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☆ US, Japan, South Korea to hold missile defence exercises to deter North Korea threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL/TOKYO, April 15 (Reuters) - The United States, Japan and South Korea said in a joint statement they discussed the regularisation of missile defence and anti-submarine exercises to deter and respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. The announcement was made at the 13th Defence Trilateral Talks held on Friday in Washington D.C. to exchange assessments of the security environment on the Korean Peninsula and broader region, as well as to consult on concrete ways to deepen trilateral security cooperation, the joint statement said. The representatives from the three countries "urged the DPRK to stop all destabilising activities immediately" and "reaffirmed that a DPRK nuclear test, if conducted, would be met with a strong and resolute response from the international community," the statement said, using North Korea's official name. It follows North Korea's announcement on Friday that it had tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a development set to "radically promote" its forces, which experts said would facilitate missile launches with little warning. Reporting by Jihoon Lee in Seoul, Mariko Katsumura in Tokyo; Editing by Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Explainer: What is solid-fuel technology, and why is North Korea eager to develop it?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, April 14 (Reuters) - North Korea says it has tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), its first known use of the propellant in a longer-range projectile, as it seeks the capability to launch with little preparation. Here are some characteristics of solid-fuel technology, and how it can help the North improve its missile systems. North Korea claims to have tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-18WHO HAS THAT TECHNOLOGY? South Korea said on Friday it had already secured "efficient and advanced" solid-propellant ballistic missile technology. North Korea said the development of its new solid-fuel ICBM, the Hwasong-18, would "radically promote" its nuclear counterattack capability.

☆ North Korea Launches Solid-Fueled Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

What’s Slowing Down Self-Driving Car Technology? Car and tech companies have promised for years that fully self-driving cars were just around the corner. But experts say the technology is far from where it needs to be to fully replace drivers. Bart Ziegler, who wrote about self-driving tech for the WSJ's Journal Reports, joins host Zoe Thomas to discuss what is pumping the brakes. PHOTO: JUSTIN MERRIMAN/BLOOMBERG NEWS

☆ North Korea shows video of a new solid-fuel missile
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsNorth Korea shows video of a new solid-fuel missilePostedNorth Korea said on Friday it had tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-18, to "radically promote" its nuclear counterattack capability, state media said. Edward Baran reports.

☆ Russia conducts surprise inspection of Pacific Fleet
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 14 (Reuters) - Russia will conduct missile launches and torpedo tests as part of a surprise inspection of its Pacific naval fleet, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday. "The main objective of this inspection is to increase the ability of the Armed Forces to repel the aggression of a probable enemy from the direction of ocean and sea," Shoigu said on state television. "This is a common practice, it has been constantly carried out in recent years and it continues. This is about maintaining the necessary level of combat readiness of our armed forces," Peskov told a daily news briefing. In other recent military activity in the area, Russia's navy fired supersonic anti-ship missiles at a mock target in the Sea of Japan on March 28.

☆ North Korea Marks Weapons Advance With Launch of Solid-Fueled ICBM
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Jiyoung Sohn | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

On Friday, North Korea said the ICBM, which it called the Hwasongpho-18, would “radically promote the effectiveness of its nuclear counterattack posture,” according to state media. A South Korean military official said on Thursday that Seoul suspected North Korea had fired a new type of ballistic missile that uses solid fuel. Pyongyang has been developing solid-fueled ICBMs—which require less preparation time to launch and are easier to conceal—but hadn’t previously fired one. “North Korea has continuously stressed the development of new war deterrence capabilities. The country’s test of an apparent solid-fuel ICBM is likely meant to show that North Korea will carry through with its warnings,” said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

☆ North Korea says it tested new solid-fuel ICBM, state media reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, April 14 (Reuters) - North Korea said on Friday it has tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-18 aimed at boosting the country's nuclear counterattack capability, state media reported. North Korea fired what appeared to be a new model ballistic missile on Thursday, South Korea said, triggering a scare in northern Japan where Hokkaido residents were told to take cover, though there turned out to be no danger. Developing a solid-fuel ICBM has long been seen as a key goal for North Korea, as it could help the North deploy its missiles faster in the event of a war. The latest launch came days after North Korean leader Kim called for strengthening war deterrence in a "more practical and offensive" manner to counter what North Korea called moves of aggression by the United States. North Korea has criticised recent U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises as escalating tensions and has stepped weapons tests in recent months.

