North Korea’s state media on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of a US citizen who was lecturing in Pyongyang — the third American held in the country amid growing tensions with Washington.
Kim Sang-Duk, or Tony Kim, was arrested at the capital’s airport on April 22, for “committing criminal acts of hostility aimed to overturn the DPRK”, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, using the country’s official name.
Details soon…
The United States and United Kingdom as well as their allies have given conditions for peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict over North Korea’s nuclear threats.
The two countries gave the conditions at a high-level meeting on North Korea, attended by Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the 15-Member UN Security Council on Friday in New York.
This was just as North Korea reportedly launched another missile test on Friday as a Security Council’s meeting chaired by the U.S. got underway at the UN.
The high-level meeting was chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to end the country’s Presidency of the Council for the Month of April 2017.
Tillerson said: “For the past 20 years, well-intentioned diplomatic efforts to halt these programs have failed.
“It is only by first dismantling them that there can be peace, stability, and economic prosperity for all of Northeast Asia.
“With each successive detonation and missile test, North Korea pushes Northeast Asia and the world closer to instability and broader conflict.
“The threat of a North Korean nuclear attack on Seoul, or Tokyo, is real.
“And it is likely only a matter of time before North Korea develops the capability to strike the U.S. mainland.
“Indeed, the DPRK has repeatedly claimed it plans to conduct such a strike.
“Given that rhetoric, the United States cannot idly stand by. Nor can other members of this council who are within striking distance of North Korean missiles”.
The U.S. envoy warned that there was no reason to think that North Korea would change its behaviour under the current multilateral sanctions framework.
“For too long, the international community has been reactive in addressing North Korea. Those days must come to an end.
“Failing to act now on the most pressing security issue in the world may bring catastrophic consequences.
“We have said this before and it bears repeating: the policy of strategic patience is over. Additional patience will only mean acceptance of a nuclear North Korea.
“The more we bid our time, the sooner we will run out of it,” Tillerson warned.
He added: “Lastly, as we have said before, all options for responding to future provocation must remain on the table.
“Diplomatic and financial levers of power will be backed up by a willingness to counteract North Korean aggression with military action if necessary”.
On its part, the UK, through Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, called for a change of approach by the Security Council, towards North Korea.
“This Council must be united in its demand that the present course cannot continue and Britain is proud today to have joined its allies to lead the enforcement of sanctions and seek a peaceful solution.
“We urge other partners with direct influence on North Korea to use their leverage to the full, with the aim of easing tensions and ensuring compliance with the expressed will of the UN.”
The UK called on Russia and China and other Member States to use whatever influence they possess to restrain North Korea and guide its leaders towards a peaceful settlement.
“Britain stands alongside our allies in making clear that North Korea must obey the UN and halt its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, disarming in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.
“Only then can this Council be assured of the peace and security of the region – and only then can the people of North Korea have the chance of a better future.
“But the catastrophic effects of a North Korean nuclear strike outweigh any economic benefits.
“We must be willing to face the hard truths and make hard choices right now to prevent disastrous outcomes in the future.
“For years, North Korea has been dictating the terms of its dangerous course of action; it is time for us to retake control of the situation,” Johnson said.
Other members of the Security Council that supported U.S. and UK included Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Italy, Sweden and Ukraine.
NAN
North Korea’s military may be armed with obsolete conventional weapons, but at 1.2 million men, it poses a very real threat to its neighbour and nemesis to the south.
Equipped with 20,000 artillery pieces, 1,000 short- and medium-range missiles, 70 submarines, more than 400 patrol/missile boats and 563 combat aircraft, the Hermit Kingdom’s forces are poised to do maximum damage in a sneak attack against South Korea.
Its 10 plutonium-based nuclear warheads and evolving missile technology exists to project power beyond the peninsula, but there is little doubt that the rogue nation’s first target should it declare war will be South Korea.
A strike against Seoul would be devastating. At 25 million people, it is the most densely populated city in the world.
