Showing posts with label North Korea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North Korea. Show all posts

Sunday, June 30, 2019

Trump Crosses Demilitarized Zone Into North Korea

In a moment that clearly thrilled North Korea's President Kim Jong-un, Donald Trump stepped across the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea for a photo opp that elevated the ruthless dictator in world standing.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump

In a moment that clearly thrilled North Korea's President Kim Jong-un, Donald Trump stepped across the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea for a photo opp that elevated the ruthless dictator in world standing.

From the New York Times:
Greeted by a beaming Mr. Kim, the president stepped across a low concrete border marker at 3:46 p.m. local time and walked 20 paces to the base of a building on the North Korean side for an unprecedented, camera-friendly demonstration of friendship intended to revitalize stalled talks.

“It is good to see you again,” an exuberant Mr. Kim told the president through an interpreter. “I never expected to meet you in this place.”

“Big moment, big moment,” Mr. Trump told him.

After about a minute on officially hostile territory, Mr. Trump escorted Mr. Kim back over the line into South Korea, where the two briefly addressed a scrum of journalists before slipping inside the building known as Freedom House for a private conversation along with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea. Mr. Trump said he would invite Mr. Kim to visit him at the White House.















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Friday, May 31, 2019

Kim Jong Un Ordered Nuclear Envoy Executed After Failed Summit With Trump

Kim Jong Un (L) and Donald Trump (R)

According to USA Today, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un ordered his special nuclear envoy to the United States executed in March after the failed summit between his country and the U.S.

North Korean newspaper Chosen Ilbo reported the news on Friday.

Kim Hyok Chol was executed by firing squad in March along with four other foreign ministry officials, the paper reported, citing an unidentified North Korean source.

North Korea neither confirmed nor denied the report. South Korea's government was not able to confirm the claim. Previous media reports about the fate of North Korean officials who have fallen afoul of Pyongyang's leader have proven to be false.

Chosun Ilbo reported Kim Hyok Chol and the other senior officials were shot after being accused of spying for the United States.

The paper reported Kim Jong Un ordered the purge amid mounting dissatisfaction with the summit in Hanoi – the second time Kim and Trump met for face-to-face talks. In Vietnam, they failed to reach a deal because of conflicts over the White House's call for complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and North Korean demands for sanctions relief.

Chol led working-level negotiations for the March nuclear summit.

Donald Trump has repeatedly acknowledged his respect and admiration for the North Korean leader.





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Tuesday, March 5, 2019

News Round-Up: March 5, 2019

Oh no, I'm nor jealous at all of InstaHunk Jim Newman and his Brazilian infinity pool afternoon. #HowNiceForHim :)
InstaHunk Jim Newman in Brazil

Some news items you might have missed:

• Oh no, I'm not jealous at all of InstaHunk Jim Newman and his Brazilian infinity pool afternoon. #HowNiceForHim #SeeWhatHardWorkGetsYou

• CNN reports that Donald Trump pressured White House staff to issue Ivanka Trump a security clearance against their recommendations. This comes just days after The New York Times reported that the Trumpster intervened to secure a high-level security clearance for his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

• Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, has agreed to drop his lawsuit against the Colorado Civil Rights Commission in exchange for the commission giving up on its own administrative discrimination complaint against Phillips.

• NBC News reports North Korea started rebuilding a banned long range missile site 48 hours after Donald Trump's failed Hanoi summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

• An unlicensed gun owner in Indiana is recovering in a hospital after accidentally shooting himself in the penis. #WhatElseIsThereToSay?

• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is reported to be scrambling to avoid embarrassing Donald Trump as possibly 15 Senate Republicans may join Democrats in a resolution denouncing the Donald's use of 'national emergency' to get funds for his beloved wall.

• Madonna celebrated the 30th anniversary of the release of her mega-hit, "Like a Prayer," yesterday. The actual date was Sunday, but apparently Madge was 'blocked' from posting then.

The Queen of Pop writes: "30 years ago today I released Like a Prayer and made a video that caused so much controversy because I kissed a black saint and danced in front of burning crosses! I also made a commercial with PEPSI that was banned because my video was seen as inappropriate. Happy Birthday to Me and Controversy! #likeaprayer meant to post this yesterday but was blocked! what a shocker!"


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Friday, March 1, 2019

Otto Warmbiers' Parents Issue Scathing Rebuke Of Trump's Trust In North Korean Dictator

Cindy and Fred Warmbier attending Donald Trump's first State of the Union address

The parents of deceased college student Otto Warmbier, who was imprisoned in North Korea for stealing a poster, have issued a statement after Donald Trump told the world yesterday he believed North Korean President Kim Jong Un didn't know anything about the student's treatment in his country.

