Using signal intercepts and drone and satellite imagery, intelligence agencies are closely studying the movements of North Korean forces in Russia’s Kursk region — their first large-scale engagements since the Korean War of the 1950s. U.S. and Ukrainian officials are highlighting significant North Korean casualties.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday that more than 1,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded thus far. Drone footage from Kursk shows troops thought to be North Koreans attacking across open ground, through heavy fire and in extended-line formations. Video clips show small suicide drones hunting individual soldiers, while others show lines of bodies and the dead being evacuated by sled.

Washington Times Asia Editor Andrew Salmon offers a deeper dive, writing that North Korea’s 1.2 million-strong, conscripted military is a hugely important component among a population of 26 million. All indications are that troops fighting in Russia are risk-tolerant and willing to accept heavy casualties.

In their latest rhetorical jab, Chinese officials accused U.S. ally the Philippines on Monday of stoking regional tensions by announcing plans to acquire and deploy midrange missiles to defend its territory from Chinese naval aggression.

The U.S. already deployed a Typhon midrange missile system in the northern Philippines in April. American and Filipino troops have been conducting joint training for potential use of the heavy weaponry to boost deterrence against Beijing’s expanding military activities in the South China Sea. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that deployment of a midrange missile by the Philippines would “incite geopolitical confrontation” and an “arms race.” 

In a separate development over the weekend, Beijing protested Washington’s announcement of fresh U.S. military sales and assistance to Taiwan, warning the U.S. that it is “playing with fire.” Threat Status is tracking the developments, with a particular eye on how Mr. Trump may respond.

Two Navy pilots ejected over the Red Sea early Sunday after their fighter jet was shot down in a “friendly fire” incident, according to Pentagon officials, who said the American guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg mistakenly fired on and hit the pilots’ F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft.

The mistaken shoot-down seems to have taken place during U.S. airstrikes that targeted Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. A U.S. Central Command statement over the weekend said American forces had “conducted precision airstrikes against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility” used by the Houthis in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen.

The near-deadly friendly fire incident, meanwhile, could carry significant political and foreign policy ramifications, as it’s likely to elevate the debate about the wisdom of continuing America’s expensive, dangerous air campaign against the Houthis. Pentagon officials said there will be a thorough review of the incident.

While Central Command referred to both as “pilots,” typically a two-seat F/A-18 has a pilot and a weapons officer on board.

When then-Syrian dictator Bashar Assad visited Vladimir Putin in July, he was no doubt told by the Russian president that Moscow would protect the Assad regime, writes Joseph R. DeTrani. 

“But Russia didn’t protect the Assad regime,” writes Mr. DeTrani, a former senior U.S. intelligence official and opinion contributor to Threat Status, who assesses that a similar fate will befall North Korea concerning its hope for lasting Russian support.

Despite the inking this past June of a new treaty with Pyongyang, Moscow will “likely walk away from North Korea” when the Ukraine war ends, writes Mr. DeTrani. “Once North Korea ceases to be of value to Mr. Putin, North Korea will have to find its own way,” he writes, adding that Pyongyang should reengage with the incoming Trump administration.

It is plainly apparent that the U.S. has been steadily eclipsed in Africa by other nations, according to Gerard Leval, who writes that Islamist groups are seeking increased influence on the continent and that China has taken the economic lead there.

“There is a crying need for investment in Africa,” writes Mr. Leval, adding that “only China seems willing to step up and take the risks involved in investments in Africa and to finance those investments.”

“It should be self-evident that this dilemma creates an important opening and opportunity for the United States,” writes Mr. Legal, an author and partner in the Washington office of a national law firm. “Contrary to the many naysayers in our nation, Americans are viewed favorably in Africa. Our ability to innovate, to take risks and to bring our incredible know-how are highly valued. There is a desire to see us reengage in Africa.”

• Jan. 6 — NVIDIA CEO Keynote at CES, NVIDIA

• Jan. 7-10 — CES 2025, Consumer Technology Association

• Jan. 7 — The Hidden Costs: Transparency and the U.S. Arms Trade, Stimson Center

• Jan. 8 — The Role of Religion and Spirituality in U.S. Security Assistance, Center for Strategic and International Studies

• Jan. 9 — What Do People in Taiwan and the United States Think about Taiwan’s Security Situation? Brookings Institution