The US believes North Korea is planning to test a nuclear weapon and has asked China to intervene to block the test, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday on its Web site from South Korea.
Meanwhile, South Korea and North Korea agreed yesterday to resume talks that broke down last summer and to discuss the standoff over the North's suspected development of nuclear weapons, an Indonesian official said.
In an emergency communication sent on Friday, Washington warned Beijing that Pyongyang was possibly planning a test nuclear explosion, an unidentified US official told the Journal.
The Journal reported that the US told China it "believes the North Korean nuclear program is advanced enough that a test could come with little or no warning."
"It's clear the North Koreans want the world to think that they are moving quickly and rapidly toward a nuclear test," the official told the Journal.
The official said that US spy satellites have detected increased activities at North Korean sites where underground nuclear tests could be carried out.
The US State Department said it was "following closely all information about activities in North Korea" but declined specific comment on the reported planned nuclear test.
"Consistent with longstanding policy however we do not comment on reports about intelligence matters," department spokeswoman Darla Jordan told reporters.
The Journal quoted the official as saying that the true intent of the increased activities at North Korean sites where underground nuclear tests could be carried out was difficult to ascertain.
Another official told the newspaper that similar warnings were being sent to South Korea and Japan.
However, during a meeting between South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan and North Korea's No. 2 man, Kim Yong-nam on the sidelines of an Asian-African summit in Jakarta, Pyongyang said it would return to six-party talks aimed at getting North Korea to suspend its nuclear program, said Jacob Tobing, Indonesia's ambassador to South Korea.
"They agreed to resume the inter-Korean dialogue ... and they agreed to exchange views over the six-party talks," said Tobing, who was at the conference with the South Korean delegation.
``We know they both need this kind of meeting so we [Indonesia] offered to facilitate it. I'm very satisfied. At least one step has been taken but there is a lot work ahead,'' he said.
Earlier Kim Sang-soo, the information attache at the South Korean embassy in Jakarta, confirmed a meeting took place but refused to provide details.
Neither leader spoke to reporters as they left the talks, which lasted about half an hour.
The leaders agreed Friday on the need for the two countries to work together on territorial claims on a set of islets at the center of a dispute between South Korea and Japan, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS