During his trip to Asia, President Joe Biden will meet leaders of Japan and South Korea to discuss the nuclear program of North Korea

White House informs that US President Joe Biden will meet Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan and South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol during his forth coming trip to Asia. The meeting would be in Cambodia on Sunday, Nov. 13. This is when the US President will attend the ASEAN and the Group of 20 industrialized nations. Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House said - "The three leaders would work to continue enhancing trilateral cooperation throughout the Indo-Pacific, particularly in regard to our joint efforts to address the ongoing threat posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.” Biden to discuss North Korea nuclear threat with Japan, South Korea leaders. In October, North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile. It went soaring over Japan for the first time in five years. There was a warning for residents to take cover. It also prompted Biden to assure the Prime Minister of Japan about the "ironclad" commitment of America to the defense of Japan.

In view of these developments, warplanes of South Korean and the U.S. practiced bombing a target in the Yellow Sea. In addition, fighter jets from the United States and Japan conducted joint drills over the Sea of Japan. Recently, a U.S. official told a media outlet that China and Russia could use their influence with North Korea to ensure that it abandons its testing of nuclear bomb. Biden last visited Asia in May. At the time, administration officials said they were in the final stages of a policy review on North Korea. It was also keen to encourage greater trilateral cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo on that issue. Incidentally, there is a U.N. Security Council ban on North Korea from conducting nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches. There are also sanctions on Pyongyang with the objective of cutting off funding for such programs.

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Ignoring repeated warnings by regional powers, North Korea went ahead with the launch of its long-range rocket which is said to be carrying an Earth observation satellite. However, Washington, Seoul and others treat this as a prohibited test of missile technology.
Therefore, four U.S. F-22 stealth fighters flew low over South Korea in a clear show of force against North Korea. This was the day after South Korea's president had warned of the North's collapse and subsequent standoff over its nuclear and missile ambitions.
This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 17 February 2016.

The high-tech F-22 Raptor planes are capable of sneaking past radar undetected and were seen landing at Osan Air Base near Seoul. The F-22s were escorted by other U.S. and South Korean fighter jets. North Korea could interpret the arrival of the planes flown from a U.S. base in Japan as a threat. This is because it was an apparent display of U.S. air power to show what the United States can do in order to defend its ally South Korea from potential aggression from North Korea.
Incidentally, the F-22 `Raptor' is the most capable air superiority fighter in the world, and is representative of one of many capabilities available for the defense of South Korea. It shows the ironclad commitment of the US to the defense of South Korea. The U.S. military has not disclosed how long the F-22s will be deployed in South Korea.



Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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North Korea supremo Kim Jong-Un defies ban of the UN – fires anti-ship missile

North Korea supremo Kim Jong-Un has defied the ban imposed on it by the UN and has test fired its newly deployed anti-ship rockets which are believed to have a range of 120-Km. This has happened only a few weeks after it had claimed to have tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile in the month of May.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 15 June 2015.

Kim Jong-un witnessed the test-firing of three KN-01 short-range missiles from a site near the city of Wonsan, as indicated by South Korea's defense ministry. The 'highly intelligent' rockets were reportedly fired around 4.30pm and the process lasted 26 minutes.
This news is a reason for alarm because North Korea has been banned by the United Nations Security Council from testing or developing ballistic missiles.
Korean Central News Agency has revealed that the missiles had accurately detected and hit their targets but it was silent on the location where it took place. Neither has it provided any other details or specifications of the rockets.
A fully developed submarine missile capability would take North Korea’s nuclear threat to a new level, but in the opinion of experts, the authenticity of the May test is in doubt since the photos might have been digitally altered.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Barbed wires and phone tapping prevent North Koreans from escaping

People of North Korea would like to defect to neighboring countries like China or South Korea but, are unable to do so because ever since Kim Jong-Un has come to power, the barbed wire fencing has been strengthened and phone lines are being tapped.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 22 May 2015.

In 2009, it was 2,914 defections from North Korea to South Korea – it was the biggest influx since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. However, Kim Jong-Un's first year in power in 2012, the figure of defections had dropped to just 1,502. That works out to a 44% drop on the previous year. And, last year, the number fell further to 1,396.
The main motivation of defection 10-years ago was food, it has now shifted to freedom.
In view of increased risks, people who make arrangements for people to escape, have nearly doubled their charges to about $8,000 (£5,100) per person and, this is beyond the reach of most North Koreans.< (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Embroiled in accusations of human rights violations, North Korea wants tourists

In spite charges of human rights violations in North Korea, many travel firms are hoping that the rumors would not prove to be any obstacle to attract foreign tourists to the country. It seems British tourists are going in for North Korea as a holiday destination.

Towards this end, a tourist agency that specializes in trips to the secretive state has set up a stall at the UK's largest travel trade show – it hopes to lure travelers with packages that including skiing in a resort built on the orders of Swiss-educated dictator Kim Jong-Un.
The travel brochures feature the positives and depict communist propaganda-style drawings of workers toiling happily in the fields. There are no indication that its people live abject poverty amid wholesale human rights abuses. Incidentally, while it gets tourists from South Korea and China, only a few (around 5,000) gave come from outside China to make the trip every year.

As per the extant rules, Westerners must always be accompanied by a travel guide or minder and must remain most of the time in Pyongyang and be confined to the Yanggakdo Hotel which is cut off by a river from districts where ordinary North Koreans live. Moreover, the tourists have to face internet blackout and some of the areas are out of bounds for tourists.