☆ North Korea's Kim calls for more 'practical, offensive' war deterrence
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, April 11 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for strengthening the country's war deterrence in a "more practical and offensive" manner to counter what it called moves of aggression by the U.S. and South Korea, state media KCNA said on Tuesday. North Korea has been reacting angrily to a recent series of the allies' joint military exercises, which KCNA said were intended to prepare for "an all-out war" and forced Pyongyang to explore "powerful practical action", including military options. Kim ordered further reinforcing the country's war deterrence with "increasing speed" and in a "more practical and offensive" manner, KCNA said. The meeting "discussed practical matters and measures for machinery to prepare various military action proposals that no means and ways of counteraction are available to the enemy," it added. South Korea and the U.S. forces have conducted annual springtime exercises since March, including air and sea drills involving a U.S. aircraft carrier and B-1B and B-52 bombers, and their first large-scale amphibious landing drills in five years.

If a nuclear attack were headed toward the US, residents would have fewer than 30 minutes to prepare. 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. A sign for a nuclear fallout shelter on a residential block in Brooklyn.

☆ North Korea tests another nuclear-capable underwater drone
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, April 8 (Reuters) - North Korea conducted another test of a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone, state media said on Saturday, the latest in a show of force against the U.S. and South Korea. The country tested another kind of a nuclear-capable unmanned underwater attack weapon called "Haeil-2", over a week after it disclosed a new underwater drone system dubbed "Haeil-1", which translates to tsunami in Korean, designed to make sneak attacks in enemy waters. During the underwater strategic weapon system test from April 4 to April 7, state media KCNA said that the drone cruised 1,000 km (621.37 miles)of underwater distance for 71 hours and 6 minutes and successfully hit a simulated target. "The test perfectly proved the reliability of the underwater strategic weapon system and its fatal attack ability," KCNA said. North Korea has ramped up its military activities in recent weeks, protesting that the United States and South Korea conduct joint military exercises.

☆ North Korea says U.S.-South Korea drills push tension to 'brink of nuclear war'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Yonhap via REUTERS/File PhotoSEOUL, April 6 (Reuters) - North Korea on Thursday accused the U.S. and South Korea of escalating tensions to the brink of nuclear war through their joint military drills, vowing to respond with "offensive action," state media KCNA reported. KCNA released a commentary by Choe Ju Hyon, whom it called an international security analyst, criticising the exercises as "a trigger for driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to the point of explosion." "Now the international community unanimously hopes that the dark clouds of a nuclear war hanging over the Korean peninsula will be removed as early as possible," it added. "The drills have turned the Korean peninsula into a huge powder magazine which can be detonated any moment," it added. North Korea has reacted furiously to the exercises, calling them a rehearsal for invasion.

☆ Russia starts exercises with Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 29 (Reuters) - Russia has begun exercises with its Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system and several thousand troops, its defence ministry said on Wednesday, in what is likely to be seen as another attempt by Moscow to show off its nuclear strength. President Vladimir Putin has aimed to make the Yars missile system, which replaced the Topol system, part of Russia's "invincible weapons" and the mainstay of the ground-based component of its nuclear arsenal. During the exercises, the Yars mobile systems will conduct manoeuvres in three Russian regions, the ministry said, without identifying the regions. There are few confirmed tactical and technical characteristics of the Yars mobile intercontinental ballistic missile systems, which reportedly have an operational range of 12,000 km (7,500 miles). Since launching an invasion of Ukraine in February last year, Russia has conducted numerous military exercises on its own or with other countries, such as China or South Africa.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russia flexes its muscles with intercontinental ballistic missile drill; Kyiv waits for China call
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv still hasn't heard anything more about a purported call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping leave after a reception in honor of the Chinese leader's visit to Moscow, at the Kremlin, on March 21, 2023. So far, however, nothing has been arranged, Zelenskyy said. "We are ready to see him here," he told the Associated Press news agency Tuesday while en route to Kyiv after a visit to the Sumy region. When asked if there was any plan at the moment to meet with Xi, Zelenskyy replied "no."

