North Korea fires 2 short-range missiles, 5 days after previous launch; US tests long-range missile within 10 minutes - Fox News

North Korea fired two short-range missiles on Thursday, the country’s second such launch in less than a week, according to South Korean military.

The launch occurred around 4:30 p.m. local time from the North’s Sino-ri missile base, the South’s joint chiefs of staff said in a statement, according to Bloomberg. The base is located around 130 miles north of the border with South Korea. The missiles flew 260 and 170 miles respectively, according to South Korean military officials.

The base is believed to operate Rodong short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, according to the New York Times.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

“The Sino-ri missile operating base and the Rodong missiles deployed at this location fit into North Korea’s presumed nuclear military strategy by providing an operational-level nuclear or conventional first-strike capability against targets located both throughout the Korean Peninsula and in most of Japan,” the Times quoted from a study published by analysts for the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

POMPEO DISMISSES NORTH KOREA'S REJECTION OF HIM AS US NEGOTIATOR

South Korea's presidential national security director, Chung Eui-yong, has been monitoring the situation and was communicating with defense officials and the JCS by video.

This Saturday, May 4, 2019, file photo provided by the North Korean government shows a test of weapon systems, in North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

The firing comes five days after the North launched a barrage of short-range projectiles from its east coast. Through its state media, the North described the earlier firing as a “defense units” test of its rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons.

Thursday's firing comes as Trump's negotiator for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, visits Japan and South Korea to discuss North Korean denuclearization efforts.

US ENVOY: NORTH KOREA DENUCLEARIZATION MUST NOT BE INCREMENTAL

The U.S. Air Force, meanwhile, tested a long-range missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California within 10 minutes of the reported launch by Pyongyang. The American intercontinental ballistic missile flew 4,200 miles into Pacific from a base in California, according to the Air Force. The launch of the Minuteman III intercontinental missile was the second missile launch this month and the fourth this year.

Linda Frost, Deputy, Media Operations of the Air Force Global Strike Command, told Fox News that the timing of both the U.S. and North Korean tests were entirely coincidental.

“It’s important to note that our test launch is not a response or reaction to world events. The launch calendars are built three to five years in advance, and planning for each individual launch begins six months to a year prior to the launch,” she said.

North Korea last conducted a major missile test in November 2017 when it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile that could demonstrate the potential capability to reach the U.S. mainland. Analysts have said if the North decides to resume testing banned ballistic weapons, it could signal the rogue nation is turning away from diplomacy.

Tensions between the North and the U.S. were somewhat soothed when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump met for two summits. The second meeting in February ended abruptly when both sides disagreed over sanctions relief for the North. The U.S. did not believe the North was offering enough disarmament measures in order to grant widespread sanctions relief it sought.

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After Saturday's launches, Trump tweeted that Kim “knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!”

Kim said he is open to a third meeting with Trump but set this year’s end as a deadline for Washington to offer mutually acceptable terms for an agreement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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2019-05-09 11:36:42Z
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North Korea launches 'unidentified' projectile - CNN

The launch took place at 4:30 p.m., in the Sino-ri area in the country's western Pyongbuk province, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Sino-ri is believed to be home to one of about 20 undeclared missile facilities that Pyongyang operates throughout the country, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Beyond Parallel program.

Thursday's firing comes less than a week after North Korea tested several new weapons systems, the first confirmed launches of their kind since 2017.

North Korean state media reported that the launches conducted on Saturday were part of a "strike drill" to "check the operating ability of large-caliber long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons."

But some weapons experts who analyzed the images of Saturday's launch released by North Korea say that Pyongyang may have test-fired a new, more advanced type of short-range ballistic missile -- the type of weapon that in theory could carry a nuclear warhead.

Michael Elleman, a missile defense expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, wrote in a piece for North Korean specialty site 38 North that the weapon bore similarities to a Russian ballistic missile called Iskander.

Regardless of what was fired, analysts worry that an uptick in weapons testing from the North Koreans could impact nuclear negotiations with the United States and South Korea. Talks between the three countries have been on the rocks since a February meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended abruptly and without an agreement.

