WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Pentagon chief Jim Mattis will meet their Japanese counterparts to discuss regional threats, officials said Monday, amid soaring tensions over North Korea’s missile program. The August 17 meeting in Washington comes as alarm grows over North Korea’s rapidly developing missile capabilities, and weeks after Pyongyang tested an intercontinental ballistic missile that splashed into the seas off Japan’s Hokkaido island. Japanese Foreign minister […]
Tag: missile
UN to vote on tougher North Korea sanctions
by Carole LANDRY Agence France Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The UN Security Council will vote Saturday on a US-drafted resolution toughening sanctions on North Korea, diplomats said Friday, a proposed ban on certain exports that could deprive Pyongyang of $1 billion in annual revenue. After a month of negotiations, the United States reached a deal with China, North Korea’s main trading partner and ally, on the measures aimed at ratcheting up […]
President Duterte lashes out at N. Korean leader Kim; calls him “a crazy man” playing with “dangerous toys”
(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte only had harsh words for North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on Wednesday, ahead of a regional summit in Manila to be attended by the regime’s foreign minister. In a speech during the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s 113th founding anniversary celebration, President Duterte said Kim was a “crazy man” who could destroy Asia by triggering a nuclear war. “Baka nga si Kim, yung taran****. He is playing with dangerous toys and […]
N.Korea’s ICBM fires up fears in South for US alliance
by Jung Ha-Won Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s latest missile test has extended the range of its weapons to much of mainland United States and raised a new fear in the South: would Washington protect Seoul when that could put American cities in danger? The US is security guarantor for the democratic and capitalist South, where 28,500 US troops are stationed to defend it from Pyongyang after the 1950-53 Korean […]
N. Korea ICBM still facing technical hurdles: US expert
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — North Korea could field a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile able to strike America by next year, but Pyongyang must first overcome important technological hurdles, a United States expert warned Monday. North Korea has alarmed the international community by the pace and progress of its missile development program, and this month leader Kim Jong-Un conducted two tests of an ICBM. The first of these trials, which Kim described as a gift […]
US to test anti-missile system amid N Korea tensions
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Missile Defense Agency said Friday it would soon test an anti-ballistic missile system, days after North Korea demonstrated its arsenal was capable of striking parts of Alaska. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to be tested is designed to intercept and destroy short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles during their final phase of flight. The MDA said the test against a ballistic missile target would be […]
Russia hits Islamic State targets in Syria with advanced cruise missiles
Reuters — Russian strategic bombers fired advanced cruise missiles at Islamic State targets in Syria on Wednesday (July 5) from a distance of 1,000 kilometers (621.37 miles), in a show of force Moscow said demolished three ammunition depots and a command post. Moscow carried out the attack just two days before President Vladimir Putin and United States counterpart Donald Trump are due to hold their first face-to-face meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, and […]
N. Korea seeks ‘driver’s seat’ with ICBM test: analysts
by Jung Ha-Won Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Newly equipped with an intercontinental ballistic missile, North Korea is looking to put itself in the “driver’s seat” for any future negotiations with Washington, analysts say — but may at the same time be pushing such talks further away. The weapon, tested on the United States’ Independence Day, can reach Alaska, and could go even further. It brings within reach Pyongyang’s long-held dream of […]
US leads sanctions push after N. Korea ‘escalation’
by Carole Landry / with Park Chan-Kyong in Seoul Agence France Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The United States led a push at the United Nations Security Council Wednesday for tougher sanctions on North Korea, while warning the isolated regime’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile had drastically narrowed the path for diplomacy. In a hard-hitting address to the council, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said Tuesday’s ICBM test had made “the world a […]
South Korea says joint missile drill with US shows zero tolerance for North provocation
SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) – A South Korean military spokesperson on Wednesday (July 5) said a joint missile drill it conducted earlier in the day with the United States army showed that both countries’ forces would “never tolerate any kind of provocation from North Korea.” North Korea on Tuesday (July 4) said it had conducted an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, which some experts believe had the range to […]
UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on N. Korea
UNITED STATES (AFP) – The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday after North Korea said it had successfully tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile, diplomats said. The United States — which confirmed it was an ICBM launch — backed by Japan and South Korea, requested the urgent meeting that is scheduled for 3 pm (1900 GMT). North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un oversaw the launch of the Hwasong-14 missile which experts […]
UN chief condemns North Korea’s ‘dangerous escalation’
UNITED NATIONS,United States (AFP) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday strongly condemned North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile that Pyongyang claimed was its first successful ICBM test. “This action is yet another brazen violation of Security Council resolutions and constitutes a dangerous escalation of the situation,” Guterres said in a statement. He added that North Korea’s “leadership must cease further provocative actions and comply fully with its international obligations.” The Security Council […]





