Pyongyang’s state outlet DPRK Today said Thursday North Korea is an “unrivaled superpower” that has the technology to launch an earth observation satellite, the ability to detonate hydrogen bombs, and is now a major player on the global stage.
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Russian Federation further called on North Korea to resume dialog over its nuclear program and other issues.
Less than one month since North Korea’s latest nuclear test, Pyongyang is rattling its long-range, inter-continental ballistic missiles, setting off yet another crisis in Northeast Asia.
Regarding a first North Korean rocket launch since 2012, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesperson Moon Sang-gyun told reporters that “the military is ramping up its air defense readiness so it can intercept a missile or any debris that lands in our territory or waters”. “If Wu brought an agenda that the United States prepared or a “present” that the Chinese government prepared on its own, he might be able to lead the North Koreans to drop their rocket launch plans”, said a former senior South Korean official. If such a weapon, or another improved long-range missile variant, ended up in Iranian hands as well, North Korea would be capable of hitting the U.S. West Coast with an ICBM, while Iran would be able to hit the East Coast.
The Japanese military went on alert Wednesday, tasked with shooting down any North Korean rocket that might prove a threat, while South Korea warned Pyongyang would pay a “severe price” if it proceeds with the test.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter also reportedly said during a trip to the Marine Corps air station in Miramar, California, that the country continues to shore up its defense against a possible North Korean missile attack.
Fleitz said that the Japanese have legitimate concerns about their safety, given the past waywardness of some North Korean rockets, to which North Korea has responded in the past.
Japan said on February 3, 2016 it would destroy a North Korean missile if it threatened to fall on i …
The move added to tensions already heightened after the North’s nuclear test on January 6.
Park pointed out in the statement that North Korea is “announcing another provocation even while United Nations sanctions are being discussed”, and that it is a way of demonstrating it is not afraid of these measures.
The degree of sanctions are thought to have been part of discussions, but some say, stopping Pyongyang from its satellite launch, what many may have been hoping for, was not Wu Dawei’s priority.
North Korea fired two mid-range ballistic missiles, which appeared to be Rodong-class missiles, from the mobile launcher off its east coast into the sea toward Japan in March 2014, the report said.
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North Korea, an autocracy run by the same family since 1948, is estimated to have a handful of crude nuclear devices and an impressive array of short- and medium-range missiles, but it closely guards details about its nuclear and missile programs.
