Japan plans to suspend the civilian evacuation drills it started last year when North Korea was repeatedly test-firing missiles near and over Japanese islands, officials said yesterday, citing diplomatic overtures from Pyongyang.
Nine drills to prepare residents in Japan for possible missile attacks were to be held later this year.
The Cabinet Secretariat in charge of crisis management said the official announcement of the suspension was expected soon and that recent diplomatic developments meant the prospect of strikes from North Korean missiles has subsided for now.
Photo: EPA
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last week promised at his summit with US President Donald Trump to work toward a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.
The planned suspension surfaced yesterday after officials in Tochigi Prefecture confirmed that a drill there scheduled to take place on Tuesday had been called off at the government’s request.
Missile drill plans in eight other prefectures were also put on hold.
The Secretariat said that the drills are suspended only as long as the tensions remain reduced.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga last week told reporters that the Trump-Kim summit has significantly relieved Japan’s security environment, but that the government still plans to go ahead with a plan to install land-based Aegis Ashore missile interceptors.
North Korea still possesses hundreds of ballistic missiles, which have not been dismantled, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
US Secretary of Defense James Mattis on Wednesday said he was unaware of any steps taken by North Korea toward dismantling its nuclear weapons program since the Singapore summit and does not expect any in the immediate future.
Mattis was speaking to reporters amid confusion over the diplomatic follow-up to last week’s summit.
Immediately after the meeting Trump said that North Korea had begun the destruction of a missile engine testing site or would begin to do so as soon as Kim returned from the summit.
In return, Trump ordered the suspension of military exercises with South Korea, a longstanding demand of the Pyongyang regime.
The Pentagon this week confirmed that planning for the next scheduled exercises in August had been halted.
However, asked on Wednesday if he could “put his finger on” any steps North Korea had taken to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon: “No, I’m not aware of that. The detailed negotiations have not begun. I wouldn’t expect that at this point.”
After the Singapore meeting, Trump said that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House national security adviser John Bolton would take part in follow-up meetings with North Korean officials this week to “go into the details” of the denuclearization agreement the president believed he had struck with Kim.
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city
SELF-DETERMINATION: German lawmakers add earth to an art installation in front of the Reichstag to show that the face of a nation lies with its people, Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan’s future should be decided by Taiwanese, German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group chairman Till Steffen said yesterday, while giving former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) a tour of the German parliament building. Tsai arrived in Berlin on Sunday and the following day delivered a keynote speech at the Berlin Freedom Conference titled “Threats facing democracies: Taiwan’s experience defending freedom.” Tsai yesterday attended a tea gathering at the Bundestag, joined by former friendship group chairman of 15 years Klaus-Peter Willsch, German defense affairs specialist Roderich Kiesewetter and Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Parliamentary State Secretary Michael Brand. Noting that the
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
RSS