Tests

SEOUL, April 14 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles from a 5,000-ton naval destroyer, state media reported Tuesday, as he called bolstering nuclear deterrence the country’s “most important priority task.”

The North’s Choe Hyon destroyer launched two cruise missiles and three anti-ship missiles at island targets in the Yellow Sea on Sunday, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

The cruise missiles flew for roughly two hours and 12 minutes before striking their targets, KCNA said, while the anti-ship missiles flew for about 33 minutes.

The test was “aimed at checking the launching control line of the warship’s integrated weapon commanding system … as well as confirming the accuracy and the rate of hits of the improved active anti-jamming navigation system,” KCNA reported.

Pyongyang described the cruise missiles as “strategic,” a term it typically uses for systems capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Kim observed the test-firing alongside senior defense officials and naval officers, KCNA said. Images published by state media showed Kim and the officials watching from an unspecified pier.

KCNA quoted Kim as saying the North’s “most important priority task [is] to steadily and unlimitedly bolster up the powerful and reliable nuclear war deterrent.”

“He clarified the important tasks for further strengthening the strategic and tactical attack capability, a key component of the nuclear war deterrent,” KCNA added.

Kim observed a pair of similar test launches last month, involving cruise missiles only.

Sunday’s expanded test may indicate the destroyer is nearing deployment, an official from South Korea’s Unification Ministry told Yonhap News Agency and other local reporters.

“It appears to be a final check of the weapons system if the test took place before the delivery of the Choe Hyon to the Navy,” the official said.

Pyongyang launched the Choe Hyon, its first 5,000-ton destroyer, last April, as Kim called for strengthening the country’s naval capabilities. Photos released by state media show the ship’s missile and radar systems resembling those found on Russian vessels, prompting speculation that Pyongyang received technical assistance from Moscow.

North Korea has deployed troops, artillery and weapons to support Russia’s war in Ukraine and is believed to be receiving financial support and advanced military technology in return.

A second destroyer, the Kang Kon, suffered an accident during its launch ceremony last year that left it listing on its side before it was repaired and relaunched in June.

KCNA said Kim was also briefed on plans for the weapons systems of two more destroyers currently under construction.

South Korean Rep. Yoo Yong-won of the People Power Party said earlier this month that commercial satellite imagery showed North Korea accelerating construction of a new warship at a shipyard in the western port city of Nampho.

“North Korea appears to be accelerating the modernization of its navy on the back of military technology assistance from Russia,” Yoo said.

Kim Jong Un has ordered a third 5,000-ton destroyer to be completed by Oct. 10, the anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.

April 9 (Asia Today) — North Korea’s continued missile provocations, combined with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Pyongyang, are being interpreted as a coordinated signal aimed at asserting control over developments on the Korean Peninsula.

The move comes as global uncertainty rises amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, with analysts saying Pyongyang is attempting to leverage the situation to elevate its strategic presence.

On Wednesday, North Korea’s state media reported that the country conducted a series of weapons tests over three days from April 6 to 8, including electromagnetic weapon systems, carbon-fiber mock warhead dispersal tests, and combat capability verification of mobile short-range air defense systems.

It also said the cluster warhead of its tactical ballistic missile Hwasong-11A (KN-23) demonstrated the capability to devastate a target area of approximately 6.5 to 7 hectares.

The test is widely interpreted as an effort to enhance strike efficiency by equipping the KN-23 with a cluster-type warhead, which disperses hundreds of submunitions to maximize lethality.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea launched an unidentified projectile from the Pyongyang area on April 7, but it failed shortly after launch. The following day, Pyongyang fired short-range ballistic missiles twice from the Wonsan area on the country’s east coast.

Drawing a line against Seoul, reinforcing ‘two hostile states’ framework

Experts say the latest series of actions reflects North Korea’s dual-track strategy – outwardly engaging while simultaneously reinforcing military pressure.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said the tests appear to be part of ongoing missile upgrades tied to the country’s five-year defense development plan announced at the 9th Party Congress.

“At the same time, it is a move to demonstrate control over the Korean Peninsula issue amid heightened global volatility, including the Middle East war,” Yang said.

He added that the actions also signal a clear rejection of what Pyongyang sees as Seoul’s “flexible response” following recent remarks by Kim Yo-jong, and an effort to maintain tensions under its “two hostile states” policy framework.

