ugandan authorities denied the claim that the patient was exposed in their country and said the patient had travelled to Congo — something now disputed by health officials.

The Nigerian patient, who is a Uganda-born wife of a diplomat in Abuja, had vacationed in Uganda for two weeks in September and had arrived in Nigeria in early October, officials said. Nigeria said it is currently tracing 44 contacts.

Mankoula said additional contacts have been identified, but declined to give the new figure.

Uganda recorded 20 cases before declaring itself free of the disease in June. However, the country is now believed to be linked to the new imported cases in Nigeria and Kenya. Kenya has recorded nine cases so far, linked to a traveler who had returned from Congo to Kenya through Uganda.

So far there is no indication that the Nigerian patient traveled to Congo, Mankoula said. Officials from the World Health Organization said the same thing at a separate briefing on Thursday.

“The information supplied to WHO did not include travel to another country during that period, and other accounts about prior travels were not communicated to us,” said Dr. Pavel Ursu, the WHO country representative in Nigeria.

Congo has been struggling to contain the virus, which has infected more than 9,500 people, killing nearly half of them. The virus has spread to eight provinces and 66 health zones across the country’s eastern region.

According to data from the Africa CDC, only 20% of confirmed cases are among known contacts and about 60% of deaths are within the community, outside of treatment centers. Analysts say the disease in some of the hotspots in Congo is out of control.