Eurobench.com

DeZwarteRidder 16 september 2021 19:35

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quote:
johan20090 schreef op 16 september 2021 16:05:
Bandage on back of Kim Jong-Un's head draws unsolicited theories. brain tumor?
youtu.be/X6iC-nHrBog

Ik denk dat hij op z'n achterhoofd gevallen is.........

[verwijderd] 17 september 2021 17:34

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Kim Jong Un’s Train Missile Video Shows Hollywood Influence

North Korea released video of its new system to launch missiles from trains, offering a multitude of camera angles that show its capabilities, and underscoring Kim Jong Un’s push to increase the production value of state propaganda.

The video starts with a shot from a drone flying over train tracks that lead into a tunnel. From there, two reddish-bronze train carriages emerge pushed by a locomotive. The airborne drone footage captures men in what appear to be matching beige jumpsuits leaving a carriage, while the roof from one carriage is retracted and a missile rises.

The video of the test Wednesday of two short-range ballistic missiles then displays four different angles of one of the launches, including one from overhead, followed by shots of how the missile was set into position on the train. It was North Korea’s first test of ballistic missiles since March, and followed what Pyongyang said was a test of new, long-range cruise missiles over the weekend.

“We have established a railway mobile missile regiment that enhances our ability for simultaneous and concentrated strike on our threats, and better respond to various threats,” a state TV announcer said over the video.

Quick edits of videos shot from a variety of angles that include drones are a far cry from parades under former leader, Kim Jong Il. Back then, there was little variation in the shots and soldiers could be seen moving heavy movie cameras into position by hand, reinforcing the impression that North Korea wasn’t just isolated, but stuck in the past.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of the leader, likely has had a role in this change from her position in the state’s propaganda department, which manages the messages that go out to the masses through official media. She offered a blistering rhetorical attack this week on South Korean President Moon Jae-in for making “thoughtless utterances” and spoiling the prospects for peace.

North Korea, which is barred by United Nations resolutions from ballistic missile testing, has been building up its capabilities to strike the U.S. mainland with nuclear warheads and deliver tactical strikes against South Korea and Japan, which host tens of thousands of American troops.

The footage of the missile launch follows a military parade broadcast last Friday that showcased the many advancements state TV has made under Kim. The event opened with military marching bands, fireworks, and sky divers soaring through the air with North Korean flags affixed to their ankles.

The new looks, have been rolled out steadily since early 2019, when North Korea began a transition to high-definition broadcasts. Computer graphics have been added into reports on economic production. Sets took on a more modern look and younger reporters in the field and newscasters in fashionable clothing made their way onto screens.

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-...

[verwijderd] 17 september 2021 21:29

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NUCLEAR OPTION Kim Jong-Un ‘ramps up uranium production for nukes days after ballistic missile launches in chilling threat to West’

KIM Jong-Un is said to be accelerating his bid for nuclear war after satellite pictures suggested that he is “ramping up his production of uranium.”

Experts believe a new construction site at the Yongbyon nuclear research centre, near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, has the capabilities of producing weapon-grade material.

It comes as North Korea have been carrying out a range of tests on ballistic missiles as they continue to signal their chilling intentions to the west.

According to The Times, the ballistic missiles were tested on Wednesday and came just days after a cruise missile, that experts say could have a nuclear capability, was shot into the sky.

The experts added its range was so deadly that it was even capable of reaching Japan.

A now pictures of the site, which is likely to be producing the materials that make them functional, has appeared be to expanding operations - just weeks after it reopened for the first time in three years.

The site obtained by CNN was captured by Maxar, a commercial imaging company and analysed by experts.

Jeffery Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies which specialises in open-source intelligence, suggested that a new expansion of the facility could increase production of weapons-grade material by 25 per cent.

“The new area is approximately 1,000 square metres,” Lewis estimated.

“There is space to house 1,000 additional (gas) centrifuges.”

If North Korea were to upgrade the type of centrifuges currently in use at this plant, it "could increase the capacity of the plant substantially," he added.

EBOLDENING FOREIGN ADVERSARIES

These latest satellite images only bolster accusations aimed at the US amid their failure to prevent the chaotic fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban.

Experts have since warned that they living on borrowed time as a number of foreign adversaries, such as North Korea, smell blood.

Dr Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told The Sun Online that the Afghanistan could only be the start.

Dr Gould-Davies said: "Of course if your adversary shows who shows these negative qualities then you will take advantage.

