China has historically lagged behind on submarine capabilities. US officials say it's catching up. China's navy is moving toward all-nuclear submarine construction, the US Navy's intelligence lead said, describing a long-term shift in how Beijing builds its undersea force as it expands its capacity to produce more vessels in the coming decades.

Kim Jong Un opened the 9th Party Congress with confidence, emphasizing military expansion and defiance as a self-declared nuclear power.

China continues to expand its military presence across the Pacific, deploying four naval vessels that advanced through the First Island Chain, a north-to-south defensive line conceived under a United States strategy aimed at containing the East Asian power.