Seoul is just 30 miles from the demilitarized zone, the contested boundary between North and South which are still technically at war and restrained only by an armistice in place since 1953.
Pyongyang has an estimated 4,000 artillery guns and rockets placed on the heights north of Seoul just across the DMZ, many of them on rails so they can be moved into place in time to avoid detection.
Adm. Harry Harris, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, said America needs to wield “credible combat power all the time” to face whatever threats come out of North Korea, “I think the lack of a strong, credible combat deterrence is actually an encouragement to Kim Jong Un to do things that are provocative or dangerous or both… that threaten those millions who live in Seoul.”
The U.S. military regularly conducts combat simulations with experts from the private sector and the Pentagon to determine the outcomes of a North Korean attack on the South.
Former Army Intelligence Officer Michael Pregent served in rapid response units that would deploy to Korea in the event of a conflict.
Now a fellow at the Hudson Institute, he took part in war games that simulated a North Korean offensive against South Korea when he was with the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions.
Read more here.
Since entering office, President Donald Trump has used Twitter to issue declarations on everything from America’s geopolitical rivals to his personal feuds with the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
As Trump prepares to mark 100 days in office this weekend, AFP looks back at 10 Tweets that have characterized the opening phase of his presidency:
“We will follow two simple rules: BUY AMERICAN & HIRE AMERICAN” — setting out his governing mantra on January 20 after his inauguration.
“We must keep ‘evil’ out of our country!” — justifying his ban on travellers from a group of mainly Muslim countries, on February 3.
“What is our country coming to when a judge can halt a Homeland Security travel ban and anyone, even with bad intentions, can come into U.S.?” — reacting after the ban was subsequently blocked.
Friend or foe?
“North Korea is behaving very badly. They have been ‘playing’ the United States for years. China has done little to help!” — voicing frustration with both Pyongyang and Beijing over North Korea’s nuclear program on March 17.
“Why would I call China a currency manipulator when they are working with us on the North Korean problem? We will see what happens!” — Trump has an apparent change of heart towards Beijing on April 16.
“Germany owes vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!” — Trump takes aim at German leader Angela Merkel, a traditional US ally, after a frosty summit in Washington on March 18.
The other guy
“Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!” – Trump accuses his predecessor Barack Obama on March 4 of wiretapping his Manhattan skyscraper during the elections.
“Don’t believe the main stream (fake news) media. The White House is running VERY WELL. I inherited a MESS and am in the process of fixing it” — defending his performance on February 18 after his first four weeks in office
Enemies of the people
“The FAKE NEWS media (@nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!” — letting rip at some of the biggest names in the US media landscape on February 17.
Hasta la Vista
“Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t voluntarily leaving the Apprentice, he was fired by his bad (pathetic) ratings, not by me. Sad end to great show” –– Trump reacts on March 4 to the departure of the “Terminator” star, an outspoken critic of the president and his successor as host of the former reality TV show.
AFP
Like a “No retreat, no surrender” act, a North Korean government official said on Wednesday that his country’s nuclear tests would “never stop” as long as the United States continued what they viewed as “acts of aggression”.
Speaking to CNN Wednesday, Sok Chol Won wouldn’t confirm when the country’s long-anticipated sixth nuclear test would take place but said it wouldn’t be influenced by outside events.
“The nuclear test is an important part of our continued efforts to strengthen our nuclear forces,” he said, adding: “As long as America continues its hostile acts of aggression, we will never stop nuclear and missile tests”.
Sok’s official title is director of North Korea’s Institute of Human Rights at the Academy of Social Sciences, but he was authorized to comment to CNN on all matters.
His comments came as top U.S. Cabinet members put a stress on economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure to rein in North Korea, calling for a return to dialogue after a Senate briefing on the threat posed by Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile program.
The calmer tone came in contrast to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tough rhetoric toward North Korea earlier this week, according to a News Agency of Nigeria report.
