Ursula von der Leyen
“I am following the situation in Georgia with great concern and condemn the violence on the streets of Tbilisi. The European Union has also clearly expressed its concerns regarding the law on foreign influence. The Georgian people want a European future for their country.”
2 hours ago
Oleksandr Kozachenko
“If we compare it with the beginning (of the Russian invasion), when we fired up to 100 shells a day, then now, when we fire 30 shells it's a luxury. Sometimes the number of shells fired daily is in single digits.”
3 hours ago
Abdallah al-Dardari
“The United Nations Development Programme's initial estimates for the reconstruction of … the Gaza Strip surpasses $30bn and could reach up to $40bn. The scale of the destruction is huge and unprecedented … this is a mission that the global community has not dealt with since World War II.”
3 hours ago
Karine Jean-Pierre
“Americans have the right to peacefully protest. Forcibly taking over a building is not peaceful.”
18 hours ago
Janet Yellen
“Treasury has consistently warned that companies will face significant consequences for providing material support for Russia's war, and the U.S. is imposing them today on almost 300 targets.”
18 hours ago
Catherine Russell
“Over 200 days of war have already killed or maimed tens of thousands of children in Gaza. For hundreds of thousands of children in the border city of Rafah, there is added fear of an escalated military operation that would bring catastrophe on top of catastrophe for children. Nearly all of the some 600,000 children now crammed into Rafah are either injured, sick, malnourished, traumatised or living with disabilities.”
18 hours ago
Ursula von der Leyen
“I am following the situation in Georgia with great concern and condemn the violence on the streets of Tbilisi. The European Union has also clearly expressed its concerns regarding the law on foreign influence. The Georgian people want a European future for their country.”
2 hours ago
Oleksandr Kozachenko
“If we compare it with the beginning (of the Russian invasion), when we fired up to 100 shells a day, then now, when we fire 30 shells it's a luxury. Sometimes the number of shells fired daily is in single digits.”
3 hours ago
Abdallah al-Dardari
“The United Nations Development Programme's initial estimates for the reconstruction of … the Gaza Strip surpasses $30bn and could reach up to $40bn. The scale of the destruction is huge and unprecedented … this is a mission that the global community has not dealt with since World War II.”
3 hours ago
Karine Jean-Pierre
“Americans have the right to peacefully protest. Forcibly taking over a building is not peaceful.”
18 hours ago
Janet Yellen
“Treasury has consistently warned that companies will face significant consequences for providing material support for Russia's war, and the U.S. is imposing them today on almost 300 targets.”
18 hours ago
Catherine Russell
“Over 200 days of war have already killed or maimed tens of thousands of children in Gaza. For hundreds of thousands of children in the border city of Rafah, there is added fear of an escalated military operation that would bring catastrophe on top of catastrophe for children. Nearly all of the some 600,000 children now crammed into Rafah are either injured, sick, malnourished, traumatised or living with disabilities.”
18 hours ago
“The Kim regime prioritizes advancing its military capabilities and doesn't care to stay quiet during the South Korean legislative election campaign. But firing an intermediate-range missile lacks the shock value of a full-range ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missile] launch or a nuclear test, so it's unlikely to swing any National Assembly seats. Although Pyongyang's weapons development remains a major concern, Seoul is currently focused on health care reform, economic policies, and domestic political scandals.”
“If they simply wanted a secret arms deal, the two leaders did not have to meet in person. Putin and Kim's diplomatic display is meant to claim success in challenging the U.S.-led international order, avoiding over-reliance on China, and increasing pressure on rivals in Ukraine and South Korea.”
“If conflict were imminent on the Korean Peninsula, you wouldn't want to be a crew member on that submarine. Even if its nuclear attack capability is largely a bluff, that loud, slow boat could be sunk as soon as it left port. It's another example of North Korea misallocating resources against the welfare of its people. Kim wants to increase military power, but when Pyongyang is more threatening, it is actually less secure.”
“Pyongyang presumably notified Tokyo of the impending launch because the rocket may fly over Japanese territory, and the Kim regime wants to claim it is conducting a legitimate space program. But the notification does not appear to meet international standards, and any North Korean satellite launch is illegal under UN Security Council resolutions that ban North Korean ballistic missile tests.”
“The days of North Korea disguising ICBM activity as satellite launches were long-gone. Kim's blatant violations of UN Security Council resolutions showed that his goal was to make North Korea a full-fledged nuclear power and demand concessions from other countries.”
“Such parades largely serve to justify Kim's policies to a domestic political audience. The regime has staked its legitimacy on nuclear weapons at the expense of diplomacy and the economy. The message Pyongyang wants to send internationally, demonstrating its capabilities to deter and coerce, will likely come in the form of solid-fuel missile tests and detonation of a miniaturised nuclear device.”
“Pyongyang's claim of testing a solid-fuel motor for longer range ballistic missiles supports its more aggressive, recently declared doctrine of using nuclear weapons if the Kim leadership or strategic assets come under threat. Once deployed, the technology would make North Korea's nuclear forces more versatile, survivable, and dangerous.”
