Tag Archives: South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan

News, Politics, Government

Dennis Rodman planning to 'have some fun' with North Korea's Kim Jong Un in August

Leave a comment

North Korea‘s increasing hostility toward the rest of the world doesn’t seem to faze dictator Kim Jong Un‘s newest best friend Dennis Rodman, who reiterated his plans to return to the communist nation in August.

The former U.S. basketball star said at a charity event in Miami Beach over the weekend that he’s keeping plans to visit North Korea again in late summer to have “fun” with the country’s dictator, the website “Gossip Extra” reported.

“I’m going back August 1,” he told the website. “We have no plans really, as far as what we’re going to do over there, but we’ll just hang and have some fun!”

Rodman raised eyebrows when he became the first American to meet the reclusive young leader in a visit to Pyongyang in February.

Weeks after the controversial visit, Rodman, 51, described Kim as a friend.

“I don’t condone what he does, but he’s my friend,” Rodman said in a March interview with North Dakota’s KXJB. Rodman continued to say he will be “vacationing” with Kim in August.

Rodman’s remarks come amid rising tensions between North Korea and the United States, after the Asian nation threatened to launch a preemptive nuclear attack on the U.S. that would engulf Washington in a “sea of fire.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry last week wrapped up a tour to coordinate Washington’s response with Beijing, North Korea‘s most important ally, as well as with Seoul and Tokyo.

In Seoul, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin told a parliamentary committee Monday that North Korea still appeared poised to launch a missile from its east coast, though he declined to disclose the source of his information.

Kerry warned North Korea not to conduct a missile test, saying it would be provocation that “will raise people’s temperatures” and further isolate the country and its impoverished people. He said Sunday that the U.S. was “prepared to reach out,” but that Pyongyang must first bring down tensions and honor previous agreements.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/H1wG5pOhggA/

News, Politics, Government

North Korea's missile launchers on the move, indicating possible new provocation

Leave a comment

North Korea has begun moving its mid-range missile launchers, possibly indicating a looming test as tensions are already boiling on the peninsula, U.S. officials told Fox News.

Earlier Thursday, South Korea said North Korea moved a missile with “considerable range” to its east coast after an unnamed spokesman for the North Korean army warned the U.S. Wednesday that its military has been cleared to wage an attack using “smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear” weapons.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin dismissed reports in the Japanese and South Korean media that the missile could be a KN-08, which is believed to be a long-range missile that if operable could hit the United States.

Kim told lawmakers at a hearing that the missile’s range is considerable but not far enough to hit the U.S. mainland. He said he did not know the reasons behind the missile movement, saying it “could be for testing or drills.”

The range he described could refer to a mobile North Korean missile known as the Musudan, which has a range of 1,800 miles. That would make Japan and South Korea potential targets, but little is known about the missile’s accuracy.

North Korea has railed for weeks against joint U.S. and South Korean military exercises taking place in South Korea and has expressed anger over tightened sanctions for a February nuclear test.

U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden has called North Korea‘s threats “unhelpful and unconstructive.”

“It is yet another offering in a long line of provocative statements that only serve to further isolate North Korea from the rest of the international community and undermine its goal of economic development,” she said. “North Korea should stop its provocative threats and instead concentrate on abiding by its international obligations.”

Russia said Thursday that North Korea‘s disregard for the U.N. sanctions is hurting the chances of resuming stalled six-party nuclear talks, Reuters reports.

“Attempts by Pyongyang to violate … decisions of the U.N. Security Council are categorically unacceptable,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said during a briefing.

Despite North Korea‘s rhetoric, analysts say they do not expect a nuclear attack, which knows the move could trigger a destructive, suicidal war that no one in the region wants.

But following through on one threat Wednesday, North Korean border authorities refused to allow entry to South Koreans who manage jointly run factories in the North Korean city of Kaesong.

Washington calls the military drills, which this time have incorporated fighter jets and nuclear-capable stealth bombers, routine annual exercises between the allies. Pyongyang calls them rehearsals for a northward invasion.

The foes fought on opposite sides of the three-year Korean War, which ended in a truce in 1953. The divided Korean Peninsula remains in a technical state of war six decades later, and Washington keeps 28,500 troops in South Korea to protect its ally.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Washington was doing all it can to defuse the situation, echoing comments a day earlier by Secretary of State John Kerry.

“Some of the actions they’ve taken over the last few weeks present a real and …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News