Another nuclear test could further inflame an already tensed situation on the Korean Peninsula, at a time when the Trump administration is moving large amounts of military hardware to the region.
The USS Vinson aircraft carrier is currently on its way to the peninsula, while a nuclear-powered submarine, USS Michigan, arrived in a South Korean port on Tuesday.
And the THAAD anti-missile system designed to mitigate the threat of North Korea’s missiles will be operational “in the coming days,” the top U.S. commander in the Pacific said.
Sok said Tuesday’s massive artillery drill, held on the 85th anniversary of North Korea’s army, was a warning to the U.S. President.
“This exercise is a direct response to acts of aggression by the United States,” he said.
But despite the dramatic drills and the deployment of military assets, analysts said that outright conflict between North Korea and the U.S. and its regional allies was unlikely.
“We are in a phony war phase,” Euan Graham, director of the International Security Program at Sydney’s Lowy Institute, wrote for CNN.
“If there’s an underlying motive to Washington’s increased belligerence, it is to get the Chinese sufficiently rattled that they become serious about sanctions beyond tokenistic enforcement,” Euan added.
Trump has repeatedly called on China, North Korea’s only real ally and main economic benefactor, to do more to bring its neighbour into line.
Source: CNN
North Korea has threatened a nuclear strike on Australia.
The country turned its sights on Australia, after Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said North Korea would be subject to further sanctions.
North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency quoted a foreign ministry spokesman accusing the Australian foreign minister of “spouting a string of rubbish against the DPRK over its entirely just steps for self-defence.
“If Australia persists in following the US moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK and remains a shock brigade of the US master, this will be a suicidal act of coming within the range of the nuclear strike of the strategic force of the DPRK.
“The present government of Australia is blindly and zealously toeing the US line.
“The Australian foreign minister had better think twice about the consequences to be entailed by her reckless tongue-lashing before flattering the US”.
North Korea said Australia was shielding a hostile US policy of nuclear threats and blackmail against North Korea which was the root cause of the current crisis on the Korean Peninsula and encouraged the US to opt for “reckless and risky military actions”.
Australia opposition says the threat is of “enormous concern”.
Labor’s defence spokesman Richard Marles however noted Pyongyang had made similar threats to other nations, even a veiled one at China.

He believed the early signs coming out of China, an ally of North Korea, were positive, it saying if the problem is going to be dealt with it needs to be through “China, America and the whole world”.
North Korea has now placed its army is on “maximum alert”, and threatened to launch merciless strikes on US.
A North Korean video shows a simulated missile strike on the U.S., completely engulfing the target in flames. The video was played during a musical tribute to the late Kim Il Sung.
“North Korea marked the birthday of leader Kim Jong Un’s grandfather with a rousing concert in Pyongyang that featured a video simulation of a nuclear missile attack destroying what appears to be an unidentified U.S. city.” USA Today reports
The video simulation, obtained by Western news sites Wednesday, shows at least one ballistic missile being fired and crossing the Pacific before multiple missiles appear to strike the U.S. The video then shows an American flag and a cemetery superimposed with flames.
http://metro.co.uk/video/north-korea-drops-nuclear-bomb-city-ww3-simulation-1449679/?ito=vjs-link
The video was unveiled Sunday during a performance by North Korea’s State Merited Chorus for participants of a military parade marking the 105th birthday of Kim Il Sung. He ruled North Korea from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994, when his son Kim Jong Il began a reign that lasted until his death in 2011.
The video comes at a time of high tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. The U.S. has expressed outrage at a series of missile and nuclear tests by Pyongyang, and North Korean leader Kim has been equally critical of a massive military exercise involving hundreds of thousands of South Korean and U.S. troops.
Vice President Mike Pence visited South Korea this week, pledging solidarity with Seoul and warning North Korea that “the era of strategic patience is over.” Pence, visiting Japan on Wednesday, issued another warning.
