Russia has successfully tested a nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered underwater drone, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday, defying US President Donald Trump's warnings with Moscow's second test of a new nuclear weapons system in just a few days.

The U.S. military confirmed Wednesday it was reducing its presence on NATO's eastern flank, but denied the move amounted to an American withdrawal from Europe.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said a trade deal with South Korea would be finalized soon, ahead of a meeting with the country's President Lee Jae Myung later in the day.

"Our deal with the Republic of Korea will be finalized very soon," he told delegates at the APEC CEO summit in the South Korean city of Gyeongju.

Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was not able to arrange a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the U.S. president's visit to the South, ending fierce speculation over a possible summit.

Trump also said he would aim to "straighten out" tensions between North Korea and South Korea as he met Seoul's President Lee Jae Myung for a summit.

Japan's new premier Sanae Takaichi lavished US leader Donald Trump with praise and vows of a "golden age" of ties on his visit to Tokyo Tuesday, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals.

U.S. forces killed 14 people in strikes that destroyed four alleged drug-smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday, bringing the death toll from Washington's anti-narcotics campaign to at least 57.

Peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan have hit an impasse in Istanbul after three days of negotiations, with state media in both countries Tuesday blaming each other for the failure to reach a deal while efforts by Turkey were still underway to end the deadlock.

The Istanbul talks are part of a broader diplomatic push to ease months of heightened tension between Islamabad and Kabul over cross-border attacks and militant safe havens — issues that have strained relations since the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan four years ago.

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will nominate U.S. President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said Tuesday.

Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January, and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world, a role that experts, however, downplay.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky urged U.S. President Donald Trump to pressure Chinese leader Xi Jinping to cut his support for Russia when the two leaders meet later this week.

"I think this may be one of (Trump's) strong moves, especially if, following this decisive sanctions step, China is ready to reduce imports" from Russia, Zelensky told journalists, including AFP, at a briefing released Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that his country's ties with North Korea were developing "as planned" as he hosted North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui in the Kremlin.

A video posted on the Kremlin's Telegram account showed Putin greet and shake hands with Choe, before remarking: "Everything is going as planned."