"They will feel embolden and try to test whether Americans really do maintain resolve and strength and commitment."

"We are entering an unsettled condition. There will be more contests rather than fewer. It could get quite turbulent for a while.

"Whether it is a new world order, it might be more like a ‘new world of disorder’."

The latest spate of missile tests from North Korea, only appear to have encouraged the hermit nation as they the new images suggest that they will start flexing their military muscles and bolstering their arsenals.

Ned Price, the US state department spokesman, has proceeded to condemn the launches made by Kim’s team and urged a diplomatic solution to the growing challenge from Pyongyang.

He said the Biden administration was committed to dialogue with North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong-Un, with the aim of denuclearising the Korean peninsula.

But, they have so far met by taunts and threats from the slimmed down dictatorial leader who maintains that he is still preparing for military “confrontation.”

www.thesun.co.uk/news/16169339/kim-jo...

[verwijderd] 19 september 2021 09:45

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DEFCON UN Kim Jong-Un branded a ‘catastrophic threat’ as he secretly preps nukes, launches missiles and sells arms to terrorists

NORTH Korea has been branded a "catastrophic threat" to global security as Kim Jong-Un quietly preps his nukes and keeps his coffers flush.

Experts told The Sun Online of the ongoing threat posed by North Korea as US President Joe Biden prepares to meet what is likely going to be one of the major international issues of his time in the White House.

Scott Snyder, a senior fellow for Korea studies at the Council For Foreign Relations, told The Sun Online the regime is the most "potentially catastrophic security threat" in 2021.

The renegade state yesterday reportedly launched two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, confirmed US officials and the Japanese Coast Guard, as Kim Jong-un resumed his war-mongering military tests.

The offensive was North Korea's second missile test in less than 24 hours after around 12 months of inactivity.

Authorities in Japan reported that at least one "projectile" believed to be a ballistic missile had been launched from North Korea on Wednesday.

Minutes later, a US official told Fox News that the state fired two short-ranged ballistic missiles - capable of carrying a nuclear warhead - into the Sea of Japan.

The last rocket test conducted by North Korea took place in March 2020.

The launches come as North Korea has already lashed out at Biden with a scathing rebuke by Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong, and reportedly Pyongyang has already refused to engage with efforts by Washington to reopen communication.

Kim and former president Donald Trump had enjoyed something of a bromance, but despite overtures of friendship all progress stalled following the collapse of the Hanoi summit in 2019.

The regime is believed to be steaming ahead with its nuclear weapons programme - unveiling two new types of missile in the past few months - despite ongoing economic hardship for North Korea.

Pyongyang has unveiled two new weapons over the last few months, a new submarine launched missile and North Korea's biggest ever ICBM, the Hwasong-16.

And earlier this month, it was reported that North Korea could start testing nuclear bombs again after satellite photos revealed new activity at the site where its weapons are stockpiled.

The secretive state reportedly stashes all its nukes at an underground facility at Yongdoktong, in the North Pyongan Province.

Yongdoktong's two tunnel entrances were always visible in satellite photos until now, allowing international observers to keep tabs on the site.

But now it appears that the Kim regime has erected a new building to hide the entrances, fuelling speculation the dictator will soon try to move his nukes unnoticed.

It comes amid fears the country had revived its coal-fired steam plant at the Nuclear Science and Weapons Research Centre after a two-year hiatus as smoke has been spotted at the site since late February, suggesting secret extraction of plutonium to make more warheads.

Experts explained to The Sun Online the regime continues to keep its coffers flush with enough cash for its weapons despite facing crushing UN sanctions.

Cristina Varriale, a research fellow at RUSI, warned North Korea poses a threat of "military miscalculation or escalation", while Dr Dr Ramon Pacheco-Pardo from King's College London, explained Kim could potentially "destabilize" the balance of power in East Asia.

www.thesun.co.uk/news/14357791/kim-se...

Kim's regime is pressing on with its quest for nuclear weapons - which it is funding through massive cyber heists, carrying out illegal trades, and even selling arms to terrorists.

[verwijderd] 20 september 2021 01:33

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North Korea stole $1B during cyber heists over past decade, study says

North Korea is connected to more than half of the world's top 10 financial hacking incidents and may have stolen about $1 billion since 2011, according to a new study.

Britain-based Traders of Crypto said in a new report North Korea has been stealing consistently from bitcoin exchanges and engaging in other forms of cyber theft, Voice of America's Korean service reported.

Of the top 10 financial heists from 2011 to 2020, five of the incidents were North Korea affiliated, the report said.

