North Korea said yesterday it was readying to launch a satellite, a move that the US and its allies believe could actually be a long-range missile test.
Just days after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Pyongyang to avoid any provocations, the country said preparations were under way for a rocket launch to put a communications satellite into orbit.
South Korea indicated a new round of sanctions would follow if the country goes ahead with a launch.
Pyongyang has previously tested missiles under the guise of launching a satellite, and analysts have said recent comments from the North indicated it was on the verge of another attention-grabbing test.
“When this satellite launch proves successful, the nation’s space science and technology will make another giant stride forward in building an economic power,” the country’s national space committee said.
North Korea first tested its longest-range Taepodong-2 missile in 2006, the same year it shocked the world by testing an atom bomb, but the missile — said to be capable of reaching Alaska — blew up after just 40 seconds.
South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee challenged the North to present evidence it was launching a satellite, not a missile.
“Regardless whether the North launches a satellite or tests a long-range missile, it would pose a security threat to the South as the technology involved is about the same,” he told parliament.
South Korea will “trace its trajectory, assuming it is a long-range missile,” Lee said.
Some analysts said the North would indeed launch a satellite but that the technology could easily be applied to a long-range missile. Experts do not know whether Pyongyang has the technology to fit a nuclear warhead to its missiles.
“If you put a warhead [on it] instead of a satellite, it’s a long-range missile. The North is now seeking to show off its delivery capability,” said Baek Seung-joo of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.
The North did not say when the launch would be made, but Baek said it may take place around the time of the North’s parliamentary elections on March 8.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS