Free Republic

Last week I wrote about the concerns of a pair of North Korea analysts that something had changed in the tone of the rhetoric emanating from Kim Jong Un. Of course North Korea has a long history of belligerent talk and threats against the US but something about this seemed different and more urgent. Kim said he was giving up on reunification with South Korea. Instead, South Korea would now be considered the North’s top enemy.But it’s more than just empty rhetoric. Sometime over the past few days Kim ordered a monument meant to symbolize hope for reunification torn down.Kim...

he head of the Norwegian armed forces is warning fellow NATO countries that they only have “two, maybe three” years to brace for a Russian attack — just days after it was revealed that Germany is preparing for the likelihood as well. Norwegian Gen. Eirik Kristoffersen claimed Moscow is building up its military stockpile at a rate far faster than previously predicted, all while Western nations have depleted their own weapons by supplying them to Ukraine, according to local outlet Daglabet. “There is a window now that will perhaps last for one, two, maybe three years, where we have to...

France's Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire announcing electricity rate increases... Production at Libya's largest oil field resuming... Two US Navy SEALS presumed dead after going missing... Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suspending his Presidential campaign endorsing President Donald Trump... The Russian military in Syria says that two French fighter jets of the US-led international coalition violated Syrian airspace... A flight radar website showing a US Navy aircraft near Crimea during a Ukrainian attack... Here in the United States a federal judge has released the last of four people...accused of terrorism...ordered release of three others in the case last year saying they...

In a SPIEGEL interview, leading Russian politician and potential Putin successor Vladimir Yakunin discusses the president's plans, the Bush administration's "political arrogance" and the need for nations to consider the interests of other countries when defining their own.Vladimir Yakunin, 59, who worked as a diplomat at the Soviet mission to the United Nations in New York and later as the Russian deputy minister of transportation, became the president of the powerful Russian railroad corporation in 2005. He is considered a possible presidential candidate. SPIEGEL: You have known (Russian President) Vladimir Putin for a long time. In fact, you had neighboring...

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has conducted a test of its underwater nuclear weapons system in a protest against this week's joint military drills by South Korea, the United States and Japan, state media KCNA said on Friday. The test of the "Haeil-5-23" system, a name North Korea has given to its nuclear-capable underwater attack drones, was carried out by the defence ministry's think tank in the waters off its east coast, the report said, without specifying a date.

Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, thanked his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son Hui, for supporting the Kremlin's war in Ukraine, South Korean news outlet Yonhap News has reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lavrov hosted Choe on Tuesday to discuss bolstering ties amid reports of an arms cooperation deal between Moscow and Pyongyang. His comments underscore the Kremlin's increasing dependence on North Korea for weaponry.

North Korea's foreign minister lauded comradely ties with Russia on Tuesday and then held rare talks in the Kremlin with President Vladimir Putin, who has been invited by Kim Jong Un to visit the reclusive nuclear-armed country. -snip- Earlier on Tuesday, during her talks with Lavrov, North Korea's Choe hailed progress on implementing agreements struck during Kim's visit to eastern Russia last September. "The fact that now the foreign ministers of the two countries often meet and deepen comradely ties is yet more proof that the Korean-Russian friendly relations, with a long history of friendship and tradition, are energetically moving...

Russia will develop ties with North Korea in all areas building on agreements between their leaders in September, the Kremlin said on Monday, as their foreign ministers were set to meet in Moscow. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui arrived on Sunday on a rare visit to Moscow for talks with her counterpart Sergei Lavrov as the two countries deepen economic, political, and military ties, the North's state news agency KCNA said. As Russia's international isolation has grown over its war in Ukraine, analysts say Moscow has seen increasing value in its ties with North Korea. For North Korea's...

In a speech on Monday, Kim Jong Un said he had concluded that unification with the South was no longer possible and accused Seoul of seeking regime collapse and unification by absorption. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday called for the constitution to be changed to ensure that South Korea is seen as the "primary foe" and warned his country did not intend to avoid war should it happen, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday. In a speech to the Supreme People's Assembly, North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament, Kim said he had concluded that unification with the South was...

TOKYO and SEOUL -- North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile on Sunday afternoon, Japan and South Korea said. The launch appeared to have been a shorter-range ballistic missile than those recently tested based on its flight time, Japan's Defense Ministry said. South Korean officials said the missile was launched from the Pyongyang area into the East Sea just before 3 p.m. local time.

