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Fourteen-hundred federal workers who oversee America’s nuclear arsenal are no longer on the job. The employees were furloughed because of the government shutdown, which is now the third longest in U.S. history. Nikole Killion has the latest.
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Donald Trump has many grand plans for America, one of the more ambitious of which is to create a giant invisible space shield that theoretically protects the country from rockets. In January, Trump announced, via executive order, the creation of a “Golden Dome,” designed to protect Americans from the “threat of attack by ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and other advanced aerial attacks.” The project, Trump said, would use a network of satellites to detect and repel aerial attacks on the U.S. and end “the missile threat to the American homeland.”
Unfortunately for Trump, many critics say that building such a Dome isn’t really possible and, even if it were, it’s not clear that it would actually protect Americans all that much. Whatever the murky feasibility of realizing Trump’s golden space shield dream, one thing’s for sure: the Dome will surely cost Americans a pretty penny.
Ars Technica reports that, according to recent estimates, the cost of the dome would be substantially more than the Manhattan Project, which developed America’s first atomic bomb. That project, which created an incredibly powerful weapon that actually works (about 200,000 people died to prove it), cost America approximately $35 billion (estimate here adjusted for inflation). Trump’s new project could cost 100 times that much.
This week, Bloomberg reported that the Pentagon had “completed a blueprint for the program, but the Pentagon declined to give any details about its scope or cost.” The study cited by Ars comes from Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Harrison’s research found that, of several different dome architectures that could be pursued, the least expensive option would cost some $252 billion. Meanwhile, the most expensive option would cost approximately $3.6 trillion through 2045, the outlet notes. The White House has claimed that the dome will cost $175 billion.
Why won’t Trump’s magic shield in the sky work? A report published in April by the American Physical Society Panel on Public Affairs said the following: “When engineers have been under intense political pressure to deploy a system, the United States has repeatedly initiated costly programs that proved unable to deal with key technical challenges and were eventually abandoned as their inadequacies became apparent.” In other words, the Golden Shield may end up being an ambitious project that serves, mostly, to fatten the pockets of the contractors who work on it.
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Lucas Ropek
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Beijing — China will host its biggest military parade ever on Wednesday, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and Japan’s formal surrender. The massive procession will go down Chang-an Avenue, the name of which means “Eternal Peace.”
Joining Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping for the “Victory Day” event — which will showcase some of China’s newest and most advanced weapons — will be Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
Rehearsals have been underway for weeks, and security in the sprawling Chinese capital has been extra tight. All buildings overlooking the parade route will be locked down as the leaders and other dignitaries from 26 countries take in the spectacle, along with some 50,000 spectators.
For China’s 72-year-old leader Xi, it will be a landmark moment. It’s the third and most important military parade he will have overseen since coming to power in 2012. As commander-in-chief of the world’s largest standing armed forces, he will watch as tens of thousands of troops under his orders march toward Tiananmen Square in central Beijing.
Tingshu Wang/REUTERS
It will be a visceral display not only of China’s growing military might and newest hardware, including hypersonic weapons, nuclear capable missiles, fighter jets and underwater drones, but of its growing clout as a geopolitical power, with deepening ties to some of the United States’ most potent adversaries.
North Korea’s Kim arrived in Beijing Tuesday aboard his green armored train, stopping to inspect one of his own country’s missile production facilities on the way before crossing into China.
The parade will be the first time that Kim appears together with both Xi and Putin — offering him a first multilateral diplomatic event.
Go Nakamura/REUTERS 
The symbolism of the three leaders together on a stage with Xi’s military thundering past in formation will be undeniable. Xi is expected to be flanked by Putin and Kim. Together, they have been dubbed an “Axis of Upheaval” by some Western analysts.
Xi is bringing together the leaders of some of the most heavily sanctioned nations in the world. Iran‘s President Masoud Pezeshkian and the leader of Myanmar’s ruling military junta, President Min Aung Hlaing will also be attending, according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It is a clear show of solidarity against the West, and it’s being seen as a direct challenge to the U.S.-led world order that has prevailed for a century. Xi and Putin have made their ambition to shake up that status quo clear for at least several years.
Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool/REUTERS 
“We, together with you and with our sympathizers, will move towards a multipolar, just, democratic world order,” Russia’s longtime Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in 2022, ahead of a meeting with his Chinese counterpart.
The gathering in Beijing will make represent a clear challenge to President Trump’s claim to be fostering close working relationships with Xi, Putin and Kim. Xi’s bond with Putin was on clear and deliberate display in the days leading up to the parade.
China and Russia have declared their “no limits partnership,” and while China claims to maintain a neutral stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine, Beijing’s support of the war effort — by providing dual-use technology and continuing to purchase Russian oil and gas in defiance of Western sanctions, has proven to be an economic lifeline funding Putin’s three and a half year war.
During talks at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Tuesday, Putin hailed “unprecedentedly high relations” with China and thanked his “dear friend” Xi for the warm welcome.
Kim’s support for Russia’s war has been even more direct. Since October last year, North Korea has sent around 13,000 troops, along with conventional weapons, to support Russia’s war effort. South Korea’s intelligence services estimate that around 2,000 North Korean troops have been killed fighting alongside Russian forces.
GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP/Getty 
The parade will be a show of both China and Russia’s implicit support for Kim’s nuclear weapons program, which remains the subject of numerous United Nations sanctions.
Xi burnished his credentials as a geopolitical powerbroker at a regional security summit in Tianjin, northern China, that ended on Monday. He hosted more than 20 world leaders there, including Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“We should uphold fairness and justice,” Xi declared at the gathering of the Shanghai Corporation Organization, seemingly trying to claim moral high ground amid the upheaval and strained relationships caused by President Trump’s global trade war and isolationist policies. “We must oppose the Cold War mentality, block confrontation and bullying practices.”
Without mentioning the U.S. or its president by name, Xi told the assembled leaders of non-Western countries: “We must continue to take a clear stand against hegemonism and power politics.”
Suo Takekuma/Pool/Getty 
On Monday Xi, Putin and Modi were shown together smiling and laughing at the summit — a deliberate public display of warmth and camaraderie. Just last week, the U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on India for buying Russian oil.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a close ally of Mr. Trump, called the summit “performative” and accused China and India of being “bad actors” for fueling Russia’s war.
At the parade this week, Xi is not only asserting China as a reliable and stable partner, but also showing off his country’s burgeoning alliances, influence and its military might and power. It is a message that many will see as being aimed squarely, if not entirely, at China’s rival across the Pacific.
contributed to this report.
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Iran has “no choice but to become stronger,” the country’s army chief said Wednesday as the Iranian armed forces continue to gird themselves for more conflict.
