December 29, Sunday, 2019 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1. North Korea’s state-run media has reported that a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party was held on Saturday with its leader Kim Jong Un present.

2. Japan’s defense minister has inspected a Self-Defense Force unit in the East African nation of Jibouti following Cabinet approval of an SDF mission in the Middle East.

3. A vehicle loaded with explosives has blown up in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Saturday, killing more than 70 people.