Tag: North Korea

The G7 can say what it wants, but clearly the Kim regime is never going to willingly give up their nuclear weapons. At some point governments are going to have to recognize that reality:

This undated image, provided by Yonhap New TV, shows North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui. (Yonhap)

North Korea’s foreign minister said Friday that the United States and the West have no right to argue about its status as a nuclear weapons power, slamming a recent joint statement by the Group of Seven (G-7) diplomats as interference in internal affairs.

In a statement, Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui took issue with the G-7 Foreign Ministers that condemned the North’s unlawful ballistic missile launches and said Pyongyang “cannot and will never” have the status of a nuclear weapons state under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

“G7 has neither authority nor qualification to say this or that about the DPRK’s exercise of its sovereignty and its national status,” she said in the statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Well it looks like we know what North Korea’s next provocation is going to be:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) and his daughter, known as Ju-ae, visit the North’s space development agency on April 18, 2023, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Pyongyang has completed building its first military spy satellite and ordered final preparations to launch the satellite as planned, the North’s state media reported Wednesday, in a move that is expected to further heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Kim made the remarks during an on-site inspection to the North’s space development agency a day earlier, as Pyongyang has vowed to complete preparations of the launch of a military spy satellite by the end of this month, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Besides firing shots at the North Korean vessel maybe the ROK Coast Guard needs to start firing shots at these illegal Chinese fishing vessels as well:

A South Korean Navy vessel fired warning shots to drive out a North Korean patrol boat that crossed the western de facto maritime border last week, the South’s military said Sunday.

The North Korean boat crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in waters northeast of South Korea’s Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea on Saturday at 11 a.m., prompting the South Korean Navy to dispatch its Chamsuri-class patrol boat, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

After the North’s boat remained unresponsive to South Korea’s warning broadcasts and communication attempts, the South Korean vessel fired 10 warning shots with its autocannon and made the North Korean boat retreat.

The North Korean boat made the incursion as it was chasing a Chinese fishing boat, according to an informed source.

The JCS said there was contact between the South Korean vessel and the Chinese boat during the operation, and three of the South Korean sailors were sent to a hospital for injuries. One of them is known to have undergone surgery due to a fracture.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this illegal Chinese fishing boat rams a South Korean Coast Guard ship, injures sailors, and it is allowed to get away?

The Kim regime caused another evacuation order yesterday on the Japanese island of Hokkaido due to their latest missile test:

North Korea on Thursday fired what is believed to be a solid-fuel ballistic missile that landed between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, raising fears of possible technical advancement in its weapons program.

Speaking to reporters, a Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) official said North Korea’s military appears to have fired a new type of intermediate-range ballistic missile ― possibly running on solid fuel.

Solid fuel offers greater mobility for missiles and reduces preparation time before launch, compared with liquid fuel that takes more preparation time requiring activities that could be detected, therefore, giving some time for South Korea and the United States to prepare before launch.

“Given the significance of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung birthday on April 15, North Korea highly likely tested its solid-fuel ballistic missile,” Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute think tank, told The Korea Times. “The test would give the regime the opportunity to send its defiant message to Seoul and its allies and to promote it as an accomplishment ahead of the politically important anniversary.”

A solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is one of the key weapons on the wish list of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who has been expanding and expressing his nuclear ambition following his fruitless summit with then U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019.

The JCS said the missile was fired at a high angle from its capital area and fell into the East Sea after a 1,000-kilometer flight.

North Korea’s latest provocation prompted Japan to issue an evacuation order on Hokkaido. The warning was retracted later when it became obvious that the missile would not fall near the northeastern Japanese island. The country’s defense ministry said the missile could be an ICBM. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The trilateral naval exercise was quite successful in getting the attention of the Kim regime. Lets hope many more of them are scheduled in the future:

North Korea on Thursday denounced South Korea and the United States’ latest joint military drills as an “unprecedented” war rehearsal, vowing to take “offensive” military steps against such actions.

In a commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency, Choe Ju-hyon, a critic of international security affairs, said Seoul and Washington’s “frantic” military drills have turned the Korean Peninsula into a “powder keg” that can explode at any moment.

“Our war deterrence will continue to show responsibility and confidence in its critical mission with offensive actions,” Choe said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.