North Korea's Kim Jong Un oversees air drills, calls for stepped-up war preparation
Kim, who inspected anti-aircraft combat and air strike drills by North Korea's 1st Air Division on Thursday, called for 'all units in the entire military' to bring about 'a breakthrough in war preparation', KCNA reported.
Footage of the drills on North Korean state TV showed a MiG-29 jet launching a missile, which appeared to be a North Korean version of a Russia-developed mid- to long-range air-to-air missile, said Hong Min, North Korea analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification.
So far this month, Kim has overseen a missile test, inspected tank and munitions plants, made a rare visit to the Russian embassy in Pyongyang reaffirming the country's alliance with Russia, and supervised tank firing drills and special operations unit training.
North Korea also slammed the U.S. State Department for placing it on a list of countries that do not fully cooperate with U.S. counterterrorism efforts. Pyongyang has been placed on the list every year since 1997, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said.
North Korea fires short-range missiles possibly in performance test for export
'The more the U.S. provokes the DPRK with unnecessary and inefficient malicious acts, the further it will escalate the irreconcilable hostility between the DPRK and the U.S.,' a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, using the country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
'The DPRK will… take effective and proper measures to cope with the U.S. hostile provocations in all spheres.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
3 hours ago
- Business Recorder
India, Russia agree to boost trade ties after foreign ministers meet in Moscow
MOSCOW: India and Russia agreed to boost trade ties on Thursday as their foreign ministers met in Moscow, giving little indication that U.S. President Donald Trump's hefty tariffs on India for buying Russian oil would disrupt their relations. Indian goods face additional U.S. tariffs of up to 50%, among the highest imposed by Washington, due to New Delhi's increased purchases of Russian oil. Western countries boycotting Russian crude say India's purchases are helping to fund Moscow's war in Ukraine. But NewDelhi says its purchases are purely commercial transactions, and accuses the U.S. and European Union of double standards, noting that they continue significant trade with Moscow themselves. 'We have good results in cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector, in the supply of Russian oil to the Indian market. And we have a mutual interest in implementing joint projects for the extraction of energy resources, including in the Russian Federation - in the Far East and on the Arctic shelf,' Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a joint news conference with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Jaishankar said that relations between the two countries had been among the steadiest of major nations in the world since World War Two, referring to a close friendship going back to the days of the Soviet Union. Russia has 'special mechanisms' to supply oil to India, embassy official says The two countries reaffirmed their ambition to expand bilateral trade, including by increasing India's exports to Russia, Jaishankar said, according to a statement from India's foreign ministry. 'This (trade expansion) requires swiftly addressing non-tariff barriers and regulatory impediments,' Jaishankar said. 'Enhancing Indian exports to Russia in sectors like pharmaceuticals, agriculture and textiles will certainly help to correct the current imbalance.' Russia was able to divert its exports of oil, a significant source of state revenue, away from Europe and mainly to China and India after the West imposed sanctions on Moscow over its conflict in Ukraine. India and China are the biggest buyers of Russia's oil. Russian embassy officials in New Delhi said on Wednesday that Russia expected to continue supplying oil to India despitepressure from the United States, adding that Moscow hoped trilateral talks with India and China would soon take place.
Business Recorder
3 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Russia is interested in joint energy projects with India, Lavrov says
MOSCOW: Russia and India have achieved good results in energy cooperation and Moscow is interested in working on joint energy projects with New Delhi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his Indian counterpart in Moscow on Thursday. Moscow and New Delhi have talked up their 'strategic partnership' since U.S. President Donald Trump announced higher tariffs on imports from India earlier this month because of its purchases of Russian oil. 'We have good results in cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector, in the supply of Russian oil to the Indian market. And we have a mutual interest in implementing joint projects for the extraction of energy resources, including in the Russian Federation - in the Far East and on the Arctic shelf,' Lavrov said. He was talking at a joint news conference with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Moscow. Russia has 'special mechanisms' to supply oil to India, embassy official says Russia was able to divert its exports of oil, a significant source of state revenue, away from Europe and mainly to China and India after the West imposed sanctions on Moscow over its conflict in Ukraine. India and China are the biggest buyers of Russia's oil. Russian embassy officials in New Delhi said on Wednesday that Russia expected to continue supplying oil to India despite pressure from the United States, adding that Moscow hoped trilateral talks with India and China would soon take place.
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Vance says Europe must bear ‘lion's share' of Ukraine's security
WASHINGTON: Europe will have to bear 'the lion's share of the burden' for Ukraine's security, US Vice President JD Vance said as Washington pushes for an end to the war that began with Russia's 2022 invasion. Vance was asked on Fox News program 'Ingraham Angle' on Wednesday night about security guarantees for Ukraine and the extent of Europe's involvement, subjects raised during a flurry of high-level summits held over the past week to seek an end to the war. 'Well, I don't think we should carry the burden here,' Vance said. 'It's their continent. It's their security, and the president's been very clear, they're going to have to step up here.' US, NATO planners start to craft Ukraine security guarantee options Vance also said that, while Washington would help end the withering conflict, European nations must lead on security arrangements. He did not give specific details. 'The United States is open to having the conversation, but we're not going to make commitments until we figure out what's going to be necessary to stop the war in the first place,' he said. US President Donald Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week before hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders in Washington on Monday. However, while Trump said Putin had agreed to meet Zelensky and accept some Western security guarantees for Ukraine, those promises have been met with extreme caution by Kyiv and Western capitals, and many details remain vague. Zelensky said in remarks released on Thursday that he could meet Putin only after allies agreed on the 'architecture' of security guarantees that would deter future Russian attacks. His comments came as Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles against Ukraine overnight in the biggest barrage since mid-July, killing one person and wounding many others. On Wednesday, Moscow played down the prospect of a summit between Putin and Zelensky any time soon and said it wants to be included in discussions on future security guarantees for Ukraine.