“We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto,” Fred and Cindy Warmbier said in a statement, according to NBC News. “Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that.”

Here's what Donald Trump told reporters yesterday in Vietnam:



That sentiment is a reversal from last year when Trump invited Otto's parents to attend his State of the Union address and he blamed Kim Jong Un's dictatorship for Otto Warmbier's death.

In 2016, Otto Warmbier was arrested during a trip to North Korea after being accused of stealing a propaganda poster from his hotel in Pyongyang.

The 21-year-old was sentenced to 15 years hard labor by the North Korean government, but was released after 17 months.

He was returned to the United States in a coma, and died days later due to neurological injury.










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Thursday, February 28, 2019

Trump Believes Kim Jong Un Didn't Torture American Student, Says Cohen Lies "A Lot" But Not All The Time

Donald Trump in Vietnam 

During a press conference in Vietnam, Donald Trump responded to the testimony of his former attorney, Michael Cohen, before Congress yesterday.

In the same breath, Trump accused Cohen of lying "a lot," but telling the truth about Trump's alleged collusion with the Russian government during the 2016 election.

Trump also criticized the House Oversight Committee for having the hearing while he was abroad. What he doesn't mention is the Trumpster scheduled his trip AFTER the committee appearance with Cohen was announced.



In other news, the man who claims he wrote "The Art of the Deal" couldn't close the deal in Vietnam where he met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

According to CNN, the summit ended abruptly with no joint agreement after Kim insisted all US sanctions be lifted on his country.

“Sometimes you have to walk,” Trump said during a news conference following the conclusion of the summit, which broke up earlier than planned. “This was just one of those times.”

NBC News shares that the breakdown in talks "is sure to come as a relief to many North Korea experts — including some Democratic and Republican lawmakers — who worried Trump was ready to make concessions to Kim without securing a firm and verifiable disarmament commitment from the dictator."

At the press event, Trump also declared he believed the known-dictator's claims that he knew nothing about the treatment of American student Otto Warmbier, who was held as a political prisoner by North Korea.

When he was finally returned to the United States, he died a few days later due to harsh and brutal treatment in North Korea.

Trump said, "I don't believe Kim would have allowed that to happen to" Otto Warmbier. "He tells me that he didn’t know about it, and I will take him at his word."
















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Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Trump Calls His Own Intelligence Community "Naive" Suggesting They Should "Go Back To School"

Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Intelligence community today using language like "passive" and "naive," and then closing with, "Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!"
Donald Trump

Donald Trump pushed back against recent assessments by his own intelligence have come to conclusions regarding Iran and North Korea that don't align with what he wants to hear.

From the New York Times:

A new American intelligence assessment of global threats has concluded that North Korea is unlikely to give up its nuclear stockpiles and that Iran is not, for now, taking steps necessary to make a bomb, directly contradicting the rationale of two of President Trump’s foreign policy initiatives.

Those conclusions are part of an annual “Worldwide Threat Assessment” released on Tuesday that also stressed the growing cyberthreat from Russia and China, which it said were now “more aligned than at any point since the mid-1950s.”

Trump's answer was to attack the U.S. Intelligence community today using language like "passive" and "naive," and then closing with, "Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!"

Note the wrong use of 'There economy' in his tweet as he says others should go back to school.





Let's check in with the Twitterverse, shall we? Starting with former CIA Director John Brennan:











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Saturday, September 29, 2018

North Korea:"No Way" We Will Disarm Nuclear Weapons First

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho

North Korea's Foreign Minister announced today at the United Nations that it will not disarm itself of nuclear weapons while sanctions remain in place on his country.

From NBC News:

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho told the United Nations on Saturday that continued sanctions on Pyongyang were deepening its mistrust in the United States.

"Without any trust in the U.S. there will be no confidence in our national security and under such circumstances there is no way we will unilaterally disarm ourselves first," Ri told the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.

The comments come as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepares to travel to Pyongyang next month for his fourth trip to North Korea, his third as secretary of state. Discussions of a second summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are already underway.

China and Russia have said the U.N. Security Council should reward Pyongyang for steps taken after U.S. Trump and Kim met in June and Kim pledged to work toward denuclearization.

"The perception that sanctions can bring us on our knees is a pipe-dream of the people who are ignorant about us. But the problem is that the continued sanctions are deepening our mistrust," Ri said.



