The Washington Free Beacon: North Korea has developed a new long-range mobile intercontinental ballistic missile that the Pentagon says moves the country’s leader Kim Jong Un closer to the goal of building missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland with nuclear warheads. The new missile is called the KN-14 by the Pentagon and is a… read more
IHS Jane’s 360: North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme, based on the simultaneous development of a weaponisable nuclear device and ballistic missile delivery systems, appears to have advanced incrementally in early 2016. Following Pyongyang’s claimed – although widely disputed – test of a ‘H-bomb’ (thermonuclear) device at its Punggye-ri complex on 6 January, and the launch… read more
Honolulu Star Advertiser: In the face of increasing North Korean ballistic missile threats, the Pentagon is studying beefing up Hawaii’s defenses by switching an “Aegis Ashore” missile system and launcher on Kauai from testing to operational mode and adding radars to track incoming missiles, a missile defense expert said. Riki Ellison, chairman of the nonprofit… read more
Yonhap: China on Wednesday snubbed an offer by the United States to hold talks about technical issues related to the possible deployment of an advanced missile defense system to South Korea, arguing that the move is not a technical issue. In the aftermath of North Korea’s fourth nuclear test in January and launch of a… read more
Voice of America: When the leaders from the United States, Japan and South Korea meet in Washington on Thursday to address the growing nuclear threat in North Korea, much of the discussion will be about China. U.S. President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye will hold a trilateral… read more
Bloomberg: Defense alliances are complicated things, but in the U.S. we have bipartisan clarity on one thing: Our allies are letting us down. “If Saudi Arabia was without the cloak of American protection,” Republican front-runner Donald Trump said this weekend, “I don’t think it would be around.” He has also shamed America’s top defense partners… read more
Reuters: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday that Iran’s ballistic missile had caused “alarm” and it would be up to the major powers to decide whether fresh sanctions should be applied. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards conducted ballistic missile tests earlier this month, in what they said was a demonstration of Iran’s non-nuclear deterrent power. Ban,… read more
BBC: Iran’s top leader has said anyone who thinks negotiations are more important than building a missile system are traitors, his official website reports. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments appear to be a response to a statement from a former president who said discussions were the way forward. The statements come amid concern among world powers… read more
Associated Press: The United States and three allies called for a Security Council meeting to respond to Iran’s recent ballistic missile tests which they say were carried out in defiance of a U.N. resolution. A report from the U.S., France, Britain and Germany obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press calls the launches “destabilizing and provocative.”… read more
Russia Today: Moscow is awaiting a reply from New Delhi on the supply of S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile systems to India, according to Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC). “The Federal Service has prepared a draft intergovernmental agreement on the supply of the S-400 systems to India and passed it to our partners, so… read more