North Korea has particularly vocal in its opposition to recent joint military drills between the US and South Korea. Seoul and Washington previously held large-scale military exercises in the spring, but this year chose to scale those back to "reduce tension" with North Korea.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim agreed at a summit with Kim last year to "make joint efforts to alleviate the acute military tension and practically eliminate the danger of war on the Korean Peninsula."

Moon and Kim's meeting was part of a flurry of diplomacy intended to reduce tensions on the Peninsula, as Washington and Pyongyang traded heated threats amid North Korea's repeated missile and nuclear tests.

North Korea's test pause is among the most important factors that has enabled negotiations between Seoul, Pyongyang and Washington. But a renewed round of missile launches could force the US to adjust course, as Trump has hinted that it could imperil the progress made between the two sides.

"I'm not in a rush, I don't want to rush anybody, I just don't want testing. As long as there's no testing, we're happy," Trump said ahead of his February summit with Kim.

Trump's top diplomat in charge of North Korea, Stephen Biegun, arrived in Seoul yesterday for meetings with his South Korean counterparts.

CNN's Jake Kwon and Brad Lendon contributed to this report

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2019-05-09 09:41:00Z
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North Korea launches 'unidentified' projectile - CNN

The launch took place at 4:30 p.m. in the western part of the country, and comes less than a week after North Korea test-fired several new weapons systems, the first confirmed launches of their kind since 2017.

North Korean state media reported that the launches conducted on Saturday were part of a "strike drill" to "check the operating ability of large-caliber long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons."

Pyongyang described the launches as "routine and self-defensive" in nature.

But some weapons experts who analyzed the images of the launch released by North Korea say that Pyongyang may have test-fired a new, more advanced type of short-range ballistic missile -- the type of weapon that in theory could carry a nuclear warhead.

Michael Elleman, a missile defense expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, wrote in a piece for North Korean specialty site 38 North that the weapon bore similarities to a Russian ballistic missile called Iskander.

Regardless of what was fired, analysts worry that an uptick in weapons testing from the North Koreans could impact nuclear negotiations with the United States and South Korea. Talks between the three countries have been on the rocks since a February meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended abruptly and without an agreement.

North Korea has been particularly vocal in its opposition to recent joint military drills between the US and South Korea. Seoul and Washington previously held large-scale military exercises in the spring, but this year chose to scale those back to "reduce tension" with North Korea.

The Thursday launch took place in the Sino-ri area in the country's western Pyongbuk province, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Sino-ri is believed to be home to one of about 20 undeclared missile facilities that Pyongyang operates throughout the country according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Beyond Parallel program.

This is a developing story, more to follow

CNN's Jake Kwon and Brad Lendon contributed to this report

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/09/asia/north-korea-projectile-intl/index.html

2019-05-09 08:44:00Z
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North Korea launches 'unidentified' projectile - CNN

The launch took place at 4:30 p.m. in the western part of the country, and comes less than a week after North Korea test-fired several new weapons systems, the first confirmed launches of their kind since 2017.

North Korean state media reported that the launches conducted on Saturday were part of a "strike drill" to "check the operating ability of large-caliber long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons."

Pyongyang described the launches as "routine and self-defensive" in nature.

But some weapons experts who analyzed the images of the launch released by North Korea say that Pyongyang may have test-fired a new, more advanced type of short-range ballistic missile -- the type of weapon that in theory could carry a nuclear warhead.

Michael Elleman, a missile defense expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, wrote in a piece for North Korean specialty site 38 North that the weapon bore similarities to a Russian ballistic missile called Iskander.

Regardless of what was fired, analysts worry that an uptick in weapons testing from the North Koreans could impact nuclear negotiations with the United States and South Korea. Talks between the three countries have been on the rocks since a February meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended abruptly and without an agreement.

North Korea has been particularly vocal in its opposition to recent joint military drills between the US and South Korea. Seoul and Washington previously held large-scale military exercises in the spring, but this year chose to scale those back to "reduce tension" with North Korea.

The Thursday launch took place in the Sino-ri area in the country's western Pyongbuk province, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Sino-ri is believed to be home to one of about 20 undeclared missile facilities that Pyongyang operates throughout the country according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Beyond Parallel program.

