communism

North Korea Shows Maskless Faces in State Media, a Pandemic Milestone

Analysts and South Korean journalists noted this week that North Korea’s state television and its state newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, began publishing photos of official events featuring maskless communist officials, a sign that the years-old sanitary mask mandate imposed to prevent the spread of Wuhan coronavirus may be ending.

Children perform as North Korea marks it 77th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang on October 10, 2022. (Photo by KIM Won Jin / AFP) (Photo by KIM WON JIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia Sends Navy Chief to China for First Major Talks Since Wagner Mutiny

Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, met with Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu on Monday during a visit to Beijing, the first such highest-level military visit of a Russian official to China since the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, apparently attempted an armed mutiny in June.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Nikolai Yevmenov arrive to attend the military parade during the Navy Day celebration in St.Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, July 26, 2020. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)