Weapons Proliferation
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Features
The Dragon and the Bear
By Falk Tettweiler, Marshall Center researcher and analyst The China-Russia joint statement of February 2022 has widely been interpreted as a signal of deeper cooperation between the countries, which are the major challengers to the world order. Some have gone so far as to assess it as a sign of an institutional axis, or even an alliance. However, the lack…
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Across The Region
Allies Unveil System to Track North Korean Missiles
Japan, South Korea and the United States activated a system in December 2023 to detect and assess North Korea’s missile launches in real time. The announcement came after North Korea said it had tested an intercontinental ballistic missile to gauge the war readiness of its nuclear force. United Nations Security Council resolutions ban Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic weapons programs. The…
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Across The Region
Allies Look to Boost Tracking of North Korean Missiles
The Republic of Korea (ROK) and United States militaries want to bolster their combined tracking of North Korean missile launches, an effort that also may involve Japan, U.S. Space Force officials said in August 2023. The allies see space integration as key to tracking North Korean threats and responding to a conflict. The U.S. Space Force component in South Korea,…
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Conflicts - Tensions
A Nuclear Shift
FORUM Staff During the past decade, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has doubled its combat missile brigades within the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF), unveiling missiles capable of launching conventional and nuclear warheads and touting technology to evade missile defense. “The technologies and deployment patterns of these weapons are important indications of the direction of China’s force posture,”…
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Departments
South Korea’s ‘Kill Web’ concept to neutralize North Korean threats
FORUM Staff To counter threats from North Korea’s emerging nuclear and missile capabilities, the Republic of Korea (ROK) military introduced the “Kill Web” concept in March 2023 to prevent missile strikes, according to news reports. Kill Web entails a layered, integrated structure that uses cyber operations, electronic warfare and other cutting-edge capabilities across all defense domains to disrupt and preempt…
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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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Northeast Asia
ROK-U.S. alliance marks 70th anniversary with strengthened mutual defense commitments
FORUM Staff South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and United States President Joe Biden highlighted 70 years of the Republic of Korea (ROK)-U.S. alliance with a commitment to regional peace and stability and continued efforts to deter North Korea’s nuclear weapons proliferation. “The two presidents reaffirmed their ironclad commitment to what has become a global alliance focused on deepening defense…
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Northeast Asia
CCP’s diplomatic overtures to North Korea cast uncertainty over rogue nation’s nuclear disarmament
FORUM Staff Speculation mounts as to whether the Chinese government’s increased efforts at diplomacy with North Korea will curtail the Kim Jong Un regime’s nuclear and ballistic weapons programs or further undermine enforcement of U.N. Security Council Resolutions aimed at stopping their development. Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping in a letter to Kim released in mid-April 2023…
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Northeast Asia
Japan, South Korea, U.S., allies, partners denounce North Korea’s latest ICBM test
FORUM Staff Allies, partners and much of the international community condemned North Korea’s test-firing of a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, in mid-March 2023. Japan and South Korea called it a reckless provocation that violates United Nations Security Council sanctions and threatens international peace. North Korea’s failure to follow…
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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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