It appears the U.S. and Japan are remaining committed to achieving the fantasy of a denuclearized North Korea:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (front R) inspects a newly launched nuclear material production facility at an unspecified location on June 3, 2026, in this image captured from the website of North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day.
The United States and Japan reiterated their commitment to the “complete denuclearization” of North Korea and rejected Russia’s notion that Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear arms was a “closed” issue, as they held key defense talks in Tokyo this week, according to a joint statement.
The allies held the bilateral Extended Deterrence Dialogue at Japan’s foreign ministry on Monday and Tuesday as they seek to reinforce security cooperation in the face of China’s growing assertiveness and North Korea’s advancing nuclear and ballistic missile threats.
You can read more at the link.
Xi pays tribute to fallen Chinese soldiers in Pyongyang
Chinese President Xi Jinping places a wreath at the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang on June 9, 2026, in this photo released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day. Xi’s visit to the tower, which commemorates Chinese soldiers who died while fighting for the North in the 1950-53 Korean War, came one day after he held summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, agreeing to put the two nations’ friendly relations “on a more solid basis” and expand cooperation in politics, economy, culture and other fields. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
If Kim Jong-un wants to improve relations with Xi, strongly stating support for the One China Policy is a way to do it:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Monday deepening ties with China is his country’s top policy priority, as he held summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Pyongyang, according to a report.
The Kim-Xi talks came hours after the Chinese leader arrived in Pyongyang for his first state visit in nearly seven years.
Developing friendship between the North and China is “the people’s choice and the calling of the times,” China’s Xinhua News Agency quoted Kim as saying during the talks with Xi.
Kim said Pyongyang viewed the development of mutual ties as the country’s “most important strategic priority.”
With the international community “going through unprecedented, grand change,” he reaffirmed Pyongyang’s support for Beijing’s “One China” principle and pledged to keep helping safeguard China’s core interests, according to the report.
You can read more at the link.
The North Korean regime has been saying this for years and feel the need to say it yet again:
The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said her country’s status as a nuclear-armed state is absolutely irreversible, calling it a “line of no retreat” and vowing not to tolerate any threats against it, the North’s state media reported Sunday.
Kim Yo-jong made the remarks in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), in which she reiterated Pyongyang’s position that its nuclear weapons program is nonnegotiable while rejecting international efforts aimed at denuclearization.
You can read more at the link.
President Xi is on a diplomatic flurry after first hosting Trump, then Putin, and now he is going to meet with Kim Jong-un:
Chinese President Xi Jinping will likely visit North Korea as early as next week, sources said Wednesday.
“We have obtained intelligence indicating that President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea soon,” a high-ranking government official told Yonhap News Agency.
Another government official also said there is a high possibility of Xi visiting North Korea later this month or early next month, noting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Pyongyang last month and the recent trips by Xi’s security guards and ceremonial staff to the North Korean capital.
You can read more at the link.
