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☆ Putin deploys new Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles to Atlantic
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"This time the ship is equipped with the latest hypersonic missile system - 'Zircon'," said Putin. The weapons, Putin said, had "no analogues in any country in the world". Along with the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle which entered combat duty in 2019, the Zircon forms the centrepiece of Russia's hypersonic arsenal. Shoigu said the hypersonic missiles could overcome any missile defence system. A U.S. Congressional Research Service report on hypersonic weapons says that Russian and Chinese hypersonic missiles are designed to be used with nuclear warheads.

☆ A stock market crash and a Great-Depression-style economy are among the boldest forecasts for 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Now it's full speed ahead into 2023 — and the first Opening Bell newsletter of the year is a doozy. Over the last 12 months, volatility defined global markets. Some of the worst-performing tokens plummeted more than 90%, and one North Korean cyberattack resulted in a $625 million theft. Here is your complete guide to navigating the stock market. Oil (WTI) price on Jan. 3, 2023 Markets Insider10.

☆ North Korea's Kim sacks No. 2 military official
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) - North Korea has sacked Pak Jong Chon, the second most powerful military official after leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported. The party's Central Military Commission, which is headed by Kim, is considered the country' most powerful military decision-making body, above the defence ministry. In late 2020, Pak was promoted to the politburo and earned the title of marshal, the highest military rank under Kim, and became a leading voice last November against joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises. Like most other top military aides who went through ups and downs repeatedly under Kim, Pak was briefly demoted in mid-2021 after Kim chided some officials for their handling of North Korea's anti-coronavirus policy, before being promoted again months later. Ri, Pak's successor, is also a senior military commander who held key positions including chief of the army's general staff and defence minister.

☆ South Korea, U.S. eye exercises using nuclear assets, Yoon says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) - South Korea and the United States are discussing possible joint planning and exercises using U.S. nuclear assets in the face of North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said in a newspaper interview. The Chosun Ilbo newspaper quoted Yoon as saying the joint planning and exercises would be aimed at a more effective implementation of the U.S. "extended deterrence." The term means the ability of the U.S. military, particularly its nuclear forces, to deter attacks on U.S. allies. "The nuclear weapons belong to the United States, but planning, information sharing, exercises and training should be jointed conducted by South Korea and the United States," Yoon said, adding Washington is also "quite positive" about the idea. Amid talk of South Korea's own nuclear armaments, Yoon said maintaining the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons remained important.

☆ North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Vows to Increase Nuclear Arsenal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Dasl Yoon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called on the country to beef up its military strength. SEOUL—North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to develop a new intercontinental ballistic missile system and exponentially increase his nuclear arsenal, according to year-end comments published by state media on Sunday. At a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, Mr. Kim called on the country to beef up its military strength and boost its nuclear arsenal to counter threats from the U.S. and South Korea. Mr. Kim said the U.S. and other hostile forces were “isolating and stifling” North Korea, calling it “unprecedented in human history,” according to the Sunday state media report.

☆ North Korea to boost nuclear warhead production 'exponentially,' leader says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to increase the production of nuclear warheads “exponentially” and build a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, state media reported Sunday, signaling deepening animosities with the United States, South Korea and others. KCNA cited Kim as saying North Korea is compelled to boost the production “exponentially” to mass-produce tactical nuclear weapons. It said U.S. commitments to defend South Korea and Japan “remain ironclad.”North Korea test-fired more than 70 missiles last year. South Korea acknowledged it failed to shoot down any of the five North Korean drones it said were found south of the border. But South Korea has vowed to bolster its air defense network and get tough on future provocations by North Korea.

☆ North Korea's Kim orders 'exponential' expansion of nuke arsenal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

During the six-day meeting meant to determine new state objectives, Kim called for "an exponential increase of the country's nuclear arsenal" to mass produce battlefield tactical nuclear weapons targeting South Korea. They still reaffirmed that the door to dialogue with North Korea remains open, according to the South Korean Foreign Ministry. Worries about North Korea's nuclear program have grown since the North last year approved a new law that authorized the preemptive use of nuclear weapons in a broad range of situations and openly threatened to use its nuclear weapons first. Earlier Sunday, South Korea's military detected a short-range ballistic missile launched from the North's capital region. North Korea test-fired more than 70 missiles last year, including three short-range ballistic missiles detected by South Korea on Saturday.

