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A training of the fire division, guided by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (not pictured), is held in North Korea, March 18, 2024, in this picture released on March 19, 2024, by the Korean Central News Agency.

KCNA via REUTERS

Hard Numbers: Kim Jong Un takes aim, Pakistan launches deadly airstrikes, Sunak’s asylum-seeking plan proves costly, Oceans take the heat

186: Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: On Monday, North Korea responded to a visit to South Korea by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken by firing short-range ballistic missiles from Pyongyang an estimated 186 miles into the Sea of Japan. North Korea’s military has recently staged military maneuvers in response to annual US-South Korean joint drills.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a factory in Songchon County, North Korea, February 28, 2024.

KCNA via REUTERS

IAEA chief backs Japan-North Korea talks

International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi said Tuesday that the UN body supports Japan’s efforts to hold a summit with North Korea to boost engagement, even if nuclear weapons aren’t on the agenda.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said he is prepared to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he tries to bring back Japanese nationals abducted to North Korea between 1977 and 1983. Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong, who holds considerable sway, indicated that Pyongyang would be open to talks with Japan last month.

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FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden looks on before speaking during a roundtable discussion on public safety at the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 28, 2024.

REUTERS/Tom Brenner

America’s first data security executive order ... underwhelms

President Joe Biden issued an executive order last week targeting entities that affect every web user, whether they realize it or not. The order empowers the Justice Department to stop companies called data brokers from collecting and selling Americans’ personal data to “countries of concern” like China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba.

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FILE PHOTO: Donald Trump dancing during the campaign rally for the Republican primary for the 2024 American presidential election. Manchester (NH), USA, January 20, 2024.

David Himbert / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect

For China, Russia, and Israel, patience is a virtue in 2024

In January, Taiwan elected pro-independence candidate William Lai and, despite warnings, China’s response has been restrained, possibly influenced by Beijing’s belief that the leading US presidential candidate may treat Taiwan like a “discarded chess piece.”

That’s what Chinese Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua said would happen if Donald Trump won the US election in November after the former president refused to say whether he would defend Taiwan. His comments shook US ally Japan strongly enough that senior Kishida administration officials are reportedly contacting Trump’s camp to warn against cutting any kind of deal with China.

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Annie Gugliotta

How Russia, North Korea, and Iran will sow chaos in 2024

Russia, North Korea, and Iran are the world’s most powerful rogue states. They have been working to strengthen their cooperation since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, united by the draconian sanctions levied against them, their shared hatred of the US, and their willingness to violate international law to disrupt a global status quo they believe serves Western interests at their expense. These rogues are agents of chaos in today’s geopolitical order, bent on undermining existing institutions and the governments and principles that uphold them.

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Sweden's NATO membership is imminent after Turkey's approval
Sweden close to NATO membership after Turkey's blessing | Ian Bremmer | World In: 60

Sweden's NATO membership is imminent after Turkey's approval

Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week from Davos on World In :60.

With the Turkish parliament officially approving Sweden's membership of NATO, will Hungary remain the lone holdout?

I don't expect it. I think that Sweden is joining. Erdogan still has to sign. So, I mean, isn't done done done until the signatures on. But NATO is being sold very, very effectively by Vladimir Putin, continues to expand.

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An Iranian woman is walking under a billboard that is displaying an image of the Iranian Qased satellite carrier in a residential area in northwestern Tehran, Iran, on December 13, 2023.

Morteza Nikoubazl via Reuters Connect

An Axis of ... Rockets?

Iran and North Korea have each recently taken major steps forward in their civilian space programs, but their partnerships with Russia have Western governments worried about potential progress on another kind of rocket: intercontinental ballistic missiles.
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People remove debris at a food market following, what local Russian-installed authorities say, was a Ukrainian military strike in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, January 21, 2024.

REUTERS

Hard Numbers: Donetsk shelled, AfD faces ban, Tshisekedi sworn in, North Korea tests submarine drone

27: At least 27 people were killed and 25 injured in a Ukrainian strike on the Russian-held city of Donetsk on Sunday. The attack came the same weekend as a drone attack on the Russian Ust-Luga gas terminal near St. Petersburg, resulting in a large fire but no injuries. Described as a “special operation” by Kyiv's SBU security service, the strike was aimed at disrupting fuel exports and supplies for Russian troops.

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