Chuyên mục: North Korea

North Korea’s ICBM not yet able to reach the U.S. mainland, South Korea says

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Kyodo, Japan Times Jan 12, 2017

SEOUL – North Korea has not yet acquired the technology of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile that is capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, a South Korean Defense Ministry official said Wednesday.

In a briefing about the 2016 South Korean Defense White Paper, which was also released Wednesday, the official said South Korea has removed the ministry’s previous assessment included in the 2014 white paper that North Korea is believed to possess the capability of threatening the U.S. mainland with its missiles.

“North Korea has not yet completed an ICBM and has not yet reached the stage that can earn credibility,” the official said.

The official added that North Korea is trying to perfect the flight capability of its submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

The biennial report also said North Korea has about 50 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium, having obtained about 10 kg last year through reprocessing of nuclear materials.

The 2014 defense white paper said North Korea is estimated to have about 40 kg of such plutonium.

A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said Sunday that Pyongyang could carry out an ICBM test at any time and location determined by its leadership.

In response, the United States said it would shoot down any missiles that threaten its territory or that of its allies.

Ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a New Year address that his country has entered the final stage of preparing to test-launch the long-range missile.

Kim’s regime conducted two nuclear tests and test-launched more than 20 ballistic missiles last year in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

As for relations with Japan, the latest South Korean defense white paper maintained the position that the South will continue to make a resolute and stern response to Japan’s territorial claim over South Korea-controlled islets of Dokdo in the Sea of Japan. The islets are known as Takeshima in Japan.

Aside from the territorial dispute, South Korea will continue to cooperate with Japan in coping with North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats for the sake of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, the paper said.

U.S. sanctions North Korean officials for rights abuses

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AFP-JIJI Japan Times Jan 12, 2017

WASHINGTON – US authorities on Wednesday announced sanctions against North Korean government agencies and senior officials — among them leader Kim Jong Un’s sister — in response to Pyongyang’s “serious” human rights abuses and censorship activities.

The latest action, which sees another seven individuals added to America’s growing list of sanctioned North Koreans, targets security and prison officials accused of rights abuses.

Those blacklisted include Kim Won Hong, who heads the Ministry of State Security (MSS). Tiếp tục đọc “U.S. sanctions North Korean officials for rights abuses” →

North Korea, Rebuking Trump, Says It Can Test Long-Range Missile ‘Anytime’

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By CHOE SANG-HUN JAN. 9, 2017

North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, in Pyongyang, the capital, in an undated photo. Mr. Kim has said that his country has reached a “final stage” in preparing to test an intercontinental ballistic missile. Korean Central News Agency, via Reuters

SEOUL, South Korea — Less than a week after Donald J. Trump taunted North Korea over its ballistic missile capabilities, North Korea has said that it could conduct its first test of an intercontinental missile “anytime and anywhere” in a rebuke to the incoming president.

Although North Korea has vowed to develop the ability to attack the United States with nuclear warheads and has tested missiles that can reach throughout the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity, it has never tested a long-range missile that could fly over the Pacific.

Continue reading on New York Times

South Korea to form brigade to remove North’s leadership if war breaks out

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An honor guard with a sword and North Korean media take video footage and photos as Choe Ryong Hae, (unseen), the vice chairman of North Korea’s State Affairs Commission, makes his way to the departure gates at the Pyongyang airport after inspecting honor guards on Friday in Pyongyang. Hae was heading to Nicaragua to attend the inauguration of President-elect Daniel Ortega. | AP

jAPAN TIMES

South Korea to form brigade to remove North’s leadership if war breaks out

AP Jan 6, 2017

The brigade will aim to remove the North’s wartime command and paralyze its function if war breaks out, according to an official from Seoul’s Defense Ministry, who refused to be named, citing office rules. The brigade was originally planned to be ready by 2019. The official refused to say whether the brigade will train to execute pre-emptive strikes. Tiếp tục đọc “South Korea to form brigade to remove North’s leadership if war breaks out” →

North Korea plans nuclear push in 2017: Top defector

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  • Posted 27 Dec 2016 19:18
  • Updated 27 Dec 2016 19:20

North Korea now has the ability to put a nuclear warhead on a missile, such as this rocket shown in a picture taken from North Korean TV shows North Korea’s rocket launch of earth observation satellite Kwangmyong 4. (AFP/YONHAP)

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is planning a “prime time” nuclear weapons push in 2017 to take advantage of leadership transitions in South Korea and the United States, a high-ranking defector said Tuesday (Dec 27).

In his first press conference since fleeing his post as North Korea’s deputy ambassador to Britain in August, Thae Yong-Ho said Kim had issued a directive at a rare ruling party congress in May to “complete” nuclear development by the end of next year. Tiếp tục đọc “North Korea plans nuclear push in 2017: Top defector” →

North Korea’s Kim guides special operations drill targeting Blue House

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches a combat drill by personnel from the Korean People’s Army special operation battalion Unit 525 in this undated photo released Sunday. | REUTERS

Reuters Dec 12, 2016

SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided a special operations drill targeting the South, the North’s media reported on Sunday, as rival South Korea remained on alert for any attempt by the North to take advantage of political turmoil in the South.

The North’s KCNA state news agency report did not say when North Korean forces conducted the combat exercise, nor did it mention the South Korean parliament’s vote on Friday to impeach its president, Park Geun-hye. Tiếp tục đọc “North Korea’s Kim guides special operations drill targeting Blue House” →