“Pyongyang's politics of blaming external threats and projecting confidence in military capabilities can motivate greater risk taking. North Korean probing of South Korean perimeter defenses could lead to a serious exchange of fire and unintended escalation.”
“North Korea's cruise missiles, air force, and tactical nuclear devices are probably much less capable than propaganda suggests. But it would be a mistake to dismiss North Korea's recent weapons testing spree as bluster or sabre-rattling. Pyongyang's military threats are a chronic and worsening problem for peace and stability in Asia that must not be ignored. Policymakers in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington should not allow domestic politics and other challenges such as Russia's war in Ukraine to prevent them from increasing international coordination on military deterrence and economic sanctions.”
“Pyongyang has been concerned about military exercises by the U.S., South Korea and Japan, so to strengthen its self-proclaimed deterrent, it is making explicit the nuclear threat behind its recent missile launches. The KCNA report may also be harbinger of a forthcoming nuclear test for the kind of tactical warhead that would arm the units Kim visited in the field.”
“Instead of accepting invitations to dialogue, the Kim regime appears to be preparing a tactical nuclear warhead test. The timing will depend most on when the underground tunnels and modified device technology are ready. A seventh nuclear test would be the first since September 2017 and raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula, increasing dangers of miscalculation and miscommunication between the Kim regime and the incoming Yoon administration.”
“The Kim regime needs more sources of national pride and legitimacy than military parades. So the public commemorations around its founder's birthday tried to portray an economy that is not only resilient but growing, and a society that is not only united but also modern and happy. But this does not represent a shift away from North Korea's military build-up. Kim Jong-un's stated goal of deploying tactical nuclear weapons, Kim Yo-jong's recent threats toward Seoul, and satellite imagery of tunneling activity at Punggye-ri all point to an upcoming nuclear test. Additional missile launches are also expected for honing weapons delivery systems.”
“The international message behind North Korea's month of missile tests is about price. The Kim regime hears external discussions of its domestic weaknesses and sees South Korea's growing strength. So it wants to remind Washington and Seoul that trying to topple it would be too costly. By threatening stability in Asia while global resources are stretched thin elsewhere, Pyongyang is demanding the world compensate it to act like a 'responsible nuclear power'.”
“North Korea is trying to lay a trap for the Biden administration. It has queued up missiles that it wants to test anyway and is responding to US pressure with additional provocations in an effort to extort concessions. North Korea should be offered humanitarian assistance once it is willing to diplomatically reengage. But its threats should not be rewarded with international recognition or sanctions relief.”
“North Korea's so-called hypersonic weapon is not technologically ready for deployment. But state media hyped the latest test, personally supervised by Kim Jong-un, as 'final verification' of a new military capability. This looks like classic North Korean box checking, claiming success of an agenda item from Kim's earlier speech in an attempt to bolster political legitimacy and increase diplomatic pressure. Nonetheless, Pyongyang's ability to threaten its neighbors continues to grow, underlining the urgency of U.S.-South Korea-Japan cooperation on missile defense and the need for greater accountability in China and Russia's enforcement of UN sanctions.”
“North Korea is trying to coerce the world into accepting its violations of UN Security Council Resolutions as if they are normal acts of self-defense. This is part of the Kim regime's efforts to achieve de facto international recognition as a nuclear power and receive concessions just for resuming contact.”
“Because of their speed and varied trajectories, hypersonic missiles are hard to detect, track and defend against. Advancements in fueling are intended to allow Pyongyang to fire the missiles quickly, making them more difficult for other countries to preemptively target and destroy before launch. It is unlikely that North Korea has reliably developed all the technologies its propaganda claims. However, if Pyongyang manages to fit a nuclear warhead on even a rudimentary hypersonic, it would be a dangerous weapon because it wouldn't have to be extremely accurate to threaten the nearby metropolis of Seoul.”
“North Korea's amped up rhetoric against scaled down US-South Korea defence exercises appears to be more about domestic politics than signalling to Washington. The Kim [Kim Jong-un] regime is shifting blame for its struggles to restart the economy after a long, self-imposed pandemic lockdown. Pyongyang is also trying to pressure South Korean presidential candidates to express differences with US policy on sanctions and denuclearisation.”
“North Korea's military activities after reaffirming ties with Beijing raise questions about how China is complicit in sanctions evasion and may be enabling the Kim regime's threats to the region. This will increase calls in the US and elsewhere to sanction Chinese firms involved in illicit trade.”
“With its return to testing different types of missiles, Pyongyang is flirting with the limits of what it can get away with under UN Security Council resolutions. The Moon government has doubled down on peace building engagement and the Biden administration is looking to complete a policy review before taking any major moves. Strategists in Tokyo worry that North Korea is taking provocative actions to undermine cooperation among Japan, South Korea and the United States. The three countries are trying to get on the same page about deterrence, sanctions and engagement.”