Category Archives: United States

Intelligence, North Korea, United States

Intelligence suggests North Korea is still building missiles

KOREAN PENINSULA

NORTH KOREA is secretly building new missiles despite promising to disarm, according to US intelligence reports.

Satellite imagery suggests construction has been stepped up at a factory making missiles capable of reaching the American mainland.

It makes a mockery of Donald Trump’s boast in June after his historic summit with Kim Jong Un that North Korea is “no longer a nuclear threat”.

When they met in Singapore, the two leaders shook hands on a deal to “denuclearise” the Korean peninsula.

But satellite photos taken in recent weeks indicated work on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) was under way at the Sanumdong facility just north of the capital, Pyongyang.

Images have also showed ongoing operations at the regime’s uranium enrichment plant in Yongbyon, 60 miles further north. One image taken on July 7 shows a bright-red trailer in a loading area, identical to those used by North Korea in the past to transport ICBMs.

Analysts have matched satellite images with a 2017 propaganda video released by Kim Jong Un.

The video showing off Kim’s Hwasong-14 missile was in a hanger with 12 beams on one side and 22 skylights.

Using satellite photos, analysts identified the hanger building by comparing beams and skylights on the exterior.

A spokesperson for the James Martin Centre for Nonproliferation Studies, said: “The missile facility is not dead, by any stretch of the imagination. It’s active. We see shipping containers and vehicles coming and going. This is a facility where they build ICBMs and space launch vehicles.”

At the June summit with Kim, the US President said the process of “total denuclearisation . . . has already started”. However, more than a dozen of Mr Trump’s own spies has broken rank to warn that the President was being “deceived” by Kim as the regime quietly increased production in recent months while conducting diplomatic talks.

In Kim’s own carefully-worded pledge, he vaguely promised to “work toward” denuclearisation.

US intelligence agents say senior North Korean officials have discussed intentions to deceive Washington about the number of nuclear warheads and missiles they have, as well as the types and numbers of facilities.

Their strategy includes “asserting that they have fully denuclearised by declaring and disposing of 20 warheads while retaining dozens more”.

North Korean experts at the US Centre for Naval Analysis have said that the North Koreans never agreed to give up their nuclear programme. They insist that the survival of the regime and perpetuation of the Kim family rule are Kim’s guiding principles.

Satellite images at the Yongbyon uranium enrichment site showed work was expanding rapidly, with evidence of activity at the cooling units and of vehicles transporting materials. Reports suggest, “there’s no evidence they are decreasing stockpiles, or that they have stopped production.”

It follows accusations from Kim’s regime that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made “gangster-like” demands for denuclearisation.

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China, Economic, European Union, Government, Politics, Society, United States

Trump’s trade war is a risk to the global economy

GLOBAL TRADE WAR

AN escalating trade war between China, the US and Europe could plunge the global economy into turmoil, international experts have warned.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) said the battle of wills between President Donald Trump and rivals in China and the European Union has put “economic recovery in jeopardy”.

In a major report on the 20 largest economies – known as the G20 – WTO economists warn that angry rhetoric and rising tariffs on all sides are a severe threat.

The WTO said that G20 countries slapped £52.6billion of sanctions on trade between October and May. A total of 39 new restrictive measures were introduced to block goods from competitors – double the number in the previous report.

The WTO said: “The G20 economies must use all means at their disposal to de-escalate the situation and promote further trade recovery.”

President Trump vowed on the campaign trail to protect US jobs and industries from globalisation. He has imposed aluminium and steel tariffs on China and the EU, and hit the Chinese with extra duties on everything from bulldozers to touchscreens.

Beijing responded in kind, hitting key US exports such as its important soya bean trade. Meanwhile, Brussels has slapped tariffs on American goods, including motorcycles and bourbon whiskey.

The President is now threatening to act against Europe’s prized car manufacturers. Last week, he said: “The EU is possibly as bad as China, only smaller. They send a Mercedes in, we can’t send our cars in.”

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Britain, Defence, Government, Politics, United States

Defence: MPs say a spending boost of 50% is needed

MILITARY EXPENDITURE

DEFENCE spending must increase by 50 per cent to protect the special relationship with the U.S., according to a report by MPs.

Military expenditure, currently around 2 per cent of national income, must also rise for the UK to maintain its influence in NATO, they said.

The MPs reiterated calls for spending to go up to 3 per cent of GDP – which would be equivalent to an extra £2billion a year.

Without this, UK forces would struggle to maintain their ability to work alongside the US military, diminishing their usefulness as allies, the Commons defence select committee said.

The report added some in the US believe Britain’s defence capabilities have “slipped” and that concerns have been raised about the UK’s ability to operate independently.

The report reveals US defence secretary James Mattis had been referring to Britain when he said recently one of America’s allies had cut capacity “to the point where it could no longer speak with strength”.

Conservative MP Julian Lewis, the committee chairman, warned anything less than an investment of 3 per cent of GDP “endangers us and our allies”.

It comes as Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson is locked in a battle with Theresa May over defence spending.

Dozens of Tory MPs could vote to block the Budget unless the Prime Minister increases military spending. It follows reports that Mr Williamson had told military chiefs he could bring down Mrs May if she refuses to back him in his fight to get an extra £2billion a year from the Treasury.

The report, published ahead of next month’s NATO summit in Brussels, also warned the UK military risks becoming “irrelevant” because of the time it would take to deploy forces. Currently, it would take 20 days to deploy a mechanised brigade and 90 for a division.

It suggested Britain should take the lead in defending the North Atlantic, bolstering its anti-submarine warfare capability to defend against a ten-fold increase in Russian submarine activity in the area.

The report said: “If the UK wishes to maintain its leadership position within NATO and continue such fruitful defence relations with the US, then it will have to invest more in its armed forces. Diminished capacity reduces the UK’s usefulness to the US and our influence within NATO. The Government must not allow this to happen.”

Mr Lewis said: “An increased commitment, in the face of new and intensified threats, means further investment is essential. Where percentage of GDP for defence is concerned, our mantra must be: ‘We need 3 to keep us free’.

“Anything less is simply rhetoric which endangers us and our allies.”

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