In telephone talks that lasted about 35 minutes, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook shared the view that North Korea’s ballistic missile launches are in violation of relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions and are destabilizing regional security.

It was the first time since November 2019 that the three countries’ defense ministers have held talks. In the phone talks, Kishi, Austin and Suh agreed to work to meet in person.

North Korea has fired ballistic and cruise missiles seven times this year. Tokyo, Washington and Seoul are increasingly alarmed not only by the launches but also because North Korea has suggested the possibility of resuming nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests that have been suspended since 2018.

Meanwhile, relations between Japanese and South Korean defense authorities have been strained due partly to a December 2018 incident involving accusations of a South Korean warship locking its radar onto a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol plane.

With the threat from North Korea on the rise, the United States has been calling on the two Asian neighbors to mend fences.

The three countries initially planned to hold a face-to-face meeting of their defense ministers in Hawaii in mid-January, but it was canceled due to a resurgence of the novel coronavirus.

Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/02/10/national/japan-us-south-korea-security-threats/

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International tension has been rising over a recent series of North Korean ballistic missile tests, actions long banned by the U.N. Security Council. January was a record month of such tests, with at least seven launches of nine missiles including a new type of “hypersonic missile” able to manoeuvre at high speed.

Also among the tests was the first firing since 2017 of a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile, capable of striking U.S. territories in the Pacific Ocean.

“In today’s world where many countries waste time dealing with the United States with submission and blind obedience, there’s only our country on this planet that can shake the world by firing a missile with the U.S. mainland in its range,” North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The series of tests since New Year represented “remarkable achievements” that strengthened North Korea’s “war deterrence,” the statement on the ministry’s website said.

“There are more than 200 countries in the world, but only a few have hydrogen bombs, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and hypersonic missiles,” it said.

The statement cited the Hwasong-15, the longest-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) ever tested by North Korea, which was test fired once in 2017 and is believed to have the range to deliver a nuclear warhead anywhere in the United States, as well as the Hwasong-12, which North Korea once threatened to use on Guam.

Talks to persuade Pyongyang to give up or limit its arsenal in return for sanctions relief have been stalled since 2019.

The United States called on North Korea on Monday to defund its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and prioritize the needs of its own people. read more

U.S. and South Korean officials say they fear the launch of the Hwasong-12 on Jan. 30 could be a step toward fully resuming tests of North Korea’s ICBMs or nuclear weapons. North Korea has not conducted a nuclear test or fired an ICBM since 2017.

A Washington think tank said on Monday it has identified a military base close to North Korea’s border with China that is likely intended for stationing ICBMs.

Reporting by Josh Smith; Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin, Editing by William Maclean

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nkorea-boasts-shaking-world-by-testing-missiles-that-can-strike-us-2022-02-08/?rpc=401&

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(November 30, 2021 / JNS) European diplomats said on Tuesday that if Iran does not demonstrate seriousness in nuclear negotiations with world powers this week, there will be a problem.

Andrea Stricker, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and an expert on the Iran nuclear program, told JNS that “if Iran comes to talks with maximalist demands for sanctions relief and refuses to resume discussing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the P5+1 will quickly realize that Tehran’s game is one of extortion, and they could pivot to a united pressure front.”

The P5+1 is made up of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany.

Diplomats from France, Britain and France said on the sidelines of talks in Vienna that the issue of what to do with advanced centrifuges Iran is using to enrich uranium remains unresolved, reported Reuters.

Stricker said, “If Iran asks for massive sanctions relief in return for a limited nuclear deal, talks could drag on for months.”

The Biden foreign-policy team may accept a weaker deal than the JCPOA “simply to check a box on the Iran problem and move on,” she asserted.

Iran has made irreversible knowledge gains regarding higher enrichment, advanced centrifuges and uranium metal production, among others, continued Stricker.

Interestingly, she said it is increasingly likely that Tehran has decided that it can live without Western sanctions relief and is using talks as a cover to move closer to the nuclear threshold.

“If so, what we could be seeing is a slow-motion breakout,” she said.

Two unnamed Israeli officials told CNN in a report published Monday—confirming a story first reported by Axios—that Israel shared intelligence with U.S. officials recently that showed that Iran is preparing to enrich uranium up to 90 percent.

While the P5+1 focuses on debate, they could lose precious time to unite and stop Iran’s advances, noted Stricker: “Iran could be positioning itself so close to making nuclear weapons that if Tehran chose to break out, countries mighty be deterred from intervening.”

Furthermore, through current inaction at the IAEA Board of Governors and U.N. Security Council, and in the absence of multilateral sanctions, “the P5+1 are narrowing their options to military intervention or accepting a nuclear-armed Iran.”

