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The launches came a day after North Korea fired at least 23 missiles, the most in a single day, including one that landed off South Korea's coast for the first time. About an hour after the first launch, South Korea's military and the Japanese coast guard reported a second launch from North Korea. South Korea issued rare air raid warnings and launched its own missiles in response after Wednesday's barrage. On Oct. 4, North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years, prompted a warning for residents there to take cover. It was the farthest North Korea had ever fired a missile.

Austin later condemned North Korea’s “irresponsible and reckless activities” during a joint press conference with Lee. The South Korean government source said officials suspect it was a Hwasong-17, North Korea’s most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile that was first successfully tested on March 24. That launch set a new standard for Pyongyang, recording the highest altitude and longest duration of any North Korean missile ever tested. North Korea followed the presumed ICBM test Thursday with two short-range ballistic missile launches, according to South Korea and Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to the media in Tokyo following North Korea's weapons tests.

☆ South Korea issues an air raid alert after North Korea fires three missiles toward the sea
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

South Korea issued an emergency alert after North Korea fired missiles toward the eastern sea boundary. The escalation comes hours after North Korea issued a veiled threat toward the US and South Korea. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired the three short-range ballistic missiles Wednesday morning from its eastern coastal area of Wonsan. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in an initial statement that North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward sea Wednesday, but offered no further details like how far it flew. The White House on Tuesday pushed back against North Korea's saber rattling, reiterating that drills are part of a routine training schedule with South Korea.

☆ Top Russian generals frustrated by humiliating losses mused about nuking Ukraine — but US intelligence isn't sure what to make of it
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian generals have reportedly deliberated using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Because of this, some within the US intelligence community are less concerned that Russia is preparing to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, the report said. The New York Times was the first to report on the new US intelligence about tactical nuclear weapons conversations among Russian generals. Notably, it's ultimately up to Putin whether or not Russia uses a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine. The country's nuclear doctrine states only the president can make the decision to use nuclear weapons.

☆ North Korea warns U.S. of ‘powerful’ response to allied drills
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s Foreign Ministry criticized the United States for expanding joint military exercises with South Korea that it claims are practice for a potential invasion, and it warned Tuesday of “more powerful follow-up measures” in response. North Korea has ramped up its weapons demonstrations to a record pace this year, launching more than 40 ballistic missiles, including developmental intercontinental ballistic missiles and an intermediate-range missile fired over Japan. Some of those launches have been described by the North as simulated nuclear attacks on South Korean and U.S. targets. North Korea has said its testing activities are meant as a warning amid the joint military drills. North Korea has said that firing was in reaction to South Korean live-fire exercises at land border areas.

SEOUL, Oct 28 (Reuters) - North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) off its east coast on Friday, South Korea's military said, while wrapping up nearly two weeks of major drills aimed at deterring its neighbour. The launch, at a time of growing fears that North Korea is readying for its first nuclear test since 2017, was the latest in a record year of tests, whether of short-range missiles, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), or others. The launches did not pose an immediate threat to the United States or its allies, the U.S. military's Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement. South Korea and the United States say the exercises are defensive and needed to counter the North's threats. North Korea held six nuclear tests there from 2006 to 2017.

The drills have presented a potential challenge to the United States and its allies. Putin has muddied the waters about his intentions after threatening to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia in its unraveling invasion of Ukraine. "We haven't seen anything to cause us to believe, at this point, that is some kind of cover activity," Austin said. Austin said declined to outline the kinds of potential responses that the United States and its allies would consider if Moscow took such a step. "I don't think this sends any message to Putin," Austin said.

☆ Putin monitors drills of Russia’s nuclear forces and practice missile launches
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Russians President Vladimir Putin monitored drills by his country’s strategic nuclear forces involving multiple practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles Wednesday. The manoeuvres followed Putin’s warning about his readiness to use “all means available” to fend off attacks on Russia’s territory in a reference to the country’s nuclear arsenals. Wednesday’s drills involved the test-firing of a Yars land-based intercontinental ballistic missile from the northern Plesetsk launch site and the launch of a Sineva ICBM by a Russian nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea. Such drills involving land, sea and air components have taken place on an annual basis to train the country’s nuclear forces and demonstrate their readiness. The Biden administration said Tuesday that Russia gave notice it intended to stage routine drills of its nuclear capabilities.

☆ How to survive a nuclear bomb attack: Minute-by-minute steps to protect yourself
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Aria Bendix | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

If a nuclear bomb were headed toward the US, residents would have 30 minutes or less to shelter. Russian Presidential Press Service/APA nuclear attack remains highly unlikely, but it's not out of the question, experts say. Redlener said the best way to learn of an impending nuclear attack would probably be TV or radio. Survivors of a nuclear attack would have about 15 minutes before sandlike radioactive particles, known as nuclear fallout, reached the ground. The US Department of Health and Human Services recommends staying indoors for at least 24 hours after a nuclear explosion.

☆ Analysis: What is Russia's policy on tactical nuclear weapons?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

WHAT ARE TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS? Academics and arms control negotiators have spent years arguing about how to define tactical nuclear weapons (TNW). The clue is in the name: they are nuclear weapons used for specific tactical gains on the battlefield, rather than, say, destroying the biggest cities of the United States or Russia. The atomic bomb dropped by the United States on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945 was about 15 kilotons. The president is the ultimate decision maker when it comes to using Russian nuclear weapons, both strategic and non-strategic, according to Russia's nuclear doctrine.

