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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Wednesday it conducted a test-firing of long-range cruise missiles with an aim to sharpen its counterattack and strategic strike capabilities, in its latest display of weapons threatening South Korea and Japan. The event extended a provocative streak in weapons testing as North Korea continues to raise pressure on the United States and its Asian allies amid a prolonged freeze in diplomacy. North Korea in recent years has been expanding its lineup of cruise missiles, which are designed to be fired from both land and naval assets. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesSince 2021, North Korea has conducted at least 11 rounds of tests of what it described as long-range cruise missiles fired from both land and sea. The North’s two previous tests of cruise missiles on Jan. 24 and Jan. 28 were of a new weapon called Pulhwasal-3-31, which is designed to be fired from submarines.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Kim Organizations: North, Korean Central News Agency Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, North Korea, Korea, Japan, North Korean, United States, Guam, Russia

JERUSALEM (AP) — Iran said Sunday it successfully launched three satellites into space, the latest for a program that the West says improves Tehran's ballistic missiles. The state-run IRNA news agency said the launch also saw the successful use of Iran's Simorgh rocket, which has had multiple failures in the past. There have been five failed launches in a row for the Simorgh program, another satellite-carrying rocket. U.N. sanctions related to Iran’s ballistic missile program expired last October. ___Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

Persons: Amir Vahdat Organizations: JERUSALEM, —, Sunday, Associated Press, State TV, Security, Associated Locations: — Iran, Semnan province, State, Kayhan, States, Tehran, U.S, Iran

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military said Sunday that North Korea fired several cruise missiles that flew over waters near a major military shipyard on the country’s eastern coast, extending a streak in weapons tests that are worsening tensions with the United States, South Korea and Japan. The launches followed a separate round of North Korean cruise missile tests last week and a Jan. 14 test-firing of the country’s first solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile. North Korea’s cruise missiles supplement the country’s huge lineup of ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to reach the U.S. mainland. While North Korean cruise missile activities aren’t directly banned under U.N. sanctions, experts say those weapons potentially pose a serious threat to South Korea and Japan. Since 2021, North Korea has conducted at least 10 rounds of tests of what it described as long-range cruise missiles fired from both land and sea.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim Organizations: South Korea’s, Chiefs, Staff, U.S Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, Korea, United States, Japan, Guam, South, Sinpo, North Korea

☆ Russia says its scientists created a new nuclear blast simulator with flash and mushroom cloud effects to train soldiers
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russian nuclear missile rolls along Red Square during the military parade marking the 75th anniversary of Nazi defeat, on June 24, 2020 in Moscow, Russia. Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty ImagesMoscow has the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world, with nearly 5,900 warheads, according to a tally by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Tactical nuclear weapons have arisen as a point of debate and discussion during the fighting in Ukraine. Several weeks later, a Kremlin spokesperson said Moscow would use nuclear weapons if it felt like it faced an existential threat. At the time, the top United Nations official warned that nuclear war was back "within the realm of possibility."

Persons: —, Mikhail Svetlov, John Plumb, Tsar, TATYANA MAKEYEVA, Vladimir Putin, NSNW, Putin, Jens Stoltenberg, that's Organizations: Service, Business, Khrulev Military Academy of Logistics, Getty, International, Nuclear, Pentagon, Defense, Space, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Russia Strategic Initiative, US European Command, Tactical, NATO, Kremlin, United Nations Locations: Russian, Moscow, Russia, United States, Soviet, AFP, Ukraine, Belarus

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Thursday it conducted its first flight test of a new cruise missile, as it expands its military capabilities in the face of deepening tensions with the United States and neighbors. North Korea’s cruise missiles are among its growing arsenal of weapons aimed at overwhelming missile defenses in South Korea and Japan. Since 2021, North Korea has conducted at least 10 rounds of tests of what it described as long-range cruise missiles fired from both land and sea. There are concerns that Kim could dial up pressure in an election year in the United States and South Korea. He accused South Korea of acting as “top-class stooges” of the Americans and repeated a threat that he would use his nukes to annihilate the South if provoked.

Persons: Kim, KCNA Organizations: Chiefs, Staff, Korean Central News Agency, The Associated Press, South, Analysts Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, North Korea, United States, Japan, Guam, North, South, Pyongyang, Korea, Washington, Asia, asia

☆ Russia’s Putin to visit North Korea soon, state media says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to visit Kim Jong Un soon, North Korean state media reported Sunday, the latest sign of increasing cooperation between the two authoritarian leaders as war rages in Ukraine and military tensions increase in East Asia. Putin thanked Kim for an invitation to visit Pyongyang and pledged to go there “at an early date,” the report from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the dates for Putin’s visit to North Korea were still being discussed through diplomatic channels and would be announced later, Russian state-run news agency TASS reported. During that visit, Kim praised Russia for standing up to “hegemonic forces” with its war in Ukraine, while Putin signaled a willingness to assist North Korea in developing its space and satellite programs. According to the US Defense Department, Russia has twice in the past month fired North Korean-made missiles at targets in Ukraine.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Putin, Kim, Dmitry Peskov, Choe Son Hui, Sergey Lavrov, ” KCNA, Kim Jong, ” Organizations: South Korea CNN —, Korean Central News Agency, North Korean Foreign, Russian, TASS, CNN, North Korean, US Defense Department, South, US, People’s Assembly Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korean, Ukraine, East Asia, Pyongyang, North Korea, Russian, Moscow, Northeast Asia, Russia, Korea, United States

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — South Korea called on the divided U.N. Security Council on Thursday “to break the silence” over North Korea’s escalating missile tests and threats. South Korea is serving a two-year term on the council. In a message clearly aimed at the United States and South Korea, Zhang expressed hope that while attention is mainly on North Korea, “other countries are also responsible to avoid further escalation.”France’s U.N. And he called it “a shame” that Russia is violating Security Council resolutions by “buying military stuff that they use in Ukraine" from North Korea. South Korea’s Hwang said all 15 members of the Council are worried that North Korea’s rhetoric and actions are “getting more and more serious.”But how to break the council’s silence and inaction?

Persons: “, Hwang Joonkook, —, Kim Jong, Kim, Robert Wood, ”, U.N, Zhang Jun, Zhang, France’s U.N, Nicolas De Riviere, ” De Riviere, Korea’s Hwang, Hwang Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, Security, U.N, North, South Locations: South Korea, Korea, China, Russia, U.S, North Korea, South, America, “, United States, Ukraine

☆ After a rough run, North Korea could at last find itself 'sitting pretty' in the new year with both Russia and China courting it, Korea watcher says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The result could be a very fortunate 2024 for North Korea, one in which Russia and China are both chasing after its attention. In that case, North Korea could be "sitting pretty," a top Korea watcher said last week. North Korea leader Kim Jong Un observes artillery fire competition in North Korea. North Korean military cadets hold a North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il's flag during a perform of the Arirang festival which is a part of commemorations marking the 60th anniversary of the Workers' Party of North Korea on October 6, 2005, in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea, on the other hand, has criticized, sometimes openly, China's disapproval of its testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Victor Cha, Cha, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Kim, North, Kim Jong, SAUL LOEB, Chung Sung, there's, Xi Jinping, Xi, Donald Trump's, Trump, Putin, MIKHAIL METZEL Organizations: Service, Business, Democratic People's, Center for Strategic, International Studies, CSIS, The Capital, North, Trump, Asian Affairs, White, National Security Council, REUTERS, Metropole, Getty, White House, Putin, Korean, Workers ' Party of North, Vostochny Locations: Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, China, Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, COVID, Asia, Hanoi, North, Korean, Workers ' Party of North Korea, Pyongyang, Beijing, Amur

☆ Explainer-Why Is North Korea Testing Hypersonic Missiles and How Do They Work?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

The United States, China, Russia and other countries have also been developing hypersonic weapons in recent years. Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), by contrast, carry nuclear warheads on ballistic trajectories that travel into space but never reach orbit. During a rare trip to Russia last September, Kim inspected Moscow's hypersonic missiles, among other weapons. "North Korea appears to be trying to develop hypersonic missiles and intermediate range ballistic missiles based on solid propellant rocket boosters," said Chang Young-keun, a professor at Korea Aerospace University. "In particular, mid- to long-range hypersonic missiles would be useful for striking Guam while evading the U.S. missile defence system."

Persons: Shin, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Sunday's, Kim, Chang Young, Hyonhee Shin, Ed Davies, Jamie Freed Organizations: Korean, Intercontinental, WHO, THE, United, Workers, Party, Korea Aerospace University, U.S Locations: Shin SEOUL, North Korea, United States, China, Russia, Korean, Moscow, Seoul, Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Monday claimed it flight-tested a new solid-fuel intermediate-range missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead as it pursues more powerful, harder-to-detect weapons designed to strike remote U.S. targets in the region. There are also concerns about an alleged arms cooperation between North Korea and Russia as they align in the face of separate, intensifying confrontations with Washington. The Biden administration said it has evidence that missiles provided by North Korea to Russia had been used in the war in Ukraine. In a joint statement last week, the U.S., South Korea and their partners said the missile transfer supports Russia’s war of aggression and provides North Korea with valuable technical and military insights. North Korea earlier this month fired a barrage of artillery shells near the disputed western sea boundary with South Korea, prompting the South to conduct similar firing exercises in the area.

Persons: KCNA, Kim Jong Un, ” KCNA, Kim, Choe Sun Hui, Sergey Lavrov, Biden, Yoon Suk Yeol, Donald Trump, Trump Organizations: South, Korean Central News Agency, North, Korea’s, Chiefs, Staff, U.S, Russian Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, North Korea, North, Korean, Pyongyang, Guam, Japan, Pacific, United States, Seoul, Tokyo, Russia, Washington, North Korean, U.S, Korea, Ukraine

☆ The 'crown jewel' of the Chinese military appears to have a serious corruption problem, but the US can't afford to bet on its missiles all being defective
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Recent reports point to corruption and readiness problems in the Chinese military, the rocket force in particular. In the aftermath of the report, an ex-PLA official told Radio Free Asia problems like this have long been rampant in the Chinese military. The rocket force shakeups suggest that there are questions over who can be trusted. Xinhua/Cha Chunming via Getty ImagesConcerns about corruption and readiness stand in contrast with the modernization and strengthening of the Chinese military. Is the PLA, particularly the rocket force, the increasingly formidable force the Pentagon described in a military power report last October?

Persons: It's, —, Tom Shugart, Xi Jinping, that's, hotpot, hadn't, bigwig, Xi, Liu Dawei, Shugart, weren't, Lintao Zhang, Li Shangfu, Li Gang, ISW, there's, Andy Wong Organizations: Service, People's Liberation Army, US, Center, New, New American Security, Liberation Army, Getty Images, Bloomberg, PLA, Rocket Force, Radio Free, 14th China International Aviation, Aerospace Exhibition, Getty, Liberation Army Rocket, Business, United, Naval, Army, Air Force, Communist, of, Defense, Chinese Communist Party, Liberation Army's Army Infantry College, Li, Pentagon, U.S . Nimitz, US Army Locations: New American, Taiwan, Hefei, Anhui province, Radio Free Asia, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, Xinhua, United States, Beijing, China, PLA, Gutian, Jiangxi Province, U.S, Tiananmen, Pamir, Kashgar, China's Xinjiang, Pacific

☆ Russia deploys new nuclear missile in Kaluga region - RIA
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Visitors gather near a Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system at an exposition of the international military-technical forum Army-2023 at Patriot Congress and Exhibition Centre in the Moscow region, Russia, August 18, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 22 (Reuters) - Russia has deployed a new Yars intercontinental ballistic missile at the Kozelsk base in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, the RIA news agency cited the defence ministry as saying on Wednesday. Russia has described the Yars missile, developed in the 2000s and capable of carrying multiple thermonuclear warheads, as one of its newer weapons capable of piercing the missile shield used by the United States and its allies. The Kozelsk regiment, where the new missile was loaded into a silo, was the first one in Russia's Strategic Missile Forces to start upgrading to silo-based Yars missiles, RIA said. The missiles were initially deployed at other regiments in a mobile version.

Persons: Stringer, Robert Birsel Organizations: Patriot Congress, Exhibition, REUTERS, Strategic Missile Forces, RIA, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Moscow, Russia, Kaluga, United States

☆ What to know about North Korea's spy satellite launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

WHAT ARE THE CAPABILITIES OF NORTH KOREA'S ON-ORBIT SPY SATELLITE? To launch a more-capable satellite, North Korea will most likely need to develop a larger rocket, which it appears to be doing, he said. South Korea's spy agency has said North Korea may have overcome technical hurdles with the help of Russia, which in September publicly pledged to help Pyongyang build satellites. The United States and its allies called North Korea's latest satellite tests clear violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions, which prohibit development of technology applicable to North Korea's ballistic missile programs. "North Korea is no longer shy about testing ICBMs, so no - this really is an SLV," he said.

