North Korea's nuclear arsenal, missile launches and support for Russia drive tensions with South Korea, Japan and the United States.
Where it stands
South Korea has launched mine clearance at the DMZ blast site where three soldiers were injured; North Korea rejects Seoul's apology demand.
South Korean military personnel injured in DMZ explosions
3
27 readings
Estimated North Korean nuclear warheads
57warheads
21 readings
North Korean troops to be sent to Russia
50,000
2 readings
North Korean weapons containers shipped to Russia
33,000containers
Sub-stories
–Pulse
No coverage in this range.
Pulse measures how actively a story is being covered right now.
Every article counts as a vote whose weight fades over time — an article published today counts as 1.0, one from two days ago counts 0.5, four days ago 0.25, and so on (a 2-day half-life). Pulse is the sum of those weights, so fresh coverage lifts it and old bursts fade away smoothly.
Dated by when the figure applies, not when it was reported. Larger dots are more sources reporting the same number.
Following:
showing all 100 events
October 2026
3 days ago
Oct 8North Korea demanded South Korea's utmost respect to restore ties
Oct 8North Korea rejected South Korea's medical aid offer
Wed, Oct 7
Oct 7South Korea sought formal declarations of North Korean armistice violations
Tue, Oct 6
Oct 6South Korea weighed steps to force an apology over DMZ mines
Oct 6North Korea threatened counteraction if South Korea violated its territory
Mon, Oct 5
Oct 5South Korea launched mine clearance in the DMZ
Oct 5South Korea's military concluded North Korea planted the DMZ mines
Fri, Oct 2
Oct 2 North Korea fired an unidentified projectile off its east coast
Oct 2North Korea rejected the demand for a DMZ blast apology
Thu, Oct 1
Oct 1South Korea's president urged North Korea to resume dialogue
September 2026
Wed, Sep 30
Sep 30South Korea demanded an apology over DMZ mine blasts
Sep 30UN Command confirmed North Korean mines violated the armistice
Sep 30North Korea denied involvement in the DMZ blasts
Tue, Sep 29
Sep 29South Korea called DMZ mine blasts an armistice violation
Sep 29South Korea's president ordered an inquiry into DMZ mine blasts
Sep 29Trump downplayed North Korea's nuclear arsenal, calling Kim a friend
Sep 29South Korea's military said North Korean mines likely caused DMZ blasts
Mon, Sep 28
Sep 28Trump considered another summit with Kim Jong Un
Sep 28North Korea warned UN leaders of distrust and confrontation
Sun, Sep 27
Sep 27South Korea and UN Command investigated suspected DMZ mine blast
Fri, Sep 25
Sep 25North Korea threatened retaliation if South Korea became US defence hub
Thu, Sep 24
Sep 24North Korea rejected a call to halt nuclear tests
Sep 24North Korea's foreign minister vowed to keep nuclear weapons forever
Wed, Sep 23
Sep 23Analysts said North Korea appeared to test a hypersonic weapon
Sep 23South Korean and US leaders welcomed strategic investment progress
Tue, Sep 22
Sep 22North Korea test-fired an upgraded 240mm guided rocket launcher
Sep 22Trump reaffirmed commitment to dialogue with North Korea
Sep 22South Korea's president urged sanctions relief for nuclear freeze
Mon, Sep 21
Sep 21DMZ explosion injured three South Korean military officers
Sep 21South Korea, US and Japan reaffirmed North Korea denuclearization commitment
Sun, Sep 20
Sep 20North Korea said Sunday’s launch tested new combat weapon system
Sep 20North Korea fired second short-range ballistic missile
Sep 20North Korea fired an apparent ballistic missile eastward
Sat, Sep 19
Sep 19Kim urged stronger artillery and wider military AI use
Sep 19Kim Jong Un's sister rejected UN nuclear watchdog resolution
Fri, Sep 18
Sep 18South Korean and US diplomats discussed North Korea diplomacy
Sep 18South Korea's president reaffirmed commitment to permanent peace regime
Sep 18US ambassador called South Korea alliance peace linchpin
Sep 18Kim Jong Un's sister threatened stronger responses to US-led drills
Thu, Sep 17
Sep 17Kim Jong Un's sister called nuclear status absolute and irreversible
Sep 17North Korea cited US buildup to justify nuclear expansion
Wed, Sep 16
Sep 16North Korea accused US of promoting allies' nuclear-powered submarine push
