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☆ Worried about World War III, Trump says he wants an 'impenetrable' shield like Iron Dome to protect the US from hypersonic weapons. A missile defense expert says it's a long shot.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Trump recently said the US should build a nationwide missile defense shield like Israel's Iron Dome. It is unclear if Trump wants the Iron Dome system defending American cities or if he wants a new shield specifically designed for hypersonic threats. Either way, his plan for an "impenetrable" defense is unrealistic, a missile defense expert told Insider. 'There's always some way to get through'Right now, the US has a homeland missile defense system called the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD). While Trump appears to be questionably framing the missile defense situation, there are still certain things that the US can do to strengthen its homeland missile defense, Williams noted.

☆ Austin in South Korea as Yoon seeks greater U.S. nuclear assurances
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is greeted by military officials upon his arrival at the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea January 30, 2023. Lee Jin-man/Pool via REUTERSSEOUL, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The defence chiefs of the United States and South Korea will hold talks on Tuesday in Seoul as Washington seeks to reassure a key Asian ally over its nuclear commitment amid growing threats from North Korea. The latest meeting comes as South Korea pushes to bolster confidence in American extended deterrence - its military capability, especially nuclear forces, to deter attacks on its allies. Nuclear-armed North Korea launched an unprecedented number of missiles last year, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. The North's evolving threats had also revived calls from some politicians and experts in South Korea for bringing back U.S. tactical nuclear weapons or even developing its own nuclear programmes, though Seoul officials dismissed such a possibility.

☆ North Korea calls U.S. pledge of tanks to Ukraine 'unethical crime'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Jan 29 (Reuters) - North Korea on Sunday criticized for a second day a U.S. decision to send tanks to Ukraine, calling it an "unethical crime" aimed at perpetuating an unstable international situation. Washington's allegations that North Korea has provided arms to Russia are a "groundless rumor" to justify its own military aid to Ukraine, Kwon Chung-keun, director of U.S. affairs at North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement carried by state news agency KCNA. "This is an unethical crime aimed at keeping the international situation unstable." Nuclear-armed North Korea launched an unprecedented number of missiles last year, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. The White House said in December that North Korea completed an initial arms delivery of infantry rockets and missiles to a private Russian military company, the Wagner Group, to shore up Russian forces in Ukraine.

☆ North Korea slams United States for pledging tanks to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Jan 28 (Reuters) - North Korea on Saturday denounced U.S. pledges of battle tanks to Ukraine, claiming Washington was "further crossing the red line" to win hegemony by proxy war, state media KCNA reported. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, made the remarks in a statement carried by KCNA, saying that North Korea will "stand in the same trench" as Russia against the United States. The United States said this week it would supply Ukraine with 31 of its most advanced battle tanks after Germany made a similar announcement. The United States and Western countries "have neither right nor justification to slander sovereign states' exercise of the right to self-defence." Nuclear-armed North Korea launched an unprecedented number of missiles last year, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.

☆ Unusual blood cancer cases among US troops who manned nuclear missile silos at a base in Montana are raising new questions for the military
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

US military officers who worked at a nuclear missile base have developed cancer in recent years. An Air Force spokesperson told Insider that leadership is "aware of the concerns." "Senior leaders are aware of the concerns raised about the possible association of cancer related to missile combat crew members at Malmstrom AFB," Rose Riley, an Air Force spokesperson, told Insider. "The information in the briefing has been shared with the Department of the Air Force Surgeon General and our medical professionals are working to gather data and understand more." A spokesperson at Malmstrom Air Force Base confirmed to Insider that the base is aware of the situation but had no further information on the matter.

☆ U.N. chief says onus on North Korea to return to talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

North Korea has been subject to U.N. sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. So-called six-party denuclearization talks - between North Korea, South Korea, China, the United States, Russia and Japan - stalled in 2009. "The onus is on the DPRK to comply with its international obligations and return to the negotiating table," said Guterres, using North Korea's formal name. The United States has said that its up to North Korea to decide whether it will engage in talks on its nuclear weapons program. North Korea has rebuffed U.S. entreaties for diplomacy since President Joe Biden succeeded Trump in January 2021.

☆ South Korea, U.S. plan February nuclear tabletop drills to deter North
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Jan 11 (Reuters) - South Korea and the United States will hold tabletop exercises next month as the allies move to better counter the North's nuclear threats, South Korea's defence minister said on Wednesday. Nuclear-armed North Korea launched an unprecedented number of missiles last year, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. "We're planning to hold tabletop exercises in February between defence officials on operating means of extended deterrence under the scenario of North Korea's nuclear attacks," South Korean defence minister Lee Jong-sup told a news conference. "There is a shared need for it between the two sides, given that North Korea's nuclear threat has become serious not only to South Korea but also to the United States," he said. As part of efforts to step up its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability, South Korea plans to launch its first spy satellite this year and four more by 2025, he added.

