# NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - English News at 04:30 (JST), October 26 - Show: English News - NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - Published: 2026-10-26 - Canonical: https://podc.club/en/episode/141016660_109423a806d1.html - Audio: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20261026043000_english_1.mp3 - Source: Edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. Not an official summary. With one week to go until the U.S. midterm elections, former President Barack Obama hit the campaign trail in Ohio and Michigan to support Democratic candidates. The same weekend brought North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Dandong, China for talks with a senior Communist Party official, the first-ever deployment of a long-range missile launcher in the Japan-U.S. Keen Sword exercise, nationwide protests in France drawing 410,000 people, and a U.S.-brokered localized ceasefire in southern Ukraine. ## What this episode answers ### Why did former President Obama visit Ohio and Michigan just before the midterm elections, and what did he say? Obama campaigned in Ohio and Michigan to support Democratic candidates in tightly contested Senate races, calling the election 'the last best chance to check this administration's recklessness' and blaming the Trump administration directly for rising prices and starting what he called an unnecessary war. Democrats are seen as deploying Obama's broad appeal to win over independent voters. ### What was the content of Kim Jong Un's visit to Dandong, China, and what diplomatic goals lie behind it? Kim Jong Un visited Dandong in Liaoning Province and met with Wang Huning (王滬寧), the fourth-ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee, touring a Korean War museum and expressing hope for continued 'historic friendship' and expanded practical cooperation; analysts interpret the visit as North Korea strengthening its alignment with Beijing with an eye toward resuming negotiations with the United States ahead of next month's APEC summit in China. ### What is the long-range missile that was deployed for the first time in the Keen Sword joint exercise? A launcher for the Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Guided Missile (long-range variant), which has been stationed at the JGSDF's Kengun Camp in Kumamoto since March and has a range of approximately 1,000 km, was deployed in the exercise for the first time, with launch procedures confirmed using information from both Japanese and U.S. forces. ### What was the scale and background of the large-scale protests in France, and how did authorities respond? A nationwide protest backed by labor unions drew an estimated 410,000 participants across France demanding action on rising prices; after vandalism and looting at the previous October 17 protest, authorities deployed 70,000 security personnel, and nationwide roughly 1,000 people were detained, with looting also reported in Marseille and Grenoble. ### What are the details of the ceasefire agreement in Oleshky, Ukraine, and what is the humanitarian situation there? The U.S. brokered an agreement for Russia and Ukraine to halt all military operations in Oleshky, Kherson Oblast, with the ceasefire set to begin at 3 a.m. Tuesday for humanitarian operations; President Zelensky said the agreement would allow delivery of food and medicine and evacuation of civilians, as deaths from starvation and freezing have already been reported in the rapidly deteriorating situation. ## Article ## Obama Heads to Ohio and Michigan to Stump for Democrats With just over a week until the U.S. midterm elections, former President Barack Obama visited Ohio and Michigan on Saturday to campaign for Democratic candidates in what are expected to be tightly contested Senate races. In Detroit, Michigan, he rallied behind Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed, blasting the Trump administration over the cost of living. "The rise in prices is a direct result of the actions of the Trump administration, and the biggest cause is starting an unnecessary war," Obama said, urging voters to treat the election as "the last best chance to check this administration's recklessness." Democrats are widely seen as deploying Obama's star power specifically to win over independent voters. Meanwhile, President Trump held a rally in Georgia, urging supporters to "vote like I'm the one running." He also criticized Obama, accusing him of previously saying the U.S. "is not a manufacturing country," and countered that "manufacturing jobs are the real jobs that make this country run." ## Kim Jong Un Visits Dandong, China; Meets Wang Huning North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (金正恩) traveled to China and held talks with one of the Communist Party's top officials. According to the Chinese government, Kim visited Dandong in Liaoning Province and met with Wang Huning (王滬寧), the fourth-ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee. It was Kim's first visit to China since September of last year. The trip fell the day before China marks the 76th anniversary of its entry into the Korean War, and Kim toured a museum dedicated to that conflict. In the talks, Kim expressed a desire to further strengthen bilateral ties, saying he