North - South Korea

Japan's Motegi: no summit with South Korea planned; will maintain dialogue
FILE PHOTO: Japan's new Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi attends a news conference at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official residence in Tokyo, Japan September 11, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Wednesday no summit meeting or foreign ministers' meeting between Japan and South Korea was planned at the moment, but Tokyo plans to maintain diplomatic dialogue with its neighbor.

South Korea politicians in close-shave protest over law minister
Lee Ju-Young, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, stands with Hwang Kyo-ahn, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party chairman, after getting his head shaved to protest the recent appointment of the Justice Minister Cho Kuk in Seoul, South Korea, September 18, 2019. Yonhap via REUTERS

The deputy speaker of South Korea's parliament joined a growing band of politicians on Wednesday who have shaved their heads in a protest against a new justice minister whose family is being investigated for suspected wrongdoing.

South Korea removes Japan from fast-track trade 'white list'
FILE PHOTO: A police officer stands guard near Japan and South Korea national flags at hotel, where South Korean embassy in Japan is holding the reception to mark the 50th anniversary of normalisation of ties between Seoul and Tokyo, in Tokyo June 22, 2015.  REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo

South Korea said on Wednesday it had approved plans to drop Japan from its "white list" of countries with fast track trade status, responding with a tit-for-tat move that intensifies a growing diplomatic and trade spat between the two countries.

Japan says South Korea move on fast-track trade status 'regrettable'
Japan on Wednesday said South Korea's decision to remove Tokyo's fast-track trade status without sufficient explanation was "regrettable", as a diplomatic and trade row between the two Asian neighbors and U.S. allies deepened.
 
North Korea chief negotiator welcomes Trump's call for 'new method' at talks: KCNA
FILE PHOTO: Kim Myong Gil, minister at North Korea's mission to the United Nations, leaves bound for North Korea with other North Korean officials after the second Economy and Energy Cooperation Working Group Meeting in South Korean territory at the truce village in Panmunjom, north of Seoul August 8, 2007. Ahn Young-joon/Pool via REUTERS/File photo

North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator welcomed on Friday U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that a "new method" be used in talks on Pyongyang's weapons programs.

Kim Myong Gil praised Trump’s “wise political decision” to seek a new approach to the stalled talks without a “troublemaker” in the U.S. administration — an apparent reference to John Bolton, Trump’s hawkish former national security advisor who resigned last week.

Trump’s efforts to engage with North Korea nearly fell apart in February after he followed Bolton’s advice at a second summit in Hanoi and handed Kim a piece of paper urging Pyongyang to transfer nuclear weapons and bomb fuel to the United States.

The North has denounced Bolton, who advocated using military force to topple the leadership of the isolated country, as a “war maniac” and “human scum.”

Trump has said Bolton made mistakes, including offending North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by demanding that he follow a “Libyan model” and hand over all his nuclear weapons.

Trump said on Wednesday that Bolton’s suggestion for the Libyan model “set us back very badly,” while his diplomacy with the North resulted in a freeze in nuclear tests and the return of remains of U.S. soldiers missing in the 1950-53 Korean War.

“So I think John really should take a look at how badly they’ve done in the past and maybe a new method would be very good,” Trump told reporters during a visit to a border wall in California.

The North’s negotiator, Kim, said he wants to be “optimistic” that the United States would present the “right calculation method at the upcoming talks.”

“At the moment I am not quite sure what he implied in his suggestion of ‘new method’ but to me it seems he wanted to imply that a step-by-step solution starting with the things feasible first while building trust in each other would be the best option,” Kim said in a statement carried by the North’s official KCNA news agency.

The talks have stalled since the failed summit but the North has offered a fresh round of meetings.

The statement also formally confirmed Kim as the new chief negotiator, after diplomatic sources told Reuters in July that Kim, former ambassador to Vietnam would act as counterpart to U.S. Special Representative Stephen Biegun.
 
Fire on oil tankers at South Korean port injures nine: Yonhap
Fire from a vessel is seen at a port in Ulsan, South Korea, September 28, 2019.   Yonhap via REUTERS

A fire onboard two oil tankers that injured nine sailors at a South Korean port has been put out, the Yonhap news agency said on Saturday.

Russia seizes North Korean vessels in poaching clampdown
A still image taken from video footage shows a boat with Russian border guards sailing towards a North Korean vessel to detain it and crew members for poaching in waters that Moscow considers its exclusive economic zone, released by Russia's Federal Security Service on September 27, 2019. Federal Security Service/Handout via REUTERS

Russia detained three North Korean vessels and more than 200 crew on Friday in the second such incident in two weeks as part of a clampdown on poaching by the secretive nation's fishermen.

Russia seeks approval for new North Korea peace plan: RIA
Russia's foreign ministry said on Friday it hoped that a new plan Moscow has drawn up to defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula would help make a breakthrough, the RIA news agency reported.

Exclusive: As North Korea expands arsenal, Japan's missile defense shield faces unforeseen costs - sources
FILE PHOTO: A man watches a television screen showing a news report on North Korea firing several short-range projectiles from its east coast, on a street in Tokyo, Japan May 4, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

Additional tests may add at least $500 million to Japan's price tag for two U.S.-built ballistic missile interceptor stations that could struggle to shoot down the latest North Korean missile types, four government and defense sources said.

North Korea says lack of progress casts doubt on prospects for future summit with U.S.: KCNA
Bystanders holding North Korea and U.S. flags wait for the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Ann Wang

North Korea said on Friday that a lack of progress in implementing agreements made between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un cast doubt on prospects for a future summit, state news agency KCNA said.

