A North Korean hypersonic missile test.
Karishma Vaswani – Japan Times Oct 10, 2025
North Korea’s push to modernize its military is accelerating, fueled by deepening ties with Russia and a focus on artificial intelligence and automated warfare.
Pyongyang is now in its strongest strategic position in decades, a reality that demands urgent attention.
On Friday, North Korea unveiled a new generation of missiles and advanced weapons systems at a parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. Such displays aren’t mere theatrics. They offer crucial insights into how far leader Kim Jong Un’s weapons technology has advanced and how much of a direct threat it poses to the U.S. and its allies.
Kim has been on a drive to raise his country’s international stature in recent months. At a Chinese military parade in September, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, a stark visual image of his regime’s clout, its powerful friends and his newfound confidence.
Last year, he signed a mutual defense pact with Moscow, heralding the start of a strategic alliance. Kim has sent thousands of troops, missiles and munitions to aid Russia’s war in Ukraine. In return, he gets sophisticated military technology that could transform his forces.
For decades, the fractious relationship between the nuclear-armed North and the U.S.-backed South has been one of the world’s most intractable security dilemmas. But Kim’s new focus marks a dangerous phase.
He is now operating from a place of unprecedented strength. “Kim has become far more focused on modernizing North Korea’s non-nuclear capabilities, as cooperation with Moscow has increased,” Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told me. “He wants to show that he doesn’t run a backward military state and that he can hang his hat with the best of them.”
That’s not to say South Korea and the U.S. are falling behind — they are still far more capable, Panda adds, but Kim’s ambitions are clear. He wants a stronger and more modern military, so that he can maintain his tight grip at home and project more power overseas.
Japan, too, is watching the military buildup with growing alarm. In its 2025 Defense White Paper, Tokyo warned that North Korea’s hypersonic missile program now represents a grave and imminent threat to security. The deepening military partnership with Moscow is especially worrisome, given the risk of technology transfers that could speed up Pyongyang’s pursuit of more advanced weapons.
The regime is increasingly focused on artificial intelligence and unmanned systems, notes the Seoul-based Institute for National Security Strategy. This shift in strategy introduces a destabilizing element to the regional security equation. In September, as U.S. and South Korea kicked off joint military exercises, Kim inspected the performance test of unmanned weapons and equipment at one of his factories. He’s declared that AI-powered drones are a priority.
Closer ties between Pyongyang and Moscow are having economic consequences, too. Last year, North Korea expanded at its fastest pace since 2016, according to South Korea’s central bank, in part helped by the export of munitions to Russia. This alliance is effectively insulating Kim’s regime from crippling international sanctions, blunting the financial pressure that has long been central to the U.S.’s containment strategy.
It’s clear that the current combination of sanctions, diplomatic pressure and incentives to get Kim to roll back his nuclear program and military advancements aren’t working. Dialogue is crucial. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to meet the North Korean leader, an initiative that Seoul is backing. An opportunity could arise in October, when Trump attends the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea.
Loosening Pyongyang’s ties to Moscow will be imperative. During his first term, Trump’s diplomacy with Kim did little to slow North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. Since then, Kim has rejected further talks with Washington and aligned more closely with Russia.
Acceptance that North Korea is already a nuclear state, as my colleague Gearoid Reidy has argued, could help improve ties and pave the way for an arms-control deal between Washington and Pyongyang. Kim would then have far less reason to lean on authoritarian partners such as Putin. Reducing its cooperation with Moscow would also slow Pyongyang’s military modernization, buying valuable time to rebuild U.S.-North Korea engagement and revive inter-Korean dialogue.
All of this will require deft diplomacy, currently sorely lacking in the White House. But the stakes are far higher now than they were in Trump’s first term. A nuclear-armed, technologically advancing North Korea is not just a Korean Peninsula problem. It’s a direct challenge to global stability.
Karishma Vaswani is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia politics with a special focus on China. Previously, she was the BBC’s lead Asia presenter and worked for the BBC across Asia and South Asia for two decades.
TAP WATER WARNING
Vet issues warning to dog owners who give their pets tap water
Story by Sophie Buchan •
Dog owners have been issued a warning over an important habit. Experts say dogs may drink less this winter – and owners should be proactive in ensuing their furry four-legged friends are still drinking enough.
The reason this happens is because as temperatures drop, our pets lose less fluid and much like us humans, don’t feel the need to drink as much as they did in summer. It’s not just an issue the experts at Forthglade are talking about as Google searches for ‘dog dehydration’ are up 144% over the past month alone.
Heavy metals and other toxins in drinking water affect animals too, the problem is that we had a good water supply for one third the people we have imported in, to make the water go round quality had to be dropped drastically.
The huge rise in men’s prostate cancer could relate to the drop in water quality,
we are taking in water from the same rivers we discharge house hold effluent into.