The warning by Iranian Major General Amir Hatami comes in the wake of the 12-day conflict with Israel in June, when Israeli and U.S. forces struck Iranian military and nuclear sites, leaving a trail of casualties and inflaming regional tensions.
Newsweek has contacted Iran’s Foreign Ministry for comment.
With all sides on edge, fears of renewed confrontation are mounting, with Hatami’s remarks underscoring a fresh drive to strengthen Iran’s military capabilities amid a volatile and uncertain geopolitical landscape.
Iran faces growing scrutiny over its nuclear program. Britain, France and Germany—known as the E3—are considering triggering the “snapback” mechanism of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 by the end of August, which would automatically reinstate pre-2015 sanctions if Tehran fails to comply with inspection requirements.
With the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) set to expire on October 18, the stakes are high, carrying potential global consequences for non-proliferation and international diplomacy.
Speaking at an event on Wednesday, Hatami stressed the need to build up the military further, declaring: “We need a powerful army to protect our nation. A strong army is one whose every component carries out its missions and duties correctly.”
He noted that Iran’s strategic position had historically made it a target for external aggression, citing past invasions and conflicts. “This mission is important for every country, but in Iran, due to our strategic and geopolitical position, it is even more significant and exceptional.”
The June hostilities began with Israeli strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites, followed by U.S. airstrikes, prompting Iranian missile retaliation on strategic targets, including the Al-Udeid Air Base used by the U.S. military in Qatar.
The nonprofit group Human Rights Activists in Iran and the Iranian Health Ministry reported that the conflict killed between 935 and 1,190 Iranians, including 38 children and 132 women, and injured over 4,000.
Iranian missile attacks killed 29 Israelis, including one off-duty soldier, and left more than 3,200 injured, according to the Times of Israel.
Meanwhile, rumors circulating on X and other social media sites included reports that the U.S. had redeployed a THAAD missile defense system from the United Arab Emirates to Israel.
The claims, which Newsweek could not independently verify, highlighted a Bloomberg report this month that said the Pentagon plans to spend $3.5 billion to replace interceptor missiles used during the 12-day war, when Israel’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling systems were heavily engaged against waves of short- and medium-range missiles fired by Iran.
The U.S. Defense Department has yet to disclose any THAAD transfer but typically does not comment on operational movements. The chatter, however, speaks to the strain on Israel and growing concern in the region over the potential for renewed hostilities.
JUST IN: US has relocated a THAAD missile defense system from the UAE to Israel as tensions with Iran grow.
Pentagon requests $3.5B to replenish interceptors used in the 12-Day War. pic.twitter.com/PM2MZVjx5s
— Defence Index (@Defence_Index) August 23, 2025
Iran Army Commander Major General Amir Hatami said in a public address on Wednesday: “We need a powerful army to protect our nation. A strong army is one whose every component carries out its missions and duties correctly.”
Former Israeli intelligence officer Jacques Neriah told Tel Aviv radio station 103FM on Sunday: “There is a sense that a war is coming, that Iranian revenge is in the works. The Iranians will not be able to live with this humiliation for long.”
Iran’s army plans to continue to strengthen its capabilities and modernize medical and combat readiness programs. Commanders have pledged ongoing support for military healthcare and training, ensuring the armed forces remain prepared for future challenges.
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A SIBERIAN city was almost completely wiped off the map after enduring years of brutality when a mine explosion forced its residents to abandon it.
The ruins of Kadykchan now haunt the landscape of Russia’s Far East – and has eerily been frozen in time since the Cold War.
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The dystopian coal-mining town has been completely deserted for decades since its last bus load of residents shipped out.
Chilling footage reveals blackened and crumbling Soviet-era concrete apartment blocks, smashed up classrooms and rusting playgrounds overrun by nature.
Old-fashioned road signs are pictured, indicating the Kadykchan coal mine on the Kolyma highway.
Other images show books laying scattered around the desolate buildings, and windows punched out of buildings.
The remote and abandoned city is found deep into Magadan province, an area also known as “Kolyma” – a name that used to strike fear in the hearts of Russians.
It is only reachable along thousands of miles of a highway, referred to as the “Road of Bones” due to the amount of people that were worked to death or executed in labour camps.
The Soviet-era despot opened up the region in the 1930s in order to extract minerals, metals and gold from its uninhabited lands using forced labour.
Opened by communist Stalin, the dictator looked to access its mineral, metal and gold deposits in order to support the ongoing industrialisation of the USSR.
But the quickest way to exploit the land’s materials was to use forced labour – and it came at a cost.
Throughout the 30s and into World War 2, over a million prisoners suffered in the horrible conditions and -50C temperatures of Kolyma.
An unbelievable 200,000 people horrifically died.
After the war, two coal mines were opened in Kadykchan and prisoners were no longer cruelly kept.
Instead, civilians came under the impression they were to receive a good salary and a flat to live.
As the Cold War started and began to drag on, the city truly flourished in the 1970s, transforming into a place for young people to live and work, with music festivals put on and clubs opening.
But in 1989, the Soviet Union collapsed and the worker’s salary’s were no longer guaranteed.
The coal-mining city fell into depression, one of the mines closed and the future looked bleak.
A past resident, Tatiana Shchepalkin, told the BBC: “Salaries weren’t being paid and people couldn’t even buy basic things like food.
“Imagine your husband comes home from the mine and you’ve got nothing to give him to eat. The children are hungry.”
It didn’t seem like it could get any worse, until tragedy struck on November, 25, 1996.
A methane explosion ripped through the mine during a busy morning shift and six men were killed.
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The last mine was closed for good and Kadykchan no longer had a reason to exist. The city was finished.
“Things were terrible…Things were so desperate people were shooting dogs for food,” Tatiana remembered.
Residents quickly began packing up their lives and getting out.
Soon the city had completely emptied. In turn, the local council moved in and torched most of the buildings.
There Kadykchan remains – blackened, crumbling and surrendering to nature.
A man who spent his entire life in the remote, freezing city watched the smoke burn as he left.
“Your soul refuses to believe it,” Vladimir Voskresensky told the BBC.
“But that’s how it is.”
Now the only people to walk amongst the rubble are intrepid explorers gripped by its dark history.
Elsewhere in Russia, in the shadow of the Ural mountains is a rusting, eerie site of a graveyard of trains built in preparation for World War 3.
The steel skeletons of dozens of steam locomotives betray a time when the spectre of the mushroom cloud loomed dangerously near.
During the Soviet era it served as a nuclear war base – ready and waiting to whisk Russians to safety if all other transportation failed or was destroyed.
Time progressed, the Iron Curtain lifted, diesel trains took over and the threat of nuclear war waned – leaving a cemetery on rusty tracks.