Persons: Jonathan McDowell, Hong Min, Kim Jong Un, Vann Van Diepen, Van Diepen, Jeffrey Lewis, Chang Young, Lee Choon, Pyongyang’s, Lewis, Hyun Young Yi, Hyonhee Shin, Josh Smith, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Reuters, KCNA, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Harvard – Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, U.S . Space Force, Korea Institute for National Unification, Stimson, North, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Korea Aerospace University, South Korea's Science, Technology Policy, United Nations, Thomson Locations: North Gyeongsang Province, North Korea, Rights SEOUL, North, Korea, Pyongyang, U.S, Washington, South Korea, RUSSIA, Russia, Moscow, United States

Neither South Korea, the United States nor Japan, all of which are experiencing increasing military tensions with North Korea, could confirm the satellite had made it into orbit. But South Korea called the launch a “clear violation” of a UN Security Council resolution that prohibits North Korea from using ballistic missile technology. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un celebrates Tuesday night's satellite launch with workers in an image provided by state-run media. Japanese Defense Minister Hiroyuki Miyazawa said his country was still trying to determine whether North Korea’s satellite had reached orbit. In that meeting, Putin signaled a willingness to assist North Korea in developing its space and satellite program.

Persons: “, ”, Kim Jong Un, Fumio Kishida, Hiroyuki Miyazawa, KCNA, Kim Song, ” KCNA, Carl Schuster, Ankit, “ They’re, Leif, Eric Easley, Shin Won, sik, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Panda, “ Let’s Organizations: South Korea CNN, Korean Central News Agency, UN, Korean, Japan’s, US, Pyongyang’s, Japanese, Council, North Korean, North, Korea’s National Aerospace Development, Analysts, Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence, Carnegie Endowment, International, Ewha University, Korea’s Defense Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, Korea, United States, Japan, Japan’s Okinawa, Japanese, Pyongyang, East China, KCNA . North Korea, Russian, Russia, Koreans

☆ Russia loads missile with nuclear-capable glide vehicle into launch silo
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Russia's rocket forces loaded an intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with the nuclear-capable "Avangard" hypersonic glide vehicle into a launch silo in southern Russia, according to a defence ministry TV channel broadcast on Thursday. President Vladimir Putin announced the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle in 2018, saying it was a response to U.S. development of a new generation of weapons and a U.S. missile defence system that it could penetrate. Russia installed its first Avangard-equipped missile in 2019 at the same Orenburg facility. But the United States, Russia and China are developing a range of new weapons systems, including hypersonic ones. Russia says the post-Cold War dominance of the United States is crumbling and that Washington has for years sown chaos across the planet while ignoring the interests of other powers.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, Guy Faulconbridge, Olzhas, Gerry Doyle, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Zvezda, U.S, Washington, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, U.S, Orenburg, Kazakhstan, United States, China, autocracies, Moscow, Almaty

[1/6] A Russian delegation led by Alexander Kozlov, the minister of natural resources, presents flower baskets to the statues of North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung and late leader Kim Jong Il at Mansudae Hill, in Pyongyang, North Korea, November 14, 2023. Russia and North Korea were conducting talks on the economy, science and technology, KCNA state media reported, without elaborating. North Korea's missile programme, as well as its nuclear weapons, have been banned by U.N. Security Council resolutions, which imposed sanctions on the country. Washington has accused North Korea of supplying military equipment to Russia for use in its war with Ukraine, and Moscow of providing technical military support to help North Korea. North Korea and Russia have denied any arms deals, though their leaders pledged closer military cooperation at their September summit.

Persons: Alexander Kozlov, North, Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, Kozlov, Lloyd Austin, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, KCNA, Hyunsu Yim, Josh Smith, Grant McCool, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Russian, KCNA, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, . Defense, North, St, U.S, Korea's General Missile Bureau, Military, U.N ., Thomson Locations: Mansudae, Pyongyang, North Korea, Rights SEOUL, North Korean, Seoul, China, Russia, Russian, Russia's, Petersburg, Korea, South, Washington, Ukraine, Moscow