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Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Trump Twitter Rant: "We'd Be At War If Not For Me"

Angry he doesn't get enough 'credit' for his efforts, Donald Trump tweeted "If not for me, we would be at War with North Korea!"
Donald Trump

Clearly, Donald Trump never received any positive reinforcement during his childhood.

No one must have ever told him any thing was good enough because as an adult in a position of immense power now, he demands praise whenever the mood strikes him.

In the aftermath of a by The Washington Post on Sunday which quoted U.S. officials who now believe Kim Jong Un has no intention of denuclearization, Trump took to Twitter to claim the credit for the U.S. not being at war with North Korea.

"Many good conversations with North Korea-it is going well! In the meantime, no Rocket Launches or Nuclear Testing in 8 months. All of Asia is thrilled. Only the Opposition Party, which includes the Fake News, is complaining. If not for me, we would now be at War with North Korea!"







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Saturday, June 30, 2018

U.S. Officials Say North Korea Continues To Build Up Nuclear Production

kim-donald-handshake-512.jpg
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump
According to five U.S. officials, North Korea has been stepping up its production of enriched uranium for nuclear weapons, even though the country's leader, Kim Jong Un told Donald Trump at the recent summit he would "work toward" denuclearization.

Taking Kim at his word, Trump cancelled the U.S. military training exercises on the Korean peninsula.

From NBC News:


U.S. intelligence agencies believe that North Korea has increased its production of fuel for nuclear weapons at multiple secret sites in recent months — and that Kim Jong Un may try to hide those facilities as he seeks more concessions in nuclear talks with the Trump administration, U.S. officials told NBC News.

The intelligence assessment, which has not previously been reported, seems to counter the sentiments expressed by President Donald Trump, who tweeted after his historic June 12 summit with Kim that "there was no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea."

Analysts at the CIA and other intelligence agencies don't see it that way, according to more than a dozen American officials who are familiar with their assessments and spoke on the condition of anonymity. They see a regime positioning itself to extract every concession it can from the Trump administration — while clinging to nuclear weapons it believes are essential to survival.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

There's also evidence that North Korea has made substantial improvements to its nuclear research facilities.

But, remember, Trump says he trusts Kim Jong Un and the nuclear threat is "no longer."









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Thursday, June 14, 2018

Propaganda Video: Donald Trump Salutes North Korean General

Donald Trump salutes North Korean general

Remember when the Obama detractors lost their shit when President Obama bowed to foreign dignitaries?

The outrage!

Now this from Daily Kos:

You’d think it would be a no-brainer not to salute a general from a foreign military, one that has been threatening nuclear war with the United States for decades. But, not Trump.

And now North Korean state-run television is running this video on repeat. Donald Trump saluting their general, giving him the ultimate legitimacy. What kind of message does that send to the North Koreans who’ve been living under the threat of starvation and firing squads at the hands of this very same general?



This comes at almost the same time that Trump defended Kim Jong Un in an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier:

"He's a tough guy. Hey, when you take over a country, tough country, tough people, and you take it over from your father ... if you could do that at 27-years old, I mean, that's 1 in 10,000 that could do that."





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Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Donald Trump Declares "There Is No Longer A Nuclear Threat From North Korea"

Donald Trump

In an early morning Twitter thread, Donald Trump declared that "There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea."

This comes after Trump's five hour summit meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un earlier this week.

The Donald also attempted to deflect his decision to suspend military maneuvers with South Korea in an act of appeasement to North Korea by tweeting "We save a fortune by not doing war games."

So, there you go - problem solved?

















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Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Trump Produced Hollywood-Style Movie Trailer Starring Himself & Kim Jong Un


Well, this is... something.

It was reported earlier today that Donald Trump presented North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with a slick, four-minute Hollywood movie-styled video that cast Trump and Kim as the heroes of a story about “two men, two leaders, one destiny.”

Destiny Pictures presents a story of opportunity. A new story, a new beginning. One of peace. Two men, two leaders, one destiny. A story about a special moment in time, when a man is presented with one chance which may never be repeated. What will he choose? To show vision and leadership? Or not?

Via Vox:

“History is always evolving, and there comes a time when only a few are called upon to make a difference,” the narrator of the video says. “But the question is — what difference will the few make? The past doesn’t have to be the future. Out of the darkness can come the light, and the light of hope can burn bright.”

The video is heavy-handed in its Hollywood approach — it casts the potential reconciliation between North and South Korea as a “sequel,” and the narrator proudly declares, “Destiny Pictures presents: a story of opportunity.”

The short film was shown before Trump's press conference after the meetings concluded.

The video is clearly meant to play up to Kim Jong Un's ego, a tactic Trump must have wholly embraced because he knew HE would respond to such cinematic overtures.