North Korea's computer hackers were responsible for the January 2018 attack on Japanese exchange Coincheck, stealing $534 million in NEM, an open-source cryptocurrency token. NEM stands for New Economic Movement. The heist is one of the biggest on record for virtual currencies, VOA reported.

www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2021/...

[verwijderd] 20 september 2021 13:51

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ROCKET MAN Kim Jong-Un stokes WW3 fears with double ballistic missile as South Korea fires first sub-launched rockets

KIM Jong-un has stoked up World War Three fears with a double ballistic missile test as South Korea fires its first sub-launched rockets.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended a test firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) just hours after rival Pyongyang launched two rockets in a chilling escalation of tensions along the Korean peninsula.

It comes as Jei-in was present at an underwater SLBM test aboard the new 3,000-tonne class Dosan Ahn Chang-ho KSS submarine last month, his office said.

This makes South Korea the only country to field such weapons without nuclear warheads.

The Blue House said in a statement: "President Moon evaluated that today’s successful test produced results that would make the people feel more relieved and proud, praising the hard work of researchers and related personnel

"The possession of an SLBM has a significant meaning for the purpose of securing deterrence capabilities responding to omnidirectional threats and will play a big role in the establishment of national self-defense and peace on the Korean Peninsula in the future."

Other countries that have tested or developed SLBMs, including the US, Russia, China, Britain, France, North Korea, and India, have typically designed them to carry nuclear weapons.

Experts say this could have ground-breaking implications for North Korea, the US, and could usher in a nuclear arms race in the Koreas, according to Reuters.

It comes as Pyongyang fired what appear to be a ballistic missile off its east coast just two days after it claimed it was testing new weapons on Wednesday.

The unknown projectile, believed to be a missile, flew towards the Korean Peninsula's east coast.

www.thesun.co.uk/news/16143733/north-...

[verwijderd] 20 september 2021 13:55

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GONE BALLISTIC Moment North Korea fires bizarre railway-borne missile system in latest weapons test

NORTH Korean dictator Kim Jong-un last night unveiled his country's latest missile launch system - from a train. North Korea showcased its latest missile launch system from a train.

The rogue state announced it had tested its “railway-borne missile system” yesterday with warheads flying 497 miles before striking a target in the sea.

Photos released by state news agency KCNA showed an olive-green missile rising on a column of smoke and flame from the roof of a train parked on tracks in a mountainous area.

Pak Jong Chon, a North Korean marshal, said: “The railway-borne missile system serves as an efficient counter-strike means capable of dealing a harsh multi-concurrent blow to the threat-posing forces.”

He added there are plans to expand the railway-borne missile regiment to a brigade-size force and to conduct training to gain “operational experience for actual war".

Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, said on Twitter: “Rail mobile missiles are a relatively cheap and reliable option for countries seeking to improve the survivability of their nuclear forces.

“Russia did it. The US considered it. It makes a ton of sense for North Korea.”

It comes after Kim stoked up World War Three fears with a double ballistic missile test as South Korea fired its first sub-launched rockets.

www.thesun.co.uk/news/16154422/north-...

[verwijderd] 20 september 2021 19:27

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BOMB THREAT WW3 fears as Kim Jong-Un warns of chilling new nuclear arms race over Australia sub deal

WORLD War Three fears are mounting after Kim Jong-un warned of a chilling new nuclear arms race over Australia's submarine pact with America and Britain.

The North Korean dictator slammed the "double standards" of the United States and vowed to retaliate after Joe Biden signed a historic deal to build Australia's first nuclear submarine fleet.

Kim said the pact was an "extremely" dangerous move which would destroy the security balance in the Asia-Pacific and set off a terrifying nuclear arms race.

According to the official KCNA news agency, North Korea's foreign ministry said: "These are extremely undesirable and dangerous acts which will upset the strategic balance in the Asia-Pacific region and trigger off a chain of nuclear arms race."

The ministry said North Korea was closely examining the deal and vowed counter-measures if it has "even a little adverse impact on the security of our country".

The rogue state suspended its testing of nuclear bombs and intercontinental-range ballistic missiles in 2018 when Kim held talks with former President Donald Trump.

The nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled since the collapse of a second Trump-Kim meeting in 2019.

www.thesun.co.uk/news/16188014/world-...

hirshi 20 september 2021 19:34

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Kim Jong-Un was een bewonderaar van Donald Trump.

Daar kun je als Amerikaanse president wat mee.