[1/2] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves as he arrives ahead of meetings in Seoul, at Osan Air Base, South Korea, November 8, 2023. Blinken arrived in South Korea late on Wednesday after attending a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Tokyo. They will discuss a response to the growing military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow and North Korea's suspected supply of arms to Russia for use against Ukraine. North Korea is preparing to launch a spy satellite after having failed twice this year to put one in orbit. South Korea's spy agency said last week North Korea was in the final stages of preparations for the launch after apparently receiving technical assistance from Russia.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Jonathan Ernst, Blinken, Yoon Suk, Jin, Jack Kim, Soo, Choi, Ed Davies, Lincoln Organizations: Osan Air Base, REUTERS, Rights, South, Foreign, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Rights SEOUL, North Korea, Russia, Israel, Gaza, Tokyo, Blinken's, Asia, India, East . Washington, U.S, Pyongyang, Moscow, North, United States, Japan, Russia's, Washington, Ukraine, Korea, South

☆ Blinken to visit South Korea as North Korea, Russia deepen ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Seoul visit comes as the United States and South Korea, along with Japan, have condemned what they say is the supply of arms and military equipment by North Korea to Russia. North Korea is preparing to launch a spy satellite after having failed twice this year to put one in orbit. South Korea's spy agency said last week North Korea was in the final stages of preparations for the launch after apparently receiving technical assistance from Russia. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is also due to visit South Korea this week on a trip that will include Indonesia and India. In Washington, U.S. and South Korean officials held talks on North Korea's illicit cyber activities that they say fund its unlawful weapons programs, South Korea's foreign ministry said.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Yoko Kamikawa, Toshifumi, military's Vandenberg, Defense Lloyd Austin, Austin, Soo, Choi, Ed Davies, Michael Perry Organizations: Japanese, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, South Korean, SpaceX, U.S, Defense, Blinken, United, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Rights SEOUL, Seoul, Russia, Blinken's, Asia, India, Israel, United States, South Korea, North Korea, Washington, North, Ukraine, Pyongyang, Korea, Moscow, Russia's, South, Indonesia, North Korean, Pacific, Washington , U.S, United Nations

Jeon Ha Gyu, a spokesperson for the South Korean Defense Ministry, told reporters Monday that the country’s first military spy satellite will be launched from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base on Nov. 30. Under a contract with SpaceX, South Korea plans to launch four more spy satellites by 2025, according to South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration. South Korea currently has no military reconnaissance satellites of its own and relies on U.S. spy satellites to monitor moves by North Korea. South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers last week that North Korea is likely receiving Russian technological assistance on a spy satellite launch program. The possession of spy satellites is part of ambitious arms build-up plans announced by leader Kim Jong Un in 2021.

Persons: Jeon Ha, Lee Choon Geun, Lee, it’s, Vandenberg, Kim Jong Un, Kim Organizations: South Korean Defense Ministry, California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, SpaceX’s, SpaceX, South, Korea’s, Administration, North, South Korea’s Science, Technology Policy Institute, National Intelligence Service Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, North Korea, U.S, Korean, Korea, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Video shows the moment a new Russian submarine test-fired an intercontinental-range 'Bulava' missile
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Video footage shows the moment a new Russian submarine test-fired an intercontinental-range ballistic missile. AdvertisementAdvertisementRussia's new strategic nuclear submarine has successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, it's defense ministry said, releasing video footage it said was from the test. The test involved the firing of an intercontinental-range Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) and was a significant step for the vessel. Video footage from the defense ministry that was shared by Russian state media outlets on Sunday showed what they said was the newest Borei-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine Imperator Alexander III launching an RSM-56 Bulava ballistic missile. Russian nuclear submarine Yuri Dolgorukiy (NATO reporting name: SSBN "Borei", or "Dolgorukiy") is seen during the Navy Day Military parade July, 27, 2014, in Severomorsk.

Persons: —, Alexander III, Imperator Alexander III, it'll, Generalissimus Suvorov, Yuri Dolgorukiy, Sasha Mordovets, Bulava SLBMs Organizations: Service, RSM, Missile, Navy, Russia's, Russian Locations: Russian, Russia, Kamchatka, Severomorsk, Soviet Union, Europe, Atlantic

☆ Eyeing North Korea, Tokyo holds first missile evacuation drill in years
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Francis Tang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Tokyo residents dashed for cover inside a train station on Monday as part of the first missile evacuation drill in the capital for years as Japan frets over the growing threat from nearby North Korea. Japan has held more than a dozen such drills nationwide this year, though Monday's drill was the first in Tokyo since 2018. The participants, wearing bibs, were divided into groups at a train station and a park. When the test missile alert was sounded, police and disaster prevention officials with loudspeakers hurried the groups to designated shelter areas where they crouched down with their hands over their heads. A few dozen anti-war demonstrators gathered in front of the train station where the drill took place, chanting and holding signs that read "Missile drill is preparation for war" and "Diplomatic dialogue instead of missile drills".

