. 24/7 Space News .
NUKEWARS
S. Korea urges North to talk before military drills restart
by Staff Writers
Seoul (AFP) Jan 26, 2018


Mattis wants to keep pressure on N. Korea
Honolulu (AFP) Jan 27, 2018 - The United States and South Korea are going to keep tightening the screws on Pyongyang so that the hermit state gives up its nuclear program, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said Friday.

"As two peace-loving nations, the Republic of Korea and America welcome the Olympic Games talks between the ROK and DPRK while at the same time remaining steadfast with the international economic pressure campaign to denuclearize the Korean peninsula," Mattis said in Honolulu.

The defense secretary was speaking at the start of a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Song Young-Moo at US Pacific Command, or PACOM, headquarters.

"Diplomacy should repose reason on Kim's reckless rhetoric and dangerous provocations," Mattis said, warning that the Winter Olympics talks and the respite in inter-Korean ties that accompany them do not solve overarching problems.

"The Kim regime is a threat to the entire world... Our response to this threat remains diplomacy-led, backed up with military options available to ensure that our diplomats are understood to be speaking from a position of strength."

Pyongyang has agreed to send athletes and support delegations to the South for the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang next month and form a unified women's ice hockey team with the South.

The move followed months of entreaties from Seoul to take part in a "peace Olympics," prompting a rare and rapid improvement in the atmosphere on the peninsula.

But the North is also preparing a massive military parade in Pyongyang on February 8, a day before the Winter Olympics' opening ceremony.

The North has long said it is open to talks without preconditions, but the US says it must first take concrete steps towards denuclearization, although the administration of President Donald Trump has at times sent mixed and conflicting messages on the issue.

The Winter Olympics will offer only a brief respite from tensions over North Korea's nuclear ambitions, the South's unification minister warned Friday, urging Pyongyang to seize the opportunity to talk to Washington.

Seoul and the US have only agreed to put off major joint military exercises until after the end of the Paralympics on March 25, pointed out Cho Myoung-Gyon, who is in charge of the South's relations with its neighbour.

The Foal Eagle and Key Resolve drills always infuriate Pyongyang, which condemns them as rehearsals for invasion and often responds with its own provocations.

"When the military exercises start, North Korea is likely to react angrily and will probably launch provocative acts, prompting a new layer of sanctions," Cho said.

A return to the "vicious cycle" of the last two years, with North Korean missile launches or atomic blasts leading to new international sanctions, followed by new tests, was a "realistic guess", he told a forum in Seoul.

Pyongyang has agreed to send athletes and support delegations to the South for the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang next month and form a unified women's ice hockey team with the South, after months of entreaties from Seoul to take part in a "peace Olympics", prompting a rare and rapid improvement in the atmosphere on the peninsula.

But the North was also preparing a massive military parade in Pyongyang on February 8, a day before the Winter Olympics' opening ceremony, Cho said.

"This is going to be a considerably threatening show of force, involving a large number of troops and many weapons."

Instead Seoul has urged Pyongyang to open a dialogue with Washington, he said.

The North has long said it is open to talks without preconditions, but the US says it must first take concrete steps towards denuclearisation, although the administration of President Donald Trump has at times sent mixed and conflicting messages on the issue.

"We need to make the momentum lead into April and extend after June," the minister added.

NUKEWARS
US sanctions N. Korean, Chinese firms aiding Pyongyang
Washington (AFP) Jan 24, 2018
The United States slapped new sanctions on North Korean and Chinese firms and individuals that it said support the Pyongyang regime of Kim Jong-Un and his nuclear weapons program. The move comes as the US seeks to choke the flow of goods and materials crucial to North Korea's economy like oil, electronics and metals, and pressure Kim to halt the development of nuclear weapons that threaten t ... read more

Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

NUKEWARS
S. Korea's Chinese tourist slump endures despite pledges

Europe brings on charm and blue skies to lure Chinese tourists

Macron 'completely changed' France's image, says tech billionaire

Chinese, Russians shore up Middle East tourism

NUKEWARS
India seeks to reduce satellite launch cost

ISRO hopes GSAT-11 is the last Indian satellite to be launched by a foreign space agency

Rocket Lab successfully sends rocket into orbit

Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25 test advances exploration efforts

NUKEWARS
New technique for finding life on Mars

Next Mars Analog mission will help improve efficiency and reduce dust exposure

Deep, buried glaciers spotted on Mars

Opportunity takes right at the fork and has successful battery test

NUKEWARS
Yang Liwei looks back at China's first manned space mission

China to launch first student satellite for scientific education

Scientist reveals what is so special about Chines's next moon mission

China's Kuaizhou-11 rocket scheduled to launch in first half of 2018

NUKEWARS
Europe's space agency braces for Brexit fallout

Xenesis and ATLAS partner to develop global optical network

GomSpace signs deal for low-inclination launch on Virgin's LauncherOne

SES-15 Enters Commercial Service to Serve the Americas

NUKEWARS
Applications now open for the Space Debris Training Course

Micius satellite enables intercontinental quantum communications

Kilopower: What's Next?

Scientists achieve high power with new smaller laser

NUKEWARS
Viruses are everywhere, maybe even in space

Rutgers scientists discover 'Legos of life'

NASA study shows disk patterns can self-generate

Hubble finds substellar objects in the Orion Nebula

NUKEWARS
JUICE ground control gets green light to start development

New Year 2019 offers new horizons at MU69 flyby

Study explains why Jupiter's jet stream reverses course on a predictable schedule

New Horizons Corrects Its Course in the Kuiper Belt









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.