North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his troops onto a war footing from 5 p.m on Friday after his government issued an ultimatum to Seoul to halt anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts by Saturday afternoon or face military action.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday marked the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki by renewing his commitment to a nuclear weapons free Japan, following criticism for not making the same pledge on the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing last week.
North Korea is creating its own time zone, moving its clocks back by 30 minutes to mark the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese rule, the official KCNA news agency said on Friday.
Japan and the Philippines teamed up at a regional security forum this week to attack China over the disputed South China Sea, China's Foreign Ministry said, detailing the feisty defense its foreign minister mounted in return.