Sleepy Joe Biden kan niet eens een vliegtuigtrap aflopen laat staan met Kim Jong-Un onderhandelen.

Wat dat betreft zijn de risico;s onder Sleepy Joe Biden immens toegenomen en loopt de wereldvrede groter gevaar dan ooit.

[verwijderd] 20 september 2021 19:52

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quote:
hirshi schreef op 20 september 2021 19:34:
Kim Jong-Un was een bewonderaar van Donald Trump.

Daar kun je als Amerikaanse president wat mee.

Sleepy Joe Biden kan niet eens een vliegtuigtrap aflopen laat staan met Kim Jong-Un onderhandelen.

Wat dat betreft zijn de risico;s onder Sleepy Joe Biden immens toegenomen en loopt de wereldvrede groter gevaar dan ooit.

Het is duidelijk dat er in de regio een wapen wedloop aan de gang is en dit is een grote bedreiging voor de wereldvrede. Als Kim Jong-Un zich bedreigt voelt dan drukt hij op de knop. Het is altijd de gek die zoiets doet.

[verwijderd] 20 september 2021 20:24

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quote:
hirshi schreef op 20 september 2021 19:34:
Kim Jong-Un was een bewonderaar van Donald Trump.

Daar kun je als Amerikaanse president wat mee.

Sleepy Joe Biden kan niet eens een vliegtuigtrap aflopen laat staan met Kim Jong-Un onderhandelen.

Wat dat betreft zijn de risico;s onder Sleepy Joe Biden immens toegenomen en loopt de wereldvrede groter gevaar dan ooit.

Trump to Kim: My nuclear button is 'bigger and more powerful'

US President Donald Trump has boasted that his nuclear button is "much bigger" and "more powerful" than North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's.

hirshi 20 september 2021 20:34

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quote:
johan20090 schreef op 20 september 2021 20:24:
[...]

Trump to Kim: My nuclear button is 'bigger and more powerful'

US President Donald Trump has boasted that his nuclear button is "much bigger" and "more powerful" than North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's.

Trump kon Kim Jong-Uns in bedwang houden.
Kim Jong-Uns bewonderde Trump en had ontzag voor hem.
Was on speaking terms.
Biden heeft al moeite een vliegtuigtrap af te komen
Laat staan dat hij wereldleiders ontmoet.
Een bezoek aan Groot Brittanië.is nog net gelukt
Een succes was het trouwens ook al niet.

[verwijderd] 21 september 2021 09:14

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quote:
hirshi schreef op 20 september 2021 20:34:
[...]

Trump kon Kim Jong-Uns in bedwang houden.
Kim Jong-Uns bewonderde Trump en had ontzag voor hem.
Was on speaking terms.
Biden heeft al moeite een vliegtuigtrap af te komen
Laat staan dat hij wereldleiders ontmoet.
Een bezoek aan Groot Brittanië.is nog net gelukt
Een succes was het trouwens ook al niet.

Former President Donald Trump called Kim Jong Un "a fucking lunatic," according to a new book.

Despite the public show of affection between former President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un as they sought to propel the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the former president made a less-than-flattering comment about the leader during his time in office, according to an upcoming book by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

www.businessinsider.com/trump-kim-jon...

[verwijderd] 21 september 2021 12:59

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North Korea slams U.S. over submarine deal, warns countermeasures

North Korea has criticized a U.S. decision to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia and threatened unspecified countermeasures if it finds the deal affects its security.

State media on Monday published comments from an unidentified North Korean Foreign Ministry official who called the arrangement between U.S., Britain and Australia an "extremely" dangerous move that would destroy the security balance in the Asia-Pacific. The official said it would set off a nuclear arms race.

The official said the North was closely examining the deal and would proceed accordingly if it has "even a little adverse impact on the security of our country."

U.S. President Joe Biden announced last week a new alliance including Australia and Britain that would deliver an Australian fleet of at least eight nuclear-powered submarines. Biden has stressed the vessels would be conventionally armed.

France denounced the move, accusing Australia of concealing its intentions to back out of a 90 billion Australian dollar (US$66 billion) contract with the French majority state-owned Naval Group to build 12 conventional diesel-electric submarines for Australia.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison blamed the switch on a deteriorating strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific, a clear reference to China's massive military buildup that has been gaining pace.

Apparently alluding to the French complaints, the North Korean official said the United States was being accused of back-stabbing even by its allies. The North believes the deal would destroy the "peace and stability of the region and the international nuclear non-proliferation system" and catalyze an arms race.

