• Burmese
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
28 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Asia

S. Korea on Heightened Alert as Isolated North Readies for Army Celebration

Reuters by Reuters
April 21, 2017
in Asia
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
A soldier salutes from atop an armoured vehicle as it drives past the stand with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2017. / Damir Sagolj / Reuters

A soldier salutes from atop an armoured vehicle as it drives past the stand with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2017. / Damir Sagolj / Reuters

4.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea said on Friday it was on heightened alert ahead of another important anniversary in North Korea, with a large concentration of military hardware amassed on both sides of the border amid concerns about a new nuclear test by Pyongyang.

US officials said there was a higher-than-usual level of activity by Chinese bombers, signaling a possible heightened state of readiness by Beijing, reclusive North Korea’s sole major ally, although the officials played down concerns and left open a range of possible reasons.

US and South Korean officials have been saying for weeks that the North could soon stage another nuclear test in violation of United Nations sanctions, something both the United States and China have warned against.

RelatedPosts

US Commission Slams Myanmar’s Religious Freedom

US Commission Slams Myanmar’s Religious Freedom

May 2, 2024
4.1k
Pariah Diplomacy: Myanmar Opens Consulate in Arms-Supplier Belarus

Pariah Diplomacy: Myanmar Opens Consulate in Arms-Supplier Belarus

September 18, 2023
1.1k
Myanmar Junta’s Relationship With Russia Reaches New ‘Peak’

Myanmar Junta’s Relationship With Russia Reaches New ‘Peak’

September 15, 2023
1.6k

North Korea marks the 85th anniversary of the foundation of its Korean People’s Army on Tuesday, a key anniversary that comes at the end of major winter military drills, South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesman Lee Duk-haeng said.

South Korea and the United States have also been conducting annual joint military exercises, which the North routinely criticizes as a prelude to invasion.

“It is a situation where a lot of (military) exercise equipment is amassed in North Korea and also a lot of strategic assets are situated on the Korean peninsula because of the South Korea-US military drills,” Lee told a briefing.

“We are closely watching the situation and will not be letting our guards down,” Lee said.

US President Donald Trump praised Chinese efforts to rein in “the menace of North Korea” on Thursday, after North Korean state media warned the United States of a “super-mighty preemptive strike.”

Trump told a news conference “some very unusual moves have been made over the last two or three hours,” and that he was confident Chinese President Xi Jinping would “try very hard” to pressure Beijing’s neighbor North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs.

Trump gave no indication of what the moves might be. None of the US officials who told Reuters about the heightened level of activity by Chinese bombers suggested alarm or signaled that they knew the precise reason for such activity.

An official Chinese newspaper said on Friday there was optimism about persuading the North to end its pursuit of a nuclear program without the use of force, “now that even the once tough-talking Donald Trump is onboard for a peaceful solution.”

“Beijing has demonstrated due enthusiasm for Washington’s newfound interest in a diplomatic solution and willingness to work more closely with it,” the state-run China Daily said in an editorial.

Tensions have risen sharply in recent months after North Korea conducted two nuclear weapons tests last year and carried out a steady stream of ballistic missile tests. Trump has vowed to prevent North Korea from being able to hit the United States with a nuclear missile.

The isolated country’s military will mark the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army on Tuesday amid speculation Pyongyang will use the occasion to test-launch a ballistic missile or conduct a nuclear test.

The joint US-South Korea military drills are due to finish at the end of April, and a US aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, is also heading towards the Korean Peninsula, Trump’s administration has said.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: North Korea
Reuters

Reuters

...

Similar Picks:

US Commission Slams Myanmar’s Religious Freedom
Burma

US Commission Slams Myanmar’s Religious Freedom

by The Irrawaddy
May 2, 2024
4.1k

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has listed Myanmar’s regime among the world’s 17 worst violators of religious rights.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Appoints New Ambassador to North Korea
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

Myanmar Junta Appoints New Ambassador to North Korea

by The Irrawaddy
September 13, 2023
1.6k

Move marks resumption of a relationship that in 2008 sparked fears of nuclear collaboration.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta’s Relationship With Russia Reaches New ‘Peak’
Burma

Myanmar Junta’s Relationship With Russia Reaches New ‘Peak’

by The Irrawaddy
September 15, 2023
1.6k

Foreign ministers of both pariah states praise each other in Moscow as North Korea’s dictator pays a visit.

Read moreDetails
Pariah Diplomacy: Myanmar Opens Consulate in Arms-Supplier Belarus
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

Pariah Diplomacy: Myanmar Opens Consulate in Arms-Supplier Belarus

by The Irrawaddy
September 18, 2023
1.1k

Move comes as Russia, North Korea and Belarus seek closer cooperation in what some analysts say is the weapons trade...

Read moreDetails
U Tun Hlaing is the sole supplier of materials needed to produce weapons for Myanmar’s military.
Burma

Low-Profile Arms Dealer Continues to Supply Myanmar Military’s Weapons

by The Irrawaddy
October 12, 2021
11.7k

Despite rumors U Tun Hlaing, owner of STE Global Trading, was detained in Singapore, he is reportedly living in Myanmar.

Read moreDetails
The bombing of the Martyrs' Mausoleum in 1983.
Burma

When a North Korean Bombing Rocked Yangon

by Wei Yan Aung
October 9, 2019
12.2k

On this day in 1983, a South Korean president on a visit to Yangon survived an assassination attempt that severed...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
U Win Tin was a true believer in democracy and press freedom. His unrelenting, sharp criticism of Burma’s past and current government will be greatly missed.

U Win Tin: Burma’s Revolutionary Journalist

Litter dumped in Setse Beach, Mon State / Aung Kyaw Thu

A Tide of Trash Swamping Setse Beach

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

4 days ago
1.3k
How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

6 days ago
1.2k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Defusing the Thai-Cambodian Border Row

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.