Here's the video:


Trump was asked if he was "concerned" whether the video might be used by Kim as propaganda?

"I'm not concerned at all," declared Trump.







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Citing His "Special Bond" With Kim Jong Un, Trump Signs Agreement To Suspend Military Exercises With South Korea

Kim Jong-Un of North Korea with Donald Trump

After a half-day of "intensive" meetings, Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un publicly signed a joint statement Tuesday agreeing to pursue the denuclearization of North Korea although some described the document as "brief and vague."

As part of the agreement, Trump promised to suspend joint military exercises with South Korea.

From NBC News:

The pact came at the end of a historic half-day round of negotiations that marked the first time a sitting U.S. president had met with his North Korean counterpart. "From the beginning, we got along," Trump later told reporters.

Trump also confirmed military exercises involving American and South Korea forces would be put on hold for now. He said sanctions imposed against the Kim regime would not be removed until "we are sure that the nukes are no longer a factor."

While the agreement fell short of outlining concrete measures that would lead to Kim giving up his nuclear weapons program — the stated long-term goal of U.S. negotiators — it gave Trump and Kim a piece of paper to point to as a sign of progress and a symbol of goodwill.



Trump told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos just hours after the summit meeting that he believes North Korea will denuclearize because of his newly-found "special bond" with Kim Jong Un.

“I do trust him, yeah,” Trump said. “Maybe in a year you’ll be interviewing and I’ll say I made a mistake. It’s possible. We’re dealing at a high level, a lot of things can change, a lot of things are possible.”

“I think our whole relationship with North Korea and the Korean Peninsula – it’s going to be a very different relationship than it has in the past,” Trump said. He went on to say that he and Kim have “developed a very special bond” and that they spent “a lot of time together today, very intensive time.”






At a press conference after the meeting of the two leaders, Trump acknowledged that he has invited Kim Jong Un to the White House and the North Korean leader has accepted.

Trump also shared that he has no notes from the summit because he doesn't need them. "I don't have to verify because I have one of the great memories of all time."

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Friday, June 1, 2018

Trump Lowers Expectations As He Announces North Korea Summit Back On


After canceling the much-ballyhooed summit with North Korea, Donald Trump now says the meeting with "supreme leader" Kim Jong-Un is back on.

But.

The Trumpster made a point of lowering expectations for the outcome saying this will be more of a "get-to-know-you" kind of meeting (cough**photo-op**cough).

The summit was cancelled by the president last week on the grounds that Mr. Kim’s government had shown “open hostility” toward his administration.

From The New York Times:

The president rescheduled the get-together with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, barely a week after scrubbing it on the grounds that Mr. Kim’s government had shown “open hostility” toward his administration. In the days since, both sides worked to bridge the divide and proceed with the meeting.

The reversal followed an Oval Office meeting on Friday afternoon with a high-ranking North Korean envoy who delivered a personal letter from Mr. Kim to Mr. Trump. The envoy, Kim Yong-chol, the former North Korean intelligence chief and top nuclear arms negotiator, became the first North Korean official to set foot in the White House since 2000 and only the second ever to meet with a sitting American president.











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Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Trump's On-Again, Off-Again North Korean Summit


A high-ranking official from North Korea is traveling to the United States to meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in an effort to revive Donald Trump's on-again-off-again summit meeting with the nation's "supreme leader," Kim Jong-Un.

The summit meeting was originally scheduled to take place in Singapore on June 12 but was unexpectedly cancelled by Trump. Some say he shelved the meeting before North Korea could do the same, thus, embarrassing Trump.

From The New York Times:

Mr. Trump said on Twitter that Kim Yong-chol, one of the most trusted aides to the North’s leader and a former intelligence chief, was “heading now to New York.” In a reference to the moves made since he canceled the on-again-off-again summit meeting, the president added, “Solid response to my letter, thank you!”

The former intelligence chief, who is 72, has been at the side of the North Korean leader, 34, during a recent whirl of diplomacy, meeting with South Koreans in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula and with the Chinese.

Mr. Kim’s trip to the United States starts the most important negotiating track leading up to the summit meeting. Over the weekend, a team of American diplomats met with North Korean officials in the Demilitarized Zone, and White House logistics experts have been talking with North Koreans in Singapore about arrangements for the leaders’ meeting there.



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Thursday, May 24, 2018

Trump Cancels Summit With North Korea - 'No Nobel Prize For You'

Image via White House Communications Agency

Citing "open hostility" from North Korea, Donald Trump has cancelled his June 12 summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

Leaving the possibility open to a future meeting, Trump told the North Korean leader “this missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history.”

