Latest news with #Kim Jong-un
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
US report sheds light on North Korea's hidden missile base near China border
North Korea has quietly built and operated a sprawling long-range missile base near the Chinese border that stores Kim Jong-un's most advanced strategic weapons, showing Pyongyang's ongoing efforts to advance its nuclear strike capabilities, a think tank said. The base in Sinpung, North Pyongan province, located 27km (17 miles) from the border with China, likely houses a brigade-sized unit equipped with six to nine nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles and their mobile launchers, a report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies showed on Wednesday. 'These missiles pose a potential nuclear threat to East Asia and the continental United States,' the report said. 'Current assessments are that during times of crisis or war, these launchers and missiles will exit the base, meet special warhead storage, transportation units, and conduct launch operations from dispersed pre-surveyed sites,' the report added, citing satellite imagery. Construction of the base began around 2004 and facilities were mostly built and operational by 2014, the report said, adding that the complex appears to have been continuously developed since. South Korea 's defence ministry said it is closely monitoring North Korea's nuclear and missile activities, without elaborating. The newly revealed missile base highlights Pyongyang's escalating nuclear threat and strategic intent. It also underscores a stark reality that North Korea's nuclear arsenal may be larger, more dispersed, and more survivable than widely assumed.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
North Korea brands South ‘faithful dog' of US, says reunification ‘will never' happen
The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said her country would never see South Korea as a partner for diplomacy, state media reported on Wednesday in what was her latest taunt of Seoul's new efforts to mend ties. Advertisement Kim Yo-jong, who is one of her brother's top foreign policy officials, denounced the ongoing South Korea-US military drills as a 'reckless' invasion rehearsal and claimed Seoul's peace gestures conceal a 'sinister intention' against Pyongyang. Her comments came during a meeting on Tuesday with senior Foreign Ministry officials about her brother's diplomatic strategies in the face of persistent threats from rivals and a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said. On Monday, the North Korean leader condemned the South Korean–US military drills and vowed a rapid expansion of his nuclear forces as he inspected his most advanced warship being fitted with nuclear-capable systems. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (centre) inspects the warship Choe Hyon in Nampo, North Korea, on Monday. Photo: KCNA/AP The North's news agency said Kim Yo-jong condemned the South as the 'top-class faithful dog' of the United States and that the reparation of inter-Korean relations desired by Seoul 'will never' happen. Advertisement
South China Morning Post
13-08-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Putin holds call with North Korea's Kim, discusses coming talks with Trump
President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and updated him on planned talks the Russian leader will hold with US President Donald Trump in Alaska this week, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. North Korea's state news agency KCNA later reported the two leaders' call without mentioning the meeting scheduled on Friday between Putin and Trump. Putin and Kim spoke by phone in a 'warm comradely atmosphere' and confirmed 'their will to strengthen cooperation in the future', the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The leaders discussed the development in the countries' ties under a strategic partnership agreement signed last year 'confirming their will to strengthen cooperation in the future', KCNA said. Putin expressed appreciation for North Korea's help in 'liberating' the Kursk region in western Russia in the war against Ukraine and 'the bravery, heroism and self-sacrificing spirit displayed by service personnel of the Korean People's Army', it said. 00:49 Lavrov in Pyongyang: Russia's urgent bid for more North Korean troops? Lavrov in Pyongyang: Russia's urgent bid for more North Korean troops? Kim in turn pledged that North Korea would 'fully support all measures to be taken by the Russian leadership in the future, too'.
The Guardian
27-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Donald Trump golfing in Scotland and a car show in Venice Beach: photos of the weekend
Thick smoke rises from Gaza after Israeli strikes, as seen from a position at Israel's border with the territory Photograph: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images Members of Egyptian Red Cross watch as trucks loaded with humanitarian aid cross the Rafah border gate that separates Egypt from Gaza Strip Photograph: EPA At the entrance of al-Bureij refugee camp Palestinians help others who were shot while seeking aid at a US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution point Photograph: Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images A protester joins demonstrators in support of Gaza at Hyde Park and the streets of the Central Business District Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP Donald Trump, the US president, is accompanied by his son Donald Trump Jr and Bettina Anderson for a round of golf at his Turnberry course in Scotland Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP A demonstrator clashes with police officers during a protest against gentrification Photograph: Henry Romero/Reuters A member of the emergency services surveys a wildfire near the north-eastern town of Bulqizë, which have been fanned by strong winds and high temperatures Photograph: Florion Goga/Reuters At a rally near the US embassy protesters carry a banner showing a caricature of Donald Trump as a robber in protest against the US president's tariff policies Photograph: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un visits a cemetery to mark the 72nd anniversary of the end of the Korean war, known in North Korea as the fatherland liberation war Photograph: KCNA/Reuters Participants release balloons during a ceremony held at the Alley of Angels memorial to commemorate children killed in the region Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters Revellers line-dance during the International Cowboy Day at Ngong race course. Country music has a loyal fan base in Kenya and the event, which featured performances from country artists, was celebrated by hundreds of people Photograph: Fredrik Lerneryd/AFP/Getty Images A customised 1961 Ford Thunderbird on display at the Dogtown Super Show, which takes place on Venice Beach's boardwalk, in California, each year Photograph: Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters Nature is starting to reclaim a bus depot where discontinued Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) mini-buses have been parked Photograph: Rafiq Maqbool/AP A cyclist taking part in Portland's World Naked Bike Ride crosses an intersection. The event hopes to raise awareness of oil dependency and body freedom Photograph: Jenny Kane/AP Joline the poodle meets his supporters at the end of the Wild Wild Woof, a country and western event that is part of Alberta's K-Days festival Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