Im Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said North Korea is pursuing a strategy of reinforcing its political narrative through military means.

“While North Korea appears to be pragmatically acknowledging President Lee Jae-myung’s expression of regret, it is simultaneously advancing its physical strike capabilities,” Im said. “This is about asserting dominance through action and force, not words.”

China probes North Korea as Wang Yi returns after 6 years

At the same time, Wang Yi’s visit – his first to North Korea in more than six years – is drawing close attention.

North Korean state media said the visit will last two days beginning April 9, at the invitation of Pyongyang’s foreign ministry.

Yang said China’s move likely reflects an effort to gauge North Korea’s intentions while also positioning itself to manage potential escalation.

“China is trying to explore North Korea’s stance while taking preemptive steps to keep the situation under control,” he said.

He added that North Korea’s recent missile launches underline its continued hardline posture toward the United States, including its refusal to engage in denuclearization talks and its demand to be recognized as a nuclear-armed state.

As tensions persist, analysts say the combination of North Korea’s military signaling and China’s diplomatic engagement highlights a shifting balance of influence on the Korean Peninsula – one increasingly shaped by force, timing and geopolitical opportunity.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260410010003032

WASHINGTON — Pivotal negotiations in Pakistan this weekend between the United States and Iran could hinge on developments in Lebanon, where ongoing Israeli strikes Thursday risked derailing a wider regional ceasefire.

Tensions only deepened amid reports of limited Iranian drone attacks across the region, and as Arab states warned that the Strait of Hormuz — a vital global shipping route — had only partially reopened despite President Trump’s assurances that Tehran had guaranteed full access.

Yet tests of the ceasefire have not deterred Iranian and American officials from their plans to travel to Pakistan on Saturday for the highest-level talks between the two nations, aimed at a final agreement to end the war, now in its sixth week.

The stakes are high for Iran, which has been pummeled by U.S. attacks, and for Trump, whose pursuit of the war has been domestically unpopular. The plan appeared precarious early Thursday, amid ongoing disagreement over whether the ceasefire included Lebanon.

Iran warned that continued Israeli attacks targeting the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon could jeopardize the two-day-old truce. Hours later, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government would open direct negotiations with Lebanon — but subsequently declared he would not cease strikes there.

His move to negotiate with the Lebanese came the day after President Trump asked Netanyahu to slow operations in Lebanon ahead of the Pakistan talks, a source familiar with the matter told The Times. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, told reporters Thursday that the talks starting would be “contingent” upon hostilities ceasing in Lebanon.

As Israel’s posture on Lebanon injected uncertainty into the situation Thursday, the Strait of Hormuz — which Iran agreed to reopen in the ceasefire deal — remained closed, according to Sultan Al Jaber, a government minister in the United Arab Emirates. Traffic through the strait was below 10% of its usual volume Thursday, with only seven ships passing through in a 24-hour period, Reuters reported.

Trump, however, projected optimism Thursday about the weekend negotiations in Islamabad — even as the U.S. position appeared to weaken.

“I spoke with Bibi and he’s going to low-key it. I just think we have to be sort of a little more low-key,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News. He said he was “very optimistic” that a deal with Iran was in reach.

A White House official said Vice President JD Vance will lead the U.S. delegation, which will also include special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law. They would be the highest-level talks between the United States and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

An Israeli official said the separate talks with Lebanon, to be conducted by the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to Washington, would start next week at the State Department. A State Department official confirmed the agency would host the talks.

Israel is not a direct party to the weekend negotiations in Pakistan between the U.S. and Iran. But “the United States knows our red lines in terms of nuclear disarmament, proxies, ballistic missile production,” the Israeli official said. “We believe we’re on the same page here.”

The Tuesday night ceasefire deal between the United States and Iran came after 39 days of conflict in the region, set off by Trump’s Feb. 28 attack on Iran. The full terms have not been publicly disclosed, and much remains uncertain about the agreement.

The agreement got off to a shaky start Wednesday: The strait remained restricted as the Iranians accused Americans of violating the agreement and it emerged that the U.S. and Israel were at odds with Iran over whether Lebanon was part of the ceasefire.

Trump threatened late Wednesday on his social media website that if Iran did not comply with the ceasefire, “then the ‘Shootin’ Starts,’ bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before.”

