The international news carried on Page 4 of Rodong Sinmun dated August 25, 2026, reports on the proud competition results achieved by our athletes at the 11th Asian Taekwondo Championships. The international news carried on Page 6 reports on NATO's moves aggravating the situation in the Arctic region, Israel's undisguised territorial seizure moves against Lebanon, the efforts of various countries for social stability and development, the rising demand in Japan for the revision of the Status of Forces Agreement for the US Forces Japan, the worsening humanitarian crisis in Somalia, flood damage in Palestine, the wide application of nanotechnology, and so on.

The full text follows:

---

The Honour of the Fatherland Again Demonstrated with a Proud Victory

Athletes and Coaches Who Participated in the 11th Asian Taekwondo Championships

The proud competition results achieved by our reliable athletes at the 11th Asian Taekwondo Championships are delighting all the people of the country.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un said as follows:

“Sportspeople who go to international competitions, win and fly the flag of the Republic are true patriots, heroes and wonderful people.”

Regarding the fact that this championship was held amid the attention of not only Asia but the whole world, Kim Myong Gun, Chairman of the Korean Taekwondo Committee and head of our delegation, said as follows:

“With the daily growing interest in our traditional martial art, Taekwondo, the overall technical level of Taekwondo in many countries has risen, so all the competitions were fiercer.”

In this championship, our athletes won 75 gold medals as well as 3 overall winner cups by category, 6 best team awards and 6 best technique awards.

This is a precious fruition achieved by all the athletes and coaches who gave their all for the honour of the fatherland.

In the mornings, our athletes and coaches looked at the flag of the Republic and steeled their resolve to adorn the training day with loyalty, and sometimes summed up the day's training before the national flag.

For the athletes, physical training was literally a process of transcending mental and physical limits. It is said that after seated pushing heavy objects weighing two or three times their body weight dozens of times while ensuring accuracy, their legs sometimes suffered muscle spasms and they could not walk properly. Yet each time, the athletes' faces were filled with pride that they had once again surpassed the mental and physical limits.

How hard was the training to perfect the competition tactics and methods to cope with the various situations of sparring! The sparring training was not simple, in which six athletes with different physical abilities including height, weight, strength, speed and endurance had to repulse one another's successive attacks with defence, counterstrike and attack, changing every two minutes. By surpassing such difficult mental and physical limits, the athletes grew not only physically and technically but also spiritually and morally.

Unlike the individual pattern competition in which one athlete takes part, the team pattern competition requires five athletes to appear simultaneously and be identical down to the details of movement performance. Even when the youngest athlete made a mistake and had to repeat the movement performance, the athletes gave him confidence and actively encouraged him, perfecting the immature movements one by one.

Two Kumsong and Hong Jin Gyong, who took part in the power competition, also have precious memories. They made painstaking efforts to win in this event where irreparable consequences can be caused unless speed, strength as well as high mental power and accuracy of strike are ensured.

The competition results achieved by our athletes are permeated with the devotion and sincerity of the coaches. The efforts of Coach Sa Ok Jin, a people's athlete widely known among our people along with Taekwondo, became a precious foundation for the success in which eight female adult athletes won all the detailed events of the championship, capturing 19 gold medals. Under the conditions in which one athlete took part in several detailed events, the coaches devoted great efforts to preparing all the athletes as excellent multi-event athletes.

Thanks to such painstaking efforts and devotion, our reliable Taekwondo athletes again achieved competition results that astonished the world at this championship.

Text and photos: Staff Reporter Ji Hyok Chol

---

NATO's Moves Aggravating the Situation in the Arctic Region

NATO is actively promoting the militarization of the Arctic and heightening the atmosphere of confrontation.

Last February, the US, Canada and Denmark conducted the “Arctic Edge 2026” military exercise. Following this, 25 000 troops from 14 countries took part in the “Cold Response” military exercise held in March, centred on the northern regions of Norway and Finland.

Analysts revealed that NATO launched a new plan called “Arctic Sentinel” earlier this year, with the aim of checking Russia and expanding its military intervention in the Arctic region by practising offensive tactics in extreme cold.

As even NATO member states outside the Arctic region are actively advancing into this area, the situation is becoming more aggravated.

At the Munich Security Conference last February, the British Prime Minister declared that his country would deploy a carrier strike group to the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean this year. Earlier, the British Foreign Secretary, who visited Finland and Norway, asserted that the Arctic region is becoming the “front line of geopolitical competition”, and stressed that NATO should strengthen its military presence and security guarantee in the Arctic.