"The prevailing situation shows once again that bolstering the capabilities for national defence from a long-term perspective should not be slackened even a bit in order to cope with the ever-changing international security environment," the Korean Central News Agency quoted the official as saying.

North Korea suspended its testing of nuclear bombs and intercontinental-range ballistic missiles that could hit the U.S. mainland in 2018, when its leader Kim Jong-Un initiated diplomacy with former President Donald Trump while attempting to leverage his arsenal for badly needed sanctions relief.

Nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled since the collapse of a second Trump-Kim meeting in 2019, when the Americans rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for dismantling an aging nuclear facility. That would have amounted to only a partial surrender of the North's nuclear capabilities.

The North has continued testing shorter range weapons, threatening U.S. allies South Korea and Japan in an apparent effort to pressure the Biden administration over the stalled diplomacy.

This month, the North tested a new cruise missile it intends to eventually arm with nuclear warheads and demonstrated a new system for launching ballistic missiles from trains.

The North's launches from rail cars on Wednesday came hours before the South reported its first test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile. The dual display of military might highlighted a return of tensions in the region.

In a separate statement Monday, the North scoffed at the South's test, saying the missile was clumsy and didn't appear ready for military use.

Jang Chang Ha, president of North Korea's Academy for National Defence, said the rudimentary weapon system designed to fire conventionally-armed missiles posed no immediate threat to the North.

The North tested its Pukguksong-3 missile from a sea-based platform in 2019, part of a years-long effort to acquire the ability to fire nuclear-armed missiles from submarines

www.ctvnews.ca/world/north-korea-slam...

[verwijderd] 22 september 2021 16:29

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KIM & GET IT Top US military commander issues chilling warning to North Korea and says ‘I’m ready 24/7, 365’ if missile is launched

A TOP US military commander has issued a chilling warning to North Korea and said "I'm ready 24/7, 365" if a missile is launched.

Gen. Glen VanHerck said America "continues to be ready to respond, should North Korea elect to launch a missile", in a briefing

He told reporters in a Department of Defense press briefing: "I'm ready 24/7, 365, if...North Korea decides to launch a ballistic missile.

"I'm confident in our capabilities.

"We continue to be ready to respond, should North Korea elect to launch a missile."

Gen. VanHerck had been responding to a question on "a report on the restart of North Korea's nuclear reactors."

That came after watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency said the country appear to have restarted operations at its nuclear reactor that's been shut down for three years.

The plutonium-producing reactor at Yongbyon has stood inactive since December 2018 - but last month was reportedly seen.

Plutonium - one of the two key ingredients used to build nuclear weapons along with highly enriched uranium - is produced at the complex, which has a 5-megawatt reactor.

"Since early July, there have been indications, including the discharge of cooling water, consistent with the operation of the reactor," the agency's annual report on North Korea's nuclear activity reads.

It also notes that the Yongbyon reactor appears to have been inactive from December 2018 until the beginning of July this year.

'DEEPLY TROUBLING'

In 2009 the IAEA was expelled by Pyongyang, and so hasn't had access to Yongbyon or other locations in North Korea since inspectors were kicked out. The agency said it uses satellite imagery and open source information to monitor developments in the country's nuclear program.

The report also said there were indications of the operation at Yongbyon's radiochemical laboratory - where plutonium is extracted by reprocessing spent fuel rods removed from reactors - from mid-February to early July this year.

Apparent activity at both the reactor and laboratory have been branded "deeply troubling" by the IAEA, which added that developments are a clear violation of the UN Security Council resolutions.

The complex, which North Korea calls the heart of its nuclear program and research, has been at the centre of international concerns for decades.

It's not clear exactly how much weapons-grade plutonium or highly enriched uranium has been produced at Yongbyon and where North Korea stores it.

DEAL OFF

In early 2019, Kim offered to dismantle the entire complex if he won extensive sanctions relief during a summit with then-President Donald Trump. But the Americans rejected Kim's offer because it would only be a partial surrender of his nuclear capability.

North Korea is believed to be running multiple other covet uranium enrichment facilities. According to a South Korean estimate in 2018, North Korea might already have manufactured 20-60 nuclear weapons as well.

In recent months, the country has warned it would expand its nuclear program if the United States doesn't withdraw its hostile policy on the North, in an apparent reference to US-led sanctions and regular US-South Korean military drills.

DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN?