THE Cold War was a state of geopolitical tension between powers and put the world on the brink of nuclear disaster.
It occurred between the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its satellite states) and powers in the Western Bloc (the United States, its NATO allies and others) – following on from World War II.
A timeframe of the tense war acknowledged by historians ranges from 1947 and either 1989 or 1991.
Following the surrender of Nazi Germany in May 1945, the uneasy wartime alliance between the United States and Great Britain on the one hand and the Soviet Union on the other began to unravel.
By 1948 the Soviets had installed left-wing governments in the countries of eastern Europe that had been liberated by the Red Army.
The Americans and the British feared the permanent Soviet domination of eastern Europe and the threat of Soviet-influenced communist parties coming to power in the democracies of western Europe.
The Soviets, on the other hand, were determined to maintain control of eastern Europe in order to safeguard against any possible renewed threat from Germany, and they were intent on spreading communism worldwide, largely for ideological reasons.
The Cold War had solidified by 1947, when US aid provided under the Marshall Plan to Western Europe had brought those countries under American influence and the Soviets had installed openly communist regimes in Eastern Europe.
The Cold War reached its peak between 1948 and 1953.
Throughout the Cold War the United States and the Soviet Union avoided direct military confrontation in Europe and engaged in actual combat operations only to keep allies from defecting to the other side or to overthrow them after they had done so.
The Cold War began to break down in the late 1980s during the administration of Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev.
He dismantled the totalitarian aspects of the Soviet system and began efforts to democratise the Soviet political system.
When communist regimes in the Soviet-bloc countries of Eastern Europe collapsed in 1989–90, Gorbachev acquiesced in their fall.
In late 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed and 15 newly independent nations were born from its corpse, including a Russia with a democratically elected, anti-communist leader.
The Cold War had come to an end.
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Annabel Bate
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RUSSIA has deployed war wolves on the Ukraine front line — because the beasts react early to kamikaze drone sounds.
Troops say the howling animals have a good sense of smell, are sociable and active, and can warn of danger in advance.
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Two tamed wolves have been sent to serve with Vladimir Putin’s soldiers and more will follow if the experiment is a success.
A Russian news agency reported: “The predators can hear the approach of drones and warn of danger in advance.
“They will help Russian soldiers carry out combat missions in the [war] zone.”
The two females were rescued from Siberian region Khakassia and raised by wolf-tamer Aleksandr Konchakov.
In a video, he can be seen feeding ice cream to one of the wolves, called Vysota.
He said: “The puppies were simply brought to me by hunters without a mother.
“They have excellent intuition and are smart.”
Moscow State Circus chief Edgard Zapashny said: “I hope these two female wolves, who will now be with our fighters, will not be harmed, and that the men will surround them with care and ensure their safety.
“In turn, they will save the lives of our soldiers.”
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Nick Parker
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ANDOVER — Massachusetts Peace Action and Merrimack Valley People for Peace held a peace protest Thursday outside defense contractor Raytheon’s plant, 362 Lowell St.
The two groups were stationed outside the plant’s front gate as a statement against nuclear weapons and Raytheon’s involvement in developing weapons for the U.S. military.
Planned protests mark the International Days of Action Against Nuclear Weapons.
Another protest is set from noon to 1 p.m. Sunday in Shawsheen Square at the intersection of Routes 28 and 133.
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By Angelina Berube | aberube@eagletribune.com
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Seoul, South Korea — North Korea offered a rare glimpse into a secretive facility to produce weapons-grade uranium as state media reported Friday that leader Kim Jong Un visited the area and called for stronger efforts to “exponentially” increase its number of nuclear weapons.
It’s unclear whether the site is at North Korea’s main Yongbyon nuclear complex, but it’s the North’s first disclosure of a uranium-enrichment facility since it showed one at Yongbyon to visiting American scholars in 2010. While the latest unveiling is likely an attempt to apply more pressure on the U.S. and its allies, the images released by North Korean media of the area could provide outsiders with a valuable source of information for estimating the amount of nuclear ingredients North Korea has produced.
During a visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute and the facility producing weapons-grade nuclear materials, Kim expressed “great satisfaction repeatedly over the wonderful technical force of the nuclear power field” held by North Korea, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
KCNA said Kim went around the control room of the uranium enrichment facility and a construction site that would expand its capacity for producing nuclear weapons. North Korean state media photos showed Kim being briefed by scientists while walking along long lines of centrifuges. KCNA didn’t say when Kim visited the facilities or where they are located.
Kim Jae-Hwan / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images
KCNA said Kim stressed the need to further augment the number of centrifuges to “exponentially increase the nuclear weapons for self-defense,” a goal he has repeatedly stated in recent years. It said Kim ordered officials to push forward the introduction of a new type of centrifuge.
Kim said North Korea needs greater defense and preemptive attack capabilities because “anti-(North Korea) nuclear threats perpetrated by the U.S. imperialists-led vassal forces have become more undisguised and crossed the red line,” KCNA said.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry strongly condemned North Korea’s push to boost its nuclear capability. A ministry statement said North Korea’s “illegal” pursuit of nuclear weapons in defiance of U.N. prohibitions is a serious threat to international peace. It said North Korea must realize it cannot win anything with its nuclear program.
North Korea first showed a uranium enrichment site in Yongbyon to the outside world in November 2010, when it allowed a visiting delegation of Stanford University scholars led by nuclear physicist Siegfried Hecker to tour its centrifuges. North Korean officials then reportedly told Hecker that 2,000 centrifuges were installed and running at Yongbyon.
Satellite images in recent years have indicated North Korea was expanding a uranium enrichment plant at Yongbyon. Nuclear weapons can be built using either highly enriched uranium or plutonium, and North Korea has facilities to produce both at Yongbyon. Some U.S. and South Korean experts believe North Korea is covertly running at least one other uranium-enrichment plant.
It’s not clear exactly how much weapons-grade plutonium and highly enriched uranium have been produced at Yongbyon and elsewhere. In 2018, a top South Korean official told parliament that North Korea was estimated to have already manufactured 20-60 nuclear weapons, but some experts say the North likely has more than 100. Estimates of how many nuclear bombs North Korea can add every year vary, ranging from six to as many as 18.
“For analysts outside the country, the released images will provide a valuable source of information for rectifying our assumptions about how much material North Korea may have amassed to date,” said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“Overall, we should not assume that North Korea will be as constrained as it once was by fissile material limitations. This is especially true for highly enriched uranium, where North Korea is significantly less constrained in its ability to scale up than it is with plutonium,” Panda said.
In 2018, Hecker and Stanford University scholars estimated North Korea’s highly enriched uranium inventory was 250 to 500 kilograms (550 to 1,100 pounds), sufficient for 25 to 30 nuclear devices.
