Top North Korean leader calls for bolstering Navy’s combat power
The top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) called for bolstering up the navy's combat power while inspecting the country's major shipyards
The top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) called for bolstering up the navy's combat power while inspecting the country's major shipyards
North Korea's Defence Minister has reaffirmed "invincible" friendship with Russia during a banquet celebrating Russia's Defender of the Fatherland Day, hosted by the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang, state media reported Friday.
North Korea on Thursday expressed outrage over the move by the United States to bolster another nuclear alliance in the Asia-Pacific region.
Following the talks between the United States and Russia on ending the war in Ukraine, President Donald Trump expressed his belief that Russia wants to put an end to the conflict, citing the toll the war has taken on soldiers, including Ukrainians, Russians, as well as North Koreans.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has accused the US of standing behind the world's disputes, reaffirming the country's policy to further develop its nuclear forces, the North's state media reported on Sunday.
"Kim is continuing to prioritize efforts to build an increasingly capable missile force designed to evade US and regional missile defenses," said the report.
“If North Korea deliberately carried out the missile launch while the international community is distracted by the “Russian invasion of Ukraine, such an act is absolutely unforgivable. We cannot overlook considerable missile and nuclear advancement.”
North Korea has a long history of using provocations such as missile or nuclear tests to seek international concessions. The latest tests come as the North’s economy, already battered by decades of mismanagement and crippling U.S.-led sanctions, is hit hard by pandemic border closures. The tests are viewed by many as an attempt to pressure President Biden’s administration into easing the cache of sanctions.
Pyongyang appears to be inching closer to its earlier threat to consider suspending a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests amidst an impasse in its nuclear negotiations with America. The latest launch suggests that Kim’s moratorium is already broken. In recent months, North Korea has ramped up its testing activity.
North Korea fired one suspected ballistic missile from the Jagang Province area on Sunday and the missile landed outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone.
