South Korea reports that early on Monday morning, North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile, its ninth ballistic missile test this year. This comes just one week after another ballistic missile test. The missile flew about 450 km (280 miles), and landed in the Sea of Japan.
The missile is assumed to be a “Scud” missile known as the KN-06, that can be launched from a mobile platform, to target enemy aircraft or nearby ground targets. North Korea has a large stockpile of Scud missiles, originally developed by the Soviet Union.
North Korea’s child dictator Kim Jong-un is quoted as saying that the system should be deployed “all over the country like forests so as to completely spoil the enemy’s wild dream to command the air, boasting of air supremacy, and weapon almighty.”
The usual steps have been taken in response to the latest ballistic missile test: South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in, who had hoped to have friendly relations with North Korea, called a meeting of the country’s National Security Council. Japan launched a protest and called the test “highly problematic, while Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe vowed action to deter North Korea’s repeated provocations. Reuters and The Diplomatand Sky News (Australia)
North Korea Monday test-fired a ballistic missile for the third time in less than three weeks, earning a rebuke from US President Donald Trump who said it showed "disrespect" for neighbouring China.
The launch of the short-range projectile, which fell provocatively close to Japan, was the North's 12th ballistic missile test this year -- in defiance of UN sanctions warnings and US threats of possible military action.
It went ahead despite tough talk from Trump, who promised last week at the G7 summit that the "big problem" of North Korea "will be solved".
"North Korea has shown great disrespect for their neighbor, China, by shooting off yet another ballistic missile... " Trump said in a tweet.
The US leader has urged China, the North's sole major ally and key trade partner, to do more to press Pyongyang to curb its missile and nuclear programmes.
South Korea's military said the Scud-type missile travelled for 450 km (280 miles). Japan said it was estimated to have fallen into its exclusive economic zone, extending 200 nautical miles from the coast.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe swiftly condemned the test -- the second time this year that a North Korean missile has fallen close to its shores -- vowing concerted action with the US.
"We will never tolerate North Korea's continued provocations that ignore repeated warnings by the international community," Abe told reporters.
The North has been stepping up efforts towards its ultimate goal -- developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can deliver a nuclear warhead to the continental US.
North Korea confirmed its test-firing of a precision-guided ballistic missile was “successful”, the state-run news agency KCNA reported Tuesday, a day after the projectile landed in waters provocatively close to Japan.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un supervised the launch of the “new-type precision guided ballistic rocket” — the third missile test by the nuclear-armed regime in less than three weeks and carried out in defiance of UN sanctions warnings and US threats of possible military action.
The missile test triggered swift condemnation from US President Donald Trump who said it showed “disrespect” for neighboring China, the North’s sole major ally, which has sought to dampen tensions over Pyongyang’s weapons program.
The launch was aimed at testing a weapon “capable of making ultra-precision strike on the enemies’ objects at any area”, the North Korean report said.
“It also verified ultra-precision guidance correctness in the re-entry section,” it said.
Kim “expressed the conviction that [North Korea] would make a greater leap forward in this spirit to send bigger ‘gift packages’ to the Yankees” if provoked, the report added.
It added that the projectile was showcased for the first time last month as part of Pyongyang’s annual military parade to mark the 105th birth anniversary of the regime’s founder Kim Il-Sung.
Following North Korea’s test-firing earlier this month of what analysts said was its longest-range rocket yet, the UN Security Council vowed to push all countries to tighten sanctions against Pyongyang.
But China has made it clear that the push for talks — and not more sanctions — is its priority. On Monday it pleaded again for dialogue.
NATO officials have once again said that they are searching for ways to engage in meaningful dialogue with Russia. Asked to comment, international politics expert Viktor Nadein-Rajewski said that for now, he doesn't see any constructive steps toward Moscow on the alliance's part.
Addressing a meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Tbilisi, Georgia on Monday, alliance Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller said that NATO does not want to provoke conflict with Russia. Rather, it is looking for ways to conduct meaningful dialogue, and to encourage Russia toward peace, she said.
Asked to comment on Gottemoeller's remarks, and to weigh them against NATO's actual behavior, Viktor Nadein-Rajewski, a senior research fellow at the Moscow-based Institute of World Economy and International Relations, stressed that flowery rhetoric aside, Russia has not seen any positive steps emanating the alliance.
"Let's start from the fact that Moscow never turned its back on peace. Everything else is just fabrication and propaganda clichés," the observer said, speaking to Radio Sputnik.
It's a fact, Nadein-Rajewski added, that Russia-NATO "relations have reached a level where no room for improvement can be seen."
"Of course NATO would like, without any conciliatory gestures apart from verbal ones, to get Russia's consent to what is, let's be blunt, the occupation of the remaining territories of the former Soviet Union. After all, their forces are being deployed there, with Ukraine and Georgia in line [for membership]."
"But I do not see any constructive steps on NATO's part toward Russia," the analyst stressed. "Some of their statements inspire hope, yes, but for now it's all talk of good intentions. NATO must abandon [policies] which pose a direct threat to Russia, threats to its territory. But for now this threat continues to exist."
During the apparent love-fest between Mahmoud Abbas and POTUS Trump at the Whitehouse in early May, Trump tweeted that it "was an honor to meet with PA President Mahmoud Abbas".
It didn't take much time for Israel's PM Binyamin Netanyahu to come out strongly and castigate Abbas for blatantly lying to Trump regarding the former's intention to reach a peace agreement with Israel. Trump then went and deleted his tweet effectively retracting his words of respect for Abbas.
After the debacle involving the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' donation and support of establishing a women's center, which was subsequently dedicated to a terrorist Dalal Mughrabi who carried out one of the most deadly terrorist attacks in Israel's history, it has emerged that Trump showed that he will not tolerate brazen lies and support for incitement to terrorism.
When Trump and Abbas met in Bethlehem during the POTUS' whirlwind visit to Israel last week, Trump made it clear during their joint press conference that support for terrorism and incitement must end. Trump alluded to the PA's continued support and payments to jailed murderers and terrorists stating, "these actions are obstacles to peace."
Reports have emerged that the closed door meeting between Trump and Abbas was definitely not friendly when Abbas reiterated that his Fatah faction was not involved in anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement.
Trump reportedly yelled at Abbas, "You tricked me in Washington! You talked to me about peace, but the Israelis showed me that you are personally supporting incitement. Peace can never take root in a place where violence is tolerated, funded and even rewarded."
Love the Camilla Smith article. I had this feeling to "step up" my request for our gathering to take place. We must be so close now.
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Amen Lance... a great article indeed! Even so come Lord Jesus, your bride awaits!
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