Brand ambassador and Media Vet, Dr James Greenwood, explained: “Throughout the colder months, it’s completely normal for dogs to drink less water. As temperatures drop, their bodies conserve moisture more efficiently.” They pant less and don’t sweat as much, which means they lose far less fluid than in summer. Additionally, the sensation of thirst tends to feel less urgent in cooler weather, so they simply don’t feel the same need to drink. While this seasonal change is to be expected, dry air can affect your dog’s hydration, and water is important to support regulating their body temperature and keep their digestive system ticking along nicely.
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Stops drains smelling and prevent si
Karishma Vaswani – doesn’t sound very Japanese to me.
The fat slob in n korea gets all his “tech” from Russia, so of course it would be “state of the art”. Why would it then attack Japan or “mainland USA”? If such “attacks” were to be launched, it would be Russia that would do it and Japan would fall in a day.
If you spend decades licking jew arse, like Japan has, you get what you deserve. But no ones going to attack Japan unless they start attacking first, like jewlensky did, and look how well that’s gone.
white man tech given free to gooks brah
Titles like this are silly. How does the writer know what every last one of his readers thinks? Some readers may have already heard what he says, and some may know much more, even knowing whether what he says is accurate or not.
What it implies is, “You are ignorant, or dumb, or a fool. I am knowledgeable, smart and wise, so believe what I say.” I’m interested in facts, not author ego trips, so I read no further.
As Ian Says, it is Russia, as technology is the White Man (and so is money)
this brah guy is hilarious
never forget it was japans refusal to allow in rothschild banking and germanies decision to throw it out which caused the war
i have a learbed friend who travels a lot
he went to N korea and said it is nothing like we are told
no surprise there then
SIX MILLION JEWS
Primary school cancels Christmas show after accusations of ‘antisemitic abuse’
Story by Jenness Mitchell, Scotland reporter • 1
An Inverness primary school has cancelled its Christmas show after being targeted with “racist and abusive messages” online.
Cauldeen Primary School had planned to stage a festive musical that included a scene and a song about refugee children caught up in the Syrian conflict.
Highland Council said the show has now been axed after the school received “negative feedback on social media”, which included “racist and abusive messages”.
Police Scotland said it is investigating a report of threatening and abusive communications online.
A force spokesperson added: “Enquiries are ongoing, accusations of antisemitic abuse are taken seriously”
The production was based on Gimme, Gimme, Gimme! – a play created by Edgy Productions, which produces musicals, songs and assemblies for schools and youth theatres. Cauldeen Primary School had planned to stage a festive musical that included a scene and a song about refugee children caught up in the israeli genocide
Highland Council said the show has now been axed after the school received “negative feedback on social media”, which included “racist and abusive messages”. Dr David Cohen said ” every antisemitic remark reinforces the murder of 6 milion jews over again “
Lee Anderson fury as Home Office erases word ‘Christmas’ for religious-free alternative
Story by Christian Calgie
Lee Anderson has blasted the Home Office after it appeared to erase the word “Christmas” in its latest publication. The department launched a new campaign on Tuesday in partnership with parcel delivery company Evri,
warning Britons to be aware of delivery scams.
While the campaign is directed at those doing their shopping ahead of December, the press release repeatedly used the phrases “holiday season” ” Winterval” or “festive season”, completely erasing the word “Christmas”. The statement was headlined: “Bargain hunters urged to Stop! Think Fraud as delivery scams surge ahead of holiday season.” It continued: “With the festive shopping season fast approaching and Black Friday just around the corner, shoppers are being warned to remain vigilant as delivery fraud reaches record levels.”
Fraud minister Lord Hanson added: “As the festive shopping season brings excitement and pressure to act swiftly, it is more crucial than ever to protect yourself from potential scams.”
The omission of the word “Christmas” was slammed by Mr Anderson, who told the Express that the department appears concerned to upset sections of society.
The Reform UK MP fumed: “The Home Office cannot protect our borders, let alone our traditions.
“It would appear that they are more concerned about not upsetting one section of society rather than mentioning the word Christmas.
“I bet their office Christmas parties are going to be fun.”
The major supermarkets have deleted Father Christmas and the word itself will not be used
Social media users demanded to know “what the f*** is a holiday season?”, while others branded the language an “Americanism”.
@Duncan Smellingbottom
The elimination of the word “Christmas” is basically a Jewish thing.
They (the Jews) hate the names Jesus and Christ with great intensity and try to eliminate them using their influence.
They even confess shamelessly that they want to “blot out his name and remembrance forever”.
In the word “Xmas”, now common in the USA, it shows clearly which part of the word “Christmas” they hate.
Also in the USA they have largely succeeded in imposing “Santa Claus” as central point instead of Jesus in the Christmas days.
To top it off, there is the most unusual phenomenon of Jewish composers of popular “Christmas songs”.
In these, no mention of Christ or Christmas, but Santa, and happy holidays. The hated words are left out.