Defense News: The Pentagon and State Department remained careful Thursday when discussing whether strategic assets or missile defense systems could be moved closer to South Korea, but would not rule out anything when discussing US actions in response to Tuesday’s North Korean nuclear test. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook told reporters that the relationship between… read more
Washington Post: Pressure is building on the Obama administration to impose new sanctions on Iran after it test-fired two medium-range ballistic missiles within the past three months and flaunted its underground missile storage facilities on national television. Even Democratic lawmakers who supported the Iran nuclear deal are calling for fresh U.S. sanctions as the Islamic… read more
UPI: A North Korea missile aimed at the South would only take “tens of minutes” to reach its target, South Korea’s defense minister said Thursday. Han Min-koo told South Korea’s parliamentary Defense Committee that a Pyongyang missile would take well under an hour to reach South Korea, Yonhap reported. The defense minister was most likely… read more
The Hill: Seven Democratic lawmakers are urging President Obama to impose sanctions on Iran after two ballistic missile tests. “The United States and our allies must take immediate, punitive action and send a clear message to Iran that violating international laws, treaties and agreements will have serious consequences,” the lawmakers wrote to Obama in a… read more
The Wall Street Journal: U.S. and allied officials challenged North Korea’s claim of thermonuclear success, but voiced concern Wednesday that the secluded nation is gradually mastering the technology of miniaturizing nuclear warheads, allowing them to be launched on trans-Pacific missiles… Read full post.… read more
The Hill: The United States should respond to North Korea’s likely nuclear test by deploying missile defense systems in South Korea and strengthening its defenses at home, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said Wednesday. “The U.S. must work with our South Korean allies to deploy missile defense systems, including THAAD, on the… read more
Reuters: South Korea is in talks with the United States to deploy U.S. strategic weapons on the Korean peninsula, a South Korean military official said on Thursday, a day after North Korea said it successfully tested a hydrogen nuclear device. South Korea also said it would resume propaganda broadcasts by loudspeaker into North Korea from… read more
The Daily Beast: The U.S. military insisted Wednesday that it was was not surprised “strategically” by North Korea’s test of a nuclear device. But Pentagon and intelligence officials admitted that they were caught off guard by the specific timing of the detonation. One U.S. defense official told The Daily Beast that the Hermit Kingdom’s test… read more
Today: BRUSSELS – North Korea must end its nuclear weapons program, NATO’s chief said on Wednesday, adding the U.S.-led alliance’s voice to international condemnation of Pyongyang’s reported test of a hydrogen bomb. “North Korea should abandon nuclear weapons and existing nuclear and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner and engage in… read more
New York Times: WASHINGTON – North Korea declared on Tuesday that it had detonated its first hydrogen bomb. The assertion, if true, would dramatically escalate the nuclear challenge from one of the world’s most isolated and dangerous states. In an announcement, North Korea said that the test had been a “complete success.” But it was difficult… read more