A senior North Korean diplomat is reiterating that his country won't give up its nuclear weapons despite numerous international demands to do so. Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly meeting of world leaders, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong characterized his country's nuclear weapons as crucial to keeping a "balance of power" with South Korea. Kim amplified his country's longstanding complaints about U.S.-led military exercises with South Korea and Japan. He complained about "growing threat of aggression" from Washington and its allies. South Korea has said the exercises were necessary to counter North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats. Numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions have demanded that the North stop building nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will make a rare trip abroad next week to attend a military parade in the Chinese capital, North Korean and Chinese state media said Thursday. With Russian President Vladimir Putin also coming for the parade, the event will underline the three-way alignment among Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang. China will hold the parade on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. No leaders from the United States or major Western European countries are expected, in part because of their differences with Putin over the war in Ukraine. China borders North Korea and is its closest ally.

China's Xi Jinping, India's Narendra Modi and other global leaders have arrived in the Russian city of Kazan for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies. The Kremlin hopes to turn into it a rallying point for defying Western influence in global affairs. For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the three-day meeting also offers a way to demonstrate the failure of U.S.-led efforts to isolate Russia over its actions in Ukraine. A Kremlin adviser calls the summit "the largest foreign policy event ever held" by Russia, with 36 countries attending. More than 20 are represented by heads of state.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be shaking hands this week with multiple world leaders, including those from China, India, Turkey and Iran. They will be in the Russian city of Kazan for the summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies. The gathering defies predictions that the war in Ukraine and an international arrest warrant against Putin would keep him off the global stage. Analysts say that for the Kremlin, it's all about the optics of standing with its allies as well as negotiating deals to shore up its wartime economy. For other countries, it's a chance to amplify their voices.