News Report: ‘Tame' Trump - 4.7 Million North Koreans Reportedly Ready to Volunteer for War

Turns out Kim Jong-un wasn't joking around when he said the DPRK would "tame [US President Donald Trump] with fire" last week.

According to Rodong Sinmun, a North Korean outlet, an estimated 4.7 million students and workers indicated they would volunteer to join or re-enlist in the Korean People's Army in the hopes of countering US forces.

Included in the estimates are some 1.22 million women, the outlet reported Thursday.

Kim's latest move backs up a statement he issued last week vowing to take the "highest-level" of actions in response to Trump's United Nations speech, Yonhap News reported.

News Story: Can North Korea shoot down a US military aircraft?

North Korean KN-06 Surface-to-Air Missile System

By: Mike Yeo

MELBOURNE, Australia — At a news conference in New York on Monday, North Korea’s foreign minister accused U.S. President Donald Trump of declaring war via Twitter, and the minister threatened to shoot down U.S. Air Force bombers conducting flights near the Korean Peninsula.

Ri Yong Ho told reporters that his country “reserves the right to shoot down United States strategic bombers even when they’re not yet inside the airspace border of our country.” His comments come in the wake of a war of words between both countries over North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons program.

The conference came after a Sept. 23 flight over international waters “east of North Korea” by U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers, escorted by F-15C jets, that U.S. Pacific Command said was the “farthest north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) any U.S. fighter or bomber aircraft have flown off North Korea’s coast in the 21st century.”

According to South Korean media citing sources from the country’s intelligence services, the route of the B-1Bs took them approximately 90 miles from the North Korean port city of Sinpo and the Punggye-ri nuclear test site at its closest point but beyond the range of known long-range, ground-based air defense systems. The bombers’ flight path was also well beyond the North’s self-declared, 50-mile military boundary zone, which is not recognized by the United States.

At these distances, it would be a significant challenge for the North to effectively target any U.S. overflights. Like much of its conventional forces, North Korea’s air defense network is large in quantity but of questionable quality due to obsolescence, as the country is barred from importing military capabilities due to a United Nations arms embargo.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: S. Korea closely consults with U.S. on rotational deployment of strategic military assets

SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's defense ministry said on Thursday that the country was closely consulting with the United States on a rotational deployment of U.S. strategic military assets near the Korean Peninsula.

Lee Jin-woo, deputy spokesman of the defense ministry, told a regular press briefing that the two allies agreed to expand the rotational deployment of U.S. strategic assets in and near South Korea during a meeting last week in New York between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: S.Korean presidents stresses need for early transfer of wartime operational control from U.S.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in

SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday stressed a need for early transfer of wartime operational control of its forces from the United States to better tackle the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear and missile threats.

Moon said in a speech to celebrate the 69th anniversary of Armed Forces Day that the government aimed to regain the wartime command of South Korean forces early from Washington, and that the transfer will make the military's capability leap forward.

The president said the DPRK will be scared of the South Korean military when it has the wartime control of its own troops.

South Korea handed over its operational command to the U.S. forces after the three-year Korean War broke out in 1950. The country won back its peacetime operational control in 1994.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: South Korea shows off massive weapons to celebrate Armed Forces Day

M-SAM part of the KAMD system (File Photo)

SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's military on Thursday showed off massive strategic weapons at an event to celebrate the 69th anniversary of Armed Forces Day amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Key strategic weapons, including homegrown ballistic missiles, were displayed at the celebration function that was broadcast live and held at the headquarters of the Navy's Second Fleet in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul.

President Moon Jae-in and Defense Minister Song Young-moo inspected core military assets of the so-called "three-axis" defense platform, including the Kill Chain, the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR).

The country's indigenous Hyunmoo ballistic missiles were on display. Among them, the Hyunmoo-2C missiles were made public for the first time at the ceremony.

A Hyunmoo ballistic missile launcher vehicle (File Photo)

Hyunmoo ballistic missiles involve Hyunmoo-2A and Hyunmoo-2B which have a range of 300 km and 500 km each as well as Hyunmoo-2C that can fly as far as 800 km and hit the entire territory of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Also on display was Hyunmoo-3 cruise missiles that can travel as far as 1,000 km and has a high striking precision, though it has less destructive power than Hyunmoo-2 ballistic missiles.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: U.S. senator suggests having China as part of peacekeeping force in Korea

US Sen. Rand Paul (Image: Wiki Commons)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. senator proposed Wednesday that China be allowed to keep a peacekeeping force on the inter-Korean border as part of a solution to the North Korean nuclear standoff.