Regarding the possibility of a military attack against Iran’s nuclear program, Stricker estimates it not as an easy target, and it is unlikely that strikes could end the program. Facilities, people and capabilities are widely dispersed.

‘Talks are achieving no desirable outcome’

Efraim Inbar, president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies, was pessimistic regarding the chances of a good result from the renewal of talks with Iran.

“We are on our own,” he stated starkly.

If Jerusalem chooses to strike, the situation could escalate dramatically and force Washington to consider intervening. Stricker sees Israeli sabotage of the nuclear program and alleged operations against infrastructure as middle ground.

For its part, Israel has been warning that it can make life very tough for the regime if Tehran continues its nuclear advances.

In a Twitter post on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett sent a message to the Western powers negotiating with Iran stating: “Don’t give in to nuclear blackmail.”

He went on to say in the video, “Iran won’t just keep its nuclear program. From today, they’ll be getting paid for it.”

A report by David Albright, Sarah Burkhard and Stricker for the Institute for Science and International Security said the IAEA’s latest report notes that Iran has enough enriched uranium enriched to nearly 20 and 60 percent to produce “a single nuclear weapon in as little as three weeks.”

“Even if Iran continues to permit the IAEA to service agency equipment, the verification process may now face such serious gaps that it is impossible to restore the IAEA’s continuity of knowledge of Iran’s nuclear activities, which is so vital to verification,” it stated.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said as much, warning that it would soon be unable to effectively monitor material produced at the factory in Karaj because of a lack of access.

As Inbar summed up: “The talks are achieving no desirable outcome and serve as no more than a debate club.”

Source: https://www.jns.org/we-are-on-our-own-israel-plans-action-against-iran-as-world-stalls-on-nukes/

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JAKARTA, Indonesia — Diplomats from the United States and North Korea alternately shook hands and lobbed critiques at one another Saturday, in what appeared to be another roadblock in the path to negotiations aimed at ending Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.

In a day of head-snapping twists of tone at the annual conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Russia not to help North Korea cheat on U.N. sanctions that Moscow had voted for.

Then, just a few short hours later, Pompeo and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho approached each other for a public handshake and exchanged promising pleasantries with big smiles. According to State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, Pompeo suggested they would talk soon, and Ri agreed, adding, “There are many productive conversations to be had.”

Nauert said that beyond the brief exchange at the group photo, Pompeo and Ri did not have a more formal meeting. Given where the United States and North Korea were a year ago, Nauert said, “This is a step in the right direction.”

As the two top diplomats returned to their seats, Sung Kim, the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines, approached Ri and handed him a white envelope bearing a letter from President Trump to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

While the full contents were unknown, Pompeo tweeted later Saturday that the letter was Trump’s reply to a missive the president received from Kim last week, which White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Saunders characterized as a “follow-up” to their June summit in Singapore. In his own tweet, Trump described Kim’s letter as “nice,” breezily adding, “I look forward to seeing you soon!”

But things at the Singapore conference went downhill after Pompeo departed for Indonesia: Ri waited until then to deliver a sharp attack on the United States in remarks at the forum.

Though he said the North Korean government remains committed to a joint statement that followed a summit between Trump and Kim in June, Ri criticized the White House for insisting on maintaining sanctions until disarmament is complete and demanded “confidence-building” measures along the way.

“What is alarming, however, is the insistent moves manifested within the U.S. to go back to the old, far from its leader’s intention,” Ri said.

The divergent rhetoric underscored the difficulties that have hampered previous attempts to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear and missile programs. It also was reminiscent of Pompeo’s last visit to North Korea in July, when he declared the meetings “productive” but North Korea hours later would say the U.S. approach was “gangster-like.”

Previous negotiators have seen similar rapid-fire mood swings from Pyongyang. This is just North Korea’s style of negotiating and indicates any talks would probably take many months, if not years.

Pompeo has acknowledged talks will be difficult and drawn out, but he said Saturday that he remains optimistic that eventually the two sides can reach a deal to end the North’s nuclear weapons program.

Pyongyang’s willingness to truly denuclearize has come into question lately. A confidential report by the United Nations, shown to reporters Friday, says North Korea has violated numerous U.N. Security Council sanctions by continuing to develop its nuclear weapons and missile programs. Also last week came news reports that intelligence agencies believe the North is developing new missiles.

[U.S. spy agencies: North Korea is working on new missiles]

Much of the discord stems from differences in how Washington and Pyongyang view the pace of rewards to North Korea if it proceeds dismantling its weapons programs. Pompeo has insisted that the United States expects total denuclearization and that sanctions will remain in place until the process is complete. North Korea, officially named the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has demanded a phased approach, with sanctions eased in several steps as a show of goodwill.

“Confidence is not a sentiment to be cultivated overnight,” Ri said in his remarks after Pompeo’s departure. “In order to build full confidence between the DPRK and the U.S., it is essential for both sides to take simultaneous actions and phased steps to do what is possible one after another.”

Ri added: “Only when the U.S. ensures that we feel comfortable with and come close to it will we be able to open our minds to the U.S. and show it in action.”

An administration official brushed off the remarks as growing pains in a still-developing relationship that has been wobbly at times.

“This is to be expected,” said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the criticism frankly. “We’re building a relationship with North Korea after years of difficult relations.”

Pompeo used the ASEAN conference to hold meetings with diplomats from more than two dozen countries to urge their governments to keep up the economic pressure on Pyongyang until its nuclear weapons program is irreversibly dismantled.

At a news conference, Pompeo noted reports that Russia was entering into joint ventures with companies in the North and granted new work permits to North Korean guest workers. He said the United States considers the reports, first published in the Wall Street Journal, to be accurate and as such would violate a U.N. Security Council resolution restricting trade with North Korea.

“I want to remind every nation that has supported these resolutions that this is a serious issue and something that we will discuss with Moscow,” he said.

“We expect the Russians and all countries to abide by the U.N. Security Council resolutions and enforce sanctions on North Korea. Any violation that detracts from the world’s goal of finally, fully denuclearizing North Korea would be something that America would take very seriously.”

Despite the carping, the tone was considered a major improvement over last year, when the buzz of the ASEAN meeting was whether Pompeo’s predecessor, Rex Tillerson, would even be in the same room with North Korea’s foreign minister.

This year, in his first visit as secretary of state, Pompeo has been at the forefront of talks with North Korea aimed at its eventual denuclearization.

“From my meetings here, the world is united in seeing this achieved,” Pompeo told reporters. “There has not been single country that hasn’t thanked the United States for its efforts in moving the world toward the possibility of achieving this. . . . I’m optimistic that we will get this done in the timeline, and the world will celebrate what the U.N. Security Council has demanded.”

That view seemed to be supported by a communique expected from the ASEAN diplomats, who, along with representatives of Japan and South Korea, urged Washington and Pyongyang to “continue working towards the realization of lasting peace and stability on a denuclearized Korean Peninsula,” according to a draft seen by the Associated Press.

Earlier Saturday, Pompeo suggested that the timeline for denuclearization will be determined in large part by North Korea’s mercurial leader.

“The ultimate timeline for denuclearization will be set by Chairman Kim, at least in part,” he said in an interview with Channel NewsAsia. “The decision is his. He made a commitment, and we’re very hopeful that over the coming weeks and months we can make substantial progress towards that and put the North Korean people on a trajectory towards a brighter future very quickly.”

Pompeo started the morning with a rosy tweet, saying he had had productive discussions on North Korea with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. China is responsible for the lion’s share of trade across North Korea’s border.

“Our cooperation,” he tweeted, “. . . sends a strong signal to the region that, despite differences, #China and the US can work together to get important work done.”

[China is still North Korea’s most important ally]

Despite the United States’ growing trade war with China, there was a palpable sense of relief that the tensions of last year appeared to have eased considerably.

The Southeast Asian region is “quite happy to see how the events on the Korean Peninsula are turning out, especially compared to last year, which was a really worrying time,” said Dino Patti Djalal, a former Indonesian ambassador to the United States who led a delegation to Pyongyang for informal talks. “There was a real threat of clashes and talk of preemptive strikes.”

Things are “exceptionally much better” now, he added, and the region “welcomes this development and thinks the momentum should be kept.”

Apart from urging continued support for being tough on Pyongyang, Pompeo’s three-day trip to Asia is part of a U.S. effort to boost trade ties with the region, despite the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.

Pompeo pledged on Saturday to provide nearly $300 million in new security funding for Southeast Asia. He said it would be used to strengthen maritime security, develop humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping capabilities, and counter “transnational threats.”

On Monday, Pompeo said the United States would invest $113 million in technology, energy and infrastructure initiatives in the region as part of what he characterized as “a down payment on a new era of U.S. economic commitment to the region.”

Read more:

Despite reports to the contrary, Trump says he’s ‘very happy’ with North Korea

Pompeo pushes back against North Korea’s ‘gangster-like’ criticism

U.S. hopes to resume joint field operations with North Korea to find war remains

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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