Important Takeaways:
- The size of the world’s nuclear arsenal has quietly increased in several countries amid fears of World War III.
- Officially, five countries – China, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea – have increased their nuclear stockpiles by over 700 warheads over the past 40 years.
- But a 2024 report by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), a nonprofit global policy think tank, warned that three other nations with nuclear bombs worldwide may be quietly stockpiling even more arms for a potential nuclear showdown.
- The fears come as groups like the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have noted that a treaty to permanently ban nuclear testing has stalled, and countries like Russia and China have been seen constructing new buildings at their nuclear weapons sites.
- However, the US government announced last month that it will also restart its nuclear testing programs in secret underground facilities.
- FAS released the estimated global nuclear warhead inventories for 2024, showing there are 12,121 nuclear warheads scattered across nine nations.
- Russia outnumbers the US by several hundred warheads.
- The two nations control roughly 88 percent of this stockpile, with Russia reportedly holding 5,580 bombs and the US possessing 5,044.
- China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, and the UK control the rest of world’s remaining 1,500 nuclear bombs.
- Global tensions appear to be boiling over, with President Donald Trump warning Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky that he is ‘gambling with World War III’ by not agreeing to America’s peace terms.
- Meanwhile, European leaders are publicly declaring their ability to defeat Russia in a major conflict.
- The experts found that 2,100 American, Russian, British, and French ‘warheads are on high alert, ready for use on short notice.’
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Important Takeaways:
- North Korea’s KCNA news agency said Friday the test was intended to “warn enemies, who are seriously violating the security environment of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and fostering and escalating the confrontation environment,” that Pyongyang’s “various nuke operation means” are ready for war.
- Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is the Kim regime’s preferred name for itself.
- KCNA claimed both missiles “precisely hit their targets” after covering 986 miles in about 130 minutes.
- “Expressing satisfaction over the result of the launching drill, Kim Jong-un said it is a responsible exercise of the DPRK’s war deterrence to continuously test the reliability and operation of the components of its nuclear deterrence and demonstrate their might,” KCNA said.
- According to his state media, Kim said the missile test demonstrated North Korea has “the most perfect deterrence and defense capacity.”
- South Korean defense officials confirmed the missile launch took place, but made no comment about the accuracy of the weapons or if they were truly capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
- South Korea’s Yonhap News speculated North Korea’s missile launch, and Kim’s rhetoric about preparing for nuclear war, were irritable gestures ahead of Operation Freedom Shield, the annual U.S.-South Korean training exercise. North Korea furiously denounces all such exercises as rehearsals for an invasion, or possibly even cloaked attempts to launch an actual invasion.
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Important Takeaways:
- Ukraine targets Russia’s mercenaries saying ‘there is no reason for Koreans to fight and die for Putin’
- “Today, we already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults. A significant number of them,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday.
- Ukraine’s military intelligence (GUR) reported the North Koreans were embedded with Russian Marines and Airborne troops – elite units – in the Russian region of Kursk, which Ukraine has counter-invaded.
- Zelenskyy posted that Russia was adopting gruesome tactics to obscure the loss of North Korean soldiers.
- “After the battles with our guys, the Russians are also trying to… literally burn the faces of the killed North Korean soldiers,” he wrote on Telegram.
- He added, “There is no reason for Koreans to fight and die for Putin. And even after their death, all that awaits them from Russia is mockery.”
- There were no statements from Russia or North Korea on these first casualties of Korean mercenaries.
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Important Takeaways:
- North Korea has sent more than 100 KN-23 and KN-24 short-range nuclear capable ballistic missiles to Russia, according to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence.
- Pyongyang joined the fray in August and is reinforcing Moscow’s troops in Kursk after Kyiv launched an incursion in the summer. North Korea’s support has become a key, as Pyongyang assists Moscow in replenishing its weapons stockpiles.
- “The aggressor state of Russia has received more than 100 such missiles from the DPRK. The enemy first used these weapons in the war against Ukraine at the end of 2023,” said the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.
- “Along with the missiles, Pyongyang then sent its military specialists to Russia to service the launchers and participate in war crimes against Ukraine.”
- This shipment is part of a broader effort by North Korea to support Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine, including other military supplies such as artillery systems and rocket launchers.
- According to South Korea’s national intelligence service, North Korea has delivered over 13,000 containers of artillery, missiles, and other conventional weapons to Russia since August, 2023.
- Samuel Cranny-Evans told Newsweek: “The relationship between Russia and North Korea is clearly developing into a much closer one with various aspects and shared goals.”
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Important Takeaways:
- North Korea may deploy as many as 100,000 soldiers to assist Russia in its war against Ukraine, according to assessments from G20 nations reported by Digi24.
- The move would deepen the alliance between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, reflecting growing cooperation between the two nations.
- Sources familiar with these evaluations stated that such a deployment is not imminent. If it happens, the soldiers would likely be sent in phases, with troops rotating over time rather than being deployed all at once.
- This approach would help sustain combat effectiveness and minimize losses.
- The figure of 100,000 soldiers indicates that Putin may be preparing for a prolonged conflict. This potential reinforcement would complement military supplies already provided by North Korea, including artillery shells and ammunition.
