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PDF of Hillary briefing Corker and McCain on what to say during Sunday shows regarding dismantling US missiles in Europe.

That next summit meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un needs to have a few blank spots on the agenda to leave room for new items of business. One of them should be the latest satellite pictures showing that two of Kim’s missile bases up in the mountains are not only failing to be dismantled but show signs of ongoing work to expand them. The Independent has some of the photos and details this week. North Korea has reportedly expanded a long-range missile base within its mountainous interior, despite a promise from Donald Trump the country was “no longer...

New satellite images obtained exclusively by CNN reveal North Korea has significantly expanded a key long-range missile base located in the mountainous interior of the country, offering yet another reminder that diplomatic talks with the US have done little to prevent Kim Jong Un from pursuing his promise to mass produce and deploy the existing types of nuclear warheads in his arsenal. The satellite imagery offers evidence that the Yeongjeo-dong missile base and a nearby, previously unreported site remain active and have been continuously upgraded, underscoring the reality of just how far apart Washington and Pyongyang are on the issue...

But Democrats view it as yet another expression of the prime minister’s overzealous backing for a despised U.S. president The Mossad’s Kidon unit, which foreign media describe as Israel’s official assassination squad, must be worried sick over the fallout from the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Alongside its many successful hits, some of which are surely still unknown, Kidon’s men (and presumably women) have also known notorious failures, including the mistaken 1970 killing of Moroccan waiter Ahmed Bouchiki in Lillehammer, Norway, the failed 1997 assassination of Hamas leader Khaled Mashal in Jordan and...

The Trump administration is demanding that China remove all advanced missiles deployed on disputed islands in the South China Sea, the first time such a demand has been made public. The call to take out the anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles was disclosed in a fact sheet from the State Department on Friday outlining the results of a strategic dialogue between senior U.S. and Chinese officials. “The United States called on China to withdraw its missile systems from disputed features in the Spratly Islands, and reaffirmed that all countries should avoid addressing disputes through coercion or intimidation,” the statement said. The...

Amid continuing criticism of his plan to quit a major arms control treaty with Russia, US President Donald Trump on Monday referred to China as being a factor in his strategic calculations. Trump announced last week the US would withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, which was signed in 1987, on the grounds that Russia had violated the agreement with the development of new missiles. The INF treaty bars the US and Russia from developing ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges varying from 500km to 5,500km; the treaty covered both non-nuclear and nuclear warheads. On Monday, Trump...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia was ready to "annihilate" any attacker who would use nuclear weapons against it, but would never strike first. "An aggressor should know that vengeance is inevitable, that he will be annihilated, and we would be the victims of the aggression. We will go to heaven as martyrs, and they will just drop dead. They will not even have time to repent for this," he said. In March this year Putin unveiled an array of new nuclear weapons in one of his most bellicose speeches in years, saying they could hit almost...

Not everyone is as pleased with the announcements as the president appears to be. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. said the visit could possibly undermine efforts by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley to impose “maximum pressure” on Pyongyang. “While North Korea has stopped testing missiles and nuclear devices, they have NOT moved toward denuclearization,” he tweeted. Other analysts have noted that the North has yet to reveal where all of its nuclear facilities are located, a move they say is necessary to ensure compliance with eventual denuclearization pledges. But it’s not realistic at this point to...

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has agreed to allow nuclear inspectors in and permanently shut down nuclear and missile testing sites. Trump made the remarks in a tweet after Kim held his third summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang where the reclusive ruler reaffirmed his commitment to the denuclearization of the peninsula. "Kim Jong Un has agreed to allow Nuclear inspections, subject to final negotiations, and to permanently dismantle a test site and launch pad in the presence of international experts," Trump said in the tweet. "In the meantime there...

President Donald Trump sent his thanks to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday after the country made changes to its military parade in Pyongyang. North Korea celebrated its 70-year anniversary on Sunday with a show of its military strength but strayed from the traditional display of the country’s intercontinental missiles. The parade instead featured floats and flowers as Kim chose to focus on building economic power. Trump, who met with Kim for a denuclearization summit in Singapore in June, tweeted his gratitude to the North Korean dictator on Sunday. “This is a big and very positive statement from...

