Kim backs Russia in Ukraine, honors North Korean dead

April 27, 2026

Summary

Kim pledged continued support for Russia’s war in Ukraine as North Korea and Russia signaled deeper military ties.

Why this matters

The story highlights expanding military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including troop deployments and a mutual defense treaty. It also underscores how that alignment is unfolding as South Korea again calls for engagement with Pyongyang.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed Pyongyang’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying it would help Moscow prevail in what he called a “sacred” war, state media reported Monday.

North Korea has sent missiles, munitions, and thousands of troops to support Russia’s war effort, while analysts say Moscow has provided financial aid, military technology, food, and energy in return.

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov met Kim on Sunday during a series of recent visits by senior Russian officials to North Korea, according to official statements.

North Korea “will as ever fully support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend the national sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests,” Kim told Belousov, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim also expressed “belief that the Russian army and people would surely win a victory in the just sacred war,” KCNA said.

Both sides said they discussed closer military cooperation. Belousov said Moscow was ready to sign a cooperation plan for 2027 to 2031.

North Korea and Russia signed a military treaty in 2024 requiring both countries to provide military assistance “without delay” if either is attacked.

The memorial opening coincided with the first anniversary of Russia’s recovery of parts of the Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a major counteroffensive in mid-2024. North Korean troops were deployed there, and Kim praised the “brilliant war results in liberating Kursk,” according to KCNA.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a letter published by KCNA, praised the “extraordinary bravery and genuine devotion” of North Korean troops.

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Africa

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Kidal, a Tuareg stronghold, was retaken in November 2023 by Malian forces backed by Wagner, ending more than a decade of rebel control.

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Fresh fighting broke out Sunday in Kidal, Mali, a day after coordinated attacks by jihadist and rebel groups across the country.

Tuareg rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front said a deal had been reached for Malian forces and their Russian allies to leave Kidal.

The Africa Corps, which is under the Russian Defense Ministry, took over much of the Wagner Group’s Africa operations after founder Yevgeny Prigozhin died in 2023. The group has supported Mali’s junta in fighting jihadists.

Mali’s government said Sunday that Defense Minister Sadio Camara was killed in an insurgent attack Saturday. Government spokesman Issa Ousmane Coulibaly said on state television that assailants targeted Camara’s house.

Fighting also broke out Sunday in Kati, a junta stronghold near Bamako, residents said.

The government said Saturday’s attacks wounded 16 civilians and soldiers and caused “limited material damage.” It said “the situation is totally under control in all the localities” that were attacked.

Mali has faced conflict and jihadist violence for more than a decade. Its military rulers, like those in neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, have cut ties with France and several Western countries and moved closer to Russia.
Personal Finance

Gold Holds Steady as U.S.-Iran Talks Remain Stalled

Oil rose Monday, with Hormuz largely blocked by measures imposed by both countries.

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Gold was little changed Monday as efforts to restart U.S.-Iran peace talks remained stalled and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz stayed disrupted two months into a war that has unsettled global markets and increased inflation concerns.

Bullion traded in a narrow range above $4,700 an ounce after outlets reported that Iran had given the U.S. a new proposal to reopen the strait while delaying negotiations on its nuclear program. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump canceled a planned trip by top envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Pakistan, while Tehran said it would not negotiate while facing threats.
World

Iran Proposal Sought Strait Reopening, Talk Delay

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Iran gave the U.S. a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and delay nuclear negotiations, Axios reported, citing a U.S. official and two people familiar with the matter.

According to Axios, Iran sent the plan through Pakistani mediators to try to break a stalemate with Washington.

Pakistani mediators had delivered the proposal to the White House, but it was unclear whether the U.S. would pursue it. President Donald Trump planned to meet Monday in the White House Situation Room with national security and foreign policy officials.

Efforts to restart talks stalled over the weekend after Trump canceled a planned trip by his top envoys, and Iran said it would not negotiate while it was being threatened.

Trump said Saturday that Iran had quickly sent a new proposal after he told his envoys not to travel to Pakistan for talks.

“Interestingly, immediately, when I canceled it, within 10 minutes, we got a new paper that was much better,” Trump told reporters. Iran “offered a lot but not enough,” he added, without providing details.

A ceasefire had largely held since early April, but both countries continued to maintain a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, leaving the energy chokepoint largely impassable. The disruption to about a fifth of global oil flows was described by the International Energy Agency as the biggest supply shock in history.
World

China warns of response to EU ‘Made in Europe’ plan

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China said Monday it opposed a European Union proposal that would require companies seeking public funding in some strategic sectors to meet minimum thresholds for parts made in the bloc.

The European Union unveiled the proposed “Made in Europe” rules in March for sectors including cars, green technology, and steel. The plan, formally known as the Industrial Accelerator Act, was delayed for months amid disagreements over the measures.

China’s Commerce Ministry said it had submitted comments to the European Commission on Friday and expressed what it called “serious concerns” about the act, describing it as “systemic discrimination.”

European businesses in several affected sectors have said they face unfair competition from Chinese rivals that they say benefit from heavy state subsidies.

The proposal would require some foreign companies to partner with European firms and transfer technological know-how when establishing operations in the bloc. The measure would implicitly affect Chinese battery and electric-vehicle makers.

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the European Union said this month that the plan marked a shift toward protectionism and would affect trade cooperation between the European Union and China.
World

Iran foreign minister returns to Pakistan amid talks

Two Pakistani officials did not say when U.S. officials might return to the region after face-to-face talks earlier this month.

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ISLAMABAD (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister returned to Islamabad on Sunday as Pakistan tried to revive ceasefire talks between Tehran and Washington.

