South Korea, Japan and the U.S. are set to hold joint military drills from 9-11 September, to test their readiness against North Korea's missile and nuclear threats, Seoul announced on Friday.
The exercise comes as South Korea’s National Security Adviser, Wi Sung-lac, said the country supports U.S. President Donald Trump's push to restart dialogue with North Korea, but wants to make sure its own security posture isn't weakened and that Seoul isn't left on the sidelines of any negotiations.
"One point to keep in mind is the need to coordinate with the United States to ensure that any resumption of U.S.-North Korea dialogue leads to substantive progress on the North Korean nuclear issue, alongside efforts to establish a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula," Wi said.
Wi pointed to Trump's decision earlier this month to significantly scale back major joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington as a sign the U.S. President was open to re-engaging with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whom he met three times in 2018 and 2019.
Trump partly justified the reduced Ulchi Freedom Shield drills by citing South Korea's refusal to assist in the Iran conflict, arguing the shortened exercise had sent the wrong signal to Pyongyang.
Despite backing renewed engagement, Wi made clear that Seoul didn’t want to be excluded from talks shaping its own security future.
He added that South Korea was also seeking to deepen cooperation with Washington across several issues that have periodically strained relations between the two allies.
These include South Korean investment commitments made under a recent trade deal, the treatment of U.S.-listed e-commerce company Coupang, as well as broader security cooperation, intelligence sharing, and the eventual transfer of wartime operational control of South Korean forces from the U.S. to Seoul.
The upcoming trilateral drills with Japan are expected to test the two allies' combined response capabilities against North Korea's evolving missile arsenal.
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Despite losing his bloc's majority in Israel's 120-seat Knesset in a hotly contested election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to remain in the lead after 70 per cent of votes were tallied on Wednesday. Figures are subject to change as counting continues.
Russia and Ukraine have begun a regional ceasefire to allow the start of a humanitarian effort in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, both sides said on Tuesday, but they continue strikes elsewhere, including the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
The Middle East conflict remains tense as diplomatic efforts continue alongside renewed Houthi attacks. Iran says it remains open to mediation, while the Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the kingdom.
Rescuers picked through mangled carriages on Thursday in a grim search for victims of Spain's second fatal high-speed train crash this year, as the death toll rose to 69 and hopes of finding further survivors faded.
At least 68 people have been killed after two high-speed trains collided in Spain on Wednesday, in the second deadly rail disaster in less than a year on a major route linking Madrid with the southern Andalusia region.
Leaders of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) are meeting in Ankara for their 13th summit, with Türkiye set to take over the rotating chairmanship from Azerbaijan as members seek closer economic, political and defence ties.
Rescuers picked through mangled carriages on Thursday in a grim search for victims of Spain's second fatal high-speed train crash this year, as the death toll rose to 69 and hopes of finding further survivors faded.
Russian drone strikes killed at least 19 people across Ukraine on Thursday, including 14 at a crowded railway station in Dnipro, three in Kremenchuk and two teenage girls in Chernihiv, Ukrainian officials said.
A six-day U.S.-brokered ceasefire near the Ukrainian city of Kherson has brought a rare respite from Russian attacks, offering war-weary residents a brief return to normality. But fears remain that the violence could erupt again at any moment.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 29 October 2026, exploring five global flashpoints where diplomatic efforts are colliding with growing military threats, from renewed hopes for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine to warnings of wider instability in Africa and Asia.
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