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Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe give a press conference following their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 27, 2017. (Photos by AFP) Leaders of Russia and Japan have called for an urgent resumption of multi-party talks to find a solution to the current crisis in the Korean Peninsula. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday that they were seeking de-escalation in the Korean conflict, admitting that the situation had seriously deteriorated over the past weeks. Putin urged all sides of the crisis to refrain from any provocation that could further deteriorate the situation. He also said the surge in hostilities had made it necessary for all stakeholders to embark on renewed efforts to find a solution to the conflict.  Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe following their meeting at the Kremlin in Mos...

REUTERS/Carlos BarriaU.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., April 27, 2017. President Donald Trump appeared to commend North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's ability to control his country. "Not many 27-year-old men could go in and take over a regime," Trump said in a  Reuters  interview published Thursday night. "Say what you want, but that's not easy - especially at that age." "I'm just telling you, and I'm not giving him credit or not giving him credit - I'm just saying that's a very hard thing to do." Trump has praised the North Korean dictator's unmerciful rule  in the past . During a campaign stop in Iowa in 2016, he was reported to have said, "You gotta give him credit." "How many young guys - he was, like, 26 or 25 when his father died - take over these tough generals, and all of a sudden ... he goes in, he takes over, ...

This US Navy photo obtained on March 31, 2017 shows the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and other vessels as they participate in an exercise with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers in the Philippine Sea on March 28, 2017. (Via AFP) North Korea is reportedly engaged in a large-scale live-fire artillery exercise, in what is apparently intended to signal to a hostile United States that Pyongyang is combat-ready. On Tuesday, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that the North appeared to have deployed a large number of long-range artillery units in the region of Wonsan on its east coast for the drill. The day coincides with the anniversary of the establishment of the North’s military. The United States, North Korea’s archenemy, and regional adversaries South Korea and Japan have harbored fears that the occasion might witness another nuclear test by Pyongyang. North Korea has so far conducted five confirmed nuclear tests and numerous missile test-launches. Pyongyang...

The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly been assassinated in Malaysia, South Korean media and Malaysian police say. The announcement was first made by the Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's largest news agency, on Tuesday, which said 45-year-old Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late former leader Kim Jong-il, was “killed” in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday. It added, citing an unnamed South Korean government source, that he lost his life after being attacked by two unidentified female agents with “poisoned needles.” Shortly after Yonhop’s report, South Korea's TV Chosun, a cable television network, citing multiple unnamed government sources, confirmed the assassination of Jong-nam by female assailants, adding that they had fled the crime scene and were still at large. On Tuesday evening, Malaysian police confirmed the death of Jong-nam, saying he had planned to travel to the autonomous region of Macau, which lies on the sout...

Venezuelan Vice-President Tareck El Aissami (Photo by AP) The US has imposed sanctions against Venezuelan Vice-President Tareck El Aissami over his alleged involvement in drug trafficking, in yet another hostile measure that could spark fresh tensions between the two countries. Late on Monday, the US Treasury Department blacklisted El Assiami and his associate, Venezuelan businessman Samark Lopez, over allegations of having a role in global drug trafficking. As part of the sanctions effort, 13 companies owned or controlled by Lopez -- including five based in the US state of Florida -- will be blocked and both men will be banned from entering the United States. Lopez stands accused of serving as El Aissami’s “key front-man” to launder drug proceeds and purchase assets. El Aissami, who has long denied any criminal ties, did not immediately react to Washington’s move. Since his days as interior minister, El Aissami has been the target of US law enforcement investigation over al...

Alex Lockie The test-fire of Pukguksong-2. This photo was released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on February 13.KCNA/Handout On Sunday, North Korea launched a missile into the Sea of Japan for the first time since US President Donald Trump took office. South Korean officials  told Reuters  that the missile, a land-based adaptation of the submarine-launched KN-11, doesn't have the range to strike the US but has another trait that's just as troubling, if not more: solid fuel. North Korean missiles usually rely on liquid fuel and have to be gassed up similar to how you'd fill up a car. North Korea, like many nuclear powers, mounts its nuclear-capable missiles on trucks. Road-mobile missile launchers can hide easier, launch from almost anywhere, and take an enemy by surprise - but liquid fuel complicates all that. To launch a liquid-fueled missile, a giant convoy of military trucks must drive out to a location, fuel up the rocket with the multiple types...

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley (R) and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at UN headquarters in New York City on January 27, 2017 (Photo by Reuters) The United Nations Security Council has announced an emergency meeting to discuss North Korea’s recent launch of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile. The United States, Japan, and South Korea on Sunday requested the meeting on an “urgent basis.” North Korea launched the missile near the western city of Kusong on Sunday. It flew east about 500 kilometers before falling into the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea’s Defense Ministry. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) later on Monday confirmed that Pyongyang had “successfully” tested a “surface-to-surface medium long-range ballistic missile.” The North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, “expressed great satisfaction over the possession of another powerful nuclear attack means, which adds t...

The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, in an undated photo. Military experts in the region say that the country is still years away from achieving capabilities that it has claimed, like striking the continental United States, as well as its military bases in the Pacific. KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY, VIA AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES SEOUL, South Korea —  North Korea  said on Monday that it had successfully tested a new nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile, claiming important progress in being able to strike its enemies with long-range missiles tipped with nuclear warheads. Confirming  the missile test  detected by the United States and South Korean authorities on Sunday, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said it had launched an intermediate-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile named Pukguksong-2, or Polaris-2. North Korea’s leader,  Kim Jong-un , inspected the test, the news agency said. ...

President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered an abrupt joint statement Saturday night, addressing reports that North Korea test fired a ballistic missile into its eastern sea. "I just want everybody to understand and fully know that the United States of America stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100%," Trump said. In his remarks, Abe called the launch "absolutely intolerable." Trump and Abe made their remarks from Mar-a-Lago, Trump's estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and did not take questions from reporters. The launch was North Korea's first such test of the year and an implicit challenge to Trump's new administration. But details of the launch, including the type of missile, were scant. There was no immediate confirmation from the North, which had recently warned it is ready to test its first intercontinental ballistic missile. The reports come as Trump was hosting Abe and just days before the North is to mark the birth...

Terrell Jermaine Starr Last night, the U.S. Air Force test-launched an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM from the Vandenberg Air Force Base. It’s not an event that happens every day, but it’s done to verify the reliability and accuracy of the weapons system. While it could be seen as a message to a belligerent North Korea, it’s still a test of a system wildly outdated compared to what Russia is arming up with. The missile, equipped with a reentry vehicle, flew 4,200 miles to a test range near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It was pulled at random from a silo at Minot Air Force Base, in North Dakota, then transported and reassembled at Vandenberg. There are no more details on how the test went. See the video below: Though, given how North Korea  recently announced  that it is developing an ICBM that can reach the U.S. mainland, the Minuteman III launch may have just been a message to Pyongyang that Washington can strike it with little notice. A...