North Korea rejects dialogue on human rights, nuclear weapons

In an announcement first reported by Spacewar.com, the North Korean Foreign Ministry has ruled out any dialogue concerning either human rights or its nuclear program.

The pronouncement came in anticipation of the imminent presentation by the European Union and Japan to the United Nations General Assembly describing horrific abuses by the Pyongyang regime, including numerous accounts of “extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual enslavement.”

Whether they may be good ‘ol city streak of restaurants, bars, mansions, deserts, parks, http://valsonindia.com/portfolio_category/home-products/?lang=af levitra prices and beaches, film scouts will certainly find one in California. So you can choose the way which is best for discount pharmacy viagra you to get your drug. The Libyan economy has until now been dominated viagra buy by the public sector. Side effects are valsonindia.com generic levitra online usually mild or moderate and similar to those when taking anastrozole. The statement appears to end hopes, based on prior North Korean statements, that an “aid for denuclearization” program could make progress. The new hard line comes despite a rare meeting between North Korean officials and UN Human Rights investigators.

The issue has become more urgent following reports that the regime has, according to a spacedaily.com report, constructed a test facility at the Sinpo South Shipyard, apparently intended to develop sea-based ballistic missiles. The capability could facilitate either a surprise nuclear strike, an EMP attack, or provide the regime with a means to retaliate in the event a pre-emptive strike occurs to take out the country’s nuclear assets.

Quick Analysis

U.S. Faces Greatest Nuclear Threats

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, some believed that the threat of nuclear war was over, or at least substantially reduced. Sadly, that was not accurate. Today, the United States is in greater danger than ever of an atomic attack, not just from Russia, but from China, North Korea and Iran. General Anthony Cotton, U.S. Strategic Forces Commander, testified about the danger before the Senate Armed Forces Committee. We reproduce key portions of his statement: Strategic competition is on the rise, including in the nuclear domain, as evidenced by Russia’s comprehensive nuclear modernization efforts and the PRC’s rapid and opaque nuclear weapons buildup. The emphasis on nuclear capabilities by potential adversaries, coupled with the incorporation of technologies like hypersonic weapons (HSW) and fractional orbital bombardment (FOB) capabilities, significantly escalates global security risks. As noted in the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, the PRC and Russia also likely possess capabilities relevant to chemical and biological warfare that pose a threat to U.S., Allied, and partner forces, military operations, and civilian populations. Taken individually, these developments are concerning; they are only exacerbated by the increasing levels of cooperation between and among the PRC, Russian Federation, DPRK, and Islamic Republic of Iran, which creates the possibility for simultaneous crises and raises the risk of opportunistic aggression. For example, Russian and PRC bombers flew joint patrols over the western Pacific this past November and conducted a joint maritime patrol near the Aleutian Islands over the summer. The DPRK and Iran have also delivered arms to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. This increasing cooperation and the risk of simultaneous crisis or conflict place a premium on credible, robust, and flexible joint force response options that signal our readiness and commitment to potential adversaries, Allies, and partners. THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA The 2022 NDS identified the PRC as the Department’s pacing challenge and our most consequential strategic competitor. PRC leadership has stated that the expansion of nuclear UNCLASSIFIED 4 capabilities is necessary to achieve “great power status,” and potentially perceives its nuclear arsenal as a key deterrent to U.S. intervention in the region. While the PRC’s long-term nuclear strategy and requirements remain unclear, the trajectory of its efforts points toward a large nuclear and more diverse force with a high degree of survivability, reliability, and effectiveness. The PRC currently has a nuclear triad consisting of bombers, submarines, and land-based missiles. Its H-6N bomber is equipped to carry air-launched ballistic and cruise missiles, and the PRC is actively developing a strategic stealth bomber, the H-20. The PRC also has six JIN-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) equipped with new third-generation JL-3 submarinelaunched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), capable of striking the continental United States from PRC littoral waters. Additionally, the PRC has approximately 1,000 medium and intermediate-range dual-capable conventional or nuclear ballistic missiles capable of inflicting significant damage to U.S., Allied, or partner forces and homelands in the Indo-Pacific. As I reported to Congress in January 2023, the PRC’s arsenal of land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers currently exceeds that of the United States. Today, the PRC likely has more than 500 operational nuclear warheads and, should it continue building weapons at its current pace, could have more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030. In 2022, it built three new ICBM fields, with at least 300 missile silos, each capable of housing the solid-propellant CSS-10 Mod 2 ICBM. The PRC also maintains road mobile CSS-20 ICBMs, each armed with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV), and is developing a new generation of mobile ICBMs. These developments, combined with the PRC’s increasing counter-space and cyber capabilities, pose a complex, but not insurmountable challenge to U.S. strategic deterrence RUSSIAN FEDERATION The 2022 NDS identified Russia as an acute threat. Its unprovoked war against Ukraine has caused the largest conflict on the European continent since World War II and undermines the rules-based international system. The invasion has also highlighted Russia’s willingness to employ nuclear coercion and attempt to influence decision making within the United States and our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Allies. Russia’s violation of specific obligations within the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) further exacerbates this issue. Russia is currently in possession of the largest and most diverse nuclear arsenal of any nation. In September 2023, it proclaimed the RS-28 SARMAT ICBM had been placed on combat duty. Additionally, Russia continues to field new SEVERODVINSK-class nuclearpowered cruise missile submarines, as well as DOLGORUKIY-class SSBNs, armed with the SSN-32 Bulava SLBM. Beyond Russia’s traditional strategic triad, it is expanding and modernizing its nuclear options. These include nuclear-capable hypersonic systems such as the Tsirkon land attack cruise missile and the Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile, the last of which Russia has employed frequently against Ukraine in a conventional role. These hypersonic systems add diversity and flexibility to Russia’s nuclear arsenal and complement its stockpile of approximately 2,000 theater nuclear weapons that do not fall under New START limits. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA The DPRK views its nuclear arsenal as a means to ensure regime survival and influence Republic of Korea and U.S. forces in the area. The DPRK is developing and fielding mobile short-,intermediate-, and intercontinental-range nuclear capabilities that place the United States homeland and regional Allies and partners at risk. DPRK leadership recently declared that the country’s status as a nuclear weapons state “has now become irreversible,” and it is possible the DPRK will resume nuclear testing in order to demonstrate its capabilities. ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to expand its nuclear program by increasing its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and deploying additional advanced centrifuges, which has shortened the time Iran would need to acquire enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon. Iran already possesses the region’s largest arsenal of conventional ballistic missiles, which threaten U.S. regional bases and are capable of reaching as far as Southern Europe. Iran also continues to proliferate advanced conventional weapons to non-state militia groups across the Middle East— which have been used in […]

Our Latest Television Program

Israel, Ukraine and American Divisiveness

The fight for Ukraine and Israel’s security is vital not just for those nations, but for America as well. Retired Marine Lt. Col. Hunter “Rip” Rawlings, who has served in the affected regions, explains why. Author Brent Hamachek describes what has caused the extreme divisiveness in America today. If you missed the program on your local TV station, watch it here: https://rumble.com/v4q11ni-the-american-political-zone-april-16-2024.html Photo: Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder conducts a news briefing at the Pentagon, April 15, 2024.