Free Republic

A US official says a North Korean rocket due to be launched next month may affect an area between Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell is reported to have asked the three countries to condemn the launch. North Korea says the rocket will take a new southern trajectory instead of a previous route east over Japan. Japan is readying anti-missile defences around the southern islands of Okinawa, which could be under the flight path. North Korea says the rocket is intended to put a satellite in space, but the US and others say the...

North Korea has opened new accounts at 23 banks in 10 countries since the United States suspended operations with a Macau bank accused of illicit dealings with Pyongyang, a report said Saturday. The accounts were set up in Mongolia, Russia and Vietnam, among other countries, the Sankei Shimbun newspaper said, citing an unnamed source familiar with North Korean matters. The United States, concerned that the new bank accounts may be used for transactions related to weapons proliferation or other criminal activity, has asked authorities in those countries to freeze the accounts, the paper said. North Korea allegedly opened the accounts...