In an interview on MSNBC, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said the arrangement could satisfy both North Korea and China, which he claimed wants to be treated with more respect.

"Have them be part of a peacekeeping force in exchange for North Korea giving up their weapons," Paul said. "But I'm not talking about initially doing this. I'm talking about doing this in exchange for North Korea dismantling their program. They would be simultaneous sort of things."

China is North Korea's main ally and trading partner. It is responsible for 90 percent of the reclusive nation's external trade.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: Moon, party leaders condemn N.K. nuke, missile provocations

SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in and the leaders of major parties issued a joint statement Wednesday condemning North Korea's provocations and calling for a peaceful resolution of the nuclear standoff.

In a show of bipartisanship, they announced a five-point agreement after their meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, also reaffirming they would not let another armed conflict occur on the Korean Peninsula.

The talks, the third of their kind, came amid heightened tensions caused by Pyongyang's sixth and most powerful nuke test on Sept. 3 and a series of ballistic missile launches.

"(We) strongly condemn North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations that threaten peace and stability," reads the joint statement adopted after the dinner gathering that lasted two hours and 15 minutes.

"We urge the North to immediately halt provocations and come forward onto a path towards peace and denuclearization," it added. The statement was announced by their spokespersons.

The meeting was attended by Choo Mi-ae, Ahn Cheol-soo, Joo Ho-young and Lee Jung-mi, who represented the ruling Democratic Party, People's Party, Bareun Party and Justice Party, respectively. The leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party refused to attend, saying he does not want to serve as "background for a political show."

During the talks, the leaders also agreed to work together to faithfully implement U.N. Security Council sanctions against the North, strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance and bolster deterrence capabilities by enhancing the credibility of America's extended deterrence.

Extended deterrence refers to the stated U.S. commitment to defend its ally by mobilizing all military capabilities, nuclear and conventional, against the North's aggression and provocations.

Such a commitment was called into question amid Pyongyang's beefed-up push to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. Some argue Washington may dither on defending its Asian ally under attack as its military action could put its own territory at risk.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: S. Korea, U.S. open alliance talks

SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States began working-level defense talks in Seoul on Wednesday on North Korea and pending alliance issues.

The two-day Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) meeting, the 12th of its kind, got under way amid sharp military tensions on the peninsula over North Korea's provocations.

Agenda items include policy coordination against the North's nuclear and missile programs, Washington's commitment to extended deterrence and the transfer of wartime operational control of South Korean troops, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: IAEA chief to visit S. Korea to discuss N. Korean nuke issue

SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will visit South Korea this week to discuss ways to resolve North Korea's prohibited nuclear weapons development, the foreign ministry here said Wednesday.

During his visit from Thursday to Saturday, Director General Yukiya Amano will meet with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha to discuss the North Korean issue and cooperation between the IAEA and South Korea, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Director General Amano's South Korean visit, which comes after North Korea's sixth nuclear test and other provocations, will be an opportunity to discuss in depth how the two parties could collaborate to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue," the ministry said in a statement.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Report: Latest US Sanctions on North Korea Will Result in Full Trade Embargo

Eunjung Cho, Jenny Lee

WASHINGTON — The latest executive order signed by President Donald Trump would, in effect, amount to a full trade and financial embargo, squeezing all the revenue channels North Korea maintains to finance its weapons programs, a former senior counterterrorism official said.

On Sept. 21, less than two weeks after the U.N. Security Council approved new sanctions, Trump turned up the heat on the Kim Jong Un regime with an executive order that widens U.S. authority to sanction any bank and company that finance or facilitate trade with the communist country or any individual involved in the North Korean industries, ports and trade.

“To prevent sanctions evasion, the order also includes measures designed to disrupt critical North Korean shipping and trade networks,” said Trump, in reference to a 180-day ban on ships that have visited North Korea or have been involved in a ship-to-ship transfer with a vessel that has visited North Korea from entering the United States. “For much too long, North Korea has been allowed to abuse the international financial system to facilitate funding for its nuclear weapons and missile programs.”