The North Korean photos released Friday showed about 1,000 centrifuges. When operated year-round, they would be able to produce around 20 to 25 kilograms (44 to 55 pounds) of highly enriched uranium, which would be enough to create a single bomb, according to Yang Uk, a security expert at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies.
The new-type centrifuge Kim wants to introduce is likely an advanced carbon fiber-based one that could allow North Korea to produce five to 10 times more highly enriched uranium than its existing ones, said Lee Choon Geun, an honorary research fellow at South Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute.
Since 2022, North Korea has sharply ramped up its weapons testing activities to expand and modernize its arsenal of nuclear missiles targeting the U.S. and South Korea. Analysts say North Korea could conduct a nuclear test explosion or long-range missile test ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November with the intent of influencing the outcome and increasing its leverage in future dealings with the Americans.
“Overall, the message they are trying to send is that their nuclear capability is not just an empty threat, but that they are continuing to produce (bomb fuel),” Yang said. “And who are they speaking to? It could obviously be South Korea but also certainly the U.S.”
Kim’s recent nuclear drive comes as North Korea is deepening its military cooperation with Russia. The U.S. and South Korea have accused North Korea of supplying badly needed conventional arms to support Russia’s war in Ukraine in return for military and economic aid.
On Friday, a Russian delegation led by the country’s Security Council secretary, Sergei Shoigu, traveled to North Korea and met Kim for talks on bilateral and international issues, Russian media reported. In July 2023, Shoigu, then defense minister, visited North Korea and met Kim.
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SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea offered a rare glimpse into a secretive facility to produce weapons-grade uranium as state media reported Friday that leader Kim Jong Un visited the area and called for stronger efforts to “exponentially” increase its number of nuclear weapons.
It’s unclear whether the site is at North Korea’s main Yongbyon nuclear complex, but it’s the North’s first disclosure of a uranium-enrichment facility since it showed one at Yongbyon to visiting American scholars in 2010. While the latest unveiling is likely an attempt to apply more pressure on the U.S. and its allies, the images released by North Korean media of the area could provide outsiders with a valuable source of information for estimating the amount of nuclear ingredients that North Korea has produced.
During a visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute and the facility producing weapons-grade nuclear materials, Kim expressed “great satisfaction repeatedly over the wonderful technical force of the nuclear power field” held by North Korea, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
KCNA said Kim went around the control room of the uranium enrichment facility and a construction site that would expand its capacity for producing nuclear weapons. North Korean state media photos showed Kim being briefed by scientists while walking along long lines of centrifuges. KCNA didn’t say when Kim visited the facilities or where they are located.
KCNA said Kim stressed the need to further augment the number of centrifuges to “exponentially increase the nuclear weapons for self-defense,” a goal he has repeatedly stated in recent years. It said Kim ordered officials to push forward the introduction of a new type of centrifuge.
Kim said North Korea needs greater defense and preemptive attack capabilities because “anti-(North Korea) nuclear threats perpetrated by the U.S. imperialists-led vassal forces have become more undisguised and crossed the red line,” KCNA said.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry strongly condemned North Korea’s push to boost its nuclear capability. A ministry statement said North Korea’s “illegal” pursuit of nuclear weapons in defiance of U.N. prohibitions is a serious threat to international peace. It said North Korea must realize it cannot win anything with its nuclear program.
North Korea first showed a uranium enrichment site in Yongbyon to the outside world in November 2010, when it allowed a visiting delegation of Stanford University scholars led by nuclear physicist Siegfried Hecker to tour its centrifuges. North Korean officials then reportedly told Hecker that 2,000 centrifuges were installed and running at Yongbyon.
Satellite images in recent years have indicated North Korea was expanding a uranium enrichment plant at Yongbyon. Nuclear weapons can be built using either highly enriched uranium or plutonium, and North Korea has facilities to produce both at Yongbyon. Some U.S. and South Korean experts believe North Korea is covertly running at least one other uranium-enrichment plant.
It’s not clear exactly how much weapons-grade plutonium and highly enriched uranium have been produced at Yongbyon and elsewhere. In 2018, a top South Korean official told parliament that North Korea was estimated to have already manufactured 20-60 nuclear weapons, but some experts say the North likely has more than 100. Estimates of how many nuclear bombs North Korea can add every year vary, ranging from six to as many as 18.
“For analysts outside the country, the released images will provide a valuable source of information for rectifying our assumptions about how much material North Korea may have amassed to date,” said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“Overall, we should not assume that North Korea will be as constrained as it once was by fissile material limitations. This is especially true for highly enriched uranium, where North Korea is significantly less constrained in its ability to scale up than it is with plutonium,” Panda said.
In 2018, Hecker and Stanford University scholars estimated North Korea’s highly enriched uranium inventory was 250 to 500 kilograms (550 to 1,100 pounds), sufficient for 25 to 30 nuclear devices.
The North Korean photos released Friday showed about 1,000 centrifuges. When operated year-round, they would be able to produce around 20 to 25 kilograms (44 to 55 pounds) of highly enriched uranium, which would be enough to create a single bomb, according to Yang Uk, a security expert at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies.
The new-type centrifuge Kim wants to introduce is likely an advanced carbon fiber-based one that could allow North Korea to produce five to 10 times more highly enriched uranium than its existing ones, said Lee Choon Geun, an honorary research fellow at South Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute.
Since 2022, North Korea has sharply ramped up its weapons testing activities to expand and modernize its arsenal of nuclear missiles targeting the U.S. and South Korea. Analysts say North Korea could conduct a nuclear test explosion or long-range missile test ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November with the intent of influencing the outcome and increasing its leverage in future dealings with the Americans.
“Overall, the message they are trying to send is that their nuclear capability is not just an empty threat, but that they are continuing to produce (bomb fuel),” Yang said. “And who are they speaking to? It could obviously be South Korea but also certainly the U.S.”
Kim’s recent nuclear drive comes as North Korea is deepening its military cooperation with Russia. The U.S. and South Korea have accused North Korea of supplying badly needed conventional arms to support Russia’s war in Ukraine in return for military and economic aid.
On Friday, a Russian delegation led by the country’s Security Council secretary, Sergei Shoigu, traveled to North Korea and met Kim for talks on bilateral and international issues, Russian media reported. In July 2023, Shoigu, then defense minister, visited North Korea and met Kim.
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Associated Press writer Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.
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Follow AP’s Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
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People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on Sept. 12, 2024. North Korea fired multiple short range ballistic missiles into waters east of the Korean peninsula on September 12, Seoul’s military reported, days after the nuclear-armed North marked a state anniversary.