Persons: Mutsumi Takahashi, Takahashi, Francis Tang, John Geddie, Gareth Jones Organizations: Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Tokyo, Japan, North Korea, Nerima, United States

SummaryCompanies New nuclear submarine nearly ready for serviceRussia building more submarinesKremlin: relations with Washington 'below zero'MOSCOW, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Russia's new strategic nuclear submarine, the Imperator Alexander III, has successfully tested a Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile, the Russian defence ministry said on Sunday. The Imperator Alexander III is the seventh of the Russian Project 955 Borei (Arctic Wind) class nuclear submarines and the fourth of the modernised Borei-A variant, according to Russian sources. They are known in NATO as the Dolgoruky class of submarines, after the first boat - the Yuri Dolgoruky - became the first new generation of nuclear submarine launched by Russia since the Cold War. [1/2]Russia's new nuclear-powered submarine Imperator Alexander III test launches the Bulava ballistic missile, designed to carry nuclear warheads, from the White Sea, in this screengrab taken from a video released on November 5, 2023. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview aired on Sunday that relations with the United States were below zero.

Persons: Imperator Alexander III, Alexander III, Yuri Dolgoruky, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Dmitry Donskoy, Potemkin, Lidia Kelly, Guy Faulconbridge, William Mallard, David Goodman Organizations: Federation of American Scientists, Navy, Russian, Russian Defence Ministry, REUTERS Acquire, Soviet Union, Northern, Thomson Locations: Russia, Washington, MOSCOW, Russian, NATO, Soviet, Ukraine, United States, Pacific, Melbourne, Moscow

☆ North Korea media urges stronger nuclear force after U.S. missile test
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A North Korean military commentator said despite the failure of the test, the presence of South Korean "puppet military gangsters" showed that U.S. nuclear weapons were targeted at North Korea. The commentary also criticised the U.S. and South Korea for various recent military steps including the deployment of U.S. nuclear strategic bombers to South Korea. The U.S. and South Korea also held air exercises involving 130 warplanes from both countries to simulate 24-hour wartime operations last month. South Korea and the United States say their exercises are aimed at maintaining combat readiness to respond to North Korea. North Korea denounces the exercises as preparations by the United States and its South Korean ally to invade it.

Persons: Kim, Hyunsu Yim, Hyonhee Shin, Robert Birsel Organizations: Minuteman, Daylight, Vandenberg Air Force Base, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, U.S, U.S . Air Force, South, North, Democratic People's, DPRK, Korea's Unification Ministry, Thomson Locations: California, U.S, Rights SEOUL, North Korea, United States, Korean, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, South Korea, North, Korea, Japan

☆ North Korea Protests to US Over Minuteman III Missile Test
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

By Hyunsu YimSEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea vowed to continue military action while criticizing the United States over a recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test, state media KCNA said on Friday. A South Korean delegation visited the base and observed the ICBM launch in the first such a visit since 2016, according to the country's defence ministry. The article also criticized military moves by the U.S. and South Korea including the deployment of what it described as U.S. nuclear strategic bombers in South Korea. The U.S. and South Korea also held major air exercises involving 130 warplanes from both countries to simulate 24-hour wartime operations last month. North Korea has routinely denounced joint military exercises by Seoul and Washington as rehearsals for war.

Persons: Hyunsu Yim, KCNA Organizations: Democratic People's, Vandenberg Space Force, U.S . Air Force, U.S Locations: Hyunsu Yim SEOUL, North Korea, United States, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, California, Korean, South Korea, Japan, U.S, Seoul, Washington, Korea

☆ Russia Pulled Out of a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Here’s What That Means.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Neil Macfarquhar | More About Neil Macfarquhar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But it leaves only one significant nuclear weapons pact between Russia and the United States in place: the New START treaty. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, or CTBT, was an attempt under the umbrella of the United Nations to ban all nuclear tests. Adopted in 1996, it never came into effect because not enough key countries, including the United States, have ratified it. The New START is now the only nuclear weapons deal between the United States and Russia. Although Mr. Putin announced last February that Russia was suspending its participation, Russia has thus far stuck to the treaty limits.

Persons: Russia’s, Mr, Putin, Siberia — Organizations: United Locations: United States, Russia, Ban, United Nations, Washington, Ukraine, Europe, Siberia, Moscow

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