News Report: War of Words Impedes Complex North Korea Diplomatic Challenge

Brian Padden

SEOUL — The provocative rhetoric between U.S. President Donald Trump and the North Korean leadership is adding to an already growing sense of pessimism that peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is possible.

President Trump said Tuesday the use of military force would be “devastating for North Korea,” though it is not his “preferred option” to stop the Kim Jong Un government’s rapidly advancing nuclear and missile program.

The leaders of the U.S. and North Korea have exchanged not only threats of military retribution, but also derisive personal insults, with Trump calling the North Korean leader “little rocket man” and Kim calling the U.S. president a “dotard,” an archaic English word meaning old and senile.

News Story: French FM expresses reservations over escalating rhetoric between U.S., DPRK

PARIS, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Wednesday expressed reservations about escalating rhetoric between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), urging more diplomatic pressure to end the nuclear crisis.

In an interview with BFMTV news channel, Le Drian warned that the verbal clash between U.S. President Donald Trump and DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un has made "the world living in a dangerous period" of unprecedented tension since the end of the Cold War.

"There could be an incident, we need to avoid incidents...so the necessity to act strongly to make North Korea (DPRK) sit on the table of negotiation," he added.

"We have to be extremely firm. Sanctions have been taken, reinforced," he stressed.

In recent weeks, Trump and Kim exchanged bellicose statements, escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula and raising prospects of military action after Pyongyang conducted its sixth missile test on Sept. 3.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Trump ignores pleas to calm North Korea tensions

By Andrew BEATTY, with Thomas Watkins in New Delhi and Kelly MacNamara in Seoul

Donald Trump on Tuesday accused North Korea of torturing a captive US student "beyond belief," spurning pleas from allies and foes in east Asia to tone down his warlike rhetoric.

Trump urged nations to "isolate the North Korean menace" as his administration introduced new sanctions and warned that its "nuclear weapons and missile development threaten the entire word with unthinkable loss of life."

The comments, in the White House Rose Garden, came after the US Treasury announced sanctions on eight North Korean banks and 26 executives.

Earlier, for the first time, Trump also publicly accused Pyongyang of abusing the late 22-year-old Otto Warmbier, an allegation likely to heighten tensions between the two nuclear powers.

Last June the Ohio native was sent home in a coma after more than a year in prison in North Korea. He died a few days later.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: FM emphasizes importance of alliance with U.S., asks for full parliamentary support

SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top diplomat has emphasized the importance of alliance with the United States in dealing with the evolving threat from North Korea's nuclear and missile programs and called for full support from the U.S. parliament, the foreign ministry here said Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held discussions with bipartisan groups of lawmakers from the Senate and the House of Representatives in back-to-back meetings in Washington on Tuesday, according to the ministry.

Kang had talks separately with a group of congresswomen, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and lawmakers of the foreign affairs committee of the Representatives of House. She also met with Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate armed services committee, the ministry said.

During the meetings, Kang explained in detail about the Seoul government's approach to the North and underlined the importance of South Korea-U.S. alliance in easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, according to the ministry.

Kang asked for their full support for efforts to intensify sanctions and pressure on the North in order to use it a "diplomatic means" to bring the North to the negotiating table, the ministry said.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: (S Korea) Ruling party lawmaker calls for efforts to persuade U.S. not to consider military options against N.K.

SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea should try to persuade the United States not to take military action against North Korea because it would to lead to full-scale war on the Korean Peninsula, a ruling party lawmaker said Wednesday.

Rep. Woo Sang-ho, a former floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party, also said in a radio interview that military tensions on the peninsula are at the highest-level since the Korean War and the recent U.S. flying of U.S. B-1B Lancer bombers near the North fueled the tensions.

"We have to stop the U.S. from exercising military options because that would open up the possibility of a full-scale war," Woo said. "Should the U.S. launch a preemptive strike against North Korea, it would spark a full-scale war between the South and the North."

Such a war may not affect the continental U.S., but it would devastate the peninsula, he said.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: Air dominance crucial in countering N. Korean threats - U.S. commander

SEOUL, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- A top U.S. military commander in South Korea on Tuesday stressed the significance of enhancing the integrated air power of the allies against North Korea armed with nuclear weapons.

