All posts tagged: North Korea

Biden to host Japan PM Kishida, Philippines President Marcos for White House summit

Biden to host Japan PM Kishida, Philippines President Marcos for White House summit

President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for a White House summit next month amid growing concerns about North Korea’s nuclear program, provocative Chinese action in the South China Sea and differences over a Japanese company’s plan to buy an iconic American steel company. Eugene Hoshiko | AFP | Getty Images President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for a White House summit next month amid growing concerns about North Korea’s nuclear program, provocative Chinese action in the South China Sea and differences over a Japanese company’s plan to buy an iconic American steel company. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement on Monday said the first-ever U.S.-Japan-Philippines leaders’ summit is an opportunity to highlight the countries’ “growing economic relations, a proud and resolute commitment to shared democratic values and a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.” The three leaders have no shortage of issues to discuss. The announcement came as North Korea’s state media reported that North …

North Korea fires ballistic missile as top US diplomat visits Seoul

North Korea fires ballistic missile as top US diplomat visits Seoul

North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Monday, Seoul’s military said, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited South Korea to meet top officials and attend a democracy summit. Issued on: 18/03/2024 – 01:35 2 min Blinken is in Seoul for the third Summit for Democracy, an initiative of US President Joe Biden, which the South is hosting this week, and is set to meet his Korean counterpart on the sidelines for talks. Key security allies Washington and Seoul wrapped up one of their major annual joint military training exercises last week, prompting angry retorts and tit-for-tat drills from nuclear-armed Pyongyang. “North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile toward the East Sea,” Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. Japan also confirmed the launch, with the Japan Coast Guard saying the objects appeared to have already fallen. The launch comes just days after the annual Freedom Shield, which this year involved double the number of troops, ended Thursday. The 11 days of joint exercises were aimed at strengthening …

Kim Jong Un takes ride in luxury Russian limo given to him by Putin | Politics News

Kim Jong Un takes ride in luxury Russian limo given to him by Putin | Politics News

State media says car ride is ‘clear proof’ of the close and deepening relationship between the two countries. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took his first ride in the luxury car that was given to him as a gift by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Pyongyang and Moscow have forged closer ties since Kim met Putin in Russia last September, their first summit in four years. Putin also invited Kim to try out his high-end Aurus Senat limousine, and the vehicle arrived in Pyongyang in February. On Friday, Kim used the car for the first time, according to his sister and prominent government official Kim Yo Jong. The journey was “clear proof of the DPRK-Russia friendship, which is developing in a comprehensive way on a new high stage”, Kim Yo Jong was reported as saying by state-run KCNA, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. According to Russian state media, Aurus is Russia’s first luxury car brand and has been used in motorcades of top officials since Putin …

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un oversees air warfare drills, urges realistic preparation for combat, KCNA says

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un oversees air warfare drills, urges realistic preparation for combat, KCNA says

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw air warfare drills on Friday (Mar 15) and urged “realistic” preparation for combat, state media KCNA said on Saturday, after joint annual drills involving South Korea and the United States wrapped up earlier this week. “Only realistic training directly related to warfare can prepare soldiers as real combat fighters,” Kim said, according to KCNA. Kim said he was satisfied with North Korean troop readiness, and ordered training to cope with all kinds of topography, weather, time and the most severe conditions, KCNA reported. Source link

North Korea’s Kim drives newly developed battle tank during launch drill

North Korea’s Kim drives newly developed battle tank during launch drill

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un joined his troops in training to operate newly developed battle tanks as he called for bigger efforts to prepare for war, state media reported Thursday. Issued on: 14/03/2024 – 05:28 1 min The North’s tank training was seen as a response to the annual 11-day South Korean-US military drills that are to end later Thursday. The North views its rivals’ exercises a rehearsal for invasion. The North’s training on Wednesday was designed to inspect tankmen’s combat capabilities and involved the new-type main battle tank that Kim called “the world’s most powerful,” the official Korean Central News Agency. During the training, heavy tanks moved around various simulated harsh combat circumstances and fired rounds at targets. Kim mounted one of the new-type tanks and drove it himself, “adding to the high militant spirit of the tankmen of our army,” KCNA said. North Korea’s Defence Ministry earlier vowed to carry out “responsible military activities” in reaction to the ongoing South Korea-US military exercises in the South. Kim later supervised artillery firing drills. …

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un drives new tank in leather jacket to simulate ‘real war’ | World | News

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un drives new tank in leather jacket to simulate ‘real war’ | World | News

