Nov. 15-21, 2024
A new volcanic eruption started on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland.
Click to Gallery
Members of various Indigenous communities pose for a photo while attending the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan. From top left, Saina Ekaterina Savvinova, 53, of Yakutsk, Russia, Antumalen Ayelen Antillanca Urrutia, 26, of Huapi Island, Chile, Sydney Males, 27, of Otavalo, Ecuador, Big Wind Carpenter, 31, of Wind River Reservation, United States, Flora Vano, 39, of Port Vila, Vanuatu, Puyr dos Santos Tembe, 47, of Belem, Brazil, Mingma Chhiri, 40, of the Khumbu Pasanglhamu Municipality District, Nepal, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, 41, of N'Djamena, Chad, Ninawa Inu Pereira Nunes, 50, of Feijo, Brazil, Marynne Rimbao, 42, of Unda village, Papua New Guinea, Didja Tchari Djibrillah, 30, of the Mayo-Kebbi East, Chad, and Jackson Michael, 40, of the Borneo, Malaysia. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Anti-government protesters challenge police during a demonstration against electricity rationing in Quito, Ecuador, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Spain's Rafael Nadal waves to the crowd during a tribute after playing his last match as a professional tennis player in the Davis Cup quarterfinals at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, early Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Jessie Reyez performs during the Corona Capital music festival in Mexico City, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Sikh devotees light clay lamps next to the pond surrounding the Golden Temple as they celebrate the birth anniversary of the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak, in Amritsar, India, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Prabhjot Gill)
Members of the national federation of farmers, known as "Junnong," and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, march with an effigy of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during a rally to demand the suspension of rice imports and Yoon's resignation in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Rachel Lamar of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., a member of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), attends a candlelight vigil for people killed by drunk drivers, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, on the National Mall, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
An aerial view of Chasiv Yar shows the frontline city in ruins after heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo)
Ukrainian serviceman Roman bids farewell to his comrade of the 47th brigade Serhii Solovyov who was killed during fighting with Russian Forces in Kursk oblast on November 12, during the funeral ceremony in Irpin, Kyiv region, Ukraine, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Visitors move as snow falls, with the Eiffel Tower in the background, in Paris, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)
People walk through a Christmas light trail during a lighting test of the Christmas Garden in the Botanical Garden in Berlin, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
An Air France plane sits on the tarmac during a snowfall at Charles de Gaulle airport, north of Paris, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Masha Macpherson)
The moon rises behind an observation deck in New York City as seen from Hoboken, N.J., Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Jake Paul lands a left to Mike Tyson during their heavyweight boxing match, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A person jumps over a rain puddle as people cross the street in Times Square, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People browse through books displayed during the annual book festival in Abu Nawas street in central Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Italy's Lucia Bronzetti competes against Slovakia's Viktoria Hruncakova during the Billie Jean King Cup final at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A woman shouts slogans during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A Palestinian little girl queues for food in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Firefighters and rescuers gather outside a computer shop hit in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Kenyan President William Ruto, center, reviews the honour guard after arriving to give the State of The Nation address at Parliament buildings in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Senegalese sailors in their zodiac approach a fishermen's pirogue to check during a mission to search for migrant boats near the coast of Dakar, Senegal, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)
President-elect Donald Trump listens during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Members of various Indigenous communities pose for a photo while attending the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan. From top left, Saina Ekaterina Savvinova, 53, of Yakutsk, Russia, Antumalen Ayelen Antillanca Urrutia, 26, of Huapi Island, Chile, Sydney Males, 27, of Otavalo, Ecuador, Big Wind Carpenter, 31, of Wind River Reservation, United States, Flora Vano, 39, of Port Vila, Vanuatu, Puyr dos Santos Tembe, 47, of Belem, Brazil, Mingma Chhiri, 40, of the Khumbu Pasanglhamu Municipality District, Nepal, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, 41, of N'Djamena, Chad, Ninawa Inu Pereira Nunes, 50, of Feijo, Brazil, Marynne Rimbao, 42, of Unda village, Papua New Guinea, Didja Tchari Djibrillah, 30, of the Mayo-Kebbi East, Chad, and Jackson Michael, 40, of the Borneo, Malaysia. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
A new volcanic eruption that started on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco di Marco)
Indigenous communities attended the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan.
A Palestinian girl waited for food, in Deir al-Balah, on Gaza Strip.
An aerial view of Chasiv Yar shows the front-line city in ruins after heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.
Spain’s Rafael Nadal waves to the crowd during a tribute after playing his last professional tennis match in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Malaga, Spain.
This photo gallery, curated by AP photo editor Pamela Hassell, highlights some of the most compelling images from around the world made or published by The Associated Press in the past week.
