"We will not hesitate to use all means at our disposal to completely devastate South Korea," Kim Jong-un's statement reads. The North Korean president's words resonate with the joint statement by some 40 countries condemning the use of North Korean missiles in Ukraine. This outburst argues in favor of the thesis that, with Russian and Chinese support, Pyongyang no longer expects much from negotiations with the United States and its allies. This is believed to be the first time that North Korea has used a ballistic missile in a live combat situation.
'No deal' signed during Kim Jong-un's visit, says Russia. North Korean leader met with Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny cosmodrome on Wednesday. Nothing would have been signed there, says the Kremlin. The White House also said that any arms export. would be a direct violation of several UN Security Council resolutions, a statement said. The leader wants to revitalize the North Korean navy. But the purchase of newer ships is necessary to bridge the gap with Seoul's hyper-modern fleet.
Japan begins discharge into the sea of more than one million tons of water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The water contains certain radioactive substances such as tritium or carbon 14. Dumping it into the Pacific will be safe for the environment and health, according to experts. But the operation is extremely controversial because there is concern in the archipelago and its neighbors. The spill was announced for 13 p.m. Japanese time (4 a.m., GMT) on Thursday, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant said.
Commercial flight of the North Korean airline Air Koryo landed in Beijing on Tuesday, August 22. It is also expected that the air link will resume soon with the city of Vladivostok in Russia. The regime is multiplying signs of openness after three years of almost total isolation of North Korea. The possible opening could prove fatal for the nearly 2,000 North Korean defectors detained in China and who could soon be repatriated. But the resumption of air traffic could help repatriate some of the regime's tens of thousands of workers abroad.
On July 17, Travis King took advantage of a guided tour of the inter-Korean border to run across the demarcation line. Pyongyang said Wednesday that the move was a deliberate escape from "inhumane mistreatment and racial discrimination" by the US military. The 23-year-old soldier was in trouble with the American justice system. His future seems very uncertain while the American authorities ensure continue to do everything to bring him back to the United States. The soldier reportedly "decided to come to the Democratic Republic of Korea, due to mistreatment"