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images
After North Korea fired several ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday that he “strongly condemns” the move, adding that Tokyo has already “lodged a protest” with the Hermit Kingdom.
“So far we have not confirmed any reports of any damages. Needless to say, the launch of ballistic missiles by North Korea is a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions,” Kishida said.
“We will continue to do our utmost to gather information and monitor the situation, and we will work closely through the Japan-U.S., as well as the Japan-US-South Korea alliances.”
North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast towards the Sea of Japan Thursday morning local time, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Japan said the missiles “are believed to have fallen outside” of Japan’s exclusive economic zone, an area of the sea in which the coastal state claims the rights to conduct economic activity.
The missiles were launched from Pyongyang, and flew about 360 km, 224 miles, before landing in the East Sea, South Korea said in a statement.
This launch came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that the country will enforce a policy to boost its nuclear capabilities “exponentially,” according to the Korean Central News Agency, the state news agency of North Korea.
In a statement, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command also condemned the launch, calling on North Korea to “refrain from further unlawful and destabilizing acts.”
“While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, or territory, or to our allies, we continue to monitor the situation. The U.S. commitments to the defense of the ROK and Japan remain ironclad,” the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command added.
This was the first ballistic missile launch by North Korea in two months, local news reported. In early July, North Korea launched two ballistic missiles, one of which failed and possibly fell inland, according to South Korea’s military.
In recent years, North Korea has been ramping up their weapons testing efforts to combat what it calls a deepening U.S. military threat.
Kim said in a speech on Monday that his nation needs a tough military presence to counter “the various threats posed by the United States and its followers.”
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CIA director Bill Burns has branded Vladimir Putin cocky and smug over the Ukraine war.
The US spy chief also said the West could not afford to be intimidated by Russia’s “sabre rattling and bullying”.
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His comments appear to support calls to use long-range western weapons against targets in Russia.
On stage in London with MI6 boss Sir Richard Moore, Mr Burns said: “Putin’s whole narrative right now is a very cocky, very smug one.
“It is, ‘Time is on my side, it’s only a matter of time before the Ukrainians, and their supporters in the West are ground down’.”
Mr Burns revealed in autumn 2022 there was a “genuine risk” that Putin would drop a nuclear bomb.
He said President Biden sent him to warn Russian counterpart Sergey Naryshkin of the consequences.
The US also lobbied China to rein in Putin.
He said Ukraine’s Kursk incursion had “brought the war home to ordinary Russians”.
A Gaza peace plan will be put to Israel and Hamas in days, Mr Burns also revealed.
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Jerome Starkey
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LOS ALAMOS, N.M. — It was the summer of 1945 when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Japan, killing thousands of people as waves of destructive energy obliterated two cites. It was a decisive move that helped bring about the end of World War II, but survivors and the generations that followed were left to grapple with sickness from radiation exposure.
At the time, U.S. President Harry Truman called it “the greatest scientific gamble in history,” saying the rain of ruin from the air would usher in a new concept of force and power. What he didn’t mention was that the federal government had already tested this new force on U.S. soil.
Just weeks earlier in southern New Mexico, the early morning sky erupted with an incredible flash of light. Windows rattled hundreds of miles away and a trail of fallout stretched to the East Coast.
Ash from the Trinity Test rained down for days. Children played in it, thinking it was snow. It covered fresh laundry that was hanging out to dry. It contaminated crops, singed livestock and found its way into cisterns used for drinking water.
The story of New Mexico’s downwinders — the survivors of the world’s first atomic blast and those who helped mine the uranium needed for the nation’s arsenal — is little known. But that’s changing as the documentary “First We Bombed New Mexico” racks up awards from film festivals across the United States.
It’s now screening in the northern New Mexico community of Los Alamos as part of the Oppenheimer Film Festival. It marks a rare chance for the once secret city that has long celebrated the scientific discoveries of J. Robert Oppenheimer — the father of the atomic bomb — to contemplate another more painful piece of the nation’s nuclear legacy.
The film, directed and produced by Lois Lipman, highlights the displacement of Hispanic ranching families when the Manhattan Project took over the Pajarito Plateau in the early 1940s, the lives forever altered in the Tularosa Basin where the bomb was detonated and the Native American miners who were never warned about the health risks of working in the uranium industry.
Their heart-wrenching stories woven together with the testimony of professors and doctors spurred tears in Los Alamos, as they have in Austin, Texas, Annapolis, Maryland, and every other city where the film has been screened.
Andi Kron, a long-time Los Alamos resident, was in awe of the cinematography but also horrified as she learned more.
“Just unbelievable,” she said, noting that even people who have been involved in studying different aspects of the Trinity Test decades later remain unaware of the downwinders’ plight.
Lipman and others hope to distribute the documentary more widely as part of an awareness campaign as downwinders push for the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to be reauthorized and expanded to include more people who have been exposed by nuclear weapons work carried out by the federal government.
Over the past 10 years, Lipman has followed Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium co-founder Tina Cordova as she has appeared before Congress, held countless town halls and shared meals and prayers with community members.
Lipman expressed her frustrations during the premiere in Los Alamos, noting that despite testimony about the injustices that followed the Trinity Test, the federal government has yet to acknowledge its failures in recognizing the damage that was done nearly 80 years ago.
As the film notes, there were about a half-million people — mostly Hispanics and Native Americans — living within a 150-mile (241.4-kilometer) radius of the blast. The area was neither remote nor unpopulated, despite government claims that no lived there and no one was harmed.
In the film, Cordova — a cancer survivor herself — tells community members that they will not be martyrs anymore. Her family is among many from Tularosa and Carrizozo who have had mothers, fathers, siblings and children die from cancer.
“They counted on us to be unsophisticated, uneducated and unable to speak up for ourselves. We’re not those people any more,” Cordova said. “I’m not that person. You’re not those people.”
The U.S. Senate passed a bill earlier this year that would finally recognize downwinders in New Mexico and in several other states where nuclear defense work has resulted in contamination and exposure. However, the bipartisan measure stalled in the U.S. House over concerns by some Republican lawmakers about cost.
Cordova and others turned out Wednesday in Las Cruces to demonstrate as U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson visited New Mexico to campaign for Republican congressional candidate Yvette Herrell. The downwinders have vowed to make it a campaign issue in the must-win district as well as in the dozens of other Republican districts around the U.S. that would benefit from an expansion of RECA.
At the film festival, Cordova told the audience that people for too long have been living separate lives, a poignant statement particularly for Los Alamos where science can sometimes be compartmentalized as experts work on solving specific aspects of bigger problems.
“There are no boundaries. We are not separate people. We all live in this state together and I would like to think that because of that we consider each other to be neighbors, friends, we’re relatives with some of you,” she said, thanking them for being there to hear another side of the story.
