North Korea has disclosed a new facility for producing nuclear bomb fuel as Kim Jong Un called for an “exponential” expansion of the country’s nuclear forces. State media said Kim claimed weapons-grade nuclear material production has more than doubled in five years.
Posts tagged as “the People’s Republic of China”
Key takeaways: The balloon was spotted southwest of the northern port city of Keelung on Thursday night, and continued east before disappearing. The incident highlights…
The U.S. has been attempting to restore high-level communications with China, and extended an invitation for Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to meet with PRC Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. However, China has declined the invitation, signaling limits to their willingness to ease tensions. It remains to be seen if the two sides can come to an agreement and move forward with their relationship.
The US Justice Department has charged 34 officers of the Chinese national police with operating an illegal police station in New York City to intimidate and silence dissidents. Two of the defendants have been arrested by the FBI and are expected to appear in federal court in New York. The US Attorney in the Eastern District of New York has said that the US government will not tolerate any foreign interference in its internal affairs.
Honduras has severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan and established them with China, a move that signals growing Chinese influence in Latin America and deals a blow to Taiwan's struggle for recognition. The decision is the latest example of China's increasing assertiveness towards Taiwan and its influence in Latin America, a region traditionally seen as within the US sphere of influence. It remains to be seen how the move will affect diplomatic relations between China, the US, and other countries in the region.
On Saturday, the US successfully brought down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer condemning President Xi's "brazen incursion" into US airspace. President Joe Biden responded to a reporter's question about shooting down the balloon, saying "We're gonna take care of it," and the US is now attempting to recover the debris of the balloon to investigate the potential for Chinese espionage.