☆ The UN has said nuclear war is 'back within the realm of possibility.' Here are the places in the US most likely to be hit in a nuclear attack.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Alex Lockie | Abbie Shull | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said earlier in the year that nuclear war is "back within the realm of possibility." A Russian nuclear attack would likely focus on high-value targets in North Dakota or Montana. Even if every single US intercontinental ballistic missile silo, stockpiled nuclear weapon, and nuclear-capable bomber were flattened, US nuclear submarines could — and would — retaliate. Brooke Buddemeier/Lawrence Livermore National LaboratoryThe US has strategically positioned the bulk of its nuclear forces, which double as nuclear targets, far from population centers. Update: This article was originally published in 2017 but has since been updated and re-published amid concerns that the war in Ukraine could escalate to nuclear war.

☆ North Korea flies warplanes near border and tests another ballistic missile
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The 10 aircraft from the North flew as close as 7 miles from the inter-Korean border, according to South Korea's military. It marks the second time in the past week that North Korea flew military aircraft near the border. The Pentagon said it was aware of the latest North Korean ballistic missile launch and that it would continue monitoring the situation. The State Department condemned the latest ballistic missile launch and cited that any tests conducted by North Korea are in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council Resolutions. So far this year, North Korea has fired more than 35 ballistic missile tests.

☆ Explainer: What makes a nuclear weapon 'tactical'?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here are the characteristics of tactical nuclear weapons and why they have drawn so much attention. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWHAT IS A TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPON? Tactical nuclear weapons are often characterized by their size, their range, or their use for limited military targets. Russia has 1,000 to 2,000 warheads for non-strategic nuclear weapons in its arsenal, the CRS report says. "I don't think there's any such thing as the ability to easily (use) a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon," he said last week.

☆ Explainer: When will North Korea test a nuclear weapon?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Only North Korea knows. Satellite imagery has shown North Korea working to restore some of the tunnels this year that were closed in 2018, when Pyongyang declared a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear weapons tests. The most recent flurry of missile tests involved units meant to operate tactical nuclear weapons, according to North Korean state media. North Korea has also said it wants to deploy much larger nuclear weapons, so analysts say that could be in the works. Previous North Korea nuclear tests also incurred United Nations Security Council resolutions that imposed sanctions, backed at the time by China and Russia.

☆ South Korea's F-35A fighter jets had to be grounded 172 times over 18 months because of malfunctions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( David Cenciotti | The Aviationist | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A South Korean lawmaker is concerned about the issues affecting the country's F-35A fighter jets. The jets were "operationally unready" 234 times in an 18-month period ending in June 2022, the lawmaker said, citing air force data. A South Korean Air Force F-35A. A South Korean F-35A. In total, South Korea ordered 40 F-35A, the last of those was delivered in January this year.

☆ Former US general says he is 'even more concerned' about Putin using nukes as Ukraine makes astonishing progress in its counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Western officials and experts have said Putin may use nukes in Ukraine if he gets desperate enough. After failing to take Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, in the early days of the war, Russia shifted its focus to Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, which is made up of Donetsk and Luhansk. And as we know, that is a trigger for using nuclear weapons." But not everyone is convinced that Putin would do something as drastic as using a nuclear weapon to achieve his goals in Ukraine. If Russia used a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, it could trigger a military response from the US, which could spiral into a direct conflict between Russia and NATO — a 30-member alliance.

☆ U.S. carries out missile test delayed over Chinese drills
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-16 | by ( Idrees Ali | Thomson Reuters | National Security Correspondent Focusing On The Pentagon In Washington D.C. Reports On U.S. Military Activity | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The test suggests that Washington is less worried about the situation escalating around Taiwan in the short-term at least. An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test at 2:10 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, U.S., August 2, 2017. The U.S. military also canceled a test of its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile in April. The nuclear-capable Minuteman III, made by Boeing Co. (BA.N), is key to the U.S. military's strategic arsenal. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in February that his nation's nuclear forces should be put on high alert, raising fears that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could lead to nuclear war.

☆ North Korea needs nukes because of its religion
▼ + stars: | 2017-07-08 | by ( Paul French | Foreign Policy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

But even engagement strategies can't stop the relentless move toward a deliverable North Korea nuclear arsenal. President Bill Clinton essentially attempted this in 1994 when he approved $4 billion in "energy aid" to North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un poses with participants during the 8th Congress of the Korean Children's Union (KCU) in Pyongyang, North Korea. A vendor waits for customers at the shop inside the international airport in Pyongyang, North Korea May 3, 2016. But if the world accepts a nuclear North Korea (and it accepted a nuclear Pakistan, as North Koreans have reminded me), then the second half of Kim's theory might just give the kind of pressure that can be used.

☆ US nuclear forces are controlled by this shockingly obsolete tech
▼ + stars: | 2016-05-26 | by ( Dave Mosher | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new government report paints a disquieting picture of the computer systems used to run the United States. But perhaps the most alarming information touches on the Department of Defense (DoD), which controls the nation's stockpile of 7,100 nuclear and thermonuclear warheads. The GAO found that the Strategic Automated Command and Control System (SACCS) — a computer system that "coordinates the operational functions of the United States' nuclear forces, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear bombers, and tanker support aircrafts" — still runs on 8-inch floppy disks. Per the GAO report:[T]he system's primary function is to send and receive emergency action messages to nuclear forces. But US command and control systems aren't the only pieces of nuclear strike infrastructure that are dated: The nuclear weapons themselves are not getting any younger.

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