The deal’s status became even more fragile as Thursday dawned and Iran said Israeli strikes in Lebanon overnight violated the agreement. European leaders and the prime minister of Pakistan, which is brokering U.S.-Iran talks, warned that the operations could be putting the truce at risk.

“This is a dangerous sign of deception and lack of commitment to potential agreements,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday. “The continuation of these actions will render negotiations meaningless.”

The speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned of “explicit costs” for any moves Iran views as violations of the ceasefire, saying Lebanon was an “inseparable part” of the deal.

Israel and the U.S. have said that Lebanon, where Israel says it is targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, was not part of the ceasefire agreement. Netanyahu said in a Thursday evening statement that he was pursuing negotiations at the request of the Lebanese government.

“There is no ceasefire in Lebanon. We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with full force, and we will not stop until we restore your security,” he said.

Also Thursday, House Republicans rebuffed an attempt by Democrats to vote on restricting Trump’s war powers. Democratic leaders — who have raised concerns about Trump’s Easter Sunday threat to wipe out Iranian civilization and said his statement amounted to threatening war crimes — afterward called on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to bring Congress back to session.

Meanwhile, Trump railed on his social media website against conservative figures who have criticized his approach to the war, including former Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, calling them “stupid people” and proclaiming that the United States “IS NOW THE ‘HOTTEST’ COUNTRY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!”

He also continued to attack NATO members for not living up to his expectations in helping him with the war in Iran. In a post earlier Thursday, the president said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been “very disappointing” and suggested the United States needs to pressure allies in order for them to respond to its needs.

That followed a meeting Wednesday afternoon with NATO Secretary Mark Rutte at the White House, after which Trump asserted online that “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN.”

In an interview with CNN, Rutte said Trump had made his disappointment with NATO allies clear. Rutte said he had emphasized to Trump that a large majority of European nations have given the U.S. some logistical military help, such as allowing American warplanes to land at their bases and fly over their territories.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israel’s surprise barrage of airstrikes on Wednesday killed 303 people and wounded about 1,150 others, in a preliminary toll. It added that the numbers were likely to rise while search efforts for bodies and DNA testing continue.

If direct negotiations with Israel do take place, they would break a long-standing political taboo for Lebanon. Successive governments have dealt with Israeli diplomats only as far as allowing technical discussions with Lebanese military officials via the United Nations.

The prospect of direct negotiations is likely to kick up fierce opposition from Hezbollah and its political ally, the Lebanese Shiite party Amal.

Both parties — which together form the so-called Shiite Duo, are part of a voting bloc in parliament and hold important portfolios in Lebanon’s Cabinet — are already in a war of wills with the Lebanese government, which recently declared the Iranian ambassador-designate persona non grata and ordered his departure.

Amal and Hezbollah officials told the ambassador-designate to remain in Lebanon and exhorted the government to reverse its decision. He remains at the embassy in Beirut.

McDaniel and Wilner reported from Washington and Bulos from Amman, Jordan. Times staff writer Ana Ceballos in Washington contributed to this report.

SEOUL, April 9 (UPI) — North Korea said Thursday that it carried out a series of weapons tests this week, including a tactical ballistic missile with a cluster-bomb warhead as well as electromagnetic and other electronic warfare systems.

The tests, conducted from Monday to Wednesday, were part of efforts to assess the performance and battlefield use of several new weapons systems, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said.

KCNA said that its surface-to-surface Hwasong-11Ka missile was tested with a cluster-bomb payload capable of striking targets over a wide area, claiming it could “reduce to ashes” targets spanning roughly 16 to 17.2 acres.

The Hwasong-11 missile, also known as the KN-23, is a highly maneuverable short-range ballistic missile similar to Russia’s Iskander.

The report came one day after South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected multiple missile launches on Wednesday from the coastal Wonsan area toward the East Sea. The military also reported the launch of an unidentified projectile from the Pyongyang area on Tuesday.

In addition to the missile tests, North Korea said it conducted trials of an electromagnetic weapon system and carbon-fiber bombs, as well as a mobile short-range anti-aircraft missile system.

The tests were overseen by Kim Jong Sik, a senior official involved in the North’s missile development programs.

