Pentagon plans to give South Korea primary role in deterring North Korea threats under new strategy
The Pentagon said in an unclassified national defense strategy document titled “Restoring peace through strength for a new golden age of America” on Friday, that it plans to shift more of the responsibility of deterring North Korea to South Korea.
The U.S. would take a “more limited” role in keeping North Korea in line, the Pentagon said in the document obtained by Fox News Digital.
“With its powerful military, supported by high defense spending, a robust defense industry, and mandatory conscription, South Korea is capable of taking primary responsibility for deterring North Korea with critical but more limited U.S. support,” the document said.
It added, “South Korea also has the will to do so, given that it faces a direct and clear threat from North Korea. This shift in the balance of responsibility is consistent with America’s interest in updating U.S. force posture on the Korean Peninsula. In this way, we can ensure a stronger and more mutually beneficial alliance relationship that is better aligned with America’s defense priorities, thereby setting conditions for lasting peace.”
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The new policy plan on North Korea followed similar strategies for other parts of the world, with the wide-ranging document adding that the department will “no longer be distracted by interventionism, endless wars, regime change, and nation building. Instead, we will put our people’s practical concrete interests first.”
The document clarified the policy doesn’t mean “isolationism,” but rather a “strategic approach to the threats our nation faces.”
Further down it added, “We will insist our allies and partners do their part and lend them a helping hand when they step up.”
NORTH KOREA TEST LAUNCHES HYPERSONIC MISSILE SYSTEM IN FRONT OF KIM, NATION SAYS
The document said under a section titled “Increase Burden-Sharing with U.S. Allies and Partners” that it plans to deter China “through strength, not confrontation,” and as the “Department rightly prioritizes Homeland defense and deterring China, other threats will persist, and our allies will be essential to dealing with all of them. Our allies will do so not as a favor to us, but out of their own interests.”
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On Russia, it said the country “will remain a persistent but manageable threat to NATO’s eastern members for the foreseeable future,” and on Iran, it stated that President Donald Trump has made it clear that Iran won’t be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
This year, South Korea raised its military budget by 7.5% while around 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed there in defense of North Korea.
Chaos in Syria sparks fears of ISIS prison breaks as US rushes detainees to Iraq
Chaos engulfing northeastern Syria has sparked fresh security fears after Syria’s new governing authorities moved against U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, forcing the U.S. military to rush ISIS detainees out of Syria and into Iraq.
The U.S. military launched an operation Wednesday to relocate ISIS detainees amid fears that instability could trigger mass prison breaks. So far, about 150 detainees have been transferred from a detention center in Hasakah, Syria, with plans to move up to 7,000 of the roughly 9,000 to 10,000 ISIS detainees held in Syria, U.S. officials said.
The operation comes as Syria’s new government, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, ordered the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — Washington’s longtime partner in the fight against ISIS — to disband following a rapid offensive over the weekend that severely weakened the group.
Syrian government forces have since assumed control of several detention facilities previously guarded by the SDF. At least 120 ISIS detainees escaped during a breakout at the al-Shaddadi prison in Hasakah this week, according to Syrian authorities, who say many have been recaptured. U.S. and regional officials caution that some escapees remain at large.
The deteriorating security situation also has raised alarms around al-Hol camp, a sprawling detention site housing the families of ISIS fighters and long viewed by Western officials as a breeding ground for radicalization.
US, SYRIAN TROOPS COME UNDER FIRE WHILE ON PATROL: REPORT
Kurdish forces announced they would withdraw from overseeing the camp, citing what they described as international indifference to the ISIS threat.
“Due to the international community’s indifference towards the ISIS issue and its failure to assume its responsibilities in addressing this serious matter, our forces were compelled to withdraw from al-Hol camp and redeploy,” the SDF said in a statement.
The camp is currently home to about 24,000 people, mostly women and children linked to ISIS fighters from across the Middle East and Europe. Many residents have no formal charges, according to aid groups, and humanitarian organizations have long warned that extremist networks operate inside the camp.