☆ North Korea fires 3 missiles amid tensions over drone flights
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters in its latest weapons display on Saturday, a day after rival South Korea launched a solid-fueled rocket as part of its efforts to build a space-based surveillance capability to better monitor the North. It said South Korea closely monitors North Korean moves in coordination with the United States and maintains a readiness to “overwhelmingly” deter any provocation by North Korea. Friday’s unannounced launch triggered a brief public scare of a UFO appearance or a North Korean missile firing in South Korea. South Korea currently has no military reconnaissance satellites of its own and depends on U.S. spy satellites to monitor strategic facilities in North Korea. This week, North Korea is under a major ruling party meeting in Pyongyang to review past policies and new policy goals for 2023.

☆ North Korea fires ballistic missile after unprecedented year of tests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Dec 31 (Reuters) - North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea east to the Korean Peninsula on Saturday, the South Korean military said. It is the latest in an unprecedented number of missile tests conducted by North Korea this year. Japan's coast guard said North Korea fired what could be a ballistic missile and sent notice about a second possible missile. North Korea fired the missile the day after South Korea's defense ministry announced it had successfully conducted a test flight of a solid-propellant space launch vehicle. Not counting Saturday, North Korea fired around 70 ballistic missiles about 38 times this year, Yonhap news agency said, including about eight intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).

SEOUL, Dec 31 (Reuters) - North Korea fired three ballistic missiles toward the sea east of the Korean Peninsula on Saturday, the South Korean military said. The three short-range ballistic missiles were fired from around 8 am local time (2300 GMT) from North Hwanghae Province, south of the capital Pyongyang, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. South Korean military also said the missiles flew about 350 km. Relations between North Korea and U.S.-ally South Korea have grown more tense since South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's conservative government took over in May, promising a tougher stance toward the North. Not counting Saturday's launches, North Korea has fired around 70 ballistic missiles this year, Yonhap news agency said, including about eight intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).

☆ North Korea's Kim unveils new military goals at key party meeting -KCNA
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the sixth enlarged meeting of the eighth Central Committee of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this undated photo released on December 27, 2022 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, Dec 28 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un unveiled new goals for the country's military for 2023 at an ongoing meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, state media reported on Wednesday, hinting at another year of intensive weapons tests and tension. The third-generation leader set the direction for the "anti-enemy struggle" and goals for reinforcing defence power, it added. KCNA did not provide details on those goals, but Kim's remarks could indicate the isolated country will continue to accelerate its military buildup. North Korean leaders previously made speeches on New Year Day, but in recent years, Kim has called days-long party gatherings at the end of the year to announce major policy decisions.

☆ North Korea's weapons programme defies COVID outbreak, reaches 'uncharted territory'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The country acknowledged its first COVID-19 outbreak in May, prolonging already stringent border closures and other anti-pandemic measures, blocking international engagement and causing economic woes, but doing little to slow its weapons tests. "The possibility of denuclearising North Korea has all but disappeared." Pyongyang rolled out a series of increasingly capable short-range missiles as well, in what it says is a strategy to deploy tactical nuclear weapons. North Korea also made preparations to reopen its shuttered nuclear test site, raising the prospect of a new nuclear bomb test for the first time since 2017. "North Korea could at least pretended that it was open to dialogue, but this hasn't been the case," said Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a Korea expert at King's College London.

