The US House of Representatives passed the bipartisan US-Japan-ROK Trilateral Cooperation Act on Monday, creating a formal inter-parliamentary dialogue mechanism among Washington, Seoul and Tokyo on defense, economic security, public health and emerging technologies, with a bipartisan and bicameral congressional delegation to participate.
Seoul's defense ministry said Wednesday it will disband the Defense Counterintelligence Command — 49 years after its founding — over its alleged role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed Dec 2024 martial-law bid, with anti-espionage and cyber functions moving to a new headquarters and personnel-vetting authority abolished outright.
US Central Command launched strikes against Iranian air defence, ground control and radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday as a 'proportional response' to the downing of a US Apache helicopter; Iran's IRGC said it hit 21 targets at US bases in Bahrain and Jordan in return, leaving the April US-brokered ceasefire architecture under live strain.
Xi Jinping completed his first official trip to North Korea since 2019 with a tribute at the Friendship Tower and a luncheon with Kim Jong-un; the two leaders reaffirmed the 65-year defence pact and Kim's backing of Beijing's 'One China' principle, with no concrete deals announced but heavy state-media play in Pyongyang.
Donald Trump attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, becoming the first sitting US president at an NBA championship game; New York fans gave him a loud hostile reception with sustained boos and jeers after navigating airport-style security.
Israel and Iran appeared to step back from further military exchanges Monday after trading missile fire for the first time since the US-brokered April ceasefire; both sides warned of retaliation if attacked again, while Netanyahu publicly acknowledged the pause.
US District Judge Leo Sorokin invalidated Trump's $100,000 annual fee on new H-1B visa applications, ruling the administration had exceeded its authority and imposed an unlawful tax — a major blow to a flagship skilled-immigration restriction.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told South Korean officials in Vienna that Seoul's nuclear-powered submarine programme should raise no proliferation concerns, provided a solid safeguards arrangement is concluded with the agency.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in North Korea for a two-day state visit greeted by Kim Jong Un and his wife at the airport; ahead of the talks Xi urged Pyongyang to join Beijing in rejecting 'any scheme aimed at reviving militarism', a thinly-veiled swipe at Japan.
Israel launched new airstrikes on Iran after Iranian missile fire, defying Trump's direct public plea to Netanyahu 'not to respond'; the exchange threatens to drag the Middle East deeper into regional war as Trump's 'I call all the shots' line is publicly tested.
Korean President Lee Jae Myung held his fourth press conference at Cheong Wa Dae on Monday marking one year in office, vowing 'absolute competitiveness' in advanced tech, reaffirming the Korean Peninsula denuclearisation goal, and flagging real-estate tax reform for July.
Two Virginia residents filed a federal lawsuit Saturday seeking to halt the UFC fight card scheduled for the White House South Lawn on Trump's 80th birthday June 14, calling the event 'deeply corrupt' and arguing the proper approvals were not sought.
Trump abruptly ended a wide-ranging NBC interview with Kristen Welker after she pressed him on his unfounded claim that the California gubernatorial primary was 'rigged', telling her 'I've had enough'.
Trump publicly defended the anti-weaponization fund his administration formally abandoned Friday in a court filing, calling it a 'great idea' and refusing to rule out paying Capitol rioters who attacked police — language that contradicts Acting AG Blanche's wind-down commitment.
Trump ruled out releasing frozen Iranian assets ahead of a peace deal, telling NBC 'no' when asked whether the funds could be released to build trust; Tehran has indicated unfreezing would be a key trust-building step toward a lasting agreement.
Taipei said its coast guard deployed vessels to 'respond appropriately' after Chinese state media announced a 'law enforcement operation' east of Taiwan, which Beijing framed as a response to Japan-Philippines talks over the same waters.
Kim Yo Jong reaffirmed North Korea's nuclear ambitions as 'absolutely nonnegotiable' on the eve of Xi Jinping's June 8 Pyongyang visit; analysts read the trip as Beijing closing its China-Russia-DPRK strategic triangle amid significant military developments.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, marking the D-Day anniversary at Normandy, urged European allies to counter a 'present-day invasion' — a framing read as a migration reference — and renewed the administration's demand that Europeans do more for their own defence.
Trump issued a pardon to former Republican Rep. Stephen Buyer of Indiana, who served nearly two years in prison after being convicted of using nonpublic information to make stock trades after leaving Congress.
