🇺🇸🇰🇷🇯🇵🇰🇵 US holds drills with allies off Korean peninsula, Pyongyang vows to bolster navy

The United States, South Korea and Japan staged joint naval missile defense drills off the Korean peninsula on Tuesday, as North Korea accused Washington and its allies of creating "the most unstable waters with the danger of a nuclear war."

The three nations staged exercises in international waters off South Korea's southern Jeju island to improve their ability to detect and track targets.

The drills come as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for "radically" modernizing the weapons and equipment of its naval forces, criticizing an increased presence of US strategic assets in the region.

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🇰🇷🇷🇺🇰🇵 South Korea urges Russia to halt military cooperation with North Korea

South Korea summoned Russia's ambassador to warn Moscow against any military cooperation with North Korea after summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Vladimir Putin.

First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin summoned Russia's ambassador in Seoul to urge "Russia to immediately halt any moves to expand military cooperation with North Korea and to abide by UN Security Council Resolutions," South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Chang said Russia should live up to its role as a member of the UN Security Council to address North Korea's nuclear threat, and added that any actions that threaten its security would seriously undermine Russia's relationship with South Korea.

#SouthKorea #Russia #NorthKorea

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🇰🇵🇰🇷 Tensions are rising again on the Korean Peninsula. In addition to the "exchange" of propaganda and debris, yesterday North Korea conducted its first missile test in nearly a month. It was likely an unsuccessful test of a solid-fuel hypersonic missile.

Details are scarce, as North Korea usually releases information the day after a launch. According to South Korean military, the missile experienced a malfunction during flight, leading to an explosion.

Often, North Korean missile tests are a response to actions by South Korea. This case may be no exception. On June 25, South Korea conducted live-fire drills with its Chunmu multiple rocket launchers, a key weapon for countering North Korean artillery threats in case of conflict.

Today, the U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt is departing the South Korean port to participate in the upcoming Freedom Edge trilateral exercises with the U.S., South Korea and Japan, which we reported on recently. However, the exact timing of the drills is still unclear.

Notably, the South Korean artillery drills on the Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands today were reportedly planned in advance, so they are not a direct response to the latest North Korean missile test. However, they cannot be viewed separately from the recent events.

North Korea is likely to react to these new South Korean artillery exercises, which will be seen in Pyongyang as a provocation. This will further escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula, which has seen instability lately.
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🇰🇵🇺🇸 North Korea's Kim Jong Un visits missile bases, cites US nuclear threat

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has visited missile bases to examine their readiness to undertake actions of "strategic deterrence", while calling US nuclear capabilities a growing threat to the country.

The US strategic nuclear arsenal poses an "ever-increasing threat" to North Korea's security environment, which demands that Pyongyang maintain a strict counteraction posture of its nuclear forces.

Kim also called for the modernization of the armed forces by giving priority to strategic missiles in the future, calling it "an important principle of the strategy for building national defense."

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🇰🇵🇰🇷🇺🇸🇯🇵 North Korea says US, Japan, South Korea drills justify its nuclear reinforcement

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said military drills by the United States, Japan and South Korea justify North Korea's nuclear reinforcement, state media KCNA said.

Kim criticized the air drill they conducted after North Korea tested a huge new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile dubbed Hwasong-19 last week, as well as "more than 20" military drills the allies have conducted this year.

Given such threats, North Korea will not be swayed from the path of strengthening its nuclear deterrent, KCNA said.

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🇰🇵 North Korea leader Kim orders mass production of suicide drones

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided a test of suicide drones and ordered a mass production of the aerial weapon, saying the introduction of such drones around the world requires an urgent update of military theory.

"(Kim) underscored the need to build a serial production system as early as possible and go into full-scale mass production," state news agency KCNA said.

Kim said the competition for using drones for military purposes is accelerating around the world, with military authorities likely recognizing their success in conflicts of various scale.

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🇰🇵🇷🇺 North Korea's Kim vows to further solidify Russia ties in letter to Putin

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to solidify the country's comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia in his letter to President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

In the message, Kim sent New Year greetings to Putin and all Russians, including their troops and expressed his willingness to further step up bilateral ties.

Kim "wished that the New Year 2025 would be recorded as the first year of victory in the 21st century when the Russian army and people would defeat neo-Nazism and achieve a great victory," KCNA said.

#NorthKorea #Russia

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