Seoul, South Korea | AFP | CIA director Mike Pompeo was in South Korea Monday for an “internal meeting”, the US embassy in Seoul confirmed, following reports of an unannounced visit as tensions mount over growing nuclear threats from the North. South Korea’s largest daily Chosun Ilbo reported Monday that …
Read More »READY: US aircraft carrier starts drill with South Korean navy
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | The US aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson on Saturday kicked off a joint drill with the South Korean navy, officials said, as tensions rose over North Korea’s latest test-fire of a ballistic missile. “Immediately after the aircraft carrier arrived in the Sea of Japan, …
Read More »Defiant North Korea fires another ballistic missile
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile Saturday in apparent defiance of a US push for tougher international sanctions to curb the Asian country’s nuclear threat. “North Korea fired an unidentified missile from a site in the vicinity of Bukchang in Pyeongannam-do (South Pyeongan Province) …
Read More »RUSSIA: Military options against North Korea unacceptable
United Nations, United States | AFP | Russia on Friday warned at the United Nations that military options to address the threat from North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic programs were “completely unacceptable” and would have “catastrophic consequences.” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told the Security Council that China’s proposals …
Read More »North Korea ignores Trump, conducts ‘massive fire drill’
N. Korea marks military anniversary with firing drill Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Nuclear-armed North Korea on Tuesday marked a military anniversary with a massive conventional firing drill, Seoul said, as a US guided-missile submarine docked in South Korea amid tensions over Pyongyang’s weapons ambitions. Speculation had mounted that …
Read More »North Korea: ‘Trump administration is spouting a load of rubbish’
US supercarrier due in Sea of Japan ‘in days’: Pence Seoul, South Korea | AFP | The US supercarrier Carl Vinson will arrive in the Sea of Japan in days, Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday, after days of mixed messages from Washington over the warship’s whereabouts. The strike group was …
Read More »China seeks Russia’s help to ‘cool’ North Korea situation
Beijing, China | AFP | China is seeking Russia’s help to cool surging tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, the country’s foreign minister has told his Moscow counterpart, after Beijing warned of possible conflict over North Korea. Fears over the North’s rogue weapons programme have soared in recent days, with a …
Read More »North Korea displays its submarine-launched ballistic missile
Kim oversees North Korea display of military strength Pyongyang, North Korea | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un Saturday saluted as ranks of goose-stepping soldiers followed by tanks and other military hardware paraded in Pyongyang for a show of strength with tensions mounting over his nuclear ambitions. After inspecting …
Read More »Spotlight on China as North Korea prepares for war
China warns of war as North Korea vows ‘merciless’ response to US Beijing, China | AFP | China issued a stern warning Friday that a conflict over North Korea could break out “at any moment”, as Pyongyang vowed a “merciless” response to any US military action. Tensions in the region …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Unpredictable Trump unsettles China as N. Korea policy wobbles
Beijing, China | AFP | From Twitter threats to Tomahawk missiles, US president Donald Trump’s unorthodox and seemingly impulsive approach to foreign policy has unsettled China, piling new pressure on its hands-off North Korea policy. As tensions rise on the Korean peninsula, Beijing appears alarmed by Trump’s strident pronouncements as …
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