This is a developing story, more to follow

CNN's Jake Kwon and Brad Lendon contributed to this report

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/09/asia/north-korea-projectile-intl/index.html

2019-05-09 08:28:00Z
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North Korea has fired an unidentified projectile, South Korea's military says - CNBC

North Korea fired an unidentified projectile on Thursday, according to the South Korean military, less than a week after leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-firing of multiple rockets and missiles.

"We confirm that North Korea has fired an unidentified projectile off towards eastern direction from Sinori area located in Northern Pyongan Province at around 03:30 a.m. ET/16:30 p.m. local time," a South Korean military official told NBC News on Thursday.

Last week, North Korea launched a number of rockets and at least one short range missile from its east coast into the ocean. Thursday's launch would be the third time North Korea has fired a missile since talks collapsed between President Donald Trump and Kim in February.

The two leaders met in Hanoi, Vietnam, to discuss the possibility of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, but the talks ended abruptly without a deal. That summit had followed the historic meeting between Kim and Trump in Singapore last June. North Korea had pledged to cease its nuclear and long-range missile tests back in April 2018.

—Reuters and CNBC's Jeff Daniels contributed to this article.

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2019-05-09 08:08:42Z
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Singapore Passes Controversial 'Fake News' Bill - TIME

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2019-05-09 06:47:38Z
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Google says Singapore's fake news law may hurt innovation - Reuters

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Google said on Thursday an anti-fake news law passed by Singapore’s parliament could stunt innovation, a quality that the city-state wants to nurture under plans to expand its tech industry.

FILE PHOTO: The Google name is displayed outside the company's office in London, Britain November 1, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Singapore’s parliament on Wednesday passed the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act, a law criticized by rights groups, journalists and tech firms over fears it could be used to clamp down on freedom of speech.

The passage of the law comes at a time when Singapore, a financial and transport hub, has been making efforts to position itself as regional center for digital innovation.

Google said the law could hamper those efforts.

“We remain concerned that this law will hurt innovation and the growth of the digital information ecosystem,” the company said in response to a query from Reuters.

“How the law is implemented matters, and we are committed to working with policymakers on this process.”

The law will require online media platforms to carry corrections or remove content the government considers to be false, with penalties for perpetrators running as high as prison terms of up to 10 years or fines up to S$1 million ($735,000).

The law minister has said the bill will not affect free speech. Singapore says it is vulnerable to fake news because of its position as a global financial hub, its mixed ethnic and religious population and widespread internet access.

“We remain concerned with aspects of the new law which grant broad powers to the Singapore executive branch to compel us to remove content they deem to be false and to push a government notification to users,” Simon Milner, Facebook’s Asia-Pacific vice-president of public policy, said.

Milner said Facebook hoped that the ministry’s reassuring statements led to a “proportionate and measured approach in practice”.

Facebook and Singapore clashed late last year when the company refused to remove a post of an online article about the city-state’s banks and Malaysia’s scandal-linked 1MDB state fund, that the government said was “false and malicious.”

A running feud between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his brother and sister over the will of their late father, Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, has also played out over Facebook since it first erupted in public in 2017.

The prime minister’s siblings have used the social media platform to give their side of a row that disturbed the normally calm politics of a country that has been led by the same party since its independence in 1965.

Activists are concerned that the law could give the government power to decide if material posted online is true or false.

“Singapore’s leaders have crafted a law that will have a chilling affect on internet freedom throughout Southeast Asia,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

FILE PHOTO: Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Singapore, November 12, 2018. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

“(The law will) likely start a new set of information wars as they try to impose their narrow version of ‘truth’ on the wider world.”

Asia Internet Coalition, having previously criticized the bill for the new law, said that its members are committed to work with the Singapore government on the law’s implementation.

“The Asia Internet Coalition reaffirms our members’ commitment to continue engaging with the Singapore government and to collaborate with all stakeholders to address the issue of deliberate online misinformation,” managing director Jeff Paine said.

Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Joe Brock & Simon Cameron-Moore

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-singapore-politics-google/google-says-singapores-fake-news-law-may-hurt-innovation-idUSKCN1SF08X

2019-05-09 04:03:00Z
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