hoped to continue "historic friendship" and expand practical cooperation. Wang pledged to deepen strategic communication and cooperation and to help establish a peaceful and stable environment that safeguards both countries' sovereignty, security, and development interests. Kim also inspected a local automobile factory, and Wang saw him off at the New Yalu River Bridge, which opened earlier this month. With the APEC summit set to be held in China next month, analysts read the visit as North Korea tightening its alignment with Beijing in anticipation of resuming negotiations with the United States. ## Long-Range Missiles Deployed for First Time in Keen Sword Exercise The Japan-U.S. joint field training exercise Keen Sword featured the first-ever deployment of a launcher for the Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Guided Missile (long-range variant), which was shown to the media on Sunday. The exercise, held every two years and designed around scenarios for the defense of Japan, runs for 11 days starting October 19. It is the largest ever, with approximately 57,000 combined Japanese and U.S. personnel participating alongside forces from seven countries including Australia and Canada, with missile defense and amphibious landing drills conducted across 33 prefectures. The launcher has been stationed at the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's Kengun Camp in Kumamoto since March and has a range of approximately 1,000 km, giving it the capacity to strike counterattack targets in the event of conflict. In this exercise, targets were designated using information from both Japanese and U.S. forces and launch procedures were confirmed. The Ministry of Defense says it will use long-range missile operations drawing on U.S. intelligence to further accelerate integration of the two militaries. ## Nationwide Protests in France Draw 410,000; Clashes and Looting Reported France saw another round of nationwide demonstrations backed by labor unions, with rallies held across the country demanding government action on soaring prices. The Interior Ministry estimated total participation at 410,000. After the previous protest on October 17 saw vandalism and looting, authorities deployed 70,000 security personnel. In Paris, the march route was moved away from the city center with riot police on standby; one participant said, "I knew the danger from last time, but I came to keep speaking out." The Paris march ended without major incident, but clashes broke out when police moved to disperse the crowd at the close of the demonstration, with water cannons and tear gas deployed. In Marseille in the south, the mayor reported multiple attempted lootings, and stores in Grenoble in the southeast were also looted, according to AFP. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said roughly 1,000 people had been detained nationwide in connection with the protests. ## Localized Ceasefire in Oleshky, Ukraine Aims to Address Humanitarian Crisis Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed hope that a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement with Russia would improve the humanitarian situation in Oleshky, Kherson Oblast. In a video statement on Saturday, he said access to Oleshky would allow delivery of food and medicine and evacuation of civilians from the combat zone. Oleshky is located in the south of Kherson Oblast, which Russia unilaterally claims to have annexed, and conditions there have deteriorated rapidly, with deaths from starvation and freezing already reported. The United States announced on Friday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a temporary halt of all military operations in Oleshky. According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff, the ceasefire is set to begin at 3 a.m. Tuesday for humanitarian operations; Russia has announced it will begin its ceasefire at the same time. With a harsh winter approaching, attention is focused squarely on whether the situation can be prevented from worsening further. Zelensky also announced that speed restrictions on SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service — essential for drone interception and other operations — had been lifted. Ukraine said the service had been partially restricted over alleged terms-of-service violations, hampering drone interception missions. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted on social media the same day that "Ukrainian forces violated the terms of service, and we closed that loophole last week." The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, reported that President Trump had personally called Musk to request that the restrictions be lifted. ## Takeaways - Former President Obama took the campaign trail in Ohio and Michigan just before the midterms, directly blaming the Trump administration for inflation and what he called an unnecessary war. - Kim Jong Un met with China's fourth-ranked Communist Party official in Dandong, signaling North Korea is tightening its alignment with Beijing ahead of a possible resumption of talks with Washington. - Japan and the U.S. deployed a long-range missile launcher with a 1,000 km range for the first time in the Keen Sword exercise, marking a new phase in integrated bilateral military operations.