Kinetic options on North Korea not highly supported by American public. More supported than doing nothing, but continued diplomacy tops. pic.twitter.com/BtGGXKMJ7G
As I have always said, from the Kim regime perspective it makes perfect sense to develop nuclear weapons and there is nothing anyone can do diplomatically that can change his mind:
North Korea said on Saturday U.S. missile strikes against a Syrian airfield on Friday were “an unforgivable act of aggression” that showed its decision to develop nuclear weapons was “the right choice a million times over”.
The response by North Korea’s foreign ministry, carried by the official KCNA news agency, was the first since U.S. warships in the Mediterranean Sea launched dozens of missiles at a Syrian air base which the Pentagon says was involved in a chemical weapons attack earlier in the week.
“The U.S. missile attack against Syria is a clear and unforgivable act of aggression against a sovereign state and we strongly condemn this,” KCNA quoted an unnamed spokesman for the North Korean foreign ministry as saying.
“The reality of today proves our decision to strengthen our military power to stand against force with force was the right choice a million times over,” KCNA said. [Reuters]
Considering their limited budgets the North Korean tankers appear to have gotten creative to add capability to their aging equipment:
Tanks observed at a North Korean tank competition reveal a number of questionably useful upgrades to the tracked fighting machines. The upgrades, which consist of strapping extra machine guns, anti-tank missiles, and surface-to-air missiles are apparently meant to offset military advantages in enjoyed by U.S. and South Korean forces.
The upgrades were observed at the Korean People’s Army Tank Crews’ Competition 2017. According to Pyongyang’s Rodong Sinmun news site, the competition consisted of tank crews competing in a variety of events, including driving, gunnery, and navigating obstacles. The tanks appear to be Chonma-ho main battle tanks, a North Korean version of the 1960s-era Soviet T-62 tank. [Popular Mechanics]
South and North Korean players compete at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women’s World Championship Division II Group A at Gangneung Hockey Centre in the namesake city, 237 kilometers east of Seoul, on April 6, 2017. The South shut out the North 3-0. (Yonhap)
It figures the North Koreans would send a congratulatory message to a regime that likes to use chemical weapons on their own citizens:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a congratulatory message to Syria over the founding anniversary of the country’s ruling party, Pyongyang’s media said Friday, amid global condemnation against Damascus’s suspected chemical weapon attack on civilians.
The North’s leader sent the message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to mark the 70th anniversary of the creation of the controlling Ba’ath party, according to Rodong Sinmun, North Korea’s main newspaper.
The move is seen to be aimed at showing friendly ties between Pyongyang and Damascus as about 90 people were killed by the Syrian government’s suspected uses of chemical weapons Tuesday against a rebel-held area in the northern part of the country.
“The two countries’ friendly relations will be strengthened and developed, given their fight against imperialism,” Kim was quoted as saying by the newspaper. (…….)
The U.S. launched a barrage of cruise missiles at an air base on Thursday night (local time) in retaliation for the latest chemical weapon attack for which Washington blames Assad. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but long time ROK Drop readers may remember that in 2007 North Korean scientists were killed by an Israeli bombing strike into Syria that destroyed the nuclear reactor the Kim regime was helping the Syrians to construct. Now a decade later the North Korean nuclear reactor may be the next one facing a bombing strike.
I guess we will see in the future of this statement includes North Korea or not:
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday after summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping that “tremendous progress” was made in U.S. relations with China and that “lots of very potentially bad problems will be going away.”
“We have made tremendous progress in our relationship with China” Trump said after talks with Xi at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, according to pool reports. “I think truly progress has been made,” he said, calling the relationship with China “outstanding.”
“Lots of very potentially bad problems will be going away,” Trump said.
It was unclear if the “bad problems” include North Korea. (…….)
The strikes against Syria, which came in the middle of the state dinner Trump hosted for Xi at his Mar-a-Lago estate, could also send a message to China that the U.S. may take unilateral action unless Beijing helps rein in Pyongyang. [Yonhap]
It would probably be interesting to be a fly on the wall to over hear what President Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping will discuss this weekend:
President Donald Trump listens to a question during a town hall with business leaders in the White House in Washington on Tuesday. [AP/YONHAP]Claiming North Korea is a “matter of urgent interest” for President Trump and his administration, the official added that Trump “has been pretty clear in messaging how important it is for China to coordinate with the United States, and for China to begin exerting its considerable economic leverage to bring about a peaceful resolution to that problem.”
Such issues will come up in their discussions, the official said. “Even though we hear sometimes that China’s political influence may have diminished with North Korea, clearly its economic leverage has not,” pointing out that nearly 90 percent of Pyongyang’s external trade is with its closest ally Beijing.
The Trump administration has been suggesting a paradigm shift from previous U.S. governments on policy toward the North Korea issue, putting the Pyongyang nuclear issue as a top priority for the first time.
Trump’s administration also isn’t shy about the pressure it intends to put on China over North Korea.
In a town hall meeting with business CEOs on Tuesday, Trump said on his upcoming summit with Xi, “I’m sure we’re going to have a fantastic meeting and we’re going to talk about a lot of things, including, of course, North Korea,” which he described as “really a humanity problem.”
“China has great influence over North Korea,” Trump declared in an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday.
“China will either decide to help us with North Korea, or they won’t. And if they do that will be very good for China, and if they don’t it won’t be good for anyone.”
He also said that he will solve the North Korea issue if China won’t do it – and without China’s help. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
With this missile test being a failure I would be surprised if the Kim regime doesn’t try something else as well to make their point before President Trump’s summit with Chinese premier Xi Jinping:
The Pentagon now assesses the North Korean missile launch Wednesday likely was a failure, Fox News has learned.
The missile did not go as far as intended, officials with knowledge of the latest intelligence reports said. It did not reach Japanese waters and may have “pinwheeled in flight,” according to one official.
What’s more, the missile was an older SCUD — not the advanced land version of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (KN-15), as first assessed by the U.S. Pacific Command last night, a U.S. defense official confirmed. North Korea launched a KN-15 missile in February — as President Trump hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Florida.
A senior administration official told Fox News the launch didn’t represent much of a provocation on North Korea’s part.
In a 23-word statement, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made it clear the administration was moving in a new direction: “North Korea launched yet another intermediate range ballistic missile. The United States has spoken enough about North Korea. We have no further comment.” [Fox News]