No U.S.-North Korea talks possible by end September: Pompeo
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press conference at the Palace Hotel on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, New York, U.S., September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Darren Ornitz

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday the United States has not been able to arrange working-level meetings with North Korea in September, but Washington is ready to meet and believes it is important to do so.
 
North Korea says it successfully tested new submarine-launched ballistic missile
What appears to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) flies in an undisclosed location in this undated picture released by North Korea's Central News Agency (KCNA) on October 2, 2019.   KCNA via REUTERS

North Korea said on Thursday it had successfully test-fired a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from the sea to contain external threats and bolster self-defense, ahead of fresh nuclear talks with the United States.

North Korea test was of short- to medium-range ballistic missile: Pentagon
The Pentagon said on Thursday that a recent North Korean missile test was a short- to medium-range ballistic missile that was fired from a sea-based platform.

A North Korean delegation has landed in Sweden for talks with U.S.: source
A North Korean delegation headed by the country's chief nuclear negotiator Kim Myong Gil has landed in Stockholm, Sweden for denuclearization talks with the U.S., a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Russia's Putin praises Donald Trump for North Korea talks
FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Energy Week International Forum in Moscow, Russia October 2, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday praised Donald Trump for what he said was the U.S. president's historic move to enter into talks with North Korea to defuse nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula.

U.N. Security Council will likely meet over North Korea’s missile launch: diplomats
The U.N. Security Council will likely meet behind closed doors on Friday over North Korea, diplomats said, after Pyongyang said it had successfully test-fired a new submarine-launched ballistic missile ahead of fresh nuclear talks with Washington.

North Korea fires ballistic missile, possibly from submarine, days before talks
People watch a TV screening of a file footage for a news report on North Korea firing a missile that is believed to be launched from a submarine, in Seoul, South Korea, October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
North Korea fired what may have been a submarine-launched ballistic missile from off its east coast on Wednesday, a day after it announced the resumption of talks with the United States on ending its nuclear program.

Explainer: North Korea's suspected submarine missile 'pushes the envelope'
People watch a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing a missile that is believed to be launched from a submarine, in Seoul, South Korea, October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
North Korea fired what may be a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on Wednesday, which would be the first test in three years of what had been a relatively young but rapidly progressing program to deliver nuclear weapons.

France 'extremely worried' after North Korean missile test
Reports of new North Korean ballistic missile launches are "extremely worrying", France's Foreign Affairs ministry said on Wednesday.
 
'Defiant message' as North Korea's Kim rides white horse on sacred mountain
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rides a horse during snowfall in Mount Paektu in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on October 16, 2019. KCNA via REUTERS
Aides to Kim Jong Un are convinced the North Korean leader plans "a great operation", state media said on Wednesday in a report that included lavish descriptions and images of the leader riding a white horse up North Korea's most sacred mountain.

U.S. wants China to press North Korea to be more constructive in talks: Pentagon official
The senior U.S. defense official for Asia said on Tuesday the United States wants China to improve its enforcement of sanctions on North Korea and take other steps to press Pyongyang to be more constructive in talks with the United States.
 
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in 22 days amid an outbreak of coronavirus, state media reported on Saturday, to visit a national mausoleum and mark the anniversary of the late leader Kim Jong Il's birth (his Father).

Kim Jong Un makes first public appearance in 22 days amid virus outbreak
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits his father and former leader Kim Jong Il's mausoleum to mark the anniversary of the late leader's birth, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Central News Agency (KCNA) on February 15, 2020. KCNA/via REUTERS

Feb. 16, 2020 - Kim Jong Un paid tribute to the statue of former leader Kim at Pyongyang’s Kumsusan Palace of the Sun,
his first public appearance since he attended Lunar New Year celebrations on Jan. 25, state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Late leader Kim’s birthday, Feb. 16, is a national holiday celebrated as the Day of the Shining Star.

Accompanying Kim to the mausoleum were high ranking party officials including Choe Ryong Hae, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly and Pak Pong Ju, vice chairman of the State Affairs Commission.

Kim Jong Un makes first public appearance in 22 days amid virus outbreak - Bing video (Video)
 
In such an "incendiary" way, the North Koreans greeted Blinken, who came to South Korea.
By the way, this MLRS complex seems to be considered the most powerful in the world. The caliber is 600mm, more than that of naval torpedoes!
KN-25 600 mm MLRS training fire in the DPRK
In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, training firing of the 600 mm KN-25 multiple rocket launcher system at a range of at least 350 kilometers took place.

This was announced on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, by the Korean Central Telegraph Agency.

According to the publication, the training shooting, which took place on March 18, was personally led by the leader of the state, Kim Jong-un. The purpose of the event was to confirm the combat capabilities of the system and the combat readiness of the calculations during a sudden check with firing.

Judging by the published photos, the launch was carried out by a battery of six launchers on an 8×8 wheeled chassis. The shells hit a target on a deserted island off the coast of the Korean Peninsula in the Sea of Japan.

It is known about the existence of two variants of the 600 mm multiple launch rocket system KN-25. The second variant of combat vehicles is placed on a tracked chassis and has 6 transport and launch containers.

It should be noted that the Japanese and South Korean militaries issued erroneous statements about the number of missiles launched, of which according to their statements there were three. The Korean military also incorrectly identified the type of projectiles fired, saying they were KN-24 ballistic missiles. According to the Japanese military department, the launch was carried out at a range of 350 km and with a maximum flight altitude of 50 km.
УÑебнÑе ÑÑÑелÑÐ±Ñ 600-мм РСÐÐ KN-25 в ÐÐÐÐ

Таким "зажигательным" образом Северные корейцы поприветствовали Блинкена, приехавшего в Южную Корею.
Кстати этот комплекс РСЗО вроде бы считается самым мощным в мире. Калибр-600 мм, больше чем у морских торпед!
 
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