The fish of the East Sea continue to remain under attack by the North Koreans:
North Korea fired several cruise missiles Saturday into the Yellow Sea, just days after it shot off a pair of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles in a show of anger against U.S.-South Korea joint military drills.
The missiles were fired from about 4 a.m. and the launch is being analyzed by US and South Korean intelligence agencies, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement to reporters. Pyongyang had threatened punishment for U.S. and South Korean military drills, which ran for 11 days until the end of August.
North Korea on Aug. 30 test-fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles for simulated nuclear strikes, saying it wouldn’t bow down to threats after the U.S. sent a B-1B strategic bomber to airspace off the peninsula for joint drills. After that missile launch, South Korea and U.S. mobilized about 30 aircraft including F-35 stealth fighters for exercises that including air-to-ground live-fire training.
N.K. says it conducted ‘simulated tactical nuclear attack ‘This photo, carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 3, 2023, shows what the North called a drill for a “simulated tactical nuclear attack” being staged the previous day. (Yonhap)
I hope the Russians bring along a tugboat to help the North Korean ships keep up:
Kim Kyou-hyun (C, back), chief of the National Intelligence Service, attends a plenary session of the intelligence committee at the National Assembly in Seoul on Sept. 4, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
Russia proposed conducting three-way naval exercises with North Korea and China when Moscow’s defense minister held a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in late July, South Korea’s intelligence agency was quoted as saying Monday.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the proposal when he held a one-on-one meeting with the North’s leader, National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Kim Kyou-hyun said during a close-door briefing to the parliamentary intelligence committee, according to Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the ruling People Power Party.
Like it has done just about every August in recent memory, the North Koreans are continuing their offensive on the fish in the East Sea:
North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, South Korea’s military said Thursday, in apparent protest against combined South Korea-U.S. military drills.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launches from an area in or around Sunan in Pyongyang between around 11:40 p.m. and 11:50 p.m. Wednesday.
The missiles each flew some 360 kilometers before splashing into the waters, the JCS said, with the allies’ intelligence authorities conducting further analysis.
N. Korea resumes int’l passenger flights to Vladivostok This photo, taken Aug. 25, 2023, shows a departure flight board with a flight schedule for North Korea’s state-run carrier Air Koryo at Vladivostok airport in Russia, as North Korea resumed international passenger flights to the Russian city the same day after 3 1/2 years of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yonhap)
The prior rocket launch the U.S. and the ROK were able to recover much of the rocket. According to the article the North Koreans this time may have deliberately destroyed the rocket once it began to fail in order to prevent its recovery:
The United States is assisting the South Korean military in retrieving wreckage from North Korea’s failed reconnaissance satellite launch, a senior defense official told lawmakers Friday.
Seoul and Washington are working to salvage the space launch vehicle from the Yellow Sea and are analyzing the launch together, Heo Taekeun, chief of South Korea’s National Defense Policy Department, said at a televised hearing of the parliamentary National Defense Committee.
Neither Heo nor National Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup disclosed during the hearing how U.S. forces are contributing to the search. U.S. Forces Korea did not immediately respond to requests for comment by phone and email Monday.
The search for debris continued Monday, National Defense Ministry spokesman Jeon Ha Kyou told reporters that day.
It looks like North Korea is going to learn to live with COVID like everyone else:
North Korea on Sunday approved the return of its citizens from abroad after over three years of stringent COVID-19 lockdowns, taking a big step toward aligning with global efforts to “live with the virus,” according to analysts.
Experts say that the Kim Jong-un regime’s decision is likely driven by an exacerbating food crisis and economic difficulties, although the isolated nation still remains wary of a full-scale reopening of its borders.
Pyongyang’s state media, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), reported Sunday that North Korean citizens who had been staying abroad were recently allowed to return home, marking the first approval of international passenger travel since the reclusive regime shut its borders in January 2020.
N.K. leader inspects tractor factory This photo, released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 24, 2023, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) inspecting the Kumsong Tractor Factory in the North’s western port city of Nampo the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
It looks like North Korea will continue to launch these satellites until they figure out how to do it correctly:
North Korea said Thursday its second attempt to launch a spy satellite has ended in a failure, citing “an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight.”
Pyongyang said it launched the spy satellite, the Malligyong-1, mounted on a new type of rocket named Chollima-1, but an error occurred during the third stage of the launch, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
North Korea will once again aim to put a satellite into orbit in October, KCNA said, following its first botched attempt in late May.