Sep 16South Korean and US foreign ministers scheduled Washington talks
Tue, Sep 15
Sep 15Kim Jong Un vowed to deepen joint work with Russia
Sat, Sep 12
Sep 12North Korea conducted live-fire drill with missiles and artillery
Sep 12North Korea fired an unidentified projectile eastward
Wed, Sep 9
Sep 9Kim Jong Un thanked troops in overseas military operations
Tue, Sep 8
Sep 8South Korea's military pledged backing for renewed US-North Korea talks
Mon, Sep 7
Sep 7North Korea threatened countermeasures against US-South Korea-Japan drills
Sep 7South Korea, Japan and US began joint military drills
Sep 7Kim Jong Un said new destroyer would join nuclear response system
Thu, Sep 3
Sep 3US ambassador met South Korea's defense minister
Wed, Sep 2
Sep 2South Korea's president pledged efforts to revive US-North Korea dialogue
Tue, Sep 1
Sep 1South Korea's spy agency saw signs US talks could resume
August 2026
Mon, Aug 31
Aug 31North Korea vowed to keep strengthening its nuclear force
Fri, Aug 28
Aug 28South Korea sought safeguards in renewed US-North Korea talks
Aug 28South Korea, Japan and US scheduled North Korea-focused drills
Thu, Aug 27
Aug 27North Korea denounced US missile sale to South Korea
Wed, Aug 26
Aug 26US reaffirmed commitment to North Korea's complete denuclearization
Mon, Aug 24
Aug 24South Korea and US pledged close coordination on North Korea
Aug 24US cancelled joint amphibious drill with South Korea
Sun, Aug 23
Aug 23South Korea detected no imminent North Korean troop deployment to Russia
Sat, Aug 22
Aug 22North Korea condemned Japan's planned record defense budget
Fri, Aug 21
Aug 21South Korea urged North Korea to stop derogatory remarks
Aug 21US and South Korea ended joint drills six days early
Thu, Aug 20
Aug 20 North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile eastward
Aug 20Kim Jong Un's sister dismissed cuts to joint military drills
Aug 20China urged South Korea to avoid sides in peninsula tensions
Aug 20South Korea backed Trump's renewed North Korea outreach
Aug 20South Korea estimated North Korea held up to 120 warheads
Wed, Aug 19
Aug 19China's foreign minister arrived in Seoul for North Korea talks
Aug 19Trump claimed North Korea held 57 nuclear weapons
Aug 19South Korea said Trump gave no drill-cut warning
Aug 19Kim Jong Un's sister said she was unaware of Trump contact
Aug 19Kim Jong Un's sister denied plans to send 50,000 more troops
Aug 19Trump said he planned to meet Kim this year
Aug 19South Korea and US cut joint drills roughly in half
Aug 19North Korea denounced joint drills as an immediate threat
Tue, Aug 18
Aug 18Trump reportedly pushed for a meeting with Kim
Aug 18Russia praised North Korean troops and pledged deeper ties
Aug 18South Korea announced Chinese foreign minister's planned Seoul visit
Aug 18Japan called trilateral security cooperation critical for regional stability
Aug 18South Korea's president called for stronger independent defense
Mon, Aug 17
Aug 17South Korea and US began scaled-back joint drills
Aug 17US senators criticized Trump's cuts to South Korea drills
Aug 17Trump said Kim responded to his overtures
Aug 17South Korea voiced hope for renewed US-North Korea talks
Sun, Aug 16
Aug 16Trump ordered substantial cuts to US-South Korea military drills
Sat, Aug 15
Aug 15Kim Jong Un reaffirmed strong ties with Russia
Aug 15South Korea proposed talks to formally end the Korean War
Aug 15Putin said Russia and North Korea coordinated regional security efforts
Fri, Aug 14
Aug 14North Korea threatened stronger deterrence over joint military drills
Thu, Aug 13
Aug 13Russia and North Korea considered expanding deployment to 50,000 troops
Tue, Aug 11
Aug 11 North Korea fired another ballistic missile into the sea
Aug 11North Korea denounced Japan's defense paper for justifying militarization
Mon, Aug 10
Aug 10South Korea and US scheduled major joint military drills
Thu, Aug 6
Aug 6 North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile into the sea
Aug 6North Korea reportedly began deploying a ballistic missile unit in western Russia
Wed, Aug 5
Aug 5Kim Jong Un's sister warned of military options over Japan's Tomahawk test
Tue, Aug 4
Aug 4Japan warned Russian cooperation could strengthen North Korea's military