DefenceTalkPentagon chief Jim Mattis tried to clear up doubts about the US administration’s North Korea strategy Tuesday, backing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s effort to find a diplomatic solution to the nuclear stand-off. Defense Secretary Mattis was speaking two days after President Donald Trump appeared to undermine his top diplomat by saying Tillerson was “wasting […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-chief-says-us-admin-backs-tillersons-north-korea-effort-70582/

DefenceTalkDonald Trump’s administration ramped up the pressure on North Korea on Sunday (Sep 17) ahead of a week of high-stakes diplomacy at the United Nations, warning Pyongyang will be “destroyed” if it refuses to end its “reckless” nuclear and ballistic missile drive. With US officials and their allies scrambling to find ways to contain an […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-warns-north-korea-will-be-destroyed-if-threats-continue-70472/

DefenceTalkNorth Korea fired an intermediate range ballistic missile eastwards over Japan and into the Pacific on Friday, the US said, its latest provocation amid high tensions over its banned weapons programmes. The launch, from near Pyongyang, came after the United Nations Security Council imposed an eighth set of sanctions on the country over its ballistic […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-fires-missile-over-japan-2-70460/

DefenceTalkJapan’s prime minister on Monday (Sept 11) called for a boost to the country’s defences in the face of North Korean threats, warning that Tokyo needs to be able to protect itself. The call is a common refrain from nationalist leader Shinzo Abe, who has long advocated a stiffening of Japan’s military posture, despite its […]https://www.defencetalk.com/japan-pm-urges-stronger-defence-amid-north-korea-worries-70441/

DefenceTalkGeological agencies have detected an earthquake in North Korea that signals it conducted its sixth nuclear test. The presumed test rachets up tensions after North Korea has conducted repeated ballistic missile tests. North Korea is likely to have conducted its sixth nuclear test on Sunday, after geological agencies registered a man-made quake in the northeast […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-fears-of-nuclear-test-as-earthquake-detected-70409/

DefenceTalkNuclear-armed North Korea has warned Tokyo against “imminent self-destruction” for siding with Washington, as tensions soar after Pyongyang fired a missile over Japan. The North set off global alarm Tuesday when it fired an intermediate-range missile over the Asian island nation, triggering condemnation from world leaders including the US and Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-warns-japan-of-imminent-self-destruction-70403/

DefenceTalkNuclear-armed North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday in a major escalation by Pyongyang amid tensions over its weapons ambitions. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it was an “unprecedented, serious and grave threat” and called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting. The last time a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-fires-ballistic-missile-over-japan-70382/

DefenceTalkThe US Marine Corps may ground its entire air fleet for a safety review following the crash of an Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft in Australia that killed three Marines, a defense official said Monday. The Japan-based Marine MV-22 Osprey crashed Saturday during an exercise off the Australian coast, leaving three service members missing and presumed dead. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-marines-may-ground-aircraft-after-latest-deadly-crash-70257/

DefenceTalkNorth Korea confirmed its recent test-firing of a ballistic missile was “successful”, the state-run news agency KCNA reported Tuesday, a day after the projectile landed in waters close to Japan. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un “guided” the launch — the third missile test by the nuclear-armed regime in less than three weeks — which was […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-says-ballistic-missile-test-successful-media-70091/

DefenceTalkNorth Korea on Monday declared its medium-range Pukguksong-2 missile ready for deployment after a weekend test, the latest step in its quest to defy UN sanctions and develop an intercontinental rocket capable of striking US targets. The state-run Korean Central News Agency said the North’s leader Kim Jong-Un oversaw Sunday’s launch, which sparked a fresh […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-declares-medium-range-missile-ready-for-deployment-69993/