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China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, known collectively as CRINK, are seeking to undermine U.S. leadership by weakening the rules-based international order. Human rights violations and trafficking at the Alabuga complex in the Russian town of Yelabuga illustrate the increasingly complex ties among the CRINK regimes. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 created a demand for drones that Moscow could not initially meet. Its answer was an arrangement to manufacture the Iranian-designed Shahed on Russian soil. This report contends that the burgeoning labor force that powers the Alabuga drone factory has become a site of gross human rights...

North Korea has released a fresh batch of apparent “proof of life” photos showing Kim Jong Un inspecting shoes and women’s clothing — after wild rumors swept social media claiming the dictator had died from a brain hemorrhage. The images, published by North Korean state media on Monday, show a seemingly animated Kim examining children’s footwear, gesturing toward officials and inspecting women’s coats at a garment and footwear exhibition. The photos surfaced just hours after sensational claims circulated online that the 42-year-old leader had suffered a massive brain hemorrhage, fallen into a coma and died after being rushed to Beijing...

Former President Donald Trump did not hold back his praises to some of the world's authoritarian leaders in a new media appearance. In his interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Trump shared his admiration for the leadership styles of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. "They're all top of the line," Trump said. The former president described Xi as a "brilliant man" and recalled meeting with him in his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida in 2017. "President Xi is a brilliant man... The look, the brain, the whole thing. We had a...

President Trump confirmed Wednesday he plans to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un later this year, the third sitdown between the two across the commander in chief’s two terms.*** “I get along with him, and you know what? The fact that I get along with him-that’s a good thing, not a bad thing,” Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that Kim has “57 very powerful nuclear weapons.”Should have never allowed it to happen,” the president added. “They should have never allowed it. If I were president, I wouldn’t have allowed it. But he’s got them.” Past...

What better way for Morning Joe to mark the Iran ceasefire than by once again tying President Trump to the “monsters of history”? On consecutive days, co-host Jonathan Lemire reached for the same loaded line. He first used it yesterday, reacting to Trump’s bellicose Truth Social post warning Iran of severe consequences. He rolled it out again today—clearly deciding it was too good not to reuse. This time, he escalated further, suggesting Trump’s rhetoric would leave a lasting “stain” not just on his presidency, but on the United States itself. On Tuesday’s show, Lemire cited Trump’s threat-laden language—of the sort...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gifted new sniper rifles to top government and military officials following a weeklong ruling party congress celebrating his leadership, with state media highlighting an image of his teenage daughter taking aim at a shooting range as her increasingly prominent appearances fuel speculation Kim is grooming her as a future leader. Kim presented the rifles to senior party and military officials on Friday, calling them a sign of his “absolute trust” and gratitude for their commitment over the past five years since the last Workers’ Party congress in 2021, North Korea’s official Korean Central News...

I'm probably one of the most antiwar posters on Free Republic. I hate every bit of what we're doing in the Mideast and Europe. Deploying troops to Syria and Gaza, funding and aiding the Ukraine s**thole. Constantly warring with other nations on behalf of our (lol) "allies." It's all folly, even evil. This is hitting different. Venezuelan Communist criminals confiscated -literally stole - American oil fields, private property that belonged to Americans and American companies. Nobody has been held to account until now. Maduro is a criminal dictator who fk'd with our electoral and immigration systems in a major way....

As video of U.S. military operations inside Venezuela began to surface on social media, President Donald Trump has announced that overnight the U.S. military carried out a “large scale strike” against Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro.

BREAKING: President Trump announces successful strike against Venezuela, says Nicolas Maduro has been captured

Loud explosions, accompanied by sounds resembling aircraft flyovers, were heard in Caracas around 2:00 am (06:00 GMT) Saturday, an AFP journalist reported. The explosions come as US President Donald Trump, who has deployed a navy task force to the Caribbean, has raised the possibility of ground strikes against Venezuela. Thick columns of black smoke also rose over the city’s skyline. On Monday, Trump claimed a strike had been carried out against a "docking facility" in the country, though today’s blasts appear to be centered within the capital's metropolitan core rather than on the coast.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un suggested his country can resume dialogue with the U.S. if Washington drops calls for Pyongyang to denuclearize, state media reported Monday morning local time. "If the United States shuts down its hollow denuclearization ideology and wants a true peaceful coexistence with us based on acceptance of reality, then we have no reason not to [sit down with] the United States," Kim said during his parliamentary speech, according to the post.

