SEOUL: North Korea said Friday it had test-fired strategic cruise missiles to demonstrate its nuclear counter-attack capability, days after it vowed to respond to what it called escalating US-led hostilities since the start of the Trump administration.
The official Korean Central News Agency said leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the missile tests off the country’s west coast Wednesday. They were the North’s fourth missile launch event this year and the second of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The launches were designed to inform “the enemies, who are seriously violating our security environment and fostering and escalating the confrontation environment,” of the North Korean military’s counterattack capability and the readiness of its nuclear operations, KCNA said.
Kim expressed satisfaction over the results of the drills and said the military must be fully ready to use its nuclear weapons, the report said.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement later Friday that it had detected and tracked the North Korean launches. It said the South Korean military maintains readiness to repel any potential provocation by North Korea based on the solid South Korea-US military alliance.
Since his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump has boasted of his summitry with Kim during his first term and said he would reach out to Kim again. North Korea hasn’t directly responded to Trump’s overture as it continues its typical aggressive rhetoric against the US and weapons testing activities.
Many experts say Kim, now preoccupied with his support of Russia’s war against Ukraine with supply of weapons and troops, won’t likely embrace Trump’s outreach anytime soon. They say Kim could reconsider if he doubts he’ll maintain North Korea’s current solid cooperation with Russia after the war ends.
Last Saturday, North Korea’s Defense Ministry alleged the US and its allies were ramping up more serious military provocations targeting North Korea since Trump took power. It cited the recent US-South Korean aerial exercise involving a US B-1B bomber and other reported activities involving US military assets. A Defense Ministry statement said North Korea will counter the strategic threat of the US with strategic means.
Kim and Trump met three times from 2018-19 to discuss the fate of North Korea’s nuclear program, but their diplomacy derailed due to disputes over US-led sanctions on the North. Kim has since sharply increased the pace of weapons tests to expand and modernize his nuclear arsenal. Having a bigger nuclear arsenal now, experts say Kim would think he could win greater US concessions if he revives diplomacy with Trump.
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North Korea performs cruise missile tests, days after vowing to respond to US threats
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North Korea performs cruise missile tests, days after vowing to respond to US threats
- Kim Jong Un oversaw the missile tests off the country’s west coast Wednesday
- They were North Korea’s fourth missile launch event this year
Another 131 migrants rescued off southern Crete
ATHENS: The Greek coast guard Saturday rescued 131 would be migrants off Crete, bringing the number of people brought out of the sea in the area over the past five days to 840, a police spokesperson said.
The migrants rescued Saturday morning were aboard a fishing boat some 14 nautical miles south of Gavdos, a small island south of Crete.
The passengers, whose nationality was not revealed, were all taken to Gavdos.
Many people attempting to reach Crete from Libya drown during the risky crossing.
In early December, 17 people — mostly Sudanese or Egyptian — were found dead after their boat sank off the coast of Crete, and 15 others were reported missing. Only two people survived.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 16,770 people trying to get to Europe have arrived in Crete since the beginning of the year, more than on any other Greek island.
In July, the conservative government suspended the processing of asylum applications for three months, particularly those of people arriving from Libya, saying the measure as “absolutely necessary” in the face of the increasing flow of migrants.
The migrants rescued Saturday morning were aboard a fishing boat some 14 nautical miles south of Gavdos, a small island south of Crete.
The passengers, whose nationality was not revealed, were all taken to Gavdos.
Many people attempting to reach Crete from Libya drown during the risky crossing.
In early December, 17 people — mostly Sudanese or Egyptian — were found dead after their boat sank off the coast of Crete, and 15 others were reported missing. Only two people survived.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 16,770 people trying to get to Europe have arrived in Crete since the beginning of the year, more than on any other Greek island.
In July, the conservative government suspended the processing of asylum applications for three months, particularly those of people arriving from Libya, saying the measure as “absolutely necessary” in the face of the increasing flow of migrants.
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