Kim Jong-un has been seen driving a new-type tank in a series of exercises as part of a mock battle. After the United States sounded the alarm about North Korea deploying chemical weapons to eliminate targets abroad as part of its latest global threat assessment, the military has now tried simulating a ‘real war’. Kim’s head was seen poking up from the driver’s seat of a brand new tank during a guided military demonstration on Wednesday. According to state media KCNA on Thursday, the North Korean leader expressed “great satisfaction” when his battle successfully demonstrated its striking power. “Swiftly weaving their way through various worst combat circumstances, heavy tanks hit targets at once with powerful strikes and broke through strong defence lines with high manoeuvrability,” the report said. READ MORE: Kim Jong-un calls for ‘merciless’ strikes in preparation for ‘actual war’ with South Korea The “training match” was designed to inspect the combat capabilities of tank crews, it also claimed. The aim was to make them familiar with combat action on different tactical missions – …

North Korea’s Kim guided military demonstration involving tanks, KCNA says

North Korea’s Kim guided military demonstration involving tanks, KCNA says

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided a military demonstration involving tank units on Wednesday (Mar 13), state media KCNA reported on Thursday. Kim also expressed “great satisfaction” that a new type of main battle tank successfully demonstrated its striking power in its first display of performance at what KCNA described as a “training match”. The military event was designed to strictly inspect the actual combat capabilities of tank crews and make them familiar with combat action methods on different tactical missions, KCNA reported. “Swiftly weaving their way through various worst combat circumstances, heavy tanks hit targets at once with powerful strikes and broke through strong defense lines with high maneuverability,” the report said. Kim was joined by senior officials including Defence Minister Kang Sun Nam at the event. Source link

North Korea’s Kim Guides Artillery Firing Drill in Range of Seoul

North Korea’s Kim Guides Artillery Firing Drill in Range of Seoul

seoul, south korea —  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided an artillery firing drill by the Korean People’s Army, the country’s military force, state media KCNA reported on Friday. The drill, carried out on Thursday, involved units near the border that are in firing range of “the enemy’s capital,” KCNA said, referring to Seoul, the South Korean capital of nearly 10 million residents, and added it “fulfilled important military missions for war deterrence.” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said North Korea’s military test-fired multiple rocket launcher shells and self-propelled artillery shells toward the Yellow Sea between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. local time on Thursday. The Korean People’s Army conducts an artillery firing drill in North Korea on March 7, 2024, in this photo released on March 8, 2024, by the Korean Central News Agency, according to the KCNA. (KCNA via Reuters) The JCS said it was monitoring the North’s military activities as joint drills conducted by South Korean and U.S. militaries are underway. The drills, known as the Freedom Shield exercises, …

Commentary: A summit between Japan and North Korea? About time

Commentary: A summit between Japan and North Korea? About time

BOSTON, Massachusetts: North Korea keeps on surprising. While Pyongyang is busy erasing all references to unification with South Korea, it is extending an olive branch to Japan. It all began early in 2024 when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a rare message of sympathy for a deadly earthquake in central Japan to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Kishida welcomed the message, saying that he felt a “strong need” for the two countries to improve their relations. Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong responded to Kishida’s remark positively. She went as far as welcoming Kishida to visit Pyongyang as long as Japan did not lay a “stumbling block” – a subtle reference to the issue of past abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents. Kishida is personally supervising high-level discussions with North Korea to make a Kim-Kishida summit a reality. North Korea’s outreach to Japan after more than four years of silence is causing much speculation about Pyongyang’s true intention and whether such a summit would materialise. Four years ago, I wrote about the prospect …

What’s on Pyongyang’s Weapons Shopping List in Moscow?

What’s on Pyongyang’s Weapons Shopping List in Moscow?

Washington —  Moscow has a range of military technologies that it could offer Pyongyang in exchange for munitions to sustain its war in Ukraine, with advanced missile technologies high on the list, analysts say. North Korea has been providing munitions to Russia since its leader, Kim Jong Un, visited Russia last September and met with President Vladimir Putin. Since September, Pyongyang has shipped about 6,700 containers of munitions to Russia, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonshik said at a press briefing on February 26. He said the containers could carry more than 3 million 152 mm artillery shells or 500,000 122 mm rounds. Those munitions are making a difference on the battlefield. The Security Service of Ukraine said last month that North Korean ballistic missiles have been killing and injuring civilians since December. Shin said that North Korea has cranked up its hundreds of munitions factories to operate “at full capacity,” and that in return, Moscow is providing Pyongyang with raw materials and parts to manufacture weapons, in addition to food. He also said Moscow …