According to foreign media, the UK has long been leading the Joint Expeditionary Force composed of 10 Northern European countries under the pretext of “Arctic security guarantee”.

Germany already dispatched a naval squadron to the Arctic last summer and is planning to set up a joint technical service base with Norway within a few years.

The German Foreign Minister, in a recent meeting with the Norwegian Foreign Minister, promised that his country would further expand its engagement in the Arctic and North Atlantic regions, saying that the Arctic region is becoming increasingly important for Europe's “security”.

Meanwhile, France, under the pretext of protecting NATO supply routes, is deploying helicopter carriers and anti-submarine vessels to the Arctic region, and has agreed to jointly produce unmanned craft with Norway.

At the end of last year, a new NATO air operations command centre was established in an Arctic city of Norway. Earlier, three years ago, a naval base was built in the northern region of Norway, where British special forces and Dutch marines are stationed during each military exercise.

NATO's Arctic militarization moves have become more undisguised since it drew Finland and Sweden, the Arctic Circle countries, into the alliance, and their spearhead is directed towards Russia.

At the NATO summit held in July, the issues of “maritime security guarantee” in the North Atlantic, Baltic Sea and Arctic Ocean were discussed. Accordingly, a group composed of 12 NATO member states is seeking to strengthen new maritime operation capabilities in the North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean.

According to experts, NATO regards Finland and Norway as deployment bases for the forces and means to strike Russia's major military and industrial targets, and has set the establishment of an anti-submarine barrier on the exit routes of the Russian Northern Fleet to the Atlantic as one of the main goals of its maritime operations.

Meanwhile, Russia, as a major Arctic state that controls a large land area and an exclusive economic zone within the Arctic Circle, has consistently advocated equal cooperation in the region. At the same time, it is directing great efforts to defending its own interests and regional security in the Northern Sea Route and surrounding waters. It is strengthening its Arctic defence capability in a planned way, including rationally readjusting the missions of the Northern Fleet and re-establishing the Leningrad Military District.

In response, NATO is artificially fabricating and spreading the “Russia threat” theory, claiming that it is witnessing Russia's large-scale arms buildup in the Arctic and that Russia's potential is a strategic challenge to NATO, thereby trying to draw more member states into the militarization of the Arctic.

The militarization of the Arctic persistently pursued by NATO is creating a danger-fraught situation in which an accidental clash between the two sides may occur.

Experts analyze that the fact that the Western countries are effectively driving the Arctic Council into functional paralysis is also a factor that makes the situation rush towards an uncontrollable state.

Owing to NATO's reckless military advance and ambitions, the Arctic region is heating up into yet another sharp military and political arena of confrontation.

Staff Reporter Jang Chol

---

Territorial Seizure Moves Becoming More Undisguised

Recently, the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that more than 8 900 people have died and over 30 500 have been wounded in Israel's attacks on Lebanon since October 8, 2023.

On the 15th alone, the Israeli army carried out two air strikes on the southern region of Lebanon, killing 9 civilians and wounding 12. Earlier, on the 5th, more than 10 Lebanese were killed or wounded in an Israeli army air strike on a religious ceremony venue in this area.

Not long ago, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated at a press conference that since March 2, when Israel launched an all-out armed invasion, more than 4 300 people have died in Lebanon and more than 12 200 have been wounded, including 135 health workers and journalists, and asserted that Israel's military operation may constitute a war crime.

The voice of denunciation and criticism from the international community is raining down on Israel, which is running wild with aggressive manoeuvres while brutally violating the ceasefire agreement.

Yet Israel is repeating its stock phrases. It claims that it cannot stop its military attacks unless Hezbollah is disarmed.

Senior Israeli politicians, who regard this Lebanese patriotic force organization, which was founded in the 1980s and has stubbornly fought against their aggressive manoeuvres for decades, as a thorn in their eye, have recklessly declared that the military operations targeting Hezbollah are not yet complete and that disarming Hezbollah, whether by military or political means, remains the key target of the offensive. Israel is perpetrating a bloody war of slaughter against civilians even more viciously.

On June 10 alone, it carried out indiscriminate air strikes targeting several Hezbollah military targets as well as residential areas, killing 18 and wounding several.

Not long ago, the Israeli Defence Minister boasted that they do not need to be allowed to remain in Lebanon and that the Israeli army will remain in Lebanon until Hezbollah is completely disarmed.

In response, Hezbollah is strongly countering.