Earlier this month, Kim's powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, said North Korea would bolster "absolute deterrence" to cope with intensifying US threats.

It comes after experts warned Yongbyon nuclear reactor could be another Fukushima-style disaster waiting to happen after the plant was damaged by storms last year.

Topics also discussed in the briefing included Covid assistance, help fighting wildfires on the west coast and Afghanistan.

www.thesun.co.uk/news/16048404/milita...

en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210904000200325

[verwijderd] 25 september 2021 16:01

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North Korea offers talks, likely trying to get sanctions relief

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Friday that her country is willing to resume talks with South Korea if conditions are met, indicating it wants Seoul to persuade Washington to relax crippling economic sanctions.

Kim Yo Jong’s statement came days after North Korea performed its first missile tests in six months, which some experts said were intended to show it will keep boosting its weapons arsenal if the U.S.-led sanctions continue while nuclear diplomacy remains stalled.

She offered the talks while mentioning South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s call, issued in a speech at the U.N. General Assembly, for a political declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War as a way to bring peace to the peninsula.

“Smiling a forced smile, reading the declaration of the termination of the war, and having photos taken could be essential for somebody, but I think that they would hold no water and would change nothing, given the existing inequality, serious contradiction therefrom and hostilities,” Kim Yo Jong said in the statement carried by state media.

She said North Korea is willing to hold “constructive” talks with South Korea to discuss how to improve and repair strained ties if the South stops provoking the North with hostile policies, far-fetched assertions and double-dealing standards.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said it was carefully reviewing Kim Yo Jong’s statement. It said South Korea would continue its efforts to restore ties with North Korea.

Last week, North Korea conducted its first cruise and ballistic missile tests since March, demonstrating its ability to launch attacks on South Korea and Japan, two key U.S. allies where a total of 80,000 American soldiers are stationed. But North Korea is still maintaining a moratorium on nuclear tests and launches of long-range missiles that directly target the American homeland, a sign that it wants to keep chances for future diplomacy with Washington alive.

“North Korea would think it doesn’t cross a [red line] set by the U.S. ... so it says it can come to talks” if conditions are favorable for sanctions relief, said Seo Yu-Seok at the Seoul-based Institute of North Korean Studies.

Nam said North Korea is likely to conduct more powerful weapons tests if the U.S. and South Korea don’t accept its demand for sanctions relief.

www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/20...

[verwijderd] 28 september 2021 16:53

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These countries, including North Korea, reported ‘zero’ Covid-19 cases. How true are their claims?

North Korea told the World Health Organisation in June that it tested more than 30,000 people for Covid-19 till that month but found not a single case of the virus. The isolated and secretive state has banned tourists and severely restricted cross-border traffic and trade to stop the virus.

At a time when the coronavirus pandemic has the entire world in a chokehold, there are certain countries where reports say not a single case of infection has been reported in nearly two years. According to a review of data collected by the Johns Hopkins University in Maryland and the World Health Organization (WHO), there are five countries – three of them isolated islands in the Pacific, Turkmenistan, and North Korea – where not even a single Covid-19 case has been reported so far. Further fuelling this idea, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also claimed that the frontiers of his country are safe from the coronavirus pandemic. However, given that it is notoriously difficult to get proper facts out of the East Asian country without bypassing its state control, several experts have doubted this claim, pointing out that Pyongyang simply chose not to disclose reports regarding its actual Covid-19 tally.

Here's examining the reports which claim the coronavirus pandemic has not touched a single human soul in certain countries:

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan insists that none of its residents have contracted the coronavirus disease so far, in the nearly two years since the Covid-19 pandemic began. The country's president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who has ruled since 2006, told the United Nations in an address earlier this week that any reports of Covid-19 in his country are “fake” and that the response to this pandemic should not be “politicised”.

However, independent activists cited by the CNN news network said that the Turkmenistan government, “secretive” and “authoritarian”, is suppressing data to hide the fact that hospitals and medical health professionals in the central Asian country are actually being overwhelmed with the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Ruslan Myatiev, an exile from Turkmenistan and editor of the Netherlands-based independent news organisation Turkmen News, said that the “repressive” president of the former Soviet nation was downplaying the Covid-19 threat in order to protect his image.

Myatiev has personally assembled the names of more than 60 people – including doctors, artists, and teachers – whose families have corroborated the reports of their deaths from the deadly virus.

North Korea

North Korea told the World Health Organization in June that it tested more than 30,000 people for Covid-19 till that month but found not a single case of the virus. The isolated and secretive state has banned tourists and severely restricted cross-border traffic and trade to stop the virus.

