1.North Korea and Russia agreed to provide immediate military assistance if either faces armed aggression, under the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement that the leaders of North Korea and Russia signed Wednesday.

2.According to Seoul’s defense ministry on Wednesday, Romania will buy 920 million U.S. dollars worth of South Korean K-9 self-propelled howitzers. The deal was announced during South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik’s weeklong trip to Eastern Europe.

3.President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday declared that South Korea is in a “demographic national emergency” due to its declining population, and vowed to tackle the low birth rate by providing better housing and improving support for child care.