PoliticsVOA Focus: Informal US-Iran Talks, Smaller US-South Korea Drills and Taiwan’s Defense Budget

Trump confirmed informal talks with Iran’s military and urged the Iranian regime to “surrender.” The United States ordered a major reduction in the scale of joint US-South Korea exercises and called on academic institutions to prevent China from obtaining sensitive research. Taiwan’s 2027 defense budget is set to exceed NT$1 trillion for the first time. The program also examines Jiang Zemin’s political and economic legacy.