... debate among observers wondering what was behind Xi's silence.
"Xi can't fail to be impressed by Trump's resolve. Xi will have to reassess what the Trump presidency means for Chinese interests in East Asia, particularly North Korea and the South China Sea," Australian military analyst Alan Dupont suggested, as cited by the New York Times.
Malaysian geopolitical analyst Mathew Maavak commented on the matter in his recent interview with Sputnik.
"I think ...
... the US-South Korea THAAD agreement, if not its full repeal.
American THAAD is hardly capable of ensuring the defense of the most important objects and populated areas on Korean territory. Aiming to protect an extremely expensive object from a possible North Korean long-range artillery attack, multiple rocket launcher systems and many shorter-range rockets, it was decided to deploy THAAD at a considerable distance from demilitarized zone.
www.mda.mil
Alexander Yermakov:
Have Rockets, Will Quarrel
China’s ...
... game-changer in the region.
The Missile Defence Issue
The announcement that South Korea had agreed, under pressure from the United Stated, to deploy the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in the south of the country to counter the “North Korean missile threat”
was made
in July, when a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Park Geun-hye had already been fixed. Moscow chose not to cancel the meeting on these grounds, especially since it was important for Russia to demonstrate ...
... the number of missiles to five per launcher. Although it looks promising, there is currently no active funding for the development of THAAD ER.
www.mda.mil
THAAD launch
The Right Place at the Right Time?
After the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime, North Korea and Iran automatically became the main opponents of THAAD, as the two countries were actively
pursuing missile programmes
themselves. The Iranian threat prompted the
United Arab Emirates
and
Oman
to purchase the missiles in 2011 in 2013,...
...
aircraft carrier and the
North Carolina
nuclear submarine). The exercise’s code names were Key Resolve and Foal Eagle.
The purpose of the exercise was the traditional coordination training of South Korean and American troops in case of war with North Korea, drilling tactical moves, and using new equipment.
It should be noted that it was a scheduled exercise. That is, it has been held annually,
since 2002
between February and April, and before that, in October-November. The Republic of Korea ...
North Korea's Strategic Nuclear Forces
On July 3, 2016, North Korea will mark its first ever Strategic Forces Day. Following the fourth nuclear test that took place earlier this year, North Korea recently carried out successful tests of a medium-range ...
... congress in 36 years came as a sensation. The announcement itself was made shortly after the lavishly celebrated 70th anniversary of the Party’s founding. For several months, experts vied with each other in making forecasts and surmises as to why the North Korean leadership had deemed it necessary to revive the tradition of Party congresses, considering that during the reign of the current leader Kim Jong-il’s father even Plenary Sessions of the Central Committee were hardly ever held. Indeed,...
On February 29, 2016 RIAC Director General Andrey Kortunov had a meeting with Republic of Korea Ambassador to Russia Park Ro-byug.
The discussion focused on the problems of decreasing security risks and of enhancing stability on the Korean Peninsula, on the search for effective ways to overcome the current crisis in relations between the ROK and the DPRK.
The sides also explored the issues of using international sanctions to improve the situation on the Peninsula, as well as of cooperation between...
Could the Korean Crisis turn into a Military Crisis?
The latest flare up on the Korean peninsula has attracted the world’s attention to a region that is of great interest to Russia. North Korea and the United States are worlds apart, while Russia and Korea are separated by a single river. And the recent nuclear tests carried out by North Korea, as well as the planned missile launches, must surely have raised eyebrows in Moscow. All ...
... Jong-un’s regime; the unanimous condemnation of Pyongyang for the provocative act and subsequent calls for punishment; doubts as to whether the tested device was really a thermonuclear one; and, finally, a fear of conflict escalation and worry that the North Korean regime threatened security and could unleash a war.
The North Koreans’ motives
It's hard to argue with the fact that this fourth test in a row has had a serious destabilizing effect. However, the North Koreans have followed a model ...