Hezbollah expressed its position that the weapons it holds are both a means to confront Israel's occupation and aggressive manoeuvres and a fundamental factor in defending Lebanon's sovereignty, and that it will remain on the battlefield until its last breath. In a word, it will never lay down its weapons.

The ulterior motive of Israel's persistent demand for Hezbollah's disarmament lies nowhere else. It is to completely occupy the southern region of Lebanon and make it its own. On the other hand, it is to induce Hezbollah's self-defensive response and expand its aggression.

Owing to Israel's manoeuvres, the situation in the southern region of Lebanon remains complex.

Staff Reporter Ri Chan Il

---

For Social Stability and Development

Drug Seizure

Afghan police conducted anti-drug operations in four provinces including Takhar and Badakhshan on the 20th, seizing 131 kg of drugs and arresting five traffickers.

Recently, in Shan State, Myanmar, two criminal suspects who had hidden large quantities of drugs in cars and dwelling houses were detained, and at the port in Manila, Philippines, more than 40 kg of methamphetamine was detected and confiscated.

Foreign Trade Volume Increases

In Tajikistan, the foreign trade volume in the period from the beginning of this year to July increased by 42.3% compared to the same period last year.

On the 21st, the statistical agency of this country announced that the export volume in particular increased significantly.

Efforts to Reduce Air Pollution

Jakarta, Indonesia, is striving to actively introduce electric buses to reduce air pollution.

This city has set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030, and for its realization, the city authorities announced a plan to increase the number of electric buses to more than 10 000.

It is reported that currently, more than 50% of the city's greenhouse gas emissions are produced by vehicles.

(Korean Central News Agency)

---

Rising Demand in Japan for Revision of the Status of Forces Agreement for the US Forces Japan

In Japan, the governors of 15 prefectures where US military bases are located demanded on the 20th that the authorities revise the Status of Forces Agreement for the US Forces Japan.

They asserted that the safety problems caused by US military aircraft and the leakage of hazardous substances at US military bases are seriously affecting the lives of local residents, and that such acts should be strictly punished under Japanese law.

They also denounced that in recent years, the US military has used Japanese civilian airports and ports, and even US soldiers have appeared outside the bases carrying weapons, which has greatly increased the discontent among the residents.

They stressed that unless the Status of Forces Agreement for the US Forces Japan is fundamentally revised, the problems related to the US Forces Japan cannot be solved.

(Korean Central News Agency)

---

Humanitarian Crisis Worsens in Somalia

The humanitarian crisis in Somalia is worsening further.

On the 21st, the UN Children's Fund announced that in this country, which is suffering from severe natural disasters and conflicts, a great number of children are suffering from hunger and disease.

In particular, it is reported that nearly 1.9 million children will face malnutrition this year, and among them, about 500 000 will suffer from acute malnutrition.

The mortality rate is also rising as the operation of 205 health facilities has been suspended due to lack of funds.

(Korean Central News Agency)

---

Flood Damage in Palestine

---

Widely Applied Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is a core basic technology that guarantees a new qualitative leap in overall economic development including the metal industry, machine industry, extractive industry, agriculture and light industry, as well as in cutting-edge science and technology fields including information technology, biotechnology, new materials technology, new energy technology and space technology.

Many countries in the world define nanotechnology as a strategic technology and key technology of the new century for strengthening national power and developing the economy.

As research into nanotechnology deepens, its scope of application is broadening further.

By using nanosensor technology, the conductivity and light absorption capacity of substances can be greatly enhanced, optimizing the sensing performance and expanding the detection range.

Nanoelectronics technology makes it possible to reduce the size of integrated circuits and further increase their precision. It is reported that in a certain country, ultra-small magnetic field detectors with very high information detection, collection and processing capabilities have been designed using nanoelectronics technology.

Nanomaterials technology is being used in the manufacture of high-strength, ultra-high-temperature and ultra-low-temperature materials urgently needed in the machine, metal and defence industry sectors.

In particular, it is proving effective in the manufacture of camouflage materials, impact-resistant materials, bulletproof materials and so on.

The scope of application of nanobiotechnology is expanding.

In many countries, nanoelectronic devices that can be introduced into human cells are being developed for the purpose of diagnosing and treating various diseases.

Recently, nanobiotechnology is being actively introduced into optical spectrum instruments, biomolecule screening and drug delivery, and the fabrication of biological chips.

Nanomanufacturing technology is being used in the development of machine equipment with special functions that require small installation space and cause little environmental pollution. It is reported that in the future, nanomanufacturing technology will develop based on the development of quantum electronic devices and so on.

(Korean Central News Agency)