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Arab News
7 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan raises alarm over risks to Asia-Pacific stability amid India tensions
ISLAMABAD: A top Pakistani general on Sunday raised alarmed over risks to Asia-Pacific stability in the absence of regional crisis management frameworks, amid prevailing tensions between Pakistan and India. Pakistan and India last month engaged in a worst standoff between them in decades that saw the neighbors attack each other with jets, missiles, drones and artillery, killing around 70 people on both sides before the United States brokered a ceasefire on May 10. The conflict, triggered by an attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir's Pahalgam town that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan, alarmed the world powers and raised fears that it could spiral into a full-blown war and bring the archfoes' nuclear arsenals into play. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman, said the recent India-Pakistan conflict underscored how crisis management frameworks remained 'hostage to countries' belligerence.' 'The recent standoff amply underlines significance of maintaining open channels of communications to avert crises as and when they erupt. Post-Pahalgam [attack], the threshold of an escalatory war has come dangerously low, implying greater risk on both sides, just not in the disputed territory, but all of India and all of Pakistan,' he said. 'In future, given the Indian policies and polities' extremist mindset, absence of a crisis management mechanism may not give enough time to the global powers to intervene and effect cessation of hostilities.' Bitter rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir, since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. Before the conflict, both nations unleashed a raft of punitive measures against each other, with India suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty that ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms and Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines. India has said the treaty would remain in abeyance. Gen Mirza said New Delhi's move to suspend the treaty is in 'total defiance of the international laws, since it is an existential threat for the people of Pakistan.' 'If there is any effort to stop, divert or delay Pakistan's share of water, as clearly spelt out by our National Security Committee, it could be considered as an act of war,' he added.
NHK
22-05-2025
- Politics
- NHK
South Korea military: North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles
South Korea's military says North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles toward the sea from the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Thursday morning. The Joint Chiefs of Staff say North Korea fired the cruise missiles at around 9:00 a.m. from the Sondok area of South Hamgyong Province. The JCS did not provide further details, such as the distance they traveled or where they fell. North Korea has carried out a number of cruise missile launches in recent months. In January, North Korea said it test-fired a cruise missile, and it conducted a military exercise in February to launch another. In April, North Korea said it test-fired cruise missiles mounted on a recently launched destroyer. Defense experts say cruise missiles are difficult to intercept because they travel along oval trajectories at low altitudes for hours. Thursday's launches followed the North Korean state-media's announcement earlier in the day that there was a "serious" accident during the launch of a new destroyer on Wednesday. South Korean media quoted South Korean government officials as saying that the cruise missile launches could be intended as a demonstration of its ability to operate its missile forces reliably and also to deflect attention from Wednesday's failure.
NHK
22-05-2025
- Politics
- NHK
North Korean leader Kim criticizes accident at launching ceremony of destroyer
North Korean state media report that a new warship was damaged due to a "serious accident" during its launch ceremony attended by leader Kim Jong Un. The media said on Thursday that the event to float the 5,000-ton destroyer took place at the Chongjin Shipyard in the country's northeast on Wednesday. It said the vessel lost balance during the launch when the bow failed to detach from the shipway, and placed the blame on "inexperienced command and operational carelessness." South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters on Thursday that the damaged destroyer remains in the water. Kim Jong Un described it as "a serious accident and criminal act" and said it "could not be tolerated." Kim also said "the irresponsible errors" of senior officials will be raised at a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party. The North's media announced on Thursday the meeting will convene in late June. Kim has ordered an investigation into the cause of the accident and expressed his intention to hold those officials at fault responsible. Experts in South Korea say it is rare that the North makes public details of an accident one day after it occurred. They suspect that Pyongyang wanted to prevent speculation from spreading.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Korea launches flurry of short-range ballistic missiles
SEOUL, May 8 (UPI) -- North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the sea between Korea and Japan on Thursday morning, Seoul's military said, in what officials characterized as a potential weapons test ahead of export to Russia. In a text message to reporters, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the launch of multiple short-range ballistic missiles of various types from the Wonsan area, on the peninsula's east coast, between 8:10 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. KST. The missiles flew roughly 500 miles before landing in the East Sea. "We have closely shared relevant information with the U.S. and Japan and are comprehensively analyzing the detailed specifications," the JCS said. "North Korea's missile launch is a blatant provocative act that seriously threatens the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and we strongly condemn it." The South Korean and U.S. militaries are maintaining a defense posture to "overwhelmingly respond to any provocation," the JCS added. At a briefing later in the morning, JCS spokesman Col. Lee Sung-jun did not specify the number of missiles launched, but said they were fired from mobile launchers and may have been modeled after the Russian Iskander system. He added that the weapons test was potentially connected to an arms export to Russia. "We are assessing that it may have been a performance check for some exports or an experiment to evaluate flight stability," Lee told reporters. The launch came one day after North Korean state media reported on a visit by leader Kim Jong Un to a munitions factory, where he called for workers to boost their output of artillery shells. Seoul and Washington say that North Korea has supplied missiles, artillery and soldiers to Russia for its war against Ukraine, while receiving much-needed financial support and advanced military technology in return. After denying its involvement for months, Pyongyang late last month acknowledged for the first time that it is sending troops to Russia. South Korean lawmakers, citing a briefing from Seoul's spy agency, said last week that around 600 North Korean troops have been killed and another 4,100 injured fighting for Russia on the frontlines of the Kursk region. Thursday's launch was the North's first in nearly two months. Pyongyang fired multiple close-range ballistic missiles on March 10, coinciding with the start of major U.S.-South Korea joint military drills.
