Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un ranks among the world’s youngest heads of state, but has some of its most powerful weapons at his disposal. Sunday’s test of what appeared to be a powerful, full-fledged thermonuclear bomb, marked yet another watershed in Kim’s relentless drive as …
Read More »North Korea declares H-bomb test ‘a perfect success’
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korea said Sunday it had tested a hydrogen bomb which it can mount on a missile, declaring “perfect success” in its biggest-ever nuclear detonation and presenting a potent challenge to President Donald Trump. Pyongyang has long sought the means to deliver an atomic …
Read More »Iran’s Rouhani dismisses military site inspections
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday dismissed the idea of inspections at its military sites, reportedly floated by the United States, saying they were not required under a nuclear deal with world powers. “Our commitments to the world are clear… our relations with the IAEA (International …
Read More »Joint exercises could send Korea tensions soaring again
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | After North Korea and the United States traded bellicose threats of nuclear conflagration, all eyes will be on an annual war game in the South next week that could send tensions spiralling back upwards, analysts say. Pyongyang tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) last month …
Read More »Iran says can quit nuclear deal if US keeps adding sanctions
Tehran, Iran | AFP | President Hassan Rouhani warned on Tuesday that Iran could abandon its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers within hours if the United States keeps on imposing new sanctions as he outlined plans for his new term. In a speech to parliament, he also hit out at …
Read More »US-NKorea crisis tests Cold War’s nuclear deterrence doctrine
Paris, France | AFP | The doctrine of nuclear deterrence, put to the test in the standoff between Washington and Pyongyang, dates to the Cold War when the world’s two superpowers seemed hellbent on “mutually assured destruction”. The arms race between United States and the then Soviet Union saw a proliferation …
Read More »CIA chief says ‘nothing imminent’ in US-N.Korea standoff
Washington, United States | AFP | CIA director Mike Pompeo offered assurances Sunday there was “nothing imminent” in the US standoff with nuclear-armed North Korea but said he wouldn’t be surprised if Pyongyang conducted another missile test. Pompeo’s remarks cap a week in which US President Donald Trump vowed “fire …
Read More »China’s Xi urges Trump to avoid exacerbating N. Korea tensions
Beijing, China | AFP | Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged US President Donald Trump on Saturday to avoid rhetoric that could inflame tensions with North Korea as an escalating war of words raised global alarm. Xi made the plea in a phone call hours after Trump ramped up his warnings to …
Read More »Satellite photos suggest North Korea preparing submarine missile test: report
Washington, United States | AFP | Recent satellite photos suggest North Korea could be preparing for fresh submarine-based ballistic missile tests, an expert on its military said Friday. Joseph Bermudez, a specialist in North Korean defense and intelligence affairs, posted photographs on the authoritative 38 North blog of the US-Korea …
Read More »Merkel rejects use of force in N. Korea and verbal ‘escalation’
Berlin, Germany | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday that she opposed any use of force to resolve the conflict with North Korea, after President Donald Trump said the US military was “locked and loaded”. “I don’t envision a military solution to this conflict but rather consistent work as …
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