Cuban leader arrives in North Korea on a state visit
President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez has arrived in North Korea on a state visit. The plane of the Cuban leader landed at the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, a TASS correspondent reported.
The head of Cuba and his spouse were met by North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, and his wife. The leaders and their spouses shook hands.
The official talks of the two leaders are scheduled for November 5. The program of the visit of the Cuban guest to Pyongyang also includes a meeting with President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea Kim Yong Nam.
As the Cuban press reported ahead of the visit of Diaz-Kanel to Pyongyang, the talks will focus on the interaction of Cuba and the DPRK in international organizations, including the UN. The two countries have a long history of friendship and close political cooperation. In particular, Cuba supports the abolition of international sanctions against the DPRK, and the unification of the North and the South into a single Korean state without foreign intervention.
North Korea Threatens to Revive Nuke Program Over US Sanctions
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier said that sanctions will stay in place until Pyongyang shows its commitment to the process of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
A recent statement by the North Korean Foreign Ministry has said the country may shift back to its policy of "pyongjin", suggesting equal development of the economy and nuclear armaments, if the US does not change its approach and keeps up its sanctions against Pyongyang, AP reported. At present, the DPRK maintains a policy of directing all the country's efforts toward economic development while freezing its nuclear program.
The statement noted that "improvement of relations and sanctions" are two incompatible things and urged Washington to lift economic sanctions in response to the DPRK's "proactive and good-will measures" of unilaterally halting nuclear weapons and intercontinental missiles tests.
"If the US keeps behaving arrogantly without showing any change in its stand, while failing to properly understand our repeated demand, the DPRK may add one thing to the state policy for directing all efforts to the economic construction. The word 'pyongjin' may appear again," the statement said.
In an interview on November 2, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Washington will continue to exert economic pressure on the DPRK until Kim Jong-un fulfills commitments made by him to US President Donald Trump during their joint summit in June. Pompeo also shared that he is planning on meeting his North Korean counterpart in the near future, but hasn't specified when or what the agenda for such a meeting would be.
This is not the first time North Korea has warned the US that denuclearization won't work unilaterally. At the end of September 2018, Pyongyang urged the US to take "simultaneous gradual steps," saying that the principle of "denuclearization first" in combination with economic coercion only "increases [North Korea's] distrust."
Since the DPRK committed itself to abandoning its nuclear armaments research several media reports have suggested that in fact it never did so. This information has never been confirmed by either the US or the DPRK.
The US president and the DPRK's leader met at the Singapore summit in June 2018 to discuss relations between the two countries. The two agreed to start the process of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for guarantees of safety for the DPRK and lifting of economic sanctions.
S Korea, US to Resume Drills Halted to Foster Peace With Pyongyang - Reports
On November 5, South Korea and the United States will resume regular joint drills under the Korea Marine Exercise Program (KMEP), suspended since May, in order to give way to a diplomatic settlement of the North Korean crisis, the Yonhap news agency reported.
According to the Yonhap news agency, the KMEP drills will last two weeks off the South Korean city of Pohang.
The parties plan to hold 24 rounds of the exercise until September next year, the media added.
The report comes a day after North Korea threatened to revive the nuclear program unless Washington lifts economic sanctions against the DPRK.
South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis decided earlier in October to suspend the Vigilant Ace military exercise scheduled for later this year in order to enable the diplomatic process with North Korea to continue.
The long-standing tensions on the Korean Peninsula started to ease after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed his commitment to denuclearize the country, and held historic summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump earlier in the year.
Pyongyang secured Washington's commitment to suspend US-South Korean drills in exchange for a promise to conduct denuclearization of the peninsula. However, the settlement has somewhat slowed down over the past several months.
US, Japan Plan Armed Response to "Chinese Threat" to Disputed Islands – Reports
Japan and the United States are currently holding the biggest joint drills in Japanese history, Keen Sword, having reportedly mobilized about 57,000 marines, sailors, and airmen.
The United States and Japan plan to devise an operations plan for a joint response by their armed forces to potential Chinese threats to the disputed Senkaku Islands (known as Diaoyu in China), The Japan Times reported, citing unnamed government sources.
The two nations are reportedly engaged in discussions on how to respond in emergency scenarios around the group of uninhabited islands, claimed both by Japan and China, in the East China Sea. According to insiders, Tokyo and Washington seek to finish work on the plan by next March.
While Washington has not taken a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the contested islands, President Donald Trump told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last year that the US was committed to defending Tokyo under Article 5 of the two nations’ security treaty, adding that it also covered the Senkaku Islands.
The Japan Times reported that by crafting a plan to handle a potential armed conflict with China, Tokyo hopes that Washington will determine its position on the sovereignty issue.
The sources told the media outlet that the plan suggested deploying Japan’s Self-Defense Forces in the event of such an emergency as armed Chinese fishermen landing on the islands – after the police are incapable of providing an adequate response.