☆ South Korea launches jets and fires shots after North flies drones
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The military responded by firing warning shots and launching fighter jets and attack helicopters to shoot down the North Korean drones. The attack helicopters fired a combined 100 rounds but it wasn’t immediately known if the North Korean drones were shot down. It’s the first time for North Korean drones to enter South Korean airspace since 2017, when a suspected North Korean drone was found crashed in South Korea. North Korea has previously touted its drone program, and South Korean officials said the North has about 300 drones. North Korea released low-resolution photos of South Korean cities as viewed from space, but some experts in South Korea said the images were too crude for surveillance purposes.

☆ North Korea's Kim kicks off key party meeting ahead of New Year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the sixth enlarged meeting of the eighth Central Committee of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this undated photo released on December 26, 2022 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, Dec 27 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has kicked off a key meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, state media reported on Tuesday, a venue he has often used to announce major policy decisions marking the New Year. The Sixth Enlarged Plenary Meeting of 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) was convened on Monday, the official KCNA news agency said. Kim also faces mounting economic challenges amid international sanctions over its weapons programmes, the fallout from an anti-coronavirus lockdown and natural disasters. North Korean state media previously released its leader's speech on New Year Day, but in recent years, Kim has called party gatherings at the end of the year to make major policy announcements.

☆ South Korea, U.S. consider live-fire drills amid North Korea threats
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Dec 22 (Reuters) - South Korea and the United States are considering staging their first large-scale joint live-fire demonstration in six years in 2023 amid North Korea's growing military threats, Seoul's defence ministry said on Thursday. The drills have been floated as South Korea and the United States discuss preparations for the 70th anniversary of their alliance next year, ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-gyu said. "Marking that occasion, we are exploring various ways to showcase our military's presence and the alliance's overwhelming deterrence capabilities against North Korea," Jeon told a regular briefing. On Tuesday, the United States flew its F-22 Raptor stealth fighters for joint drills with South Korea for the first time since 2018, hours after North Korea criticised both countries and vowed more missile tests. North Korea has tested an unprecedented number of missiles this year, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) designed to strike the U.S. mainland.

☆ North Korea denies media report it supplied munitions to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Dec 23 (Reuters) - North Korea's foreign ministry denied a media report it supplied munitions to Russia, calling it "groundless," and denounced the United States for providing lethal weapons to Ukraine, the North's official KCNA news agency reported on Friday. Japan's Tokyo Shimbun reported earlier that North Korea had shipped munitions, including artillery shells, to Russia via train through their border last month and that additional shipments were expected in the coming weeks. The North Korean foreign ministry statement did not make any mention of Wagner. South Korea's foreign ministry said on Thursday they have been monitoring North Korea's activities amid concerns over possible arms transactions with Russia. In a separate statement, the North Korean foreign ministry also slammed the United States' attempt to issue a U.N. Security Council presidential statement on its latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch.

☆ Kim Yo Jong Blasts Skeptics of North Korea’s Military Advances
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Timothy W. Martin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL—The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened to further escalate tensions with long-range missile tests, as she took aim at skeptics of advances the country has claimed in its weapons program and spy-satellite technology. Weapons experts have said North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missiles still have unproven capabilities. Separately on Monday, some questioned the veracity of images the country released to demonstrate advances in its satellite technology.

☆ Why North Korea’s missile tests are going higher and further
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +14 min

North Korea missiles Stronger, faster, higher North Korea has made steady progress in expanding its missile programme, developing weapons that can strike across the globe - or hit critical targets closer to home. North Korea has forged ahead in developing ballistic missiles, testing new capabilities, honing existing weapons and putting them into service. Like most North Korean long-range ballistic missile tests, both ICBMs were fired on lofted trajectories. Trajectories of some of North Korea’s long-range missile testsNuclear warheads South Korea and the United States have warned since early 2022 that North Korea may resume nuclear testing for the first time since 2017. Same missiles, different locationsAmong North Korea's ballistic missiles, SRBMs appear to be the most likely to be deployed, Panda said.