“We should be standing together for what is right,” she said, prompting applause.
The audience included workers from Los Alamos National Laboratory, county officials and a state senator.
Bernice Gutierrez was born in Carrizozo several days before the bomb was detonated. She had no words to describe how important she believes it is for the people in Los Alamos to learn about the downwinders.
“I think a lot of people were surprised,” she said after the first screening. “They don’t know the history.”
The Trinity Site was on a short list for possible locations for testing the bomb. The others included two sites in California, one in Texas and another in Colorado. The flat, arid nature of the White Sands Missile Range won out, with scientists initially thinking that predictable winds would limit the spread of radiation.
That ended up not being the case as erratic weather often accompanies New Mexico’s summer rainy season. Aside from shifting winds, rain the night after meant fresh fallout likely found its way into the rainwater that was captured by residents’ cisterns, according to a 2010 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC also noted that another path of exposure involved dairy cows and goats, which residents depended on for sustenance.
New modeling used by a team of researchers led by Princeton University showed in 2023 that nuclear explosions carried out in New Mexico and Nevada between 1945 and 1962 led to widespread radioactive contamination. The team reported that the world’s first atomic detonation made a significant contribution to exposure in New Mexico and eventually reached 46 states, as well as Canada and Mexico.
Cordova said the federal government didn’t warn residents before or after the detonation and continued for decades to minimize it because “we didn’t matter, we were expendable.”
“There’s no excuse for it,” she said.
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INCREDIBLE footage illustrates how Ukraine has captured a huge slice of Russian territory in a week-long rapid blitz.
It’s taken Kyiv’s troops just several days to claim 400 square miles of enemy soil as Vlad grapples with being the first Russian leader to surrender home turf since the Second World War.
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The animation shows Ukraine forces breaking over the border into Russia’s Kursk region in the early hours of August 6 in a surprise move.
The advance then spills into the rival country in multiple directions, with troops speeding straight ahead in a sharp incision as others take wider territory to the northwest and southeast.
Ukraine’s territory takeover then broadens out in all directions, leading to the huge 400,000 square mile coup in only seven days, according to the country’s top commander.
Thousands of troops have piled in with beefed up convoys including tanks and aircraft.
Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi claimed Ukraine now controlled the massive chunk of Russian territory as it continued to “conduct an offensive operation in the Kursk region”.
He said: “The troops are fulfilling their tasks. Fighting continues along the entire front line. The situation is under our control.”
President Volodomyr Zelensky on Monday night warned adversary Vladimir Putin that war was “coming home” to Russia.
He said: “Russia brought war to others, now it’s coming home.
“Ukraine has always wanted only peace, and we will certainly ensure peace.”
Tens of thousands of Kursk citizens were forced to evacuate last week with locals in the neighbouring Belgorod region now also given orders to leave.
As many as 130,000 Russians are now displaced.
Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov warned the entire region was under missile alert.
He told residents: “Go down to the basement and stay there until you receive the all-clear”.
The warring nations traded air attacks overnight, with 14 Ukraine drones launched into the Kursk, Belgorod and Voronezh regions taken out by air defence, according to Russian media.
Kremlin forces fired 38 attack drones and two ballistic missiles into Ukraine, sending the entire country on air-raid alert as fighting intensifies.
On the ground, Zelensky’s men tried to push further into Vlad’s territory.
The Kursk town of Sudzha is expected to be hotly fought over given the flow of Russian gas that runs through it.
As much as half of Russian natural gas sent into Europe travelled through Sudzha in 2023, making up five per cent of EU consumption.
Russian war bloggers and Ukrainian telegram channels claimed it was under Kyiv’s control, according to Reuters, although those assertions are yet to be verified.
Putin’s illegal invasion in 2022 has led to the Kremlin currently controlling nearly a fifth of Ukrainian territory after two-and-a-half years of fighting.
Ukraine’s surprise push into Russia has been widely seen as an attempt to divert fighting away from its own turf.
By Ellie Doughty
UKRAINE’S daring invasion into Russia has been launched for two key reasons – with one aimed at Putin and one at the West.
A high-ranking Ukrainian official told AFP that the idea behind the attack is to stretch Putin’s armies as much as possible, spreading them thinly over different areas.
The security brass told AFP on condition of anonymity that “the aim is to stretch the positions of the enemy, to inflict maximum losses and to destabilise the situation in Russia as they are unable to protect their own border”.
As well as acting as a huge morale-boosting win for Ukraine – the invasion also has a second key purpose in Kyiv’s masterplan.
It is a message to allies in the West who have closely monitored Putin’s war.
Military analyst Franz-Stefan Gady told The Washington Post: “This is definitely one consideration that it is really a signal to the West and to Ukrainian allies and partners that Ukraine is still capable of launching offensive operations.
“That Ukraine is capable of conducting fairly complex operations into enemy territory.”
Vlad on the other hand claims Ukraine are simply trying to gain leverage for peace talk negotiations.
Vlad has speculated the surge was driven “with the help of Western masters” to gain leverage at the negotiating table for potential peace talks.
Although Kremlin chiefs and state media are insisting Ukraine is losing masses of troops in what will be a botched invasion, reports from the ground aren’t as glowing as Moscow might hope.
Speculation is swirling that Russian troops are even looting their own citizens’ evacuated homes.
Footage posted to X purports to show soldiers searching through a Kursk home before complaining that it had already been ransacked.
Retired general Andrei Gurulev, a member of Putin’s United Russia party, hit out at the military for failing to stave off Ukraine’s offensive, The Times reported.
He said: “Regrettably, the group of forces protecting the border didn’t have its own intelligence assets.
“No one likes to see the truth in reports, everybody just wants to hear that all is good.”
According to state news agency RIA, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service called Zelensky’s attacking move “insane”.
They claim the Ukrainian chief has sparked a threat of escalation that could expand beyond the two nations’ conflict.
US senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal meanwhile jetted into Kyiv to meet with Zelensky and praised the “bold and brilliant” move.
Graham said: “Taking this war to Putin and making him understand and pay a price is the right thing
“So two-and-a-half years later you’re still standing and you’re in Russia. Remind me not to invade Ukraine.
“I’m so proud of you, your people, your military, your leadership, your country.”
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Owen Leonard
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NORTH Korean tyrant Kim Jong-un is grooming his young daughter for the top job after getting morbidly fat again, South Korean spies say.
It’s believed Kim, 40, is suffering from high-blood pressure and diabetes, weighing a whopping 140kg – or 22st – despite standing at 170cm.
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Now he is said to be training his daughter up to take the reins as Supreme Leader – even though she is said to be just 11 years old.
Kim, a boozy operator also known for his smoking, comes from a bloodline beleaguered by heart issues.