TRUMP VOWS ‘VERY SERIOUS RETALIATION’ AGAINST ISIS AFTER DEADLY SYRIA AMBUSH KILLS US SOLDIERS
The SDF said guards were redeployed to confront the threat posed by Syrian government forces advancing into Kurdish-held territory. On Tuesday evening, Kurdish forces and Syrian government troops agreed to a four-day ceasefire, though officials warned the truce remains fragile.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. officials are weighing whether to withdraw the roughly 1,000 American troops still stationed in Syria, raising questions about Washington’s long-term ability to secure ISIS detainees as local alliances shift.
Two U.S. Army soldiers were killed in Syria in December 2025 by a lone ISIS gunman.
ISIS lost its last territorial stronghold in Syria in 2019, when U.S. forces and their SDF partners overran the group’s enclave in Baghouz. While the defeat ended the group’s self-declared caliphate, U.S. and allied officials say ISIS has since regrouped as a decentralized insurgency, repeatedly targeting prisons and detention camps in Syria and Iraq.
Western governments have cautiously backed al-Sharaa — a former militant once designated as a terrorist — since his forces overthrew longtime Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, framing the support as a pragmatic security calculation rather than an endorsement of his past.
U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack urged Kurdish leaders to reach a permanent deal with the new Syrian government, emphasizing Washington’s focus on preventing an ISIS resurgence rather than maintaining an indefinite military presence.
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“The United States has no interest in a long-term military presence,” Barrack said, adding that U.S. priorities include securing ISIS detention facilities and facilitating talks between the SDF and the Syrian government.
Russia, Ukraine to discuss territory as Trump says both sides ‘want to make a deal’
The U.S., Russia and Ukraine are meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), to discuss one of the major sticking points stopping a deal to end the nearly four-year war: territorial disputes. The talks in Abu Dhabi are the first trilateral talks since 2022.
The trilateral sit-down comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump in Davos and Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s meeting with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Witkoff and Kushner traveled to the UAE for the talks after their meeting with Putin in Moscow on Thursday.
ZELENSKYY BLASTS GLOBAL INACTION ON IRAN, CLAIMS EUROPE STUCK IN ‘GREENLAND MODE’
Zelenskyy and Putin are under increasing pressure to reach a peace deal as the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s invasion approaches and President Donald Trump pushes to end the war.
While Russia has demanded Ukraine cede the Donbas, Zelenskyy has stood firm in his opposition to making land concessions, though the discussions in Abu Dhabi suggest that he could be ready to negotiate. Putin is demanding Ukraine surrender the 20% it holds of the Donetsk region of the Donbas, according to Reuters.
UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR SAYS PEACE TALKS ARE ‘GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION,’ TRILATERAL TALKS PLANNED IN UAE
“The question of Donbas is key. It will be discussed how the three sides… see this in Abu Dhabi today and tomorrow,” Zelenskyy told reporters via WhatsApp, according to Reuters. The outlet added that an aide for Zelenskyy said the talks are expected to continue Saturday.
The envoys are meeting as Ukrainians face below-freezing temperatures after Russian strikes damaged the country’s power supply.
Maxim Timchenko, the head of Ukraine’s top private power producer, told Reuters that the situation was nearing a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
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While speaking with reporters on Air Force One, Trump was asked if the trilateral meeting could lead to one with himself, Putin and Zelenskyy. He would not commit but said that “any time we meet, it’s good.” He also expressed doubts about whether Putin wanted to take over all of Ukraine.
“What’s happened here is there were times when Putin didn’t want to make a deal, times when Zelenskyy didn’t want to make a deal, and it was opposite times. Now, I think they both want to make a deal. We’ll find out,” Trump said.
The president also acknowledged that the topics of the discussions that were happening had been debated for months.