Malay Mail
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
North Korea launches multiple short-range missiles, South Korea condemns ‘provocation'
SEOUL, May 8 — North Korea fired multiple types of short-range ballistic missiles today, South Korea's military said, around a week after leader Kim Jong Un tested a new weapons system for his latest warship. Seoul's military said it had 'detected the launch of various types of short-range ballistic missiles,' the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The missiles were 'fired from the Wonsan area of North Korea into the East Sea between approximately 8.10am and 9.20am today (from 7am Malaysia time),' they added, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. The missiles flew up to about 800 kilometres before splashing down in waters to the east of the peninsula, the JCS said, adding it strongly condemned the North for a 'clear act of provocation that poses a serious threat to peace and stability'. 'Our military, under the strong South Korea — US combined defence posture, is closely monitoring various North Korean activities to prevent any misjudgment (by the North),' it said in a statement. The launch, the nuclear-armed North's first missile test since March, came about a week after Kim oversaw the test-firing of a new warship weapons system. Pyongyang unveiled the 5,000-tonne destroyer-class vessel named Choe Hyon last month. North Korea claims the vessel was equipped with the 'most powerful weapons', and that it would 'enter into operation early next year'. Some analysts have said the ship could be equipped with short-range tactical nuclear missiles — although North Korea has not proven it has the ability to miniaturise its nukes. The South Korean military has said the destroyer could have been developed with Russian help — possibly in exchange for Pyongyang deploying thousands of troops to help Moscow fight Kyiv. Russia and North Korea also recently announced that they had started building the first road bridge linking the two neighbours. North Korea launched a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions. Experts have long warned that the nuclear-armed North may be testing weapons for export to Russia for use against Ukraine. The launch also came as Russia prepared to hold World War II Victory Day commemorations, with world leaders including China's Xi Jinping expected to attend — but not Pyongyang's Kim. A three-day truce in the conflict with Ukraine has been ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin to coincide with the celebrations, although Kyiv has never agreed to it and has dismissed it as political theatre. The Thursday missile launch appears to 'serve as a reminder of North Korea's contribution and stake in Russia's apparent efforts to commemorate Victory Day as a triumph over Ukraine,' Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP. Testing, testing Japan's defence ministry said there was no impact on Japan from the North Korean missiles, according to public broadcaster NHK. Kim earlier this week inspected shell manufacturing at munitions factories, with state media claiming the country's shell output had increased dramatically in recent months. Given the latest development, it is 'entirely possible' that today's missile launch 'served as a test firing prior to potential export to Russia', North Korean studies scholar Ahn Chan-il told AFP. South Korea's military said in early March that the North fired 'multiple unidentified ballistic missiles', the same day Seoul and Washington began a major annual joint military drill known as Freedom Shield. Pyongyang also carried out a test-launch of strategic cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea in late February, which it said showed off 'counterattack capabilities'. Washington — Seoul's key security ally — has in recent years ramped up joint military exercises and increased the presence of strategic US assets, such as an aircraft carrier and a nuclear-powered submarine, in the region to deter the North. Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an 'irreversible' nuclear weapons state and routinely denounces joint US — South Korea drills as rehearsals for invasion. The two Koreas are technically still at war as the 1950 — 1953 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. With relations souring, the North last year blew up roads and railways connecting it to the South and fortified areas of the border with more mines. In early April, South Korea's military said its troops fired warning shots when around 10 North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the heavily fortified border that divides the peninsula. — AFP