Follow AP visual journalism:
AP Images blog: http://apimagesblog.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apnews
AP Images on X: https://x.com/AP_Images
Anti-government protesters challenge police during a demonstration against electricity rationing in Quito, Ecuador, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Spain's Rafael Nadal waves to the crowd during a tribute after playing his last match as a professional tennis player in the Davis Cup quarterfinals at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, early Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Jessie Reyez performs during the Corona Capital music festival in Mexico City, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Sikh devotees light clay lamps next to the pond surrounding the Golden Temple as they celebrate the birth anniversary of the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak, in Amritsar, India, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Prabhjot Gill)
Members of the national federation of farmers, known as "Junnong," and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, march with an effigy of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during a rally to demand the suspension of rice imports and Yoon's resignation in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Rachel Lamar of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., a member of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), attends a candlelight vigil for people killed by drunk drivers, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, on the National Mall, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
An aerial view of Chasiv Yar shows the frontline city in ruins after heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo)
Ukrainian serviceman Roman bids farewell to his comrade of the 47th brigade Serhii Solovyov who was killed during fighting with Russian Forces in Kursk oblast on November 12, during the funeral ceremony in Irpin, Kyiv region, Ukraine, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Visitors move as snow falls, with the Eiffel Tower in the background, in Paris, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)
People walk through a Christmas light trail during a lighting test of the Christmas Garden in the Botanical Garden in Berlin, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
An Air France plane sits on the tarmac during a snowfall at Charles de Gaulle airport, north of Paris, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Masha Macpherson)
The moon rises behind an observation deck in New York City as seen from Hoboken, N.J., Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Jake Paul lands a left to Mike Tyson during their heavyweight boxing match, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A person jumps over a rain puddle as people cross the street in Times Square, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People browse through books displayed during the annual book festival in Abu Nawas street in central Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Italy's Lucia Bronzetti competes against Slovakia's Viktoria Hruncakova during the Billie Jean King Cup final at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A woman shouts slogans during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A Palestinian little girl queues for food in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Firefighters and rescuers gather outside a computer shop hit in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Kenyan President William Ruto, center, reviews the honour guard after arriving to give the State of The Nation address at Parliament buildings in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Senegalese sailors in their zodiac approach a fishermen's pirogue to check during a mission to search for migrant boats near the coast of Dakar, Senegal, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)
President-elect Donald Trump listens during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Members of various Indigenous communities pose for a photo while attending the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan. From top left, Saina Ekaterina Savvinova, 53, of Yakutsk, Russia, Antumalen Ayelen Antillanca Urrutia, 26, of Huapi Island, Chile, Sydney Males, 27, of Otavalo, Ecuador, Big Wind Carpenter, 31, of Wind River Reservation, United States, Flora Vano, 39, of Port Vila, Vanuatu, Puyr dos Santos Tembe, 47, of Belem, Brazil, Mingma Chhiri, 40, of the Khumbu Pasanglhamu Municipality District, Nepal, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, 41, of N'Djamena, Chad, Ninawa Inu Pereira Nunes, 50, of Feijo, Brazil, Marynne Rimbao, 42, of Unda village, Papua New Guinea, Didja Tchari Djibrillah, 30, of the Mayo-Kebbi East, Chad, and Jackson Michael, 40, of the Borneo, Malaysia. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
A new volcanic eruption that started on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco di Marco)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his past negotiations with the United States only confirmed Washington’s “unchangeable” hostility toward Pyongyang and described his nuclear buildup as the only way to counter external threats, state media said Friday.
Kim spoke Thursday at a defense exhibition where North Korea displayed some of its most powerful weapons systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to target the U.S. mainland, the North’s Korean Central News Agency said. While meeting with army officers last week, he had pledged a “limitless” expansion of his military nuclear program.
Kim has yet to comment directly on Donald Trump's reelection as U.S. president. During his first term, Trump held three highly orchestrated summits with the North Korean leader in 2018 and 2019, before the diplomacy collapsed over disagreements in exchanging the release of U.S.-led economic sanctions and the North’s steps to wind down its nuclear program.
During the speech at the exhibition, Kim touched on the failed summits without naming Trump.
“We have already gone as far as possible with the United States with negotiations, and what we ended up confirming was not a superpower’s will for coexistence, but a thorough position based on force and an unchangeable invasive and hostile policy,” toward North Korea, Kim said.
Kim accused the United States of raising military pressure on North Korea by strengthening its military cooperation with regional allies and increasing the deployment of “strategic strike means,” apparently a reference to major U.S. assets like long-range bombers, submarines and aircraft carriers. He called for accelerated efforts to advance the capabilities of his nuclear-armed military, saying the country’s only guarantee of security to build up the “strongest defense power that can overwhelm the enemy.”
Kim's expanding nuclear weapons and missile program includes various weapons targeting South Korea and Japan and longer range missiles that have demonstrated the range to reach the U.S. mainland. Analysts say Kim’s nuclear push is aimed at eventually pressuring Washington into accepting the North as a nuclear power and to negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength.
In recent months, the priority of Kim’s foreign policy has been Russia, as he tries to strengthen his international footing, embracing the idea of a “new Cold War” and aligning with President Vladimir Putin’s broader conflicts with the West.
Washington and its allies have accused North Korea of providing Russia with thousands of troops and huge amounts of military equipment, including artillery systems and missiles, to help sustain its fighting in Ukraine. Kim in return could possibly receive badly needed economic aid and possible Russian technology transfers that would possibly enhance the threat posed by his nuclear-armed military, according to outside officials and experts.
Even with Trump returning to the White House, a quicky resumption of diplomacy with Pyongyang could be unlikely, according to some experts. North Korea's deepening alliance with Russia and the weakening sanctions enforcement against Pyongyang are presenting further challenges in the diplomatic push to resolve the nuclear standoff with Kim, who also would have a greater perception of his bargaining powers following a rapid expansion of his arsenal in recent years.
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center right, attends an opening ceremony of a defense exhibition in Pyongyang, North Korea Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, an opening ceremony of a defense exhibition is held in Pyongyang, North Korea Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, looks around at a defense exhibition in Pyongyang, North Korea Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech during an opening ceremony of a defense exhibition in Pyongyang, North Korea Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)