Iran’s top prosecutor criticizes Trump’s announcement that 800+ executions were halted: ‘Completely false’
Iran’s top prosecutor pushed back Friday on a recent announcement from President Donald Trump that Iran canceled more than 800 executions, alleging that the president’s remarks are “completely false.”
Trump wrote on Truth Social last week, “I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!”
However, Iran’s top prosecutor, Mohammad Movahedi, said Friday that, “This claim is completely false; no such number exists, nor has the judiciary made any such decision,” according to The Associated Press.
“We have a separation of powers, the responsibilities of each institution are clearly defined, and we do not, under any circumstances, take instructions from foreign powers,” Movahedi reportedly added in comments published by the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency.
TRUMP CREDITS HALTED IRAN EXECUTIONS FOR DELAYING MILITARY STRIKES
When asked for reaction Friday, a White House official told Fox News Digital that Trump is monitoring the situation in Iran very seriously and that all options remain available if the regime in Tehran executes protesters.
The official added that following Trump’s warnings to Iran, demonstrators who were set to be sentenced to death there were not.
The White House official also said Trump believes this is good news and is hoping the trend continues.
IRANIAN SOLDIER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR REFUSING TO FIRE ON PROTESTERS DURING NATIONWIDE UNREST
“What I will say with respect to Iran is that the president and his team have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be grave consequences,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters last week.
As of Friday, there have been 5,032 deaths during the crackdown against anti-government protesters in Iran, the AP reported, citing the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
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Iran’s government offered its first death toll Wednesday, saying 3,117 people had been killed. It claimed that 2,427 of the dead in the demonstrations that began Dec. 28 were civilians and security forces, with the rest being “terrorists.”
Trump threatens Iran with crushing response as Tehran denies halting protest executions
Iran’s top prosecutor Thursday denied President Donald Trump’s claim that Tehran, Iran, halted mass executions of imprisoned protesters under U.S. pressure — a rebuttal that comes as Trump openly warned Iran it would face consequences more severe than recent U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities if the executions went forward.
Trump has said he pulled back from threats to intervene militarily after Iran agreed to stop the execution of as many as 800 detained demonstrators following days of anti-regime unrest.
“This claim is completely false, no such number exists, nor has the judiciary made any such decision,” Mohammad Movahedi was quoted by Iranian state media as saying Friday.
“We have a separation of powers, the responsibilities of each institution are clearly defined, and we do not, under any circumstances, take instructions from foreign powers,” he added.
IRAN STRIKES COULD SIGNAL LIMITS OF BEIJING, MOSCOW’S POWER AS US FLEXES STRENGTH
Movahedi is an Iranian cleric and judge who serves as the nation’s prosecutor general. He previously warned that those taking part in the protests were “enemies of God,” a crime punishable by death.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations declined to comment on the discrepancy between Trump and Movahedi’s claims. Fox News Digital also reached out to the State Department for more details and has not yet received a response.
A White House official said Trump “is watching the situation in Iran very seriously and all options are on the table if the regime executes protesters.”
The official declined to say where Trump had learned executions were being halted but added: “As a result of President Trump’s warnings, Iranian protesters who were scheduled to be sentenced to death were not. As President Trump stated, he thinks this is good news and hopes this trend continues.”
The denial reopens questions raised in the past week, when Trump publicly warned Iran and encouraged protesters by saying “help is on its way,” setting expectations of U.S. action as security forces carried out a violent crackdown. U.S. and regional security officials said at the time that restraint reflected concern over retaliation against U.S. forces and allies — not a retreat from confrontation.
Trump has since argued that pressure worked, saying Iran backed away from planned executions after he warned of severe consequences. Iran’s rejection of that claim now sharpens the stakes, raising the prospect that Washington may soon face a test of whether it is prepared to act if executions resume — or risk its warnings being dismissed.
Trump on Thursday told reporters that a U.S. “armada” was heading toward Iran, signaling that Washington is prepared to escalate if the country continues executions or intensifies its crackdown.
