Latest news in North Korea? September 18th, 2026

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, issued a statement via state media condemning U.S.-led multinational military drills in the Asia-Pacific (specifically citing the Pacific Vanguard exercise near Guam). She warned that North Korea would deliver a “more offensive” response to allied war games and reaffirmed that Pyongyang will never alter its path of expanding and strengthening its nuclear deterrence.

The Hindu+ 1

North Korean Vice Defense Minister Kim Kang-il reiterated at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum that North Korea’s status as a nuclear weapons state is permanent and legally irreversible, rejecting international calls for denuclearization as an unattainable daydream.

Taipei Times