North Korea announced it had tested a new air defense missile system and carried out strategic cruise missile strike training, state media reported Thursday, in the latest display of Pyongyang's military capabilities.
Wednesday's tests are part of a series of extensive military tests in recent weeks, which included cluster munitions, attack drones, precision-guided torpedoes, and a medium-range hypersonic missile.
The South Korean army announced on Wednesday that it had monitored the launch of several missiles from the Sondok region in North Korea towards the Sea of Japan.
Pyongyang recently took a tougher stance towards Seoul after a land mine explosion in the dividing zone between the two Koreas, and leader Kim Jong Un's sister indicated this week that there was no desire to resume talks with Washington.
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency reported on Thursday that the newly designed missile air defense system underwent a test launch with the aim of verifying its technical specifications.
The agency noted that “the experiment demonstrated the technical specifications and reliability of the new materials,” without providing details about the materials used.
She added that the experiment also demonstrated the system's ability to identify and track targets.
The agency also noted that a subunit of a long-range strategic cruise missile unit in eastern North Korea also conducted strike training on Wednesday.
She confirmed that the unit “carried out its mission completely successfully, targeting a virtual airport using a long-range strategic cruise missile.”
Unlike ballistic missile launches, UN Security Council sanctions do not prohibit cruise missile tests.
North Korea has a long record of conducting missile tests around US election periods, which is widely viewed as a show of force.
China confirmed on Wednesday that avoiding the resumption of hostilities in the Middle East is a “top priority” for its diplomatic efforts with countries in the region.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in a press conference that “the highest priority is to avoid the resumption of hostilities in the Middle East, which could bring disaster to the residents of the region,” according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
In this context, China announced today that it is in contact with the United States and Russia to arrange a possible summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and American Donald Trump on the sidelines of a regional meeting it will host later this month.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in a press conference when asked about the possibility of holding a tripartite meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit scheduled in Shenzhen on November 18 and 19, that “China is communicating with relevant parties regarding a meeting between the presidents of China, Russia, and the United States.”
The Kremlin announced on October 21 that “preparations are being made” for a meeting that will be the first of its kind between the Chinese president and his Russian and American counterparts.
Xi and Trump have met twice this year, including when the Chinese president visited the White House in September. They are scheduled to meet again during a G20 summit hosted by Miami in December.
The two leaders pledged to extend a trade truce they reached in October 2025, and to consider the possibility of reducing customs duties on products worth $30 billion from both sides. Trump last met Putin in person in Alaska in August 2025. As for Xi and Putin, they have met dozens of times, most recently in May when the Russian president visited Beijing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned last month that a tripartite summit would pave the way for a redistribution of influence, as happened after World War II. He said: “We do not want the matter to turn into Yalta 2, 3 and 4 with a redistribution of influence,” referring to a summit held by the leaders of the Soviet Union, the United States and Britain in 1945 regarding the division of the post-war map. He pointed out that “Russia wants this meeting more than any other party,” warning against giving Moscow “another major diplomatic advantage.”
China warned Britain today (Wednesday) against “tarnishing its image,” the day after a report was issued stating that Beijing may be planning to carry out cyber operations using artificial intelligence to target vital infrastructure in the United Kingdom.
The British National Cyber Security Center report stated, “By 2028, it is highly likely that China, Russia, and other countries will regularly use artificial intelligence-based cyber capabilities to achieve their geopolitical goals, with the United Kingdom facing an increase in the volume and speed of sophisticated cyber attacks.”
The report added, “China likely has the intention, and is the best positioned party, to use artificial intelligence in operations targeting vital national infrastructure and other strategic objectives.” The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded today (Wednesday) to the report, saying that Britain “has always politicized the issue of cybersecurity,” according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said during a press conference, in response to a question about the report: “China expresses its deep concern about the United Kingdom’s use of language based on speculation, to distort China’s image in the absence of evidence.” She added that Britain is "again using the pretext of old electronic hacks to impose new measures aimed at curbing China's development of artificial intelligence technologies," describing this as a "misleading approach."
Over the past decade, countries such as Britain, the United States, and New Zealand have publicly accused China of being behind electronic hackings, accusations that Beijing has strongly denied.