Recalling a conversation with Iranian envoys, Trump said: “I said, if you hang those people, you’re going to be hit harder than you’ve ever been hit.”
“It will make what we did to Iran nuclear look like peanuts,” he said. “And an hour before this horrible thing was going to take place, they canceled. And they actually said they canceled and they didn’t postpone it they canceled it. So that was a good sign.”
INSIDE TRUMP’S IRAN WARNING — AND THE UNEXPECTED PAUSE THAT FOLLOWED
“We have an armada heading in that direction. And maybe we won’t have to use it,” Trump said. “We’ll see,”
The president said the U.S. has “a big force going to Iran,” adding, “I’d rather not see anything happen,” but warning that “we have a lot of ships going that direction just in case.”
The Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group set sail from the South China Sea toward the Middle East in the past week and is expected to arrive in the region soon, placing significant U.S. firepower within striking distance of Iran amid rising tensions. The Lincoln carries F-35C stealth fighters, F/A-18 Super Hornets and destroyer escorts armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles and advanced air-defense systems.
The deployment has renewed questions over whether the United States is prepared to intervene militarily if Iran resumes executions or continues its crackdown on protesters, which already has left thousands dead.
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Iranian state television has acknowledged that more than 3,000 people have been killed during the unrest, while activists and human rights groups say the true death toll is significantly higher — a discrepancy that underscores the regime’s tight control over information as international scrutiny intensifies.
By publicly tying U.S. military action to the fate of detained protesters, Trump has drawn a clear red line. Iran’s refusal to acknowledge U.S. pressure, even as American naval forces move closer, leaves little room for ambiguity — and raises the risk of escalation as both sides test each other’s resolve.
Russian oil tanker, the Grinch, intercepted as US, allies escalate sanctions crackdown
The French navy intercepted a Russian oil tanker in the Mediterranean suspected of operating as part of Moscow’s shadow fleet, a network of falsely-flagged vessels used to export oil and avoid Western sanctions, according to reports.
President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that French forces had boarded and searched the tanker, which is subject to international sanctions.
The ship was reportedly sailing from Murmansk, in northern Russia, under the Comoros flag.
Writing on X, Macron said the operation took place on the high seas in the Mediterranean with the support of several allied countries.
‘GHOST SHIPS’ FERRYING ILLICIT OIL HAVE SAILED INTO TRUMP’S CROSSHAIRS
The French president added that the vessel had been diverted for further checks.
The tanker, identified as the Grinch, was intercepted between the southern coast of Spain and the northern coast of Morocco in the western Mediterranean, French maritime police said.
The Associated Press reported the interception.
France and the U.K. gathered and shared intelligence on the vessel, according to French military officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
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The interception is the latest in a growing number of Russian-linked vessels stopped by U.S. and European authorities in recent months as Western powers intensify efforts to disrupt Russia’s oil exports.
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, in early January, U.S. forces seized another sanctioned tanker in the Atlantic Ocean.
U.S. European Command (EUCOM) announced the seizure of the Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker in the North Atlantic Sea.
France’s Mediterranean Maritime Prefecture said the team that boarded the Grinch Thursday had inspected the vessel and decided documents raised doubts about the regularity of the vessel’s flag.
US MILITARY SEIZES ANOTHER FUGITIVE OIL TANKER LINKED TO VENEZUELA
The tanker is being escorted by the French navy to an anchorage for additional verification.
The European Union has imposed 19 rounds of sanctions on Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Despite those measures, Russia has continued to export millions of barrels of oil, mainly to China and India and often at discounted prices.
What has become known as a “shadow fleet” consists of hundreds of old and poorly regulated tankers that change names, ownership structures and flags to avoid detection and sanctions.
Maritime data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence estimates the global shadow fleet at about 1,400 tankers, many of which are subject to U.S., British or European sanctions, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized European countries for not doing more to stop the transport of Russian oil using sanctioned vessels and which he says helps fund the war in Ukraine.
