US President Donald Trump said on Thursday a major conflict with North Korea is possible in the standoff over its nuclear and missile programs, but he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the dispute. ‘There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely,’ Trump said ahead … Read more
The US military’s top commander in the Pacific has said an advanced missile defence system in South Korea aims bring North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “to his senses, not to his knees”. Adm Harry Harris, head of US Pacific Command, told Congress the US would be ready “with the best technology” to defeat any North … Read more
The US admiral who ordered an aircraft carrier and other warships toward the Korean Peninsula in a much-hyped deployment took responsibility Wednesday for any “confusion” after the ships sailed in the opposite direction. Amid soaring tensions ahead of North Korea’s apparent ramping up for a sixth nuclear test, the US Navy on April 8 said … Read more
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged an end to US-South Korean military manoeuvres Wednesday as well as a stop to North Korea’s nuclear programme to calm tensions on the peninsula. He said Pyongyang’s continuing nuclear tests were “a clear violation of UN resolutions”, but stressed that persisting with military manoeuvres around the peninsula “is not … Read more
China has launched a new aircraft carrier, boosting its military presence amid rising tensions in the region. It is the country’s second aircraft carrier, after the Liaoning, and the first to be made domestically. State media said the unnamed ship was “transferred from dry dock into the water” in the north-eastern port of Dalian. Previous … Read more
China has launched its first domestically designed and built aircraft carrier, state media said Wednesday, as the country seeks to transform its navy into a force capable of projecting power onto the high seas. Adorned with colourful ribbons, the Type 001A ship “transferred from dry dock into the water at a launch ceremony” in the … Read more
North Korea on Wednesday hailed its largest-ever firing drill, overseen by leader Kim Jong-Un to mark a key military anniversary amid high tensions in the region. Speculation had mounted that the North could carry out a sixth nuclear test or another missile launch to mark the 85 years since the founding of its army on … Read more
A US submarine has arrived in South Korea, amid worries of another North Korean missile or nuclear test. The missile-armed USS Michigan is set to join an incoming group of warships led by aircraft carrier Carl Vinson. North Korea is celebrating its army’s 85th founding anniversary on Tuesday. It marked the event with a large-scale … Read more
Nuclear-armed North Korea on Tuesday marked a military anniversary with a massive conventional firing drill, Seoul said, as a US guided-missile submarine docked in South Korea amid tensions over Pyongyang’s weapons ambitions. Speculation had mounted that the North could carry out a sixth nuclear test or another missile launch to mark 85 years since the … Read more
China has warned North Korea will ‘cross the point of no return’ if it carries out a sixth nuclear test amid fears the secretive state can create a nuke every six weeks. Kim Jong-Un is believed to have personally overseen the country’s largest ever firing drill in the port city of Wonsan today. But fears … Read more
Nuclear-armed North Korea on Tuesday marked a military anniversary with a conventional firing drill, reports said, as the South announced joint naval exercises with a US aircraft carrier in the flashpoint region. Speculation had mounted that Pyongyang could carry out a sixth nuclear test or another missile launch to mark 85 years since the founding … Read more
In an unusual move, the entire US Senate is being called to the White House for a briefing on North Korea. Washington has become increasingly concerned at North Korean missile and nuclear tests and threats to its neighbours and the US. The briefing, involving 100 senators as well as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and … Read more
An American citizen has been detained in North Korea as he tried to leave the country, South Korean media say. The man was identified only by his surname, Kim. He becomes the third American to be detained by the North; one has been sentenced for spying, the other for trying to steal a sign from … Read more
The US supercarrier Carl Vinson will start joint exercises with Japan’s navy on Sunday, Tokyo’s defence ministry said, as the warship passes through the western Pacific after days of contention over its whereabouts. The strike group is in the region as tensions spike over North Korea’s rogue arms programme and concerns that Pyongyang is planning … Read more
The US supercarrier Carl Vinson will arrive in the Sea of Japan in days, Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday, after days of mixed messages from Washington over the warship’s whereabouts. The strike group was supposedly steaming towards North Korea last week amid soaring tensions over the rogue state’s apparent ramping up for a sixth … Read more
The US supercarrier Carl Vinson will arrive in the Sea of Japan in days, Vice President Mike Pence said in Australia Saturday amid high tensions with North Korea. The Trump administration has been trying to clear the waters after sending out confusing messages concerning the whereabouts of the Vinson carrier group that supposedly was steaming … Read more
Buffeted by the currents of diplomacy, South Korea is sometimes described as a “shrimp between two whales”, and US president Donald Trump has touched nerves with remarks that the peninsula “used to be part of China”. The comments came after Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida. As the pair … Read more
When South Korea fills a presidential vacuum next month, analysts say the first order of business for its new leader will be to tame Donald Trump’s aggressive approach towards the nuclear-armed North. The impeachment of former president Park Geun-Hye — who took a hard line on North Korea — forced her out of Seoul’s Blue … Read more
The Trump administration on Wednesday tried to clear the waters after it gave confusing messages concerning the whereabouts of a US supercarrier that supposedly was steaming toward North Korea last week. Amid soaring tensions ahead of North Korea’s apparent ramping up for a sixth nuclear test, the Navy on April 8 said it was directing … Read more
In a face-saving declaration, the White House on Wednesday claimed the president’s comments about the carrier strike group he’d deployed to the Korean Peninsula had been misinterpreted. President Donald Trump told Fox Business Network that ‘we are sending an armada’ in Kim Jong-un’s direction. He did not say it was already on its way. ‘The president … Read more