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North Korea on Monday accused the South’s government and news media of slandering its leadership and threatened “special actions” by the military.

Wang Jisi, an influential Chinese policy analyst, writes that China believes Washington is trying to undermine its economic and military growth.

China is ready to work with the United States to advance military ties, a defense ministry spokesman said Thursday, following a U.S. trip by China's vice president that featured a visit with top Pentagon officials.

The European Union might appear a military superpower, at least on paper. It has more uniformed personnel than the United States and overall EU defense spending outstrips Russia or China.

China's Ministry of Defense on Monday warned the United States to be "careful in its words and actions," and said it was closely monitoring the impact of a new U.S. defense strategy that gives more emphasis to responding to China's rise.

North Korea announced on Saturday it has appointed Kim Jong-un, the anointed successor and youngest son of Kim Jong-il, as supreme commander of its 1.2 million-strong military, two days after official mourning for the late leader ended.

Chinese arms firms offered to sell weapons worth about $200 million to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's beleaguered forces in July, two newspapers reported, compounding pressure on Beijing's brittle ties with the rebels who have ousted him.

China appears on track to forge a modern military by 2020, a rapid buildup that could be potentially destabilizing to the Asia-Pacific region, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

The Syrian military defied growing condemnation and sent tanks into Deir al-Zour, the fifth-largest city in the country.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators take to the streets outside Damascus, in Homs and elsewhere in response to the lethal military assaults centered in the besieged city of Hama. The growing civilian toll intensifies international condemnation of the Syrian regime.