Kim said the electromagnetic weapon and carbon-fiber bomb are “special assets of strategic nature” that can be combined with various military systems.

Carbon-fiber bombs — also known as graphite bombs— are designed to disable electrical grids by dispersing fine conductive filaments to short-circuit power infrastructure, causing widespread outages without physical destruction.

Electromagnetic weapons, meanwhile, emit high-energy pulses that can disrupt or damage electronic systems, including communications networks, radar and computing infrastructure.

KCNA also said engineers conducted a test to measure the “maximum workload” of a missile engine using low-cost materials.

The reported mix of electronic weapons systems and cost-efficient production methods points to ongoing efforts to modernize and expand the North’s hybrid warfare capabilities.

The tests came after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday expressed regret over unauthorized drone incursions into the North.

His remarks drew a rare response from Pyongyang, as Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of leader Kim Jong Un, described Lee as “frank and broad-minded.”

Seoul’s Unification Ministry called the exchange a positive signal, saying it represented “meaningful progress toward peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula.”

North Korea’s first vice foreign minister, Jang Kum Chol, later rejected that interpretation, calling it a “hope-filled dream reading” and insisting the South remains “the enemy state most hostile to the DPRK.”

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.

A South Korean military official said the allies are continuing to track developments in the North’s weapons programs.

“We maintain the ability and readiness to overwhelmingly respond to any provocation under a solid South Korea-U.S. joint defense posture,” Jang Do-young, public affairs director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a press briefing Thursday.

THIS is the moment Justin Timberlake is put in cuffs as the body cam footage of his arrest for drink driving is released.

The pop star, 45, was arrested in Sag Harbor, New York, in June 2024 after he failed to stop at a stop sign and could not stay in his lane.

Shortly after leaving The American Hotel following a night out with friends, the singer was pulled over while traveling southbound on Madison Street, a public highway in the Hamptons village.

Cops, often stationed nearby, noticed Justin swerving on the road and blowing through a stop sign.

They later smelled alcohol on his breath and noted that he was unsteady on his feet and also had slowed speech and glassy eyes.

The body cam footage of his arrest was released on Friday after the star’s legal team reportedly tried to previously prevent its release.

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In the video, an officer can be seen shining a flashlight in Timberlake’s face at the roadside before the star performs poorly on sobriety tests.

He is asked to walk in a straight line but has difficulty with the instructions, appearing confused.

Timberlake tells them: “Guys, I’m just following my friends back to my house. I’m not doing anything.”

While attempting the sobriety test, he stumbles before apologising and saying ” I’m a little nervous”.

When asked to do the next test, the officers are forced to explain multiple times before Timberlake says “sorry, my heart is racing” while clutching his chest.

Looking unsteady on his feet, the singer is then heard saying: “By the way, these are like, really hard tests.”

After failing the roadside tests, an officer is then seen asking Timberlake “turn around for me please”.

Saying nothing and looking resigned, he slowly turns before he’s put in handcuffs.

A friend appears and is shocked when police tell her Justin is going with them, saying: “You’re arresting Justin Timberlake? Stop it. What?”

She pleads with the officers to speak with him and give him his phone before she takes his car home.

She begs: “Can you guys please do me a favour because you loved Bye Bye Bye or Sexy Back, do me one favour. This is insane.”

At the end of the footage, the 10-time Grammy winner can be seen in the back of a cop car behind bars.

He was taken into custody that night and arraigned in Sag Harbor Village Justice Court the following morning.

He was released without bail on his recognizance and was also charged with one count of DWI due to his refusal of the breathalyzer, according to Justin’s lawyer.

Timberlake’s lawyers previously sued the Village of Sag Harbor to prevent the release as it showed him “in an accutely vulnerable state”, reports CBS.

It was later agreed it would be released with redactions.

That September, Timberblake reached a plea deal to bring the case to an end.

The judge sentenced Justin to a $500 fine with a $260 surcharge, and 25 hours of community service at the nonprofit of his choosing.

After the sentencing, Justin said: “Even if you’ve had one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car.

“There are so many alternatives. You can call a friend [or] take an Uber.”

He added: “This is a mistake that I made, but I’m hoping that whoever is watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake. I know that I certainly have.”

During the proceedings the star remained standing throughout and gave a statement in which he expressed remorse for his actions.