North Korea has cut off official communications with Seoul and Washington, while Kim Jong Un has expanded his nuclear program and test-fired missiles in defiance of United Nations Security Council sanctions.

North Korea has a secret, previously unreported missile base near its northern border with China, which could pose a “potential nuclear threat” to much of East Asia and the United States, according to a new report released Wednesday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un lauded "heroic" North Korean troops who fought for Russia in the war against Ukraine, in a ceremony decorating soldiers of the army's overseas operation, state media KCNA said on Friday.