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“Why can [U.S. President Donald Trump] stop tankers of the ‘shadow fleet’ and seize their oil, while Europe can’t?” Zelensky asked at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday.
“Russian oil is transported right along the European coast. This oil funds the war against Ukraine. This oil helps destabilize Europe.”
ISIS fighters still at large after Syrian prison break, contributing to volatile security situation
Some ISIS prisoners who escaped from a prison in northeastern Syria Jan. 19 are still unaccounted for after the ensuing chaos made tracking some of the fighters “impossible,” an analyst familiar with the situation claimed.
And as U.S. forces move to transfer thousands of male militants from the region to Iraq, the wives of ISIS fighters have been left behind in what he described as “fragile” detention camps.
“Damascus claims most of the escapees were recaptured, but some remain at large,” Syria analyst Nanar Hawach told Fox News Digital.
“The exact number unaccounted for is unclear because the chaos made tracking them all impossible,” said Hawach of the International Crisis Group.
IRAN EXPANDS IT ‘SHADOW EMPIRE’ ACROSS MIDDLE EAST AS TRUMP PULLS TROOPS FROM IRAQ, SYRIA
“The U.S. transfer to Iraq covers male detainees from prisons, but those detained in camps remain in Syria under Damascus’ control.”
The instability also came ahead of reports that the U.S. is considering a complete withdrawal of troops from Syria.
Charles Lister, director of the Syria program at the Middle East Institute, told the Wall Street Journal Thursday that “the main thing that has been holding the U.S. force presence in Syria over the last year is the detention facilities and the camps.”
U.S. Central Command confirmed Jan. 21 that it had begun transferring ISIS prisoners to Iraqi-controlled centers as an emergency effort to prevent a resurgence of the terror group amid deteriorating security conditions.
The move followed the prison escape at a detention center in Hasakah province during clashes between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Militants broke out during the unrest, and while many were later recaptured, the full scope of the escape remains unclear.
U.S. forces have already transported roughly 150 ISIS fighters from a detention center in Hasakah to secure locations in Iraq, according to CENTCOM, which said as many as 7,000 detainees could be transferred.
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An Iraqi intelligence general told The Associated Press Jan. 21 that Iraqi authorities received an initial batch of 144 detainees, with additional transfers planned by aircraft.
“The U.S. is facilitating transfers to Iraqi custody as an emergency measure because of the unstable security situation in northeast Syria,” Hawach said, noting that Iraq’s secure prisons “reduce the risk of further mass breakouts.”
“Human rights organizations have raised concerns about trial procedures in Iraq, but the priority right now is preventing escapes, and Iraq can deliver that.”
Hawach emphasized that the transfers apply only to male fighters held in prisons, not to women and children confined in camps such as the notorious al-Hawl.
TURKEY SAYS SYRIA USING FORCE IS AN OPTION AGAINST US-BACKED FIGHTERS WHO HELPED DEFEAT ISIS
Al-Hawl camp has held tens of thousands of ISIS-affiliated women and children since the group’s territorial defeat in 2019.
“Women and children are held in camps, not prisons, and are processed differently than male fighters,” Hawach said.
“The long-term solution for women and children is repatriation to their home countries, but most governments have been reluctant.
“Some women are ideologically committed; some are not. Distinguishing between them requires case-by-case assessments that haven’t happened at scale.”
Still, Hawach warned, the deeper problem remains unresolved.
“The detention system was always fragile, always underfunded, always a temporary solution waiting for permanent answers,” he said.
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“The transfers to Iraq address the immediate crisis but don’t solve the underlying problem of what to do with this population long-term.”
U.S. special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said this week that “the original purpose of the SDF as the primary anti-ISIS force on the ground has largely expired, as Damascus is now both willing and positioned to take over security responsibilities, including control of ISIS detention facilities and camps.”