☆ Russia says suspension of nuclear pact not impacted by US data move
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russia said on Wednesday it would voluntarily stick to agreed limits on the number of nuclear warheads it can deploy regardless of the U.S step. Putin justified Russia's suspension last month by saying, without providing evidence, that the West had been directly involved in Ukrainian attacks against bases for Russian strategic bomber planes deep inside Russian territory. He said NATO demands that Russia should allow inspections of its nuclear bases under the New START treaty were therefore absurd. Signed in 2010 and due to expire in 2026, the New START treaty caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that both countries, the world's largest nuclear powers, can deploy. Under its terms, Moscow and Washington may deploy no more than 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads and 700 land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.

☆ North Korea's showing off an underwater nuclear attack drone it says can cause a 'radioactive tsunami,' but the threat is likely 'exaggerated'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

North Korea has tested an underwater nuclear attack drone, similar to Russia's Poseidon torpedo. "This nuclear underwater attack drone can be deployed at any coast and port or towed by a surface ship for operation," state media boasted. "There have been signs that North Korea has been developing unmanned submarines, but we assess that they are still at an elementary level," South Korea's JCS added. "There are good reasons to maintain skepticism that North Korea will widely produce or deploy the Haeil system," he wrote in an NK Pro analysis. A screen grab shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting nuclear warheads at an undisclosed location in this undated still image used in a video.

☆ North Korea unveils new nuclear warheads as Kim orders more weapons-grade materials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SEOUL, March 28 (Reuters) - North Korea unveiled new, smaller nuclear warheads as leader Kim Jong Un called for scaling up the production of weapons-grade nuclear material to expand the country's arsenal, state media KCNA said on Tuesday. KCNA released photos of the warheads, dubbed Hwasan-31, during Kim's visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute, where he inspected new tactical nuclear weapons and technology for mounting warheads on ballistic missiles, as well as nuclear counterattack operation plans. Kim ordered the production of weapons-grade materials in a "far-sighted way" to boost its nuclear arsenal "exponentially" and produce powerful weapons, KCNA said. "The frantic war drills in the puppet region are not just military drills but nuclear war drills for a preemptive strike ... pursuant to the U.S. political and military option to escalate confrontation with the DPRK and finally lead to a war," it said. DPRK is an abbreviation for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

☆ North Korea claims it can unleash a 'super-scale radioactive tsunami' with an underwater drone that detonates near ships or ports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

North Korea claims it tested an underwater drone that can create a radioactive tsunami. It was designed to strike both naval assets and coastal targets, North Korean state media outlet KCNA reported. Friday's announcement was the first time that North Korea has publicly mentioned such a weapon. North Korea has in the last year aggressively ramped up its testing of long-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles. These tests have often been framed as a response to the US and South Korea for North Korea says is unprovoked aggression.

☆ US amphibious assault ship joins drills in South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUSAN, South Korea, March 23 (Reuters) - South Korean and U.S. troops launched their largest amphibious landing drills in years involving a U.S. amphibious assault ship, officials said on Thursday, a day after North Korea tested four long-range cruise missiles. About 12,000 sailors and marines from the two countries will take part, as will 30 warships, 70 aircraft and 50 amphibious assault vehicles, the South Korean military said. Hours before the ship docked, North Korea fired four cruise missiles off its east coast, South Korea said, in apparent protest of ongoing drills by the U.S. and South Korea. The ship's welldeck, which can be flooded to provide direct access to the sea, allows it to launch and recover landing craft and other amphibious vehicles, the U.S. military said. South Korea and the U.S. say the exercises are purely defensive.