“The United States of America will always seek peace but under President Trump, the shield stands guard and the sword stands ready,” Pence said from the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier in Tokyo Bay.
The Russian Government on Monday warned Washington against launching a unilateral strike on North Korea after US Vice President Mike Pence said the era of “strategic patience” with Pyongyang was over.
“This is a very risky path,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a news conference in Moscow.
“We do not accept the reckless nuclear missile actions of Pyongyang that breach UN resolutions, but that does not mean that you can break international law,” he said.
“I hope that there will not be any unilateral actions like the one we saw recently in Syria.”
Pence on Monday warned North Korea not to test President Donald Trump’s resolve, declaring that “all options are on the table” for curbing its missile and nuclear weapons programmes.
Defying international pressure, the North on Sunday tried to test-fire another missile in an attempt that failed, but which fuelled fears that it may be preparing for its sixth atomic weapons test.
Pence said that the era of US “strategic patience” in dealing with the North was over, after more than two decades.
“In the past two weeks, the world witnessed the strength and resolve of our new president in actions taken in Syria and Afghanistan,” Pence said.
“North Korea would do well not to test his resolve or the strength of the armed forces of the United States.”
North Korea has warned the United States that it is “ready to hit back with nuclear attacks”, as it displayed its war arsenal.
Among the hardware on display were the new intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
“We’re prepared to respond to an all-out war with an all-out war,” said Choe Ryong-hae, the country’s second most powerful official.
“We are ready to hit back with nuclear attacks of our own style against any nuclear attacks,” he said.
The comments came as North Korea, Saturday morning, marked the 105th anniversary of the birth of its founding president, Kim Il-sung.
A huge parade in Pyongyang was held amid speculation current leader Kim Jong-un could order a new nuclear test, BBC reports.
Rows of military bands, goose-stepping and sword-wielding soldiers marched through Pyongyang’s main Kim Il-sung square for the “Day of the Sun” celebrations.
Kim Jong-un appeared relaxed, laughed with aides and saluted an honour guard and took his place on the podium.
Military planes created the number 105 in the sky.
Recall that North Korea recently called US President, Donald Trump “foolish”.
Responding, Trump stated that North Korea is “looking for trouble” and that he would “solve the problem”.
On Friday, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned that “conflict could break out at any moment”, adding that if war occurred there could be no winner.
Unlike at previous Pyongyang parades there did not appear to be any Chinese representatives present.
China has warned the US against using military force against North Korea, after a surprise redeployment of an aircraft carrier group. Washington’s regional allies said they expect it to consult with them before any action.
Tension is mounting in the region as US President Donald Trump said he would solve the “North Korean problem” with or without China’s help. The warning came amid the diversion of the aircraft carrier group ‘USS Carl Vinson’ to the Korean Peninsula and a week after Trump ordered the US Navy to fire a barrage of 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airbase as punishment for an alleged chemical attack in Idlib province.
We are sending an armada’: Trump ready to eliminate N. Korean ‘menace’ with or without China
Responding to US belligerence, Beijing called against using force against Pyongyang.
“Military force cannot resolve the issue,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters in Beijing. “Amid challenge there is opportunity. Amid tensions we will also find a kind of opportunity to return to talks.”
An editorial in the influential newspaper Global Times, which is published by the Chinese Communist Party’ People’s Daily, said the situation on the Korean Peninsula could not be compared to that of Syria.
“Taking military actions against North Korea is much more risky than launching a missile strike on Syria. Pyongyang is able to deal a heavy blow to South Korea. Regardless of Pyongyang’s nuclear capability, a radiological dispersal device, or a ‘dirty bomb,’ if thrown on the South, will cause nuclear pollution, which will be unbearable to this US ally,” the newspaper warned.
The paper said Washington needs to accept the reality that it “has no power to put global affairs in order at the moment” and work with other leading world powers on the Korean situation through the UN Security Council, a body that the US has shun by the unilateral attack against Syria.
Culled from https://www.rt.com