North Korea launches missile; Japan urges citizens to take cover

North-Korea-ICBM-launch

Important Takeaways:

  • Japan urged citizens to shelter from what it said was a North Korean missile launch today, issuing an emergency warning for residents in the south of the country.
  • The alert covering the Okinawa prefecture has since been lifted as the Japanese government claimed the missile appeared to have flown towards the Pacific Ocean.
  • ‘Missile passed. Missile passed. The missile is believed to have passed into the Pacific Ocean around 22:55 (1355 GMT). The call for evacuation is being cancelled,’ the office of prime minister Fumio Kishida said via X, formerly Twitter.
  • Seoul’s military said the rocket was believed to be carrying a spy satellite and was launched toward the south, just hours after Japan said it had been notified by North Korea of plans to launch a satellite between Wednesday and December 1.
  • It would be North Korea’s third such launch in recent months, following two failed attempts earlier this year.

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Iran’s nuclear weaponry development could move faster with help from North Korea and Russia

Iran-Nuclear-Facility

Important Takeaways:

  • As tensions soar, Iran is months away from developing nuclear weapons
  • The world’s attention is focused on Gaza, but it would be a grievous mistake to overlook the risks posed by Tehran’s nuclear program. There are three critical components to the ability to deploy nuclear weaponry; it is nearing sufficient capability in all three.
  • The first, and most crucial of these is a sufficient stockpile of weapons-grade uranium (90 per cent enriched or higher). The latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency shows that Iran has a stockpile of 3,441 kilograms of enriched uranium, of which 122kg has reached a level of 60 per cent. Within four weeks, this could be initially enriched to 90 per cent, and then converted to uranium metal – sufficient to build two nuclear weapons. Given its existing stockpile, Iran could easily obtain more material should it decide to do so.
  • The second is the ability to design weapons. Iran had a structured nuclear weapons program in place until 2003, and carried on with related work until 2009. Moreover, it has close military and economic ties with North Korea, which has successfully carried out six nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017. It is not improbable that Iran would be able to construct a nuclear weapon within a few weeks of obtaining sufficient enriched uranium metal – without the need for testing.
  • The greatest barrier is the third; the ability to deliver a weapon to its targets. Ballistic missiles, air and sea launched cruise missiles, and indeed gravity bombs are all possible options. But aircraft are relatively easily intercepted, and while Iran has an advanced missiles program it does not yet appear to have systems capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
  • This could change rapidly. Until October 18, UN Security Council Resolution 2231 on the design, development and acquisition of missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons was still in force. That has now expired, and Russia has already announced its intention to collaborate with Tehran on missile-related activities. With North Korean warheads and Russian missiles, the timeline for a viable Iranian nuclear weapon could be short.

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Hamas supporter North Korea blames IDF for explosion near al-Ahil hospital in Gaza; makes accusation of ‘Genocide’

North-Korea-blames-IDF

Important Takeaways:

  • North Korea accuses Israel of ‘genocide’ in Gaza, labels US an ‘accomplice’
  • North Korean media accused Israel of responsibility for the recent explosion near al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip.
  • “What should not be overlooked is that Israel’s such criminal act was openly committed under the undisguised patronage of the U.S.,” a North Korean foreign ministry spokesperson told state media outlet Korean Central News Agency.
  • “Immediately after the bombing of the hospital by Israel, the U.S. covered such crime, making absurd sophism that the incident seemed to be committed by other forces rather than Israel,” the North Korean spokesperson continued. “This shows that the U.S. is an accomplice who connived at and fostered Israel’s genocide.”
  • Russia has boasted similar rhetoric to North Korea, blaming U.S. interventionism for the terrorism and violence plaguing the region.
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un have significantly strengthened relations between the countries — most recently with a rare diplomatic envoy from the hermit kingdom.

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North Korea warns the UN the peninsula is closer to the brink of nuclear war

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Important Takeaways:

  • Korea on ‘brink of nuclear war,’ North warns UN
  • North Korea told the United Nations on Tuesday that the peninsula was at risk of nuclear war, as it blamed what it called hostility by the United States.
  • Speaking on the same day that UN chief Antonio Guterres warned of a new nuclear arms race, North Korea said that US actions over the past year have driven the peninsula “closer to the brink of a nuclear war.”
  • Kim Song, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations, denounced South Korea’s actions under President Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who has worked to build tighter cooperation with Washington as well as historic rival Japan.
  • He pointed to the recent formation of the Nuclear Consultative Group, through which the United States hopes to integrate its nuclear capacity better with South Korea’s conventional forces, with the two allies increasing information sharing and contingency planning.
  • Kim said the group was “committed to the planning, operation and execution of a preemptive nuclear strike against the DPRK,” the official name of the North, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
  • “The US is now moving on to the practical stage of realizing its sinister intention to provoke a nuclear war by frequently dispatching strategic nuclear submarines and strategic nuclear bombers carrying nuclear weapons in and around the Korean peninsula for the first time in decades,” he said.

