Tag: missile test

Trump, Xi agree on ‘maximizing pressure’ on N. Korea: White House

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping committed to “maximizing pressure on North Korea,” the White House said Monday, amid an escalating crisis over Pyongyang’s ballistic and nuclear weapons programs. In a phone call the two men discussed “North Korea’s continued defiance of the international community and its efforts to destabilize Northeast Asia,” the White House said. “The two leaders committed to maximizing pressure on North […]

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China ‘opposes’ N. Korea missile launch, rejects blame

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — China condemned North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile over Japan on Friday, but said it was “irresponsible” to blame Beijing for regional tensions after Washington urged it to rein in its ally. After the North’s latest test, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on China to use the oil it supplies to North Korea as leverage to pressure the isolated nation into reconsidering its nuclear program. But Chinese […]

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S. Korea launches missile drill after North’s nuclear test

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s military launched a volley of ballistic missiles simulating an attack on the North’s nuclear test site Monday, Seoul said, in an exercise responding to a test of what Pyongyang says was a hydrogen bomb. Pictures showed South Korean short-range Hyunmoo ballistic missiles roaring into the sky in the pale light of dawn from a launch site on the country’s east coast. Authorities released video showing South Korean […]

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North Korea declares H-bomb test ‘a perfect success’

by Sebastien Berger Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said it detonated a hydrogen bomb designed for a long-range missile on Sunday and called its sixth and most powerful nuclear test a “perfect success,” sparking world condemnation and promises of tougher United States sanctions. Pyongyang residents threw their arms aloft in triumph as a jubilant television newsreader hailed the “unprecedentedly large” blast. It “marked a very significant occasion in attaining the final goal of […]

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New 4.6-magnitude quake detected in N. Korea due to ‘cave in’: China

BEIJING, China (AFP) — A second earthquake due to a “cave in” has been detected near North Korea’s nuclear test site, the China Earthquake Network Center said Sunday, minutes after a major explosion recorded by US experts indicated a sixth atomic test. The new 4.6 magnitude quake at a depth of zero kilometers could be due to a “collapse (cave in)” Chinese authorities said, without giving further details. The first “explosion” — of 6.3 magnitude […]

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N. Korea nuclear test would be ‘absolutely unacceptable’: Abe

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said a sixth nuclear test by Pyongyang would be “absolutely unacceptable,” after a 6.3-magnitude explosion in the North indicated a new detonation. “If it forcibly conducted a nuclear test, it’s absolutely unacceptable. We have to strongly protest it,” Abe said. “There is a possibility that this is not a natural quake and that North Korea conducted a nuclear test,” he said, adding that the Japanese weather […]

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N. Korea has developed H-bomb missile warhead: state media

  by Sebastien Berger Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea has developed a hydrogen bomb which can be loaded into the country’s new intercontinental ballistic missile, the official Korean Central News Agency claimed Sunday. Questions remain over whether nuclear-armed Pyongyang has successfully miniaturised its weapons, and whether it has a working H-bomb, but KCNA said that leader Kim Jong-Un had inspected such a device at the Nuclear Weapons Institute. It was […]

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N. Korea warns Japan of ‘imminent self-destruction’ for siding with US

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Nuclear-armed North Korea has warned Tokyo against “imminent self-destruction” for siding with Washington, as tensions soar after Pyongyang fired a missile over Japan. The North set off global alarm Tuesday when it fired an intermediate-range missile over the Asian island nation, triggering condemnation from world leaders including the US and Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denounced the launch as an “unprecedented, serious and grave threat” and agreed with […]

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North Korea’s missile launch: Why Japan?

  by Shingo Ito Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — When nuclear-armed North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan this week, it sparked international condemnation. But it also raised the question: Why Japan? Location It might seem obvious, but geography is frequently a huge factor in geopolitical wrangling. The Japanese archipelago forms a long string off the coast of mainland north Asia, so by definition, any regional player that wants to fire a […]

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PHL expresses grave concern over N. Korea missile test, reiterates ASEAN position on denuclearization

The Philippines expressed its grave concern over the firing by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) this morning of a ballistic missile that flew over Japanese airspace, and called on North Korea to comply with its obligations to denuclearize the region. “We call on the DPRK to halt these dangerous and provocative actions, which heighten tensions, increase instability and the risk of miscalculation, and could possibly endanger lives,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. […]

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Russia ‘extremely worried’ about N. Korea situation

  MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Tuesday said it was “extremely worried” about the situation in North Korea, hitting out at a “tendency towards an escalation” after Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile over Japan. “We see a tendency towards an escalation … and we are extremely concerned by the general developments,” Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti state news agency. Tokyo also said the missile overflew Hokkaido, […]

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