North Korea is believed to be preparing to launch a ballistic missile ahead of an upcoming joint naval drill by the US and South Korea, a news report said yesterday, citing a government source.
The US Navy on Friday said that a US aircraft carrier is to lead the drill in the coming week, a fresh show of force against North Korea as tensions soar over the hermit state’s weapons program.
The move will likely rile Pyongyang, which has previously responded angrily to joint exercises.
The Donga Ilbo daily, quoting a government source, said that satellite images show ballistic missiles mounted on launchers being transported out of hangars near Pyongyang and in North Phyongan Province.
US and South Korean military officials suspect that the North might be preparing to launch missiles capable of reaching US territory, the newspaper said.
This could be the Hwasong-14 inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), which could reach Alaska, or Hwasong-12 intermediate-range missiles, which Pyongyang in August threatened to fire toward the US Pacific territory of Guam, the report said.
Another possibility is that the North might be preparing to test a new Hwasong-13 ICBM that has a longer maximum range than the other two missiles and could potentially reach the US west coast, it added.
A US Department of Defense spokesman declined to comment on the report, saying: “We don’t comment on any matters of military intelligence.”
“We are keeping a close watch over the North,” he added.
The joint drills led by the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier come after hectic US military hardware movements around the Korean Peninsula.
These follow a flurry of missiles from Pyongyang, which conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test last month in defiance of international sanctions.
On Friday, the nuclear-powered USS Michigan submarine arrived at the southern South Korean port of Busan, just days after another nuclear-powered submarine — the USS Tuscon — left after a five day visit.
Earlier this week, the US flew two supersonic heavy bombers over the Korean Peninsula, staging the first nighttime joint aviation exercises with Japan and South Korea.
That mission came 17 days after four US F-35B stealth jets and two B-1Bs flew over the peninsula.
University of North Korean Studies professor Yang Moo-Jin said it was “highly likely” that the North could launch missiles in response to next week’s joint navy drill.
US President Donald Trump’s continued threats of military action against Pyongyang have fueled fears of conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
However, military intervention against North Korea would have “devastating consequences,” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday, after Trump said that diplomatic efforts had failed.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of