A joint statement by the United States and its partners on Tuesday condemned arms transfers between North Korea and Russia, including what it termed as Russia's procurement of North Korean ballistic missiles and Moscow's use of those against Ukraine on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2. WHY IT IS IMPORTANTBoth Moscow and Pyongyang have drawn closer since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, though they deny making any arms deals. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met President Vladimir Putin in Russia's Far East region last September and senior Russian officials have made several visits to Pyongyang. Last week the White...

South Korea's intelligence agency confirms report indicating Hamas used North Korean-made F-7 grenade launcher; image shows fuse bearing Korean letters

SEOUL — North Korea fired more than 200 artillery rounds into the sea on Friday near a tensely defended maritime border with South Korea, a military official said, while residents of two South Korean islands were ordered to evacuate due to an unknown “situation.” The defense ministry would not confirm if the order was prompted by the North’s artillery firing or South Korean drills in response. However, a text message sent to residents and confirmed by an island official cited “naval fire” to be conducted by South Korean troops from 3 p.m.(0600 GMT) Friday. An official on Yeonpyeong island, which...

Air raid alerts in eight regions of Ukraine tonight... In New York at least 26 people suffered what are called minor injuries in a subway train derailment... In France there is talk of President Emmanuel Macron changing his government... There are more documents out tonight related to Jeffrey Epstein as the document dump continues...An additional document with explicit content from 2005 revealed at 11 pm tonight...The Miami Herald and reporter Julie K. Brown seeking a clear naming of all the "John Does"... With the aid request for Ukraine stalled in Congress new spin from the White House tonight. The story...

A dormant North Korean port near the border with Russia has sprung back to life, fueling what experts say is a burgeoning trade in arms destined for the frontlines in Ukraine that is simultaneously bolstering the anemic economy managed by Kim Jong Un. Satellite imagery of the Najin port taken from October to December shows a steady stream of ships at the facility, hundreds of shipping containers being loaded and unloaded, and rail cars ready to transport goods. The activity appears to have picked up since early October, when the U.S. accused North Korea of sending munitions to Russia. The...

"I've been saying for six months now: hit Iran" Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham... US Central Command says that a US warship shot down a drone and a missile off the coast of Yemen... Canadian political activist Ezra Levant owner of "Rebel News" fined 13-thousand dollars for publishing a book critical... US politics President Donald Trump removed from the ballot in the State of Maine by Democrat... Israel attacking Syria tonight... A federal judge in New York rejecting a bid by Democrat Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey to delay his trial... Venezuela announcing military maneuvers near Guyana in response...

Communist dictator of North Korea Kim Jong-un declared through state media on Wednesday that the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was necessary to “clearly show what action the DPRK [North Korea] has been prepared and what option the DPRK would take when Washington makes a wrong decision against it.”

Joe Biden is said to be considering sending migrants trying to enter the United States to “safe third countries” as part of a compromise to help him secure funding for Ukraine’s military struggle against Russia. To appease Republicans who say that the situation at the US southern border has become unmanageable, discussions are reportedly under way to identify countries where migrants would be sent to live while their asylum claims were processed. Donald Trump agreed a similar deal with several countries in Central America, including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Critics of that policy pointed out that many migrants were...

Civic duty was put before pride as North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un was caught openly weeping during a plea to “Dear Mothers” over the need to increase birth rates. Despite globalist glee at the prospect of a diminishing world population, alarm bells have been ringing for years about the impact such developments would have on society. Even in the socialist so-called Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the problem was not only apparent, but worth crying over. Speaking Sunday from the capital city Pyongyang, Kim addressed the 5th National Meeting of Mothers, back after an 11-year hiatus, insisting that addressing...

WASHINGTON — North Korea claimed Tuesday its recently launched reconnaissance satellite had snapped photos of the White House, Pentagon, and key US military installations across the world — though questions remain about the technology’s capabilities. Dictator Kim Jong Un has personally reviewed the images, which were captured late Monday, Pyongyang’s Korea Central News Agency propaganda service claimed. “[Kim] also received in detail satellite photos of the Norfolk Naval Station, the Newport News Dockyard, and an airfield of Virginia,” KCNA reported.