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UPI
2 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
North Korea appears to stop loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South
North Korea appears to have stopped broadcasting loud noises along border areas with the South, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday. The move came one day after South Korea suspended propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts at the DMZ. File Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI | License Photo SEOUL, June 12 (UPI) -- North Korea appears to have stopped broadcasting loud noises towards the South, Seoul's military said Thursday, one day after South Korea halted its anti-Pyongyang loudspeaker campaign near the demilitarized zone. "Today, there were no areas where North Korea's noise broadcasts to the South were heard," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message to reporters. The North had been broadcasting bizarre noises such as metallic screeching and animal sounds since last year, as Cold War-style provocations escalated along the inter-Korean border. Newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has vowed to lower tensions with Pyongyang, and on Wednesday ordered the suspension of the South's propaganda broadcasts of K-pop, news and information across the border. Lee's office said that the move was made "to ease the military standoff between the South and the North and to open the way to restoring mutual trust." It was also meant to "alleviate the suffering of residents in border areas who have suffered due to North Korea's noise broadcasts," spokeswoman Kang Yoo-jung said in a briefing Wednesday. Seoul resumed the propaganda broadcasts roughly one year ago in response to a series of provocations by North Korea that included floating thousands of trash-filled balloons across the border. Lee, who won a snap election on June 3 to replace impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol, vowed during his campaign to suspend the loudspeaker broadcasts as well as prevent defector groups from floating balloons with anti-Pyongyang leaflets and USB drives over the border. On Thursday, Lee pledged to swiftly restore communication channels with the North. "We will stop wasteful hostilities and resume dialogue and cooperation," he said in a speech marking the 25th anniversary of the first inter-Korean summit between former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. "We will restore the crisis management system that prevents accidental clashes and avoids heightening tensions," Lee said in the speech, which was read on his behalf by a senior official at a commemorative event in Seoul. "To this end, we will strive to quickly restore the inter-Korean dialogue channels." The two Koreas reestablished a military hotline in 2018 during a period of detente. However, the North stopped answering the daily calls in 2023 as relations soured amid expanded U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises and a hardline stance by former President Yoon.
Hans India
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
South Korea's military says new North Korean warship likely requires more time for deployment
Seoul: North Korea's newly launched destroyer likely requires a "considerable" amount of time for deployment, South Korea's military said on Thursday. Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun made the assessment after the North's new 5,000-tonne Choe Hyon destroyer -- launched Friday -- conducted live-fire tests of its weapons systems for the first time Monday and Tuesday. "While the Choe Hyon was unveiled, it likely needs a considerable amount of time for deployment," Lee said in a briefing. "When looking at its weapons and equipment, there is a possibility that (the North) received technological or financial help from Russia." Lee said warship development typically takes years to complete and that further time is required for deployment even after a vessel is built, Yonhap news agency reported. "(We) are closely monitoring and tracking North Korea's weapons development activities." 38 North, a US think tank monitoring North Korea, earlier said more work appeared to be necessary for the destroyer, citing commercial satellite imagery taken Friday that showed tugboats being used to move the ship. Last month, North Korea had conducted its first test-firing of key weapons systems on the country's new destroyer, with leader Kim Jong-un calling for accelerating the navy's capabilities to stage nuclear attacks. The North also held a launching ceremony of the new multipurpose warship, armed with weapons that it said will significantly enhance its naval operations. The destroyer is equipped with supersonic strategic cruise missiles, tactical ballistic missiles, and other strike weapons. North Korea conducted a test-firing of supersonic cruise missiles, strategic cruise missiles, anti-aircraft missiles and 127-millimetre ship-based automatic guns Monday, the KCNA said. A test of firing ship-to-ship tactical guided weapons, the ship's automatic guns, smoke and electronic jamming guns took place the following day. The North's leader stressed the need to "perfect" the warship's weapons systems for integrated operations in a short span of time. "It is important to establish a proactive and offensive defensive system on the premise of powerful attack capability," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA. "The time has come to make a responsible option for accelerating the nuclear armament of the navy in order to defend the state and maritime sovereignty from the existing and future threat," the North's leader said, setting forth unspecified tasks for accomplishing such a goal. North Korea has focused on strengthening its naval power in an effort to build a platform capable of delivering nuclear attacks from the sea. At last week's launching ceremony, Kim called for building more warships of the Choe Hyon class and larger cruisers, as well as various types of escort ships, next year and also developing "nuclear-powered submarines" in the future. In back-to-back confirmations, North Korea and Russia recently acknowledged the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia, in support of its war against Ukraine under a mutual defence treaty signed by their leaders in June last year. South Korea's National Intelligence Service said in October that North Korea had decided to send more than 10,000 troops to Russia. The military estimates that North Korea sent an additional 3,000 soldiers to the Kursk region in January and February.