In recent years the 15-member body has been split on how to deal with North Korea. Although both Russia and China backed toughened sanctions after North Korea's last nuclear test, in May 2022 they vetoed a U.S.-led push to impose more U.N. sanctions over North Korea's renewed ballistic missile launches. North Korea fired several cruise missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, three days after firing a short-range ballistic missile into the sea. North Korea's last known firing of strategic cruise missiles was on March 12, when it said it fired two from a submarine. "But I think it is a much more dangerous North Korea than it has been in the past," Berrier said.

☆ South Korea, US to hold largest live-fire drills amid North Korea tension
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 22 (Reuters) - South Korean and U.S. forces will hold their largest-ever live-fire exercises in June in a show of force to North Korea, which has ratcheted up tension with numerous missile launches, South Korea's defence ministry said on Wednesday. "During the live-fire exercises, the combined forces will demonstrate the alliance's formidable firepower and mobility on an unprecedented scale." In recent weeks, North Korea has been ramping up its military tests, firing an intercontinental ballistic missile last week and conducting a nuclear counterattack simulation against the U.S. and South Korea over the weekend. The United States has about 28,500 troops in South Korea. North Korea has reacted furiously to those drills, calling them a rehearsal for its invasion.

☆ North Korea fires multiple cruise missiles off its east coast, South Korea says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 22 (Reuters) - North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, the latest in a series of tests of its weapons as its rivals, South Korea and the United States, conducted joint military exercises. North Korea fired the missiles at around 10:15 a.m. (0115 GMT) from its South Hamgyong province, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. Wednesday's North Korean missile launches come just three days after North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast. The North has long bristled at exercises conducted by South Korean and U.S. forces, saying they are preparation for an invasion of the North. South Korea and the United States deny that, saying instead, they have to prepare to defend against North Korean aggression.

☆ A close Russian ally is messing with the legendary spaceport it leases to the Kremlin, seizing assets over an unpaid debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Baikonur is a source of pride for Moscow, from which the Soviet Union sent the first man to space. Baikonur is pivotal to the Russian space program. Even though it isn't physically in Russia, it has been leased by the Kremlin since Kazakhstan became independent when the Soviet Union collapsed. Founded by the Soviet Union as a test range for intercontinental ballistic missiles, it was transformed into a space port in 1955. It remains a key part of Russia's space program, and is the only site where Russia launches missions to the International Space Station.

SEOUL, March 20 (Reuters) - North Korea's presumed use of a silo in its latest missile test was aimed at boosting the speed and reliability of launches, and could be used in future flights of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), analysts said on Monday. "And without launch preparations being detected in advance, you can just press a button." Unlike the KN-23, liquid-fuelled missiles such as North Korea's Hwasong-17 ICBM require time for fuelling. With a silo that can take place underground, out of sight. North Korea typically relies on mobile launchers, but the country's lack of infrastructure could make launches from such trucks challenging, Yang said.

☆ North Korea claims that in 1 day, 800,000 youths just up and decided to voluntarily join its army and fight the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

North Korea on Sunday claimed that 800,000 young people signed up to join the military in one day. Even if this were true, it doesn't necessarily mean Pyongyang's army has 800,000 new soldiers, an expert says. Even if North Korea did recruit 800,000 army personnel in a day, it may not mean that its military strength will increase by that amount, Gordon Kang, who researches North Korea at the East Asia Institute in Singapore, told Insider. On Sunday, North Korea launched another missile test that flew an estimated 500 miles east and fell into the ocean. North Korea currently has an estimated 1.15 million active-duty troops, including 950,000 army personnel, according to the CIA.

☆ US, China, Russia argue over North Korea at United Nations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] People watch a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing a ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File PhotoUNITED NATIONS, March 20 (Reuters) - The United States, China and Russia argued during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday over who was to blame for spurring North Korea's dozens of ballistic missile launches and development of a nuclear weapons program. North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions for its missile and nuclear programs since 2006. China and Russia blamed joint military drills by the United States and South Korea for provoking Pyongyang while Washington accuses Beijing and Moscow of emboldening North Korea by shielding it from more sanctions. Russia and China, veto powers along with the United States, Britain and France, have said more sanctions will not help and want such measures to be eased.

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