He took over from his father Kim Jong-il in 2011 when he died from a huge heart attack.
Prior to that, Kim Il-sung suffered a sudden heart attack in 1994.
Current-day Kim appeared to have lost a heap of weight around 2021, but South Korea’s chief spy agency believes he’s put it all back on.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) revealed to South Korean politicians that he is sending the scales off the charts at 140kg and therefore is at high risk of heart disease.
The NIS says Kim’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, could be next in line for the thrown.
The secretive North Korea hasn’t divulged her official age but the NIS believes she is about 11.
Although she is yet to be officially designated his successor, she has set tongues wagging since late 2022, attending numerous events alongside her infamous father.
According to local reports, NIS secretary Park Sun-won said: “Kim Ju-ae is hinted at as a strong successor and is undergoing successor training.”
He added: “How North Korea refers to Kim Ju-ae and what activities she appears in are very significant.
Intelligence Committee secretary Lee Seong-won said: “Kim Jong-un is extremely obese, weighing 140kg and in his 40s with a body mass index that greatly exceeds the normal level … putting him at high risk for heart disease.”
“We have determined that he has been showing symptoms of high blood pressure and diabetes since his early 30s.
“If he does not improve his current health, there is a possibility that he may develop cardiovascular disease, which is a family history, so we are closely monitoring him.”
Others speculated his heavy drinking and smoking were behind the weight gain.
Kim decided to keep his 40th birthday celebrations low-key amid rumours of his health battle in January.
But the Supreme Leader has recently been snapped by state media out in public as North Korea deals with a flood crisis.
Record-breaking rain lashed the country, leaving thousands stranded and prompting Kim to declare an emergency.
Pictures showed the leader travelling through flooding in a car, with his puffy face peering out the window inspecting damage.
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Owen Leonard
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DRAMATIC footage shows Vladimir Putin’s £40million supersonic fighter bomber crash on the ground in the latest humiliation blow.
The charred chassis of SU-34 can be seen burning in Russia‘s Volgograd region with plumes of smoke rising to the sky.
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The crew of two managed to eject from the warplane before the military jet hit the ground and exploded.
The video from the scene shows the smouldering wreckage lying in the Serafimovichsky district of Volgograd region.
It was unclear if the plane had been on a mission linked to the Ukraine war.
The Russian defence minister confirmed the crash and said it was likely caused by a “technical malfunction” during a training flight.
The defence ministry statement read: “The crew ejected, there is no threat to the lives of the pilots.
“The plane crashed in an uninhabited area. The flight was carried out without ammunition.”
Putin has lost an estimated three dozen Su-34s since he started a war against Ukraine in 2022.
Mad Vlad’s prized Su-34 planes, also designed for precise and brutal bombings, are thought to cost around £40million.
The crash came following a remarkable kamikaze drone strike by Ukraine on the Russian military airbase Olenya, located above the Arctic Circle.
The operation required flying 1,175 miles across heavily fortified areas of Russia to reach the closest border with Ukraine.
Putin had reportedly concealed his Tu-22M3 strategic bombers in the area packed with air defences to avoid being targeted by Ukrainian strikes.
Bombers from Olenya have been deployed to attack Ukraine during the war.
Ukraine also claimed to have attacked the Diagilevo facility in the Ryazan region and the Engels military airfield in the Saratov region today.
The kamikaze drone strike also targeted an oil refinery in Ryazan, according to sources.
All of the locations had reported explosions, but confirmation of damage to Russian warplanes and oil infrastructure is still pending.
The attack comes as yet another embarrassing loss for Putin after his attacks were wiped out one by one by Ukrainian forces.
The warmonger’s attempt to turn tide of the war failed after at least 29 attacks were fended off by President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s army.
Earlier this year, at least six of the despot’s planes were destroyed while eight more were damaged in the overnight blitz on Russian bases.
And in January, two of Putin’s most crucial spy planes worth £290million were shot down as Russia fears Ukraine used a secret NATO “miracle weapon” in the attack.
One of the Russian dictator’s £260million jets disappeared and a £30million bomber jet was set on fire after Ukrainian forces shot them out of the sky above the Azov Sea.
They were blasted out of the air in one of Moscow’s worst days for its air force since Russia’s invasion in 2022.
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Aiya Zhussupova
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UKRAINE set two major Russian oil depots ablaze with kamikaze drones.
Columns of smoke were seen rising into the sky on Friday night as the facilities were hit in Russia’s Krasnodar area.
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Russian regional headquarters said fuel storage tanks had been set alight.
They also said separate drones were shot down in the Black Sea’s Yeysk.
Reports said the Ukrainians had also damaged a communications tower.
Putin boasts two palaces in Krasnodar region – an official residence in Sochi, and a private £1 billion clifftop residence at Gelendzhik likened to the lair of a James Bond villain.
It comes as Kyiv pursues repeated attacks on Russian oil depots, seeking to disrupt Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
Ukraine’s Sumy province came under fire the same night, with a Russian drone supplied by Iran damaging a power station and cutting off electricity and water.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported they shot down 24 of the 27 Shahed-type drones.
Ukraine previously blitzed a Russian airfield in the Krasnodar region.
While dozens of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles were blown up in a valley of death near Vuhledar city, eastern Ukraine last week.
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Dan Coombs
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Seoul, South Korea — Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement Wednesday during a summit in Pyongyang in a bid to expand their economic and military cooperation and cement a united front against Washington.
CBS News senior foreign correspondent Elizabeth Palmer says that while the greeting Kim offered Putin at the airport Tuesday night was warm, the men are fundamentally allies of convenience. The pact they signed Wednesday sees them both pledge to defend the other if attacked, but officials in the U.S. and other Western capitals believe Russia, above all, wants to ensure a steady supply of North Korean weapons for its war in Ukraine — an ominous prospect for both Ukraine and its international backers.
Concern has grown for months over an arms arrangement in which North Korea provides Russia with badly needed munitions in exchange for economic assistance and technology transfers that could enhance the threat posed by Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile program.
GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP/Getty
Russian state media said Putin and Kim spoke face-to-face for about two hours in a meeting that was originally planned for one hour.
Speaking at the start of Wednesday’s talks, Putin thanked Kim for North Korea’s support for his war in Ukraine, part of what he said was a “fight against the imperialist hegemonistic policies of the U.S. and its satellites against the Russian Federation.”
He called the agreement a “new fundamental document (that) will form the basis of our ties for the long term,” hailing ties that he traced back to the Soviet army fighting the Japanese military on the Korean Peninsula in the closing moments of World War II, and Moscow’s support for Pyongyang during the Korean War.
