North Korea's nuclear arsenal, missile launches and support for Russia drive tensions with South Korea, Japan and the United States.
Where it stands
North Korea has fired a suspected ballistic missile toward its eastern sea, while South Korea estimates it holds up to 120 nuclear warheads.
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
August 2026
2 days ago
Aug 28South Korea sought safeguards in renewed US-North Korea talks
Aug 28South Korea, Japan and US scheduled North Korea-focused drills
3 days ago
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
Aug 4North Korea threatened new deterrents over trilateral military cooperation
Sat, Aug 1
Aug 1North Korea accused NATO of preparing for war
July 2026
Fri, Jul 31
Jul 31North Korea said US Japan command expansion raised clash risk
Mon, Jul 27
Jul 27Kim Jong Un's sister rejected ASEAN's denuclearization call
Thu, Jul 23
Jul 23South Korea replaced denuclearization-first policy with peace-first approach
Mon, Jul 20
Jul 20North Korean and Russian foreign ministers agreed to accelerate cooperation
Sun, Jul 19
Jul 19Putin met North Korea's foreign minister at the Kremlin
Sat, Jul 18
Jul 18North Korea's foreign minister departed for Russia
Fri, Jul 17
Jul 17North Korea threatened countermeasures over US-led maritime exercise
Thu, Jul 16
Jul 16Kim and China's top political adviser pledged deeper cooperation
Wed, Jul 15
Jul 15Senior Chinese and North Korean officials discussed deeper cooperation
Tue, Jul 14
Jul 14China announced its fourth-ranking official's North Korea visit
Sat, Jul 11
Jul 11Xi and Kim reaffirmed strategic cooperation in anniversary messages
Fri, Jul 10
Jul 10Xi urged faster implementation of agreements with Kim
Jul 10North Korea decided to expand its nuclear forces
Thu, Jul 9
Jul 9North Korea announced its premier's three-day China visit
Sun, Jul 5
Jul 5Xi pledged long-term stable ties with North Korea
Jul 5Kim oversaw cruise missile and destroyer weapons tests
Wed, Jul 1
Jul 1Kim pledged to keep strengthening ties with China
June 2026
Mon, Jun 29
Jun 29North Korea condemned US-Japan drills as war rehearsal
Thu, Jun 25
Jun 25North Korea tested upgraded artillery and missile systems
Tue, Jun 23
Jun 23North Korea commissioned a new 5,000-ton destroyer
Jun 23Kim unveiled plans for 10,000-ton warships and nuclear-armed navy
Jun 23Kim vowed to accelerate North Korea's military and nuclear buildup
Sun, Jun 14
Jun 14North Korea declared denuclearization irreversibly terminated
Fri, Jun 12
Jun 12Kim pledged unwavering support for Russia in message
Tue, Jun 9
Jun 9 Xi concluded his North Korea visit and returned to Beijing
Jun 9Xi honored Chinese soldiers at Korean War monument
Mon, Jun 8
Jun 8Xi and Kim agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation
Jun 8Kim welcomed Xi at Pyongyang airport with ceremony
Jun 8Xi departed Beijing for a two-day state visit
Jun 8Xi called for deeper strategic cooperation with North Korea
Jun 8Xi traveled to North Korea for talks with Kim
Sun, Jun 7
Jun 7Kim's sister called North Korea's nuclear status irreversible
Fri, Jun 5
Jun 5China announced Xi's June 8–9 state visit to North Korea
Thu, Jun 4
Jun 4Kim oversaw a repaired destroyer's sea trials and urged naval buildup
Wed, Jun 3
Jun 3Kim inspected new nuclear plant and vowed exponential arsenal expansion
May 2026
Tue, May 26
May 26 North Korea tested AI-guided missiles and a nuclear-capable cruise missile
Wed, May 20
May 20South Korean official said Xi could visit North Korea
Sun, May 17
May 17Kim ordered stronger defenses along North Korea's southern border
Sun, May 10
May 10North Korea reportedly mandated nuclear retaliation if Kim were killed
Sat, May 9
May 9Kim reaffirmed North Korea's mutual defense treaty with Russia
Fri, May 8
May 8North Korea planned to deploy new long-range border artillery
Thu, May 7
May 7North Korea said non-proliferation treaties did not bind it
April 2026
Sun, Apr 26
Apr 26Kim opened memorial museum for troops killed fighting for Russia
Sat, Apr 18
Apr 18 North Korea tested ballistic missiles carrying cluster warheads
Wed, Apr 15
Apr 15North Korea branded Japan's denuclearization call a grave provocation
Apr 15UN watchdog reported rapid growth in nuclear weapons production capacity
Sun, Apr 12
Apr 12North Korean destroyer test-fired cruise and anti-ship missiles
Fri, Apr 10
Apr 10Kim and China's foreign minister pledged deeper cooperation
Wed, Apr 8
Apr 8North Korea tested electromagnetic and carbon-fiber warheads
Apr 8China announced its foreign minister's North Korea visit
Apr 8North Korea fired ballistic missiles in two rounds
Tue, Apr 7
Apr 7North Korean official reaffirmed South Korea's enemy status
Apr 7North Korea launched an unidentified projectile from Pyongyang