Abbas Araghchi had left Pakistan’s capital late Saturday, raising questions about a second round of talks, but Iranian state media said he returned before continuing to Moscow. He had also been in Oman, which previously mediated talks and sits across the Strait of Hormuz.

The White House said Friday it would send envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad. But after Araghchi’s departure was reported, President Donald Trump said he had canceled the trip because of a lack of progress with Iran.

“If they want, we can talk but we’re not sending people,” Trump told Fox News on Sunday.

Trump last week indefinitely extended the ceasefire the United States and Iran agreed to on April 7, which has largely halted fighting that began with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. A permanent settlement remains unresolved.

Trump said Saturday that within 10 minutes of canceling the envoys’ trip, Iran sent a “much better” proposal. He did not provide details, but said Iran “will not have a nuclear weapon.”

According to the United Nations nuclear watchdog, Tehran has 440 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% purity, a short technical step from weapons-grade levels.
Middle East

Bennett, Lapid merge parties ahead of Israel vote

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Former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid said Sunday they were joining forces ahead of Israel’s next election, expected later this year, in a bid to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

In separate statements and at a joint news conference, Bennett and Lapid said they were merging their parties, Bennett 2026 and There is a Future.

Bennett said the new party would be called Together and that he would lead it. “After 30 years it is time to part with Netanyahu and open a new chapter for Israel,” he said.

Their previous 2021 coalition, which included the United Arab List, the first Arab party to join an Israeli governing coalition, lasted less than 18 months.

Netanyahu returned to office after the November 2022 election, leading what some have described as Israel’s most right-wing government. Since Hamas’ 2023 attack on southern Israel and the ensuing war, polls have indicated Netanyahu could lose the next election, which is due by the end of October.

On Sunday, Netanyahu posted a 2021 photo of Bennett and Lapid with United Arab List leader Mansour Abbas. “They did it once, they’ll do it again,” Netanyahu’s Telegram post said, referring to their previous coalition.

Bennett said he would not seek a coalition with Arab parties again and ruled out ceding land to enemies, in an apparent reference to Palestinian statehood in territories occupied by Israel.

An April 23 N12 News poll projected Bennett’s party at 21 seats in the 120-member Knesset, compared with 25 for Netanyahu’s Likud. The poll projected Lapid’s party at seven seats, down from 24 now, but showed Netanyahu’s bloc of right-wing and religious parties at 50 seats, compared with at least 60 for a likely Bennett-Lapid coalition with smaller factions.

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Middle East

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Israel and Hezbollah accused each other of violating the ceasefire in Lebanon on Sunday, as Israeli strikes in the south killed 14 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

The ministry said the dead included two women and two children, and that 37 other people were wounded. Lebanese state media said Israeli warplanes struck Kfar Tibnit after the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for seven locations in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military has carried out repeated strikes in Lebanon since the truce took effect on April 17, and troops are operating inside an Israeli-declared “yellow line” near the border, where Lebanese residents have been warned not to return.

The Israeli military said Sgt. Idan Fooks, 19, was killed “during combat” in southern Lebanon. It said an officer and three other soldiers were severely injured, one soldier was moderately injured, and one was lightly injured.

Hezbollah said it rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusations that the group was threatening the ceasefire. In a statement, the Iran-backed group said its attacks on Israeli troops inside Lebanon were a “legitimate response to ceasefire violations.”
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The attacks came as diplomatic efforts to end the war remained stalled.

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Russian drone attacks on Ukraine’s southern port city of Odesa injured at least 11 people, including two children, Ukrainian officials said.

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In the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, one person was killed in Russian attacks, according to regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov.

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Separately, a worker at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was killed in what the site’s Russia-installed managers said was a Ukrainian drone attack. The plant, captured by Russian forces, is shut down.

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Five years after Virginia legalized simple adult possession of marijuana, lawmakers and Gov. Abigail Spanberger remained divided over how to create a legal retail market after the General Assembly rejected more than 40 changes she proposed and sent the bill back to her desk.

Spanberger now must either sign the legislation as passed or veto it within 30 days.

The governor’s version would have delayed retail sales until July 1, 2027, and directed the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority to set many licensing rules through regulations rather than detailed state law. It also would have reduced retail licenses from 350 to 200 through Jan. 1, 2029, changed the authority’s board to all gubernatorial appointees, removed required agricultural representation, and eliminated provisions, including the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund, tribal compact authority, and an illegal activity tip line.

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Her proposal also would have made public consumption a Class 4 misdemeanor, made underage possession a Class 1 misdemeanor, lowered the personal possession limit from 2.5 ounces to 2 ounces, and revised advertising, medical cannabis delivery, and hemp rules.

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North Carolina

Cary man arrested in Jones County scam investigation

A Cary man was arrested after a monthlong investigation into a scam targeting a Jones County family, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. The Jones County Sheriff’s Office asked the SBI for assistance on March 18, 2026. x The SBI’s Coastal District and the sheriff’s office arrested Christopher Aaron Murray, 40, of…

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A Cary man was arrested after a monthlong investigation into a scam targeting a Jones County family, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

The Jones County Sheriff’s Office asked the SBI for assistance on March 18, 2026. x

The SBI’s Coastal District and the sheriff’s office arrested Christopher Aaron Murray, 40, of Cary. He was charged with one count of felony exploitation of a disabled or elderly person in a position of trust.

Murray was taken into custody Sunday and is pending a first court appearance scheduled for Monday.

The investigation remained ongoing, and investigators said there could be additional victims. Anyone who believes they may have been targeted or victimized was asked to contact the Jones County Sheriff’s Office or the SBI’s Coastal District office.