But many experts doubt the North Korean dictatorship's claim that it has not found a single case of the virus. They say the country's poor health infrastructure and porous border with China — its major ally and economic lifeline — mean that some people would have caught the infection.

Recent footage of North Korean soldiers goose-stepping in hazmat suits through capital Pyongyang on its founding anniversary sent an ominous indicator. North Korea's population is estimated at about 25 million, and although no one knows the exact extent of the infection rate, experts say that the spread of Covid-19 in the country will prove “disastrous”, with its healthcare system not equipped with the proper means to cope with the crisis.

www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/the...

[verwijderd] 29 september 2021 18:33

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North Korea says it fired new 'hypersonic missile'

North Korea has claimed that it successfully tested a new hypersonic missile called Hwasong-8 on Tuesday.

State media said the new missile was one of the "five most important" new weapons systems laid out in its five-year military development plan.

They called the missile a "strategic weapon", which usually means it has nuclear capabilities.

Tuesday's launch is another indication of Pyongyang's growing weapons technology amid strict sanctions.

"The development of this weapons system...[has increased] the nation's capabilities for self-defence in every way," North Korean state news outlet KCNA said.

Tuesday's launch also saw North Korea introduce missile fuel ampoule for the first time - described by North Korea analyst Ankit Panda as a "significant milestone".

This is a technology that allows missiles to be pre-fuelled and then sent to the field in canisters. This means it could potentially stay launch-ready for years.

The latest launch also marked the country's third missile test this month. It has already revealed a new type of cruise missile, as a well as a new train-launched ballistic missile system.

Yesterday's launch came as its North Korean envoy Kim Song defended the country's right to develop weapons at the annual UN General Assembly in New York.

Mr Kim said the country was "building up our national defence in order to defend ourselves and reliably safeguard the security and peace of the country".
What is a hypersonic missile?

Hypersonic missiles are much faster and more agile than normal ones, making them much harder for missile defence systems to intercept.

North Korea joins a small pool of countries, including the United States, Russia, China and India, in attempting to develop the weapons. In July Russia announced that it had successfully launched a hypersonic missile which reached a speed of 8659.88km/h (5381mph) from a frigate in the White Sea.

KCNA said the test launch confirmed the "navigational control and stability of the missile".

Mr Panda, a Stanton Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said it was difficult at this point to assess the "precise capabilities" of the missile, but added that it could "presumably present a very different challenge for missile defence from traditional ballistic missiles".

This addition of the missile fuel ampoule means the weapon would be ready to be fired straight away. If it doesn't need to be fuelled out in the field, it means the launch time is much quicker. The quicker launch time also means it's more difficult for other countries to make a pre-emptive strike.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had at an earlier meeting in January declared that scientists had "finished research" into developing hypersonic gliding warheads. Tuesday's test was the first for this new system.

"The push to develop a hypersonic glider isn't all too surprising given that Kim Jong Un had indicated this back in January," said Mr Panda.

"This is, however, a reminder that Mr Kim's missile ambitions are far from having run their course."

However, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said they believed this hypersonic missile was still at an early stage of development and it will take a considerable period of time before it can be deployed in combat. They added that both South Korea and the US are currently capable of detecting and intercepting this missile.

What do we know about North Korea's weapons programme?

North Korea's recent tests - this was the third one fired this month alone - indicate that it is ramping up its weapons programme.

The US has been calling for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, and Pyongyang's relationship with President Joe Biden's administration has so far been fraught with tension.

Japan and North Korea also have enduring tensions rooted in Japan's 35-year colonisation of Korea (1910-1945), Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear and missile programmes, and the North's past abduction of Japanese citizens.

Despite this, Pyongyang seems determined to prove it will continue to develop new weapons systems, saying they are needed for its own self-defence.

It has also repeatedly accused South Korea of double standards over military activities.

South Korea recently tested its first submarine-launched ballistic missile, which it said was needed as deterrence against North Korea's "provocations".

Last month the UN atomic agency said North Korea appeared to have restarted a reactor which could produce plutonium for nuclear weapons, calling it a "deeply troubling" development.

www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58729701

[verwijderd] 29 september 2021 18:41

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North Korea: What we know about its missile and nuclear programme

Recent missile tests show North Korea continuing to advance its weapons programme, which it says is necessary to defend itself against a possible US invasion.