☆ North Korea says latest launches tested 1st spy satellite
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The rocket carrying the test satellite was launched Sunday to assess the satellite’s photography and data transmission systems, KCNA said. He said South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities were analyzing further details of the launches but declined to elaborate. A rocket carrying an experimental satellite is launched from Tongchang-ri, North Korea, in images released Monday. In February and March, North Korea said it conducted tests to check a camera and data transmission systems to be used on a spy satellite. Lee said North Korea may be able to covertly get a more advanced camera that enable it to monitor tanks and the deployment of U.S. strategic assets to South Korea.

☆ North Korea says its new spy satellite hit a major milestone, but it may be 'too crude' to be useful
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Park Chan-Kyong | South China Morning Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

North Korea launched a rocket carrying a test satellite was launched on Sunday. The rocket carrying the test satellite was launched on Sunday to assess its photography and data transmission systems, state media said. North Korea launched Hwasong-17 ICBMs in February and March, claiming they were spy satellite test launches. South Korea, Japan and US authorities on Sunday said they detected a pair of ballistic-missile launches by North Korea from its northwestern Tongchang-ri area, where the North's satellite launch pad is located. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter with what North Korean media called a Hwasong-17 ICBM in Pyongyang on November 18.

☆ Russian military releases propaganda pop song fantasizing about its nukes wiping out NATO and the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A branch of Russia's defense ministry released a pop song celebrating its vast nuclear arsenal. The song celebrates the power of the "Sarmat" missile, also known as the "Son of Satan." The music video for the song was published by ParkPatriot.media, an arm of the Russian defense ministry focused on propaganda. It shows images of the Sarmat missile being test-fired and, at one point, showed Maidanov watching Putin speak on TV. The Russian Sarmat is ready/ To strike our enemy," Maidanov sings in the video, translated by Insider.

☆ North Korea fires 2 ballistic missiles in resumption of testing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

South Korea’s military detected the launch of two North Korean ballistic missiles from its northwest Tongchangri area. It said the missiles were fired about 50 minutes apart but gave no further details, like precisely what type of weapons North Korea fired and how far they flew. Its coast guard said the missiles fired from North Korea fell in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. North Korea has defended its weapons testing as self-defense measures to cope with the expanded U.S.-South Korea military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. North Korea already has a growing arsenal of short-range, solid-fueled ballistic missiles targeting key locations in South Korea, including U.S. military bases there.

☆ North Korea fired ballistic missile, South Korean military says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards the Korean Peninsula's east coast on Sunday Dec. 18, South Korea's military said. North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards the sea off the Korean Peninsula's east coast on Sunday, South Korea's military said. Japanese public broadcaster NHK said the North Korean-fired ballistic missile landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), citing unnamed government officials. North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests this year, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, despite international bans and sanctions. In November, North Korea test-fired an ICMB that Japanese officials said had sufficient range to reach the mainland of the United States and that landed just 200 kilometers (130 miles) off Japan.

☆ North Korea confirms 'important' test to develop spy satellite, KCNA says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Dec 19 (Reuters) - North Korea's state media KCNA said on Monday the country conducted an "important, final phase" test on Sunday for the development of a spy satellite, which it seeks to complete by April 2023. KCNA said the test, conducted at its Sohae satellite launching station in the northwestern town of Tongchang-ri, was aimed at reviewing the country's capability of satellite imaging, data transmission and ground control systems. A vehicle carrying a mock satellite was fired at the "lofted angle" of 500 km (311 miles), it added. North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests this year, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) aimed at reaching the U.S. mainland, in defiance of international sanctions. Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ North Korea fired ballistic missile, South Korea says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Dec 18 (Reuters) - North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards the sea off the Korean Peninsula's east coast on Sunday, South Korea's military said. Japanese public broadcaster NHK said the North Korean-fired ballistic missile landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), citing unnamed government officials. The North's missile launch comes just days after the country tested a high-thrust solid-fuel engine that experts said would allow quicker and more mobile launch of ballistic missiles, as it seeks to develop a new strategic weapon and speed up its nuclear and missile programmes. North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests this year, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, despite international bans and sanctions. Reporting by Heekyong Yang, Jack Kim and Junko Fujita; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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