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All eyes on the formation of the New AXIS: Russia, China and North Korea

Putin-and-Kim-Jong-Un

Important Takeaways:

  • China and Russia: The New Axis of Evil
  • Xi has been eyeing the South and East China Seas, coopting the Solomon Islands, building and militarizing his own artificial islands, and threatening not only Taiwan, but neighbors such as Australia, India and Japan.
  • Putin seized and occupied territory in Georgia in 2008, and Ukraine in 2014 (Crimea) and 2023, not to mention his relentless bellicosity towards the Baltic states and eastern Europe.
  • There are mounting concerns… in Western security circles that in return for providing any uplift in military support for Russia, Kim wants Moscow to provide technical assistance for his missile and satellite programs, which would seriously enhance North Korea’s ability to threaten the West with its nuclear arsenal.
  • Any attempt by Russia to help improve North Korea’s military strength will also benefit China’s Communist rulers: it will provide North Korea with the ability to intensify the threat that all three countries pose to the US and its allies — and to global security.

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Russian Crimea port targeted in massive blitz

Crimea-port-attack

Important Takeaways:

  • FIRE AND FURY Putin sub and warship blasted by ‘Storm Shadow missiles & kamikaze drone boats’ in massive Crimea port blitz
  • UKRAINE unleashed a barrage of ten cruise missiles along with kamikaze drones in a massive assault on Russia’s powerful Black Sea Fleet.
  • Vladimir Putin’s forces were rocked as a submarine and an assault ship were blasted during the onslaught on the Crimean port of Sevastopol.
  • British-made Storm Shadow missiles and explosive-packed drone boats are believed to have been used in the biggest attack of its kind on the fleet – marking the first time such weapons have been used in Crimea.
  • Shocking footage showed huge plumes of smoke and flames seen for miles around rising from the blitzed base.
  • It is the latest blow to embattled Putin’s war effort – and was a major embarrassment for Vlad as he sat down with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un some 5,500 miles away.

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Russia rolled out the red carpet for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

Un and Putin

Important Takeaways:

  • The United States’ warnings about the summit in Russia illustrated concerns that North Korea may agree to supply artillery shells that Russia’s war effort seems to need
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has left him short not only of friends, but also munitions to sustain his frustrated military.
  • Kim’s trip is significant, with Ukraine pushing to break through Russian lines before winter in a counteroffensive loaded with Western weapons
  • Russia already sources drones — a cheap but effective weapon designed to wear down Ukraine’s air defenses — from Iran, another Western adversary.

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North Korea simulates massive ‘scorched earth’ nuclear attack on South Korea

North-Korea-simulate-nuclear-war

Important Takeaways:

  • The North’s military suggested their simulated strikes included the explosions of dummy nuclear warheads
  • The simulated attack also included a rehearsed occupation of its rival’s territory.
  • Atomic weapons, such as those used during World War II over Japan are typically detonated above the Earth, rather than hitting it directly, to increase their devastating potential.
  • This could suggest North Korea intends to conduct nuclear and EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attacks at the early stage of a potential war, according to an expert.

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North Korea seeking to place first military spy satellite into orbit to monitor U.S. and South Korea

J-Alert Warning

Important Takeaways:

  • North Korea says latest spy satellite launch failed, but will try again
  • The launch prompted an emergency warning in Japan just before 4 a.m. local time (1900 GMT) over the J-alert broadcasting system, telling residents of the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa to take cover.
  • North Korea space agency says will try again in October
  • South Korea’s National Security Council condemned the launch as a provocation and violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the North’s use of ballistic missile technology.
  • North Korea has made multiple attempts to launch “earth observation” satellites, two of which appeared to have been successfully placed in orbit, including in 2016.

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North Korea warns Washington if it does not abandon its hostile approach “the question is not if a nuclear war starts, but who starts it when”

US Space Force

Important Takeaways:

  • Nuclear war is inevitable – North Korea
  • The world is just a step away from nuclear conflict, North Korean Defense Minister General Kang Sun-nam warned in a statement made public on Tuesday and presented at the Moscow International Security Conference.
  • The official blamed Washington’s desire for regime change in Pyongyang for ratcheting up tensions. He also accused the US of increasing its military presence in the region by deploying nuclear-capable aircraft and a submarine to the area.
  • “Now, the question is not if a nuclear war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, but who starts it when,” Kang warned. In this year alone, the US sent “massive strategic arms” to the region, including a nuclear-capable submarine, an aircraft carrier group, and a nuclear-capable bomber, he added.

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