Category: North Korea

The Russians have a new source of munitions to help them in their continuing war effort in Ukraine:

North Korea has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia in recent weeks for use in Ukraine, a White House official said Friday, lambasting burgeoning cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow as a threat to regional stability.

In a press briefing, John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, disclosed the information, amid persistent speculation that the Sept. 13 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin might have led to an arms deal.

Kirby also voiced concerns about possible Russian assistance to the North in return for arms support, disclosing the U.S.’ observation that Russian ships offloaded containers in the North, which he said “may constitute the initial deliveries of material from Russia.”

Yonhap

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It sounds like the U.S. needs to invest in more missile defense to keep up with the threat:

North Korea is “on pace” to deploy sufficient nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to overcome the U.S. missile defense and may be preparing for a nuclear test to enable tactical nuclear operations, a congressional report showed Thursday.

The Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States issued the final report. It was launched by the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2022 to examine America’s long-term strategic posture.

Yonhap

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If North Korea conducts a nuclear test getting international attention seems to be reason why they would do it, not a food crisis as the ROK government is speculating. A nuclear test may also be something done in coordination with Iran to divert U.S. resources from the Middle East as Iran continues to use its proxies there to wage war on Israel and Sunni Arab states:

The reigniting of the Israel-Hamas conflict, coupled with Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, could shift the United States’ attention further away from North Korea’s nuclear quandary, analysts said Tuesday.

The conflict flared up following the Palestinian militant group’s deadly surprise attack on Israel on Saturday, as Washington’s stated commitment to diplomacy with Pyongyang has fallen on deaf years amid the North’s unceasing drive for nuclear armament.

President Joe Biden pledged “full support” for Israel. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin deployed the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) Carrier Strike Group to the Eastern Mediterranean while Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the U.S.’ “solidarity” with Israel.

The U.S.’ apparent reapportioning of diplomatic and security resources for conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe has raised speculation that it would be harder for the U.S. to pay more attention to addressing the North Korean conundrum.

Yonhap

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Kim Jong-un is going on a long train ride through the Russian Far East. It does make me wonder when he is gone this long how does he maintain secure communications with his underlings back in Pyongyang? May he has a Starlink terminal on his train. 😉

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (rear) boards his special train after holding a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East on Sept. 13, 2023, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day. Kim invited Putin to visit his country.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s special train appears to be moving toward Russia’s Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk on Thursday, a day after his rare summit with President Vladimir Putin, according to sources. 

According to the sources, Kim’s olive green, bullet-proof train appears headed toward the Russian city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where he will visit an aircraft factory, following his meeting with Putin held Wednesday at the Vostochny spaceport where he pledged full support for Russia.

Putin earlier told a Russian media outlet that Kim will fly to Komsomolsk-on-Amur to visit an aircraft plant and travel to Vladivostok to view Russia’s Pacific Fleet after the summit.

But Kim appears to have taken his train to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, some 1,170 kilometers east of the space center.

Kim is expected to arrive in the Russian city late Thursday and stop by an aircraft plant that manufactures Sukhoi fighter jets the following day, according to the sources.

Yonhap

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Today is likely summit time for Kim Jong-un and Putin to close out their arms deal. It will be interesting to see if the terms of the deal are released:

This photo, carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 12, 2023, shows the North’s leader Kim Jong-un leaving Pyongyang for a trip to Russia on his special train.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia early Tuesday, an official at South Korea’s defense ministry said, as Kim is set to hold a rare summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with concerns growing over a possible arms deal between Pyongyang and Moscow. 

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) confirmed early Tuesday that Kim had left Pyongyang for Russia aboard his train Sunday afternoon, accompanied by leading officials of the North’s ruling party and the armed forces.

The KCNA said Kim “left here by his train on Sunday afternoon to visit the Russian Federation.” 

Hours after the KCNA report, Jeon Ha-kyou, a spokesperson at South Korea’s defense ministry, gave an assessment that Kim’s train had crossed into Russia early Tuesday, adding that the ministry is closely monitoring for possible talks between the two countries over arms trade.

Yonhap

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