Trump had high hopes that the meeting would be a huge foreign policy victory for him.

Even as observers noted the status of the summit was tenuous, folks in the U.S. were already celebrating a possible win for Trump.

Commemorative coins featuring Trump and "Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un" were designed in advance of the meeting by the White House Communications Agency.



North Korean officials were reportedly angered when Vice President Mike Pence said Mr. Kim could meet the same fate as Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, if he did not make a deal with the United States. In 2011, Libyan rebels killed Colonel Qaddafi during the Arab Spring upheavals.

The government of neighboring South Korea was blindsided by Trump’s announcement.

“We are attempting to make sense of what, precisely, President Trump means,” said government spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom.

Here's the text of Trump's letter to Kim Jong-Un:

Dear Mr. Chairman:

We greatly appreciate your time, patience, and effort with respect to our recent negotiations and discussions relative to a summit long sought by both parties, which was scheduled to take place on June 12 in Singapore. We were informed that the meeting was requested by North Korea, but that to us is totally irrelevant. I was very much looking forward to being there with you. Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting. Therefore, please let this letter serve to represent that the Singapore summit, for the good of both parties, but to the detriment of the world, will not take place. You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used.

I felt a wonderful dialogue was building up between you and me, and ultimately, it is only that dialogue that matters. Some day, I look very much forward to meeting you. In the meantime, I want to thank you for the release of the hostages who are now home with their families. That was a beautiful gesture and was very much appreciated.

If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write. The world, and North Korea in particular, has lost a great opportunity for lasting peace and great prosperity and wealth. This missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history.

Sincerely yours,

Donald J. Trump
President of the United States of America

Folks from all parts chimed in:












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Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Trump: "There's A Substantial Chance" North Korea Summit Won't Work Out

trump2.jpg
Donald Trump

The New York Times is reporting Donald Trump's much-ballyhooed summit meeting with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-Un, may not take place as scheduled.

“There’s a very substantial chance that it won’t work out,” Mr. Trump told reporters before a meeting in the Oval Office with South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in. “It may not work out for June 12.”

Mr. Trump expressed continued enthusiasm for the diplomatic encounter, saying he believed it could usher in a period of prosperity for North Korea. But he acknowledged that recent statements by North Korea had cast a pall of uncertainty over the timing of the meeting, which is set for Singapore. He appeared as baffled as anyone else about what might come next.

“We’re moving along. We’ll see what happens,” Mr. Trump said. “There are certain conditions we want to happen. I think we’ll get those conditions. And if we don’t, we won’t have the meeting.

“If it doesn’t happen, maybe it will happen later,” he added. “Maybe it will happen at a different time. We will see. We are talking.”

According to Vox, a big part of the problem is South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Moon is a leftist who took office in May of last year, back when Trump was threatening war with North Korea. He made a deep and concerted effort to try to broker negotiations between Trump and Kim to defuse the tension, and part of his strategy was making grandiose promises about what talks could accomplish — even floating the possibility that Trump could win a Nobel Prize to entice him to the table.

The problem, as Kelly points out, is that this was always a kind of shell game: Moon could never change the fact that the US and North Korea want fundamentally different things. Basically, he argues, this was a gambit to try to convince Trump not to go to war with North Korea — one that may yet fail.



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Tuesday, May 15, 2018

North Korea Threatens To Cancel Summit Over U.S./South Korea Air Force Drills


North Korea has suspended talks with South Korea and declared that next month’s summit between leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump could be cancelled over upcoming joint Air Force drills taking place in South Korea with the U.S. Air Force.

North Korea has always expressed displeasure at the annual joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises. But apparently, with the U.S. summit so close on the calendar, North Korea must have had different expectations this year.

From The Washington Post:

The South Korean and U.S. militaries had scaled back and played down the exercises, declining the news media the usual access to the drills. North Korea barely said a word about the drills during the computer simulation exercises that took place through April.

The two-week-long Max Thunder drills between the two countries’ Air Forces, an annual event that began on Friday, have, however, clearly struck a nerve in North Korea.

“This exercise targeting us, which is being carried out across South Korea, is a flagrant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula,” the North's Korean Central News Agency said in a report published early.

The Max Thunder exercise involves about 100 warplanes, including eight F-22 radar-evading fighters and an unspecified number of B-52 bombers and F-15K jets, according to the South’s main Yonhap News Agency. During last year's Max Thunder exercises, U.S. and South Korean fighter jets flew an average 60 sorties a day to showcase their firepower.






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