Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
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Northeast Asia
Japan, South Korea, U.S. discuss sharing North Korea missile data
The Associated Press Japan, South Korea and the United States are negotiating an agreement on sharing real-time data on North Korean missile launches, as cooperation among the three nations becomes increasingly important amid growing nuclear and missile threats from the North, Tokyo’s chief government spokesperson said in early May 2023. “I understand that defense authorities are vigorously proceeding to set…
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Key Issues
Allies demonstrate resolve in face of North Korea’s WMD threats
Felix Kim North Korea’s threats to test or deploy weapons of mass destruction (WMD) have sparked increased tension on the Korean Peninsula and beyond, as well as a redoubling of long-standing efforts by allies South Korea and the United States to counter any such use of WMD by Pyongyang. According to security analysts, Seoul and Washington have unprecedented capabilities for…
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Key Issues
Kim regime promotes its demise through U.N. Security Council resolution violations — increasing likelihood of miscalculation
FORUM Staff North Korea ended 2022 the way it began the year, firing missiles in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions. And following a year of unprecedented missile launches by Pyongyang, Kim Jong Un began 2023 by ordering an “exponential” expansion of its nuclear arsenal. Should his threats materialize — and if Kim orders a nuclear attack — the…
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Key Issues
North Korea’s provocative missile launches draw unified response
Felix Kim North Korea’s provocative and destabilizing missile launches, which reached record levels in 2022, are a clear threat to South Korea and Japan, as well as to United States military forces stationed in each of those countries and, potentially, to the U.S. mainland. Seoul is committed to working with Tokyo and Washington to counter the threat, South Korean defense…
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Key Issues
ROK forces establish headquarters to upgrade response to North’s missile provocations
Felix Kim South Korea has established a nuclear and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) response headquarters to improve coordination of counter actions to North Korea’s continued missile provocations. The command post will better enable Republic of Korea (ROK) Armed Forces to identify and suppress threats from Pyongyang. As of mid-December, there had been 35 days of North Korean missile provocations…
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Key Issues
An Indo-Pacific view: 5 key issues to watch in 2023
FORUM Staff A year that erupted with seismic events — one geological, the other geopolitical — rumbled to its close with war still raging in Europe but also with the forging of partnerships for peace in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. Just weeks after an underwater volcano in the Pacific Ocean’s Ring of Fire spewed an immense cloud of ash and…
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Across The Region
Positioning Against Provocations
Advisors to South Korea’s then-incoming president sought redeployment of United States strategic assets, such as nuclear bombers and submarines, to the Korean Peninsula during talks in Washington in April 2022. The team of foreign policy and security aides to President Yoon Suk Yeol met with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan as Yoon, who was elected in March 2022 and…
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Key Issues
South Korea strengthens defense posture to deter North Korea
Felix Kim As North Korea accelerates its provocative weapons testing, South Korea is strengthening its deterrence capabilities, including enhancing interoperability with United States’ missile defense systems and bolstering broader security cooperation in the region. “North Korea’s act of launching multiple missiles, including ballistic missiles, and firing artillery shots off its east and west coasts is unprecedented because it is the…
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Key Issues
North Korea’s missile brinkmanship denounced
FORUM Staff Like-minded nations worldwide have condemned North Korea’s unprecedented number of missile test launches in 2022, with many countries expressing disapproval before the United Nations Security Council and calling out permanent members Russia and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for not strengthening sanctions that might end the tests. Nations also question how, despite longstanding prohibitions, Pyongyang has acquired…
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Conflicts - Tensions
President Biden warns PRC on North Korea, ‘coercive’ actions toward Taiwan
Reuters U.S. President Joe Biden warned Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping in mid-November 2022 that the United States would enhance its security position in the Indo-Pacific if Beijing cannot rein in North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction programs. President Biden told a news conference after his first in-person talks with Xi since taking office in early 2021 that…
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