Kim said Moscow and Pyongyang’s “fiery friendship” is now even closer than during Soviet times, and promised “full support and solidarity to the Russian government, army and people in carrying out the special military operation in Ukraine to protect sovereignty, security interests and territorial integrity.”
Kim has used similar language in the past, consistently saying North Korea supports what he describes as a just action to protect Russia’s interests and blaming the crisis on the U.S.-led West’s “hegemonic policy.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what that support might look like, and no details of the agreement were initially made public.
Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Pyongyang that the two leaders exchanged gifts after the talks.
Putin presented Kim with a Russian-made Aurus limo and other gifts, including a tea set and a naval officer’s dagger. It was the second Aurus gifted by Putin to his North Korean counterpart, after Kim apparently took a shine to the vehicle during a meeting between the men in September 2023 in Russia’s Far East — a rare foray by Kim outside of his isolated nation’s borders.
“When the head of the DPRK (North Korea) was at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, he looked at this car, Putin showed it to him personally, and like many people, Kim liked this car,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in February, after the first Aurus was delivered to Kim. “So, this decision was made… North Korea is our neighbor, our close neighbor, and we intend, and will continue, to develop our relations with all neighbors, including North Korea.”
Reuters
Ushakov said that Kim’s presents to Putin on Wednesday included artworks depicting the Russian leader.
North Korea is under heavy U.N. Security Council sanctions over its weapons program, while Russia also faces sanctions by the United States and its Western partners over its aggression in Ukraine.
U.S. and South Korean officials accuse the North of providing Russia with artillery, missiles and other military equipment for use in Ukraine, possibly in return for key military technologies and aid. A South Korean official told CBS News in September 2023, when Kim and Putin last met, that Seoul was concerned the Kim regime could be seeking nuclear-powered submarines and satellite technology from Russia, in addition to cooperation on conventional ammunition and missile technology.
Both Pyongyang and Moscow deny accusations about North Korean weapons transfers, which would violate multiple U.N. Security Council sanctions that Russia previously endorsed.
Along with China, Russia has provided political cover for Kim’s continuing efforts to advance his nuclear arsenal, repeatedly blocking U.S.-led efforts to impose fresh U.N. sanctions on the North over its weapons tests.
In March, a Russian veto at the United Nations ended monitoring of U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear program, prompting Western accusations that Moscow is seeking to avoid scrutiny as it buys weapons from Pyongyang for use in Ukraine. U.S. and South Korean officials have said they are discussing options for a new mechanism for monitoring the North.
South Korean analysts say that Kim will likely seek stronger economic benefits and more advanced military technologies from Russia, although his more sensitive discussions with Putin aren’t likely to be made public.
While Kim’s military nuclear program now includes developmental intercontinental ballistic missiles that can potentially reach the U.S. mainland, he may need outside technology help to meaningfully advance his program further. There are already possible signs that Russia is assisting North Korea with technologies related to space rockets and military reconnaissance satellites, which Kim has described as crucial for monitoring South Korea and enhancing the threat of his nuclear-capable missiles.
GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP/Getty
The North may also seek to increase labor exports to Russia and other illicit activities to gain foreign currency in defiance of U.N. Security Council sanctions, according to a recent report by the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank run by South Korea’s main spy agency. There will likely be talks about expanding cooperation in agriculture, fisheries and mining and further promoting Russian tourism to North Korea, the institute said.
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Putin’s visit to North Korea illustrates how Russia tries, “in desperation, to develop and to strengthen relations with countries that can provide it with what it needs to continue the war of aggression that it started against Ukraine.”
“North Korea is providing significant munitions to Russia … and other weapons for use in Ukraine. Iran has been providing weaponry, including drones, that have been used against civilians and civilian infrastructure,” Blinken told reporters following a meeting with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years, with the pace of both Kim’s weapons tests and combined military exercises involving the United States, South Korea and Japan intensifying in a tit-for-tat cycle.
The Koreas also have engaged in Cold War-style psychological warfare that involved North Korea dropping tons of trash on the South with balloons, and the South broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda with its loudspeakers.
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UKRAINE targeted Russian military strongholds in occupied city Luhansk overnight, sparking huge fires.
Long-range missiles caused blazing infernos at an Aviation school used by tyrant Vladimir Putin‘s forces and an aircraft repair base.
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Dramatic footage showed the city’s outskirts burning after reported long range ATACMS missiles were fired by Kyiv.
Russian sources said the smell of burning was “unbearable” even kilometres away from the blaze at a Russian-held airport.
They claimed Ukraine used cluster warheads in the substantial attack on Vlad’s stolen land.
Impressively it was the third major attack on Luhansk by Zelensky’s forces this month alone.
Putin’s crony in the region, Leonid Pasechnik, was forced to admit: “A fire has broken out as a result of the attack.”
The precise targets appeared to be the pre-war Higher Aviation Navigators School and the Luhansk Aircraft Repair Plant.
The formidable ballistic ATACMS missiles used by Ukraine can reach distances of up to 300 km.
Ukraine also renewed strikes over Moscow last night with drones scanning above the city.
It came after the country’s most impressive drone strike in more than two years of war yesterday.
Kyiv managed to launch a kamikaze drone more than 1,120 miles inside Russia – buzzing Vladimir Putin’s cliff-top £1 billion Black Sea palace.
The incredible feat caused explosions in two nearby villages, just seven and four miles from the heavily guarded palace.
It showed an impressive new milestone by Ukraine – marking the furthest an unmanned attack aircraft has been flown during the war.
The result also showed a serious weakness in Russia’s air defences – in a humiliating result for the tyrant.
Ukraine was also aiming for key Russian military targets in the hit – including a nuclear early warning radar station in Orsk, Orenburg.
Kyiv believes the radar stations are used for military purposes against Ukraine.
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Ellie Doughty
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A MILITARY package worth £150million to boost air and sea defences is being sent to Ukraine.
It will help to protect the country’s battered infrastructure, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps says.
Air defence radars, decoys and electronic warfare systems worth £70million will be sent by the UK and allies.
Meanwhile, £80million for small boats, reconnaissance drones and uncrewed surface vessels is being provided.
Mr Shapps said: “The International Fund for Ukraine is providing vital support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine to meet their urgent capability requirements.
“It includes more air defence systems to protect Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure, as well as maritime capabilities to bolster naval forces.”
The fund for Ukraine has received £900million so far.
The UK is the biggest donor, giving £500million.
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, and Germany are also part of the alliance.
It came as Mr Shapps revealed that China and Russia were colluding over combat equipment.
He said it gave the lie to Beijing’s claim that it was a calming influence on its ally.
He said: “US and British intelligence can reveal that lethal aid is now flowing from China to Russia and into Ukraine.”
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Matt Rayson
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