The Independent
08-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
South Korea's military fires warning shots after armed North Korean soldiers violate demarcation line
South Korea 's military fired warning shots on Tuesday after armed North Korean soldiers crossed into its territory across the eastern section of the heavily fortified border. According to a statement by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, about 10 North Korean troops crossed the military demarcation line (MDL) within the demilitarised zone (DMZ) at approximately 5pm local time. Warning broadcasts were issued, followed by warning gunfire, prompting the intruders to retreat to the northern side. Some of the North Korean soldiers were armed, according to the South Korean military. The South Korean military confirmed that the incursion did not appear to be intentional, noting that the section where the breach occurred was a wooded area with unclear signage demarcating the border. The North Korean soldiers were reportedly carrying construction equipment at the time. Their exact purpose in the area remains unknown. "Our military conducted warning broadcasts and warning shots after about 10 North Korean soldiers crossed the military demarcation line (MDL) in the eastern area of the demilitarised zone (DMZ) around 5:00 pm local time," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a message to reporters. 'Our military is closely monitoring the North Korean military's activity and taking necessary measures according to the operational procedures.' This latest incident comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Just a day earlier, South Korean officials reported that approximately 1,500 North Korean personnel were engaged in installing barbed wire and conducting land operations inside the DMZ as part of ongoing military exercises. Although no immediate escalation followed Tuesday's border breach, the zone has witnessed violent confrontations in the past. A similar incident in June last year saw North Korean troops briefly crossing the line before warning shots were fired by the South, but it did not escalate further. The DMZ, stretching 155 miles and spanning 2.5 miles in width, is considered the most militarised border in the world. Heavily laden with an estimated two million landmines, it is fortified with tank traps, barbed wire, and combat-ready forces on both sides. It remains a legacy of the 1950–1953 Korean War, which concluded with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Current regional hostilities have deepened as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un strengthens military ties with Russia amid president Vladimir Putin 's war in Ukraine. Mr Kim continues to defy appeals from Seoul and Washington to resume denuclearisation talks. Despite remarks from United States president Donald Trump earlier this year expressing willingness to reengage diplomatically with Pyongyang, North Korea has remained silent and has accused Washington of escalating hostilities since Mr Trump's inauguration.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth takes away Gen. Mark Milley's security clearance, detail
Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Newly minted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stripped the personal security detail and security clearance of former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army Gen. Mark Milley on Tuesday. Milley, a longtime critic of President Donald Trump, will also be under investigation to determine if he should be demoted from a four-star general to three stars for actions to "undermine the chain of command" while serving under Trump in his first term. "Undermining the chain of command is corrosive to our national security, and restoring accountability is a priority for the Defense Department under President Trump's leadership," Joe Kasper, the Pentagon's chief of staff, said Tuesday. Portraits of Milley have already been removed from two locations at the Pentagon. Milley's break with Trump, who first named him as chief of the joint chiefs, came in 2020 when he apologized for accompanying the president for a photo op at Lafayette Square near the White House during social unrest in connection with the death of George Floyd. Milley was one of several former government officials and Biden family members who received preemptive pardons from outgoing President Joe Biden earlier this month, shielding them from federal prosecution. Trump said in 2023 that Milley should be executed because he had alleged improper communications with Chinese leaders. "[Milley] was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States," Trump wrote on social media then. "This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!"
