Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday revealed that he had ordered the Kremlin “to prepare a reciprocal response” to the recent U.S. test of a land-based nuclear missile.
After his summit with dictator Kim Jong-un on Tuesday, President Trump indicated the North Koreans are dismantling another facility important to their development of nuclear missiles following the purported shutdown of the Punggye-ri nuclear bomb testing site. Analysts believe this was a reference to the missile engine testing site at Kusong, which appears to be undergoing demolition based on satellite imagery.
The vast majority of Americans support President Donald Trump’s historic meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, according to a poll released on Monday that shows 71 percent approve.
The United States and Canada hosted a 20-nation gathering in Vancouver on Tuesday, leading to a consensus that even tougher sanctions could be applied against North Korea to make it give up on developing nuclear missiles. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said military options are still on the table if these sanctions fail.
Australian authorities arrested a man on Saturday on extraordinary charges of assisting North Korea with its drive to develop weapons of mass destruction. He was identified on Monday as 59-year-old Chan Han Choi, a naturalized Australian citizen born in South Korea.
A U.S. official said on Saturday that North Korea’s new intercontinental ballistic missile broke up upon re-entry at the end of its test launch last week, indicating that North Korea still lacks the key component of reliable heat shielding for its ICBMs.
North Korea’s missile program has been strangely quiet since September, which comes as a relief to Japan, since the last few ICBMs from North Korea have flown through their airspace. On Monday, the Japanese government reported intercepting radio signals that suggest North Korea may be preparing to launch another missile.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a news conference in Beijing on Saturday that despite the high degree of tension between the United States and North Korea, lines of communication to Pyongyang remain open, and the U.S. is ready to talk.
The always intriguing question of just how tough China is willing to get with North Korea took another turn on Thursday, as China ordered the shutdown of every North Korean business venture in the country within 120 days.
South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong said on Thursday that North Korea can be expected to conduct more provocative actions in October, due to the impending anniversary of the foundation of the North Korean Communist party.
A poll from YouGov and The Economist finds Americans are concerned about the possibility of full-scale war with North Korea, but about half of respondents support military action if necessary.
At a White House news conference on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said military strikes are not the preferred solution for North Korea but warned that the military option will be “devastating” if he feels compelled to authorize it.
Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that American planners should assume North Korea already has the capability to hit the continental United States with nuclear weapons.
North Korea’s primary patrons, China and Russia, are urging restraint and patience as rhetorical exchanges between Washington and Pyongyang grow more heated.
Deputy Adviser to the President Dr. Sebastian Gorka, formerly National Security editor for Breitbart News, discussed the North Korean crisis with SiriusXM host Raheem Kassam on Wednesday’s Breitbart News Daily.
A grim milestone appears to be passing, as both U.S. and Japanese intelligence analysts believe North Korea has developed the technology to miniaturize nuclear warheads and fit them inside long-range missiles, years ahead of schedule.
China was willing to vote for stronger U.N. sanctions against its unruly client regime in North Korea, but Chinese media are sending decidedly mixed signals in the wake of the vote. The histrionics in Beijing’s state-managed newspapers seem intended to send a message that China is not prepared to go any further with North Korea.
The Islamic Republic of Iran defied a United Nations Security Council resolution that endorsed the historic nuclear deal by conducting at least two sets of ballistic missile tests that were “inherently capable of delivering nuclear weapons.”
Hours after the Iranian regime breached United Nations Security Council treaties by test-firing ballistic missiles on Tuesday, the nation’s leadership has again threatened to walk away from the nuclear deal they had agreed to in July of last year.