State media says a new hypersonic missile, called the Hwasong-8, has been tested. This follows recent launches of a train-based ballistic missile and a new long-range cruise missile.

In January this year - just days before President Biden took office - North Korea had unveiled a new submarine-launched ballistic missile at a military parade, calling it "the world's most powerful weapon".

This weapon's actual capabilities remain unclear, as it is not known to have been tested.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un has pledged to expand the country's nuclear arsenal and military potential, outlining a list of desired weapons.

The country has managed to significantly advance its arsenal despite being subject to economic sanctions.

www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41174689

[verwijderd] 1 oktober 2021 11:32

0

Kim Jong-Un orders hotline with the South to reopen as he condemns ‘cunning’ US

North Korean leader said Biden offer of dialogue is ‘a facade’ and blamed the US for ‘hostile policy’

Kim Jong-un has condemned a US offer of dialogue as a “facade”, state media reported, but said he had ordered officials to restore communication lines with South Korea to “promote peace”.

Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, the North Korean leader accused the US of continuing a “hostile policy” against his nuclear-armed country, despite the Biden administration’s offers of negotiations without preconditions.

Talks between Pyongyang and Washington have been at a standstill since the collapse of the February 2019 Hanoi summit between Kim and then-president Donald Trump over what the North would be willing to give up in return for sanctions relief.
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Under Joe Biden, the US has repeatedly offered to meet North Korean representatives anywhere, at any time, without preconditions, while saying it will pursue denuclearisation.

But Kim condemned the declarations as “nothing more than a facade to mask their deception and hostile acts and an extension of hostile policy from past administrations”, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported.

Kim also said South Korea “still follows the US,” and that “mutual respect must be guaranteed and unfair views and double standards attitude dropped” before the countries could declare an official end to the 1950-53 Korean war, which ended with a truce but not a peace treaty.

Nonetheless, he expressed a willingness to restore North-South telephone and fax lines in early October, while urging Seoul to abandon its “double-dealing attitude” and “hostile viewpoint”. Inter-Korean relations, he said, were at a “crossroads of serious choices” between reconciliation and a “vicious cycle of confrontation”.

Kim’s comments are an apparent effort to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington as he wants South Korea to help him win relief from crippling US-led economic sanctions and other concessions.

Under the Biden administration, “the US military threat and hostile policy against us have not changed at all but have become more cunning”, he said in a lengthy address to the Supreme People’s Assembly, the North’s one-party parliament.

The United States said Wednesday it bears “no hostile intent” towards North Korea and remains open to the idea of negotiations.

“We hope the DPRK will respond positively to our outreach,” a State Department spokesperson said, adding that Washington supports “inter-Korean cooperation” as aiding stability on the peninsula.

North Korea has been largely biding its time in recent months as it assessed the Biden government and focused on domestic issues.

Kim’s influential sister, Kim Yo-jong, was appointed to the country’s top government body, amid a raft of changes approved by the Supreme People’s Assembly. Her official rank has risen and fallen over time, but her new position on the State Affairs Commission is by far the most senior post she has held.

Nine members of the commission were dismissed, including one of its vice-presidents, Pak Pong-ju, and diplomat Choe Son-hui, a rare senior woman in the North’s hierarchy who has played a key role in negotiations with the United States.

North Korea has been behind a rigid self-imposed blockade since early last year to protect itself from the coronavirus pandemic, with the economy suffering as a result and trade with key partner China dwindling to a trickle.

Kim’s speech was the latest in a series of actions with international ramifications this month.

This week, it tested what it said was a hypersonic gliding missile, and earlier this month announced it had successfully fired a long-range cruise missile, after holding a scaled-down military parade.

The North’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes are banned under UN Security Council resolutions, and it is subject to multiple international sanctions as a result.
North Korea leader Kim Jong-un
North Korea says it fired new hypersonic missile into sea
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The UN security council will hold an emergency meeting Thursday on North Korea, at the request of the US, France and the United Kingdom, diplomatic sources told AFP Wednesday.

North Korea has not shown any willingness to give up its arsenal, which it says it needs to defend itself against a US invasion.

At the UN general assembly this month, the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, repeated his call for a formal declaration of the end of the Korean war.

Seoul is also spending billions on military development as both Koreas build up their weapons capabilities in what could become an arms race on the peninsula, with ramifications for neighbouring Japan, China and the wider region.

This month, the South successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) for the first time, making it one of a handful of nations with the advanced technology, and this week, it held a ceremony to launch its third submarine capable of carrying SLBMs.

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/30...

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