- The growing military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang have raised concerns among international observers. Experts warn that deeper cooperation could further destabilize the region and extend the war in Ukraine.
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Important Takeaways:
- It was revealed last month that 12,000 North Korean troops had been sent to Ukraine to fight on behalf of Russia. Now, they are reported to have been deployed to Kursk as part of the Russian counter-offensive, while Pyongyang this week ratified a landmark new defense pact with Moscow.
- There were already indications that North Korea had provided significant materiel to the Russian war effort, including 8 million rounds of 122-millimeter and 152-millimeter ammunition and a number of ballistic missiles, according to figures from CSIS.
- But the deployment of soldiers – apparently to assist the 50,000 Russian troops – is a serious escalation.
- The implications could go further than that, however – including for the security of the Indo-Pacific, and particularly South Korea. Units that fight alongside Russian troops may get the opportunity to learn modern warfare techniques and tactics.
- … in a statement to Business Insider that “Russia is training North Korean soldiers to operate strike UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] and reconnaissance drones”.
- Such training in the use of drones, counter-drone techniques, GPS jamming and other electronic warfare technologies in such a front-line environment – combined with Russian technology transfers – may end up serving as a catalyst for the modernization of North Korea’s large but famously outdated army.
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Important Takeaways:
- Vladimir Putin has amassed 40,000 of his soldiers and 10,000 North Koreans as he plots to attack Kursk in just days, a report claims.
- The Kremlin leader is set to try and claw back the area of Russia which Ukraine seized back in August.
- Those soldiers are said to be wearing Russian uniforms and have been equipped by Moscow, but will fight in their own units.
- Putin’s army has also been training the North Koreans in infantry tactics, artillery fire, and trench clearing.
- Russia’s major battlefield assault looms as Donald Trump’s election win could also change the shape of peace talks.
- Ukraine is waiting with bated breath for the Republican’s next move following his historic election win.
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Important Takeaways:
- North Korea launched seven short-range ballistic missiles into the sea east of the Korean Peninsula in a test on Monday evening ahead of the U.S. presidential election, according to The Associated Press.
- The seven missiles, detected by Japan and South Korea, flew as far as 400 kilometers (248 miles) according to Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani.
- Some analysts believe that North Korea might leverage its expanding nuclear arsenal in order to gain concessions from the next U.S. administration, particularly in the form of sanctions relief.
- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol theorized as to why North Korea has conducted the missile launches and said, “North Korea seems to have recently disclosed its nuclear facility in order to draw attention from the United States and the international community in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election, and it is likely that North Korea will carry out additional provocations such as nuclear tests and ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missile] launches going forward.”
- The ICBM that North Korea tested at the end of last month could theoretically reach anywhere in the U.S. mainland, as it reached an altitude of 4,350 miles and flew a distance of 620 miles, according to Nakatani. It has a potential range of 9,320 miles.
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Important Takeaways:
- “Hezbollah’s model is the same as the North Korean model: tunnels in which hundreds of combatants, fully equipped, can pass stealthily and rapidly underground. In our opinion, Hezbollah’s ‘Land of the Tunnels’ project is much larger than the Hamas ‘metro’ project in the Gaza Strip.” — Alma Research and Education Center, July 2021.
- “Various reports indicate that in the late 1980s, and even more so after the Second Lebanon War (2006), North Korea advisors significantly assisted Hezbollah’s tunnel project
- These tunnels facilitate the movement of heavy equipment, missiles and fighters, and even allow missiles to be launched from within.
- Built beneath the border between Lebanon and Syria, these tunnels allow Hezbollah’s smuggling unit and the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force to transport ammunition, supplies and fighters under the border.
- Many of these tunnels are located beneath civilian infrastructure and populated areas, using civilians as human shields for their activities.
- Even if Hezbollah says it will withdraw to north of the Litani River, the tunnels enable it easily to violate that pledge, with no one above ground the wiser. Hezbollah, moreover, never abided by UNSC Resolution 1701 to stop building tunnels and stockpiling weapons in south Lebanon.
- The current war in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip must not end without the destruction of all the tunnels and the total defeat of Hezbollah and Hamas. Those who are pushing for an immediate ceasefire are only empowering Iran and its terror proxies, paving the way for another October 7-style massacre. The defeat of Hezbollah and Hamas will benefit not only the Israelis, but the Lebanese and Palestinians, as well.
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Important Takeaways:
- North Korea on Thursday morning test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile with the range to hit the continental United States, just five days before the U.S. presidential election.
- Though Pyongyang has already tested an ICBM capable of striking the American homeland, analysts said Thursday’s missile displayed significantly improved performances over prior models.
- Experts say the timing of the launch may have been driven by political considerations in the United States rather than pressing technical reasons – and not simply the Nov. 5 election.
- Japanese and South Korean news outlets reported that the North Korean missile flew for some 86 minutes and reached an altitude of more than 4,300 miles – record flight times and heights for a North Korean missile. It flew approximately 621 miles before splashing in the Sea of Japan.
- The test was conducted at a lofted trajectory. If fired at a normal angle, analysts estimate, the missile would have the range to reach the entire continental U.S.
- The missile, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs, was likely a solid-fuel weapon. That means it can be rolled out of cover and launched more swiftly than a liquid-fueled weapon, avoiding preemptive strikes.
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