North Korea’s tubby tyrant Kim Jong Un traveled to China with his own private toilet designed to protect his DNA and any clues about his health, according to Japanese and South Korean intelligence — as his aides were also spotted meticulously cleaning the room where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The secretive lavatory was located on his green armored train that took him to Beijing on Tuesday for the country’s largest-ever military parade, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. “The physical condition of the supreme leader has a major impact on the North...

As Beijing rolled out its largest military parade in decades, US President Donald Trump trained his guns at Xi Jinping, accusing the Chinese President of “conspiring” with Russia and North Korea against the United States. "Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America," Trump said in a post directed at Xi on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday. His remarks coincided with a show of force in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2. Xi was joined by Russian President Vladimir...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has paid an emotional tribute to soldiers killed while fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine, saying his ‘heart aches’ in a rare admission of military losses. Kim made the comments on Thursday at a ceremony in Pyongyang, where he met with commanders of a unit that had fought for Russia in the western Kursk region, according to North Korean state media KCNA. He praised them as “a heroic army,” with state media photos showing Kim pinning commendation badges on soldiers’ uniforms. Photos released by KCNA also showed Kim pinning badges on the...

Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, traveled to Pyongyang on Tuesday under the direct orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin, signaling a deepening of strategic military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. The visit, Shoigu's second in less than two weeks and third meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in just three months, comes as Moscow seeks to draw Pyongyang closer in its protracted war effort in Ukraine. Observers say the visit suggests a bid by Russia to leverage shifting global attention — particularly the West’s growing preoccupation with escalating tensions between Israel and Iran — to secure...

Half of the thousands of North Korean troops sent to help Russia's attempted invasion of Ukraine have died in action, according to British Defence Intelligence. Roughly 11,000 troops have been dispatched by Kim Jong Un to aid Vladimir Putin's war effort in Eastern Europe since 2022 as the ties between their two countries has become closer. Now it has been revealed that more than 6,000 soldiers from North Korea have lost their lives after being stationed to the frontline in the Kurk region

This is just a rough AI translation of the original Japanese to English below: “On the 4th, North Korea's KIM JONG-UN, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, met with the secretary of the General Secretary of Security Council of Russia Mr SHOIGU. The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on the 5th. Mr. Kim promised to unconditionally support Russia's position on Ukraine and other international issues. KCNA reported, "Mr. Kim has promised that North Korea will continue to unconditionally support Russia's position and foreign policy." According to KCNA, Kim said that North Korea would responsibly comply with...

A launch ceremony for a new North Korean naval destroyer went horribly wrong in front of 'supreme' leader Kim Jong Un, according to state media. Kim watched on in horror as the 5,000-ton ship was severely damaged after failing to launch properly. He declared the mishap a 'criminal act caused by absolute carelessness' that 'could not be tolerated'. -snip- In a statement KCNA said: 'Due to immature command and operational negligence, the parallel movement of the bogies could not be guaranteed, resulting in the launching sled in the stern detaching first and causing the ship to capsize. 'The ship's balance...

Join us as we travel to Pyongyang, North Korea and explore one of the most secretive and isolated countries on Earth 🇰🇵

North Korea officially confirmed for the first time on Monday that it has deployed troops to Russia, framing it as an extension of its strategic partnership with Moscow. -snip- The commission further said that Kim Jong-un determined that the situation on the battlefield warranted the activation of Article 4 of the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty between North Korea and Russia. Based on this analysis, Kim ordered the deployment of North Korean forces and notified the Russian side accordingly, according to the statement. North Korea also noted that Kim referred to the troops dispatched to Russia as "representatives of the nation's...