☆ Russia pledges to develop more nukes, submarines, and bombers, calling them its main guarantee of sovereignty
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia will continue to develop its nuclear triad, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday. The triad consists of ICBMs, nuclear submarines, and strategic bombers. Shoigu said that Russia will push ahead with the development and maintenance of ballistic missiles, submarines, and strategic bombers, a combination known as a nuclear triad, Reuters reported. Russia's nuclear triad delivery systems are currently in the process of modernization, the non-partisan think tank said. Those modernization efforts include the construction of Borei-class nuclear submarines, the development of a new ICBM, and equipping its air fleet with nuclear cruise missiles.

☆ 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.

☆ 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 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.

☆ 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 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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ U.S. slaps restrictions on Chinese chipmaker and other companies over national security worries
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration said Thursday it was "severely" restricting dozens of mostly Chinese organizations, including at least one chipmaker, over their efforts to use advanced technologies to help modernize China's military. The Bureau's latest action comes more than two months after the Biden administration imposed new curbs on China's access to advanced semiconductors. "I've long sounded the alarm on the grave national security and economic threats behind YMTC and other CCP-backed technology companies, like CXMT and SMIC," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement Thursday morning. "YMTC poses an immediate threat to our national security, so the Biden Administration needed to act swiftly to prevent YMTC from gaining even an inch of a military or economic advantage," Schumer said. Four more were added due to "their significant risk of becoming involved in activities that could have a negative impact" on U.S. national security of foreign policy, according to the release.

☆ U.S. forces launch space unit in South Korea amid North's growing threats
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Forces Korea launched a new space forces unit on Wednesday as the allies ramp up efforts to better counter North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats. The U.S. Space Forces Korea is the second overseas space component of the U.S. Space Force and is tasked with monitoring, detecting and tracking incoming missiles, as well as bolstering the military's overall space capability. South Korea's air force also set up its own space unit this month to bolster its space power and operation capability together with the U.S. Space Force. Beijing has warned Seoul against joining a U.S.-led global missile shield, and criticised the THAAD U.S. missile defence system installed in South Korea. Seoul's defence ministry said the creation of the U.S. space component had nothing to do with South Korea's participation in existing missile defence programmes.

SEOUL, Dec 5 (Reuters) - North Korea said it fired more than 130 artillery shells into the sea off its east and west coasts on Monday after detecting military drills across the border in the South. The South Korean military sent several warning communications to the North over the firing, the ministry of defence said in a statement. South Korea and the United States were conducting a joint land-based firing drill near the border in Cheorwon County in the middle of the peninsula on Monday. North Korea has criticised the joint drills as evidence of a hostile policy by Washington and Seoul. South Korea has accused the North of repeatedly violating the agreement with artillery drills this year, including one day in mid-October when more than 500 rounds were fired into the sea.

☆ U.S. sanctions 3 people following string of North Korean missile launches
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

People watch a TV news program reporting on North Korea test-firing a newly developed tactical guided weapon on April 17, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea. Treasury added that these officials "personally attended numerous ballistic missile launches since at least 2017." The sanctions follow renewed North Korean ballistic missile tests. So far this year, Pyongyang has launched eight intercontinental ballistic missiles and carried out 60 ballistic missile tests. In October, North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles.

☆ North Korea missile had the range to reach U.S. mainland, Japan says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, Nov 18 (Reuters) - A missile fired on Friday by North Korea had sufficient range to reach the United States mainland, and was capable of flying as far as 15,000 km (9,320 miles), Japan's defence minister, Yasukazu Hamada, said. The projectile, in the class of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), reached an altitude of 6,000 km (3,730 miles), covering a range of 1,000 km (622 miles) on a lofted trajectory, Hirokazu Matsuno, the chief cabinet secretary, had said earlier. It landed about 200 km (124 miles) west of Oshima-Oshima island in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido. Reporting by Tokyo newsroom; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biden to warn Xi North Korea's path could prompt bigger U.S. military
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. President Joe Biden will warn Chinese President Xi Jinping at a meeting on Monday that North Korea's continued pursuit of weapons development will lead to an enhanced U.S. military presence in the region, the White House said. "And so the People's Republic of China has an interest in playing a constructive role in restraining North Korea's worst tendencies," Sullivan added, using the country's official name. U.S.-led international sanctions have failed to halt North Korea's growing weapons programs. The day before his meeting with Xi, Biden will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol in Cambodia to discuss how to rein in North Korea's nuclear program. Sullivan also said Biden hoped his first face-to-face talks with Xi would lead to more such meetings.

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