Lt. Gen. Thomas Bergeson, the 7th Air Force commander, said the emergency of the North's nuclear threat has made the value of the "seamless control of airspace" even more important.

He pointed out air power's precise targeting, flexibility, speed and range were proven in past conflicts, including the Gulf War.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Report: USS Ronald Reagan Supercarrier to Conduct Exercises Off Korean Peninsula

The US Navy has announced that the nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan will be deployed to the Korean Peninsula to participate in joint exercises with the South Korean Navy as part of a continued American military buildup in the region as it faces off against North Korea.

The entire USS Ronald Reagan strike group, which includes four destroyers and two submarines, will be participating in exercises alongside South Korean ships in late October. The Pentagon claims that the exercises have been in the works for a long time, and are not a response to current tensions with Pyongyang.

On Friday, the 100,000-ton Reagan conducted drills with Japanese warships south of the Korean Peninsula as a response to the twin North Korean ballistic missile tests in August and September.

Then on Saturday, a pair of US B-1B Lancer strategic bombers flew within miles of the North Korean border. North Korea did not issue an official response to the mission, leading South Korean intelligence to claim that Pyongyang only found out about the bombers when the Pentagon told them.

News Report: North Korea Won't Be Recognized as Nuclear Power - Moscow

North Korea won't be recognized as a nuclear power by the international community, a Russian diplomat said, adding that the crisis on the Korean peninsula could be resolved only through political means.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The international community will not recognize North Korea as a nuclear state despite Pyongyang apparently has nuclear weapons, Mikhail Ulyanov, the Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control, said at a press conference in the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency on Tuesday.

Speaking on the ways to resolve the escalating crisis on the Korean Peninsula, the diplomat ruled out a military solution, saying a conflict would lead to disastrous consequences for the region.

"We believe that this conflict has no military solution because it is connected with catastrophic consequences… for the entire region," Ulyanov said at a press conference in the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency.

News Report: Trump - US 'Totally Prepared' for Military Option on North Korea

Steve Herman, Carla Babb

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States was totally prepared for a military option in dealing with North Korea, while his administration announced new sanctions in response to the country's nuclear and missile activity.

"We are totally prepared for the second option, not a preferred option, but if we take that option it will be devastating, I will tell you that — devastating for North Korea. That's called the military option. If we have to take it, we will," he said.

During a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy at the White House, Trump said North Korea must no longer be allowed to "threaten the entire world with unthinkable loss of life."

He thanked countries like Spain and China for taking steps to isolate the North Korean regime.

"All nations must act now to ensure the regime's complete denuclearization," Trump said in the White House Rose Garden.

Amid the escalating tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear program, the Trump administration on Tuesday imposed sanctions on eight North Korean banks and 26 bank executives.

"I have recently issued tough new sanctions against those who do business with this outlaw regime, and I applaud China's recent actions to restrict its trade with North Korea," Trump said.

The new restrictions came as the top U.S. general said that "in terms of a sense of urgency today," North Korea posed "the greatest threat" to the United States because of its rapidly developing ballistic missile and nuclear program.

News Story: Japan evaluating sites for Aegis Ashore missile defense system

CGI of an Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) System

By: Mike Yeo

MELBOURNE, Australia ― Japan is evaluating locations to base the Aegis Ashore land-based ballistic missile defense system of which it has expressed interest in acquiring to better defend against North Korean ballistic missiles.

According to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, which quoted Japanese Defense Ministry sources, Japan is looking at placing the Aegis Ashore on two sites along the country’s western coast to give complete coverage against North Korean ballistic missiles.

The newspaper reported that the sites under consideration for the northern system are either the Kamo sub-base in Oga, Akita prefecture, and the Sado sub-base in Sado, Niigata prefecture; for the system covering the southern part of Japan, either the Unishima sub-base in Tsushima or the Fukuejima sub-base in Goto, both in Nagasaki prefecture.

These sites are all part of Japan’s current early-warning and ballistic missile-defense radar network operated by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, operating a mixture of J/FPS-3, J/FPS-5 and other older radars.

The Asahi Shimbun reported that Japan plans to have its Aegis Ashore systems operational by 2023, although this could be pushed forward if the regional security changes. The newspaper quoted Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera as saying that “we want to introduce the system at the earliest possible schedule”.

Read the full story at DefenseNews