PYONGYANG (Reuters) - With no long-range missiles on display, North Korea staged a military parade on Sunday focused on conventional arms, peace and economic development, to mark the 70th anniversary of the country’s founding. Line upon line of goose-stepping soldiers and columns of tanks shook the ground before giving way to chanting crowds waving flags and flowers as they passed a review stand where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sat with a special envoy from China, as well as other visiting foreigners. Kim told the envoy, Chinese parliament chief Li Zhanshu, that North Korea was focusing on economic development...

Large explosions were reported at a Syrian military air base early Sunday in an attack widely attributed to Israeli warplanes. However, Syria denied an attack had taken place. The reported strike occurred just after midnight at Mazzeh air base near Damascus, a key regime facility thought to have been targeted by Israel in the past. The military airport of Mazzeh, in the west suburbs of Damascus, was hit by a “possible Israeli missile, which hit a munitions store setting off successive explosions,” the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdel Rahmane told AFP.

Iran test-fired a short-range anti-ship missile in the Strait of Hormuz during naval drills last week that Washington believes were aimed at sending a message as the United States reimposes sanctions on Tehran, a U.S. official said on Friday. The official, however, did not suggest that such a missile test was unusual during naval exercises or that it was carried out unsafely, noting it occurred in what could be described as Iranian territorial waters in the Strait. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed on Sunday it had held war games in the Gulf over the past several days, saying they were aimed...

The think tank 38 North has obtained satellite images that they say show North Korea has begun dismantling key facilities at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, which is used to develop engines for ballistic missiles. 38 North report key facts: Commercial satellite imagery of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station indicates dismantling of key facilities has startedThe rail-mounted processing/transfer structure has been moved and partly dismantledMost of the vertical engine stand has been removed It is good news, nuclear expert and MIT Associate Professor Vipin Narang has told PM, "but there are a couple of caveats."It has taken five weeks for...

North Korea has continued to produce support equipment and launchers for one of its newer ballistic missiles through the first half of 2018, according to a recent U.S. military intelligence assessment described to The Diplomat by U.S. government officials. According to a recent assessment released by the U.S. National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), which analyzes intelligence regarding ballistic missile threats for the U.S. Air Force, North Korea has continued to produce vehicles and support equipment for its Pukguksong-2/KN15 medium-range ballistic missile in 2018. While production of launch vehicles—known as transporter-erector-launchers, or TELs—and support equipment has continued through the...

The missile test site North Korean leader Kim Jong-un promised U.S. President Donald Trump to destroy is a large-scale facility in Tongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province. The regime conducted a vital test of an engine for intercontinental ballistic missiles there last year. "Kim promised Trump during their summit on Tuesday to dismantle this facility," a diplomatic source said. He said that Kim presented the offer as a kind of surprise card to Trump, who is known to like showy outcomes. Trump immediately told the press about it after the summit. "It seems that Trump is giving priority to deterring the North...

•US president Donald Trump left experts baffled when he said North Korea had agreed to destroy a missile engine testing site, but it now looks like North Korea is making good. •North Korea will reportedly destroy a large-scale facility in Tongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province that was used to test engines for the intercontinental-range ballistic missile, the Hwasong-14. •The Hwasong-14 was the first North Korean missile experts said could hit the US mainland with a nuclear payload. •Measures like the destruction of testing sites in North Korea, if monitored by US and international experts, could build the kind of trust needed...

China’s activities in the South China Sea have proven to be one of the most contentious geopolitical issues of the Trump Presidency. Today, following a successful summit in Singapore between President Trump and North Korean leader Chairman Kim Jong Un, new data released by Israeli Private Intelligence Firm ImageSat shows that China has removed anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles from Woody Island, in the South China Sea.

YOKOSUKA——The USS Milius, one of the U.S. Navy's most advanced guided missile destroyers, arrived in Japan on Tuesday to reinforce defenses against any ballistic missile attacks by North Korea, or anyone else in East Asia. The warship's arrival at Yokosuka Naval Base comes three weeks before an unprecedented meeting is supposed to take place in Singapore between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The show of force is a reminder of the military pressure that can be brought to bear on North Korea as the United States seeks to press it to abandon its nuclear...

A Kremlin aide said Friday that Russia has walked back its talk of supplying the Syrian government with more missiles, just days after a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Russia had floated giving President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime S-300 ground-to-air missiles after the U.S., Britain, and France launched airstrikes on Syria last month, a punishment for Assad’s chemical attack on his own people, including children. However, Netanyahu may have successfully lobbied Russian president Vladimir Putin this week not to render the extra military aid. The Kremlin now believes the missiles are not needed at this time, according to Vladimir...