UK PM Keir Starmer publicly told the US to stop interfering in British democracy after Vice President JD Vance and other US officials cited the murder of British teenager Henry Nowak as proof of a 'civilisational decline' from mass migration.
South Korean special-counsel investigators questioned former president Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday over messages he intended to send to the US to justify his failed martial-law imposition; Yoon faces power-abuse and obstruction-of-rights charges while in custody.
Trump told the Wall Street Journal he wants acting DNI Bill Pulte to shrink the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, calling the office 'too big' and saying he hopes Pulte will be 'less shackled' than his predecessor.
Former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra advanced to the November ballot in California's gubernatorial primary; the DOJ sent a federal prosecutor to observe ballot processing after Trump claimed 'rigging' in the still-uncalled top-two race.
A federal judge vacated a series of Trump immigration-processing halts enacted after a deadly attack on National Guard members, ruling the policies put immigrants in 'indeterminate legal limbo' and were motivated by 'anti-immigrant sentiment'.
Senate Republicans approved $70 billion to fund ICE, Border Patrol and other immigration enforcement through the end of Trump's term, after dropping the $1bn ballroom-security line item that had threatened the package; the House vote is expected next week.
South Korean police cleared a 35-hour protest blockade at a Songpa polling station to seize remaining ballot boxes; National Election Commission chair Rho Tae-ak resigned, the PPP floor leader Song Eon-seog also stepped down, and both parties called for parliamentary and special-counsel probes.
China and North Korea jointly announced Xi will travel to Pyongyang for a two-day visit starting June 8 — his first overseas trip of the year and first North Korea visit since 2019 — after meetings this year with the US and Russian leaders.
Trump's former national security adviser turned critic is expected to plead guilty in the classified-documents prosecution opened against him after a memoir critical of Trump's first term.
Trump used wartime presidential authority under the Defense Production Act to direct about $700m to coal output, with $425m of that going to 13 existing coal plants; environmental critics accused him of 'putting polluters first'.
The House passed a war-powers resolution forcing Trump to seek congressional approval to continue the Iran war or withdraw troops, with a small Republican group voting with Democrats; Trump called the largely symbolic vote 'unpatriotic'.
Beijing told four New Zealand lawmakers on their return from a May trip to Taiwan they were barred from entering China for a year, the first such ban imposed on New Zealand politicians; Taipei's foreign ministry slammed the move.
Demonstrators say a Jared Kushner-linked megaproject on Albania's protected coastline threatens flamingos and endangered habitats; EU concerns over the project align with the local protest movement.
Trump told a wartime-leader interview he had used 'crazy' for Netanyahu and cursed at him over a threatened Beirut bombing, while insisting the relationship is solid; Netanyahu laughed off the rift in Jerusalem.
Senate Republican Mitch McConnell pointed to statutory eligibility requirements for the Director of National Intelligence role in a public statement widely read as questioning Trump's acting-DNI pick Bill Pulte.
Senate Republicans removed the $1bn White House ballroom security provision from the revised budget reconciliation bill on Wednesday, after concerns the spending could jeopardise the $70bn immigration-enforcement funding the package is built around.
Zach Lahn defeated Trump-endorsed Rep. Randy Feenstra in Iowa's GOP gubernatorial primary, the president's first major statewide primary loss of the 2026 midterm cycle and a crack in the coalition in a deep-red state.
Public Security barred Tiananmen Mothers from their Wan'an cemetery vigil for the first time in 37 years; Taiwan's MAC called on Beijing to face the historical record and Wuer Kaixi told Tokyo to drop appeasement.
USTR's Section 301 proposal would impose 10-12.5% tariffs on 60 trading partners including the EU, UK, Canada, Australia and Taiwan, framed around forced-labour findings and designed to rebuild Trump's tariff stack after February's Supreme Court strike-down.
Iran suspended the US ceasefire talks over Israel's Lebanon strikes and a senior military official said Tehran 'won't surrender'; Rubio told Congress Iran has agreed to negotiate nuclear-program elements it had previously refused to discuss.
Angry phone call between Trump and Netanyahu reportedly stopped a planned Israeli ground push to Beirut and came after Tehran suspended US talks over Israel's Lebanon strikes.
