Delivered by the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), Monsignor Andrews Thazhath. No Pope has visited the subcontinent since John Paul II's last visit in 1999. In 2024, Prime Minister Modi renewed the government's invitation to Pope Francis. Meanwhile, in Seoul, the Minister of Unification hopes that the pontiff's presence at World Youth Day 2027 will be a step towards ‘de facto unity’ between the Koreas.
At the White House summit, Trump said he was open to the idea. The meeting could take place in conjunction with the APEC summit in Gyeongju at the end of October, which Trump is expected to attend. So far, North Korea has made it a precondition that the US not continue to demand denuclearisation. Meanwhile, Lee has pledged to increase South Korea’s military spending and invest US$ 150 billion in shipbuilding in the US.
For the first time since 2018, the South Korean government may not publish its annual report denouncing violations by the North Korean regime. The decision, in line with President Lee Jae-myung's policy of rapprochement, aims to avoid tensions and revive contacts between the two Koreas. APyongyang has recently conducted military exercises in response to joint manoeuvres by Seoul and Washington.
North Korea’s strongman Kim Jong-un is strengthening his regime’s military and economic ties with Moscow, sending more manpower to Russia. A year after Moscow and Pyongyang signed a defence treaty, North Korean losses in the Ukraine war are up.
South Korea’s new president and the Chinese leader spoke on the phone for about 30 minutes. China insists on the importance of “multilateralism” against the backdrop of Trump’s tariffs. South Korea calls on Xi to play a “constructive role” in the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
This is the estimate by the government-funded Korea Institute for Defense Analysis for North Korea’s shipment of weapons, men and technology to Russia. The supplies include 21,000 containers of weapons sent by sea. Between late 2024 and the start of 2025, North Korea sent almost 127,000 phishing emails to South Korean officials, journalists and researchers.