The talks between the two countries have been taking place within the framework of the 2015 US-Japan defense guidelines, known as the Bilateral Planning Mechanism (BPM).
Under the BPM, the Self-Defense Forces and the US military would “conduct bilateral operations to counter ground attacks against Japan by ground, air, maritime, or amphibious forces.”
In a parallel development, the two nations are holding major joint war games to increase combat readiness and interoperability of US and Japanese Forces.
Tokyo and Washington have reportedly mobilized about 57,000 sailors, marines and airmen for the Keen Sword exercise, joined by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan to lead Japanese destroyers and Canadian warships in the drills.
Japan and China both claim the uninhabited Senkaku Islands, called the Diaoyu Islands in Chinese, in the East China Sea. While Beijing says that they have been part of its territory since antiquity, Tokyo argues that the archipelago has been under its control since 1895.
US carrier leads warships in biggest ever Japan war game
The United States and Japan have continued with the biggest combat readiness exercise ever staged in and around Japan.
The nuclear powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier joined Japanese destroyers on Saturday to take part in Keen Sword, a joint military exercise aimed to increase combat readiness and interoperability between the two forces.
The biennial exercise, which kicked off on Wednesday and runs until November 9 and includes a total of 57,000 personnel, involves all three branches of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, as well as the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.
"Keen Sword will give U.S. and Japanese forces an opportunity to practice critical air, maritime and amphibious capabilities essential for Japan’s defense and for regional security," claimed Lt. Gen. Jerry P. Martinez, commander of US Forces Japan.
Martinez said the exercise is a show of US-Japan joint force in the regional waters. "Just as important, the exercise is a visible demonstration of the strength and durability of the US-Japan alliance and our shared pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific region."
A Canadian naval supply ship is also taking part in the drill.
Canadian participation is taking a bilateral drill “into the realm of multilateral exercises,” Canada’s defense attache in Japan, Captain Hugues Canuel said in Tokyo.
Participation in the event, launched for the first time in 1986, reflects the Canadian government goal to extend its military presence in Asian waters, he added.
Analysts predict that the US and its allies were preparing for a major military confrontation with China.
The US reportedly wants to stop what it sees as China’s military expansion in the East and South China Seas.
China has repeatedly warned the US against extending it military presence in Asia, describing US military presence as a source of regional instability.
President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez has arrived in North Korea on a state visit. The plane of the Cuban leader landed at the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, a TASS correspondent reported.
The head of Cuba and his spouse were met by North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, and his wife. The leaders and their spouses shook hands.
The official talks of the two leaders are scheduled for November 5. The program of the visit of the Cuban guest to Pyongyang also includes a meeting with President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea Kim Yong Nam.
As the Cuban press reported ahead of the visit of Diaz-Kanel to Pyongyang, the talks will focus on the interaction of Cuba and the DPRK in international organizations, including the UN. The two countries have a long history of friendship and close political cooperation. In particular, Cuba supports the abolition of international sanctions against the DPRK, and the unification of the North and the South into a single Korean state without foreign intervention.
North Korea Threatens to Revive Nuke Program Over US Sanctions
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier said that sanctions will stay in place until Pyongyang shows its commitment to the process of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
A recent statement by the North Korean Foreign Ministry has said the country may shift back to its policy of "pyongjin", suggesting equal development of the economy and nuclear armaments, if the US does not change its approach and keeps up its sanctions against Pyongyang, AP reported. At present, the DPRK maintains a policy of directing all the country's efforts toward economic development while freezing its nuclear program.
The statement noted that "improvement of relations and sanctions" are two incompatible things and urged Washington to lift economic sanctions in response to the DPRK's "proactive and good-will measures" of unilaterally halting nuclear weapons and intercontinental missiles tests.
"If the US keeps behaving arrogantly without showing any change in its stand, while failing to properly understand our repeated demand, the DPRK may add one thing to the state policy for directing all efforts to the economic construction. The word 'pyongjin' may appear again," the statement said.
In an interview on November 2, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Washington will continue to exert economic pressure on the DPRK until Kim Jong-un fulfills commitments made by him to US President Donald Trump during their joint summit in June. Pompeo also shared that he is planning on meeting his North Korean counterpart in the near future, but hasn't specified when or what the agenda for such a meeting would be.
This is not the first time North Korea has warned the US that denuclearization won't work unilaterally. At the end of September 2018, Pyongyang urged the US to take "simultaneous gradual steps," saying that the principle of "denuclearization first" in combination with economic coercion only "increases [North Korea's] distrust."
Since the DPRK committed itself to abandoning its nuclear armaments research several media reports have suggested that in fact it never did so. This information has never been confirmed by either the US or the DPRK.
