(Reuters) - Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran on Friday that follows similar pacts with China and North Korea. All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine.

John Kirby, White House national security communications adviser, said of Hegseth's remarks on North Korea's status as a nuclear power: "We've not made such a recognition. I can't speak to what the incoming team will—how they'll characterize it. We've not gone so far as to make that recognition."

Pyongyang has since reopened the border to some trade and official delegations, and North Korea last year permitted Russian tourists to enter the country for the first time since the pandemic.

Here’s What You Need to Remember: The PLA of today however is a completely different beast. While the PLA lacks the institutional skill of the battle-tested U.S. Army, it is certainly..

During the Cold War, there was a time when China would have been paranoid about Russia and North Korea conspiring behind its back. Those worries, however, are now relics of a bygone era characterized by a radically different balance of power among this authoritarian triangle.

The United States, Australia, India, and Japan reaffirmed their partnership at a meeting focusing on countering China's influence. Hosted by Marco Rubio, the Quad grouping emphasized a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.

The loose arrangement of hostile powers could pose a series of conundrums for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state.

The impeached president is using unsubstantiated claims of election interference by China and North Korea to justify his failed self-coup bid.

With the fate of suspended South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol hanging in the balance, the country has also been left facing an uncertain future as it battles through the resulting political turmoil.

North Korea's People's Assembly was an opportunity to detail future international ambitions. This year, the US was not mentioned as Kim awaits indicators of Trump's attitude to Pyongyang.At a recent two-day meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang,

Northeast Asia's power balance will shift as the US adopts an 'America first' security policy and a friendlier attitude towards Kim Jong-un Could North Korean leader Kim Jong-un capitalise on another chance during a Trump 2.