The US president and the DPRK's leader met at the Singapore summit in June 2018 to discuss relations between the two countries. The two agreed to start the process of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for guarantees of safety for the DPRK and lifting of economic sanctions.
S Korea, US to Resume Drills Halted to Foster Peace With Pyongyang - Reports
On November 5, South Korea and the United States will resume regular joint drills under the Korea Marine Exercise Program (KMEP), suspended since May, in order to give way to a diplomatic settlement of the North Korean crisis, the Yonhap news agency reported.
According to the Yonhap news agency, the KMEP drills will last two weeks off the South Korean city of Pohang.
The parties plan to hold 24 rounds of the exercise until September next year, the media added.
The report comes a day after North Korea threatened to revive the nuclear program unless Washington lifts economic sanctions against the DPRK.
South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis decided earlier in October to suspend the Vigilant Ace military exercise scheduled for later this year in order to enable the diplomatic process with North Korea to continue.
The long-standing tensions on the Korean Peninsula started to ease after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed his commitment to denuclearize the country, and held historic summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump earlier in the year.
Pyongyang secured Washington's commitment to suspend US-South Korean drills in exchange for a promise to conduct denuclearization of the peninsula. However, the settlement has somewhat slowed down over the past several months.
US, Japan Plan Armed Response to "Chinese Threat" to Disputed Islands – Reports
Japan and the United States are currently holding the biggest joint drills in Japanese history, Keen Sword, having reportedly mobilized about 57,000 marines, sailors, and airmen.
The United States and Japan plan to devise an operations plan for a joint response by their armed forces to potential Chinese threats to the disputed Senkaku Islands (known as Diaoyu in China), The Japan Times reported, citing unnamed government sources.
The two nations are reportedly engaged in discussions on how to respond in emergency scenarios around the group of uninhabited islands, claimed both by Japan and China, in the East China Sea. According to insiders, Tokyo and Washington seek to finish work on the plan by next March.
While Washington has not taken a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the contested islands, President Donald Trump told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last year that the US was committed to defending Tokyo under Article 5 of the two nations’ security treaty, adding that it also covered the Senkaku Islands.
The Japan Times reported that by crafting a plan to handle a potential armed conflict with China, Tokyo hopes that Washington will determine its position on the sovereignty issue.
The sources told the media outlet that the plan suggested deploying Japan’s Self-Defense Forces in the event of such an emergency as armed Chinese fishermen landing on the islands – after the police are incapable of providing an adequate response.
The talks between the two countries have been taking place within the framework of the 2015 US-Japan defense guidelines, known as the Bilateral Planning Mechanism (BPM).
Under the BPM, the Self-Defense Forces and the US military would “conduct bilateral operations to counter ground attacks against Japan by ground, air, maritime, or amphibious forces.”
In a parallel development, the two nations are holding major joint war games to increase combat readiness and interoperability of US and Japanese Forces.
Tokyo and Washington have reportedly mobilized about 57,000 sailors, marines and airmen for the Keen Sword exercise, joined by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan to lead Japanese destroyers and Canadian warships in the drills.
Japan and China both claim the uninhabited Senkaku Islands, called the Diaoyu Islands in Chinese, in the East China Sea. While Beijing says that they have been part of its territory since antiquity, Tokyo argues that the archipelago has been under its control since 1895.
US carrier leads warships in biggest ever Japan war game
The United States and Japan have continued with the biggest combat readiness exercise ever staged in and around Japan.
The nuclear powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier joined Japanese destroyers on Saturday to take part in Keen Sword, a joint military exercise aimed to increase combat readiness and interoperability between the two forces.
The biennial exercise, which kicked off on Wednesday and runs until November 9 and includes a total of 57,000 personnel, involves all three branches of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, as well as the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.
"Keen Sword will give U.S. and Japanese forces an opportunity to practice critical air, maritime and amphibious capabilities essential for Japan’s defense and for regional security," claimed Lt. Gen. Jerry P. Martinez, commander of US Forces Japan.
Martinez said the exercise is a show of US-Japan joint force in the regional waters. "Just as important, the exercise is a visible demonstration of the strength and durability of the US-Japan alliance and our shared pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific region."
A Canadian naval supply ship is also taking part in the drill.
Canadian participation is taking a bilateral drill “into the realm of multilateral exercises,” Canada’s defense attache in Japan, Captain Hugues Canuel said in Tokyo.
Participation in the event, launched for the first time in 1986, reflects the Canadian government goal to extend its military presence in Asian waters, he added.
Analysts predict that the US and its allies were preparing for a major military confrontation with China.
The US reportedly wants to stop what it sees as China’s military expansion in the East and South China Seas.
China has repeatedly warned the US against extending it military presence in Asia, describing US military presence as a source of regional instability.
The sanctions have been failing to achieve their objective but they did succeed in bringing both Koreas closer.
