Japan ‘NK-Russia critical intelligence’ US ‘NK-Russia support for Ukraine’, North Korea missile launch ‘triangular separation’​

Japan ‘North Korea-Russia critical intelligence’ US ‘North Korea-Russia support for Ukraine’ North Korea missile launch ‘triangular separation’

While the Japanese Foreign Minister announced ‘collection of critical information from North Korea and Russia’, the US White House showed a gap in interest from ‘North Korea-Russia arms trade’ to ‘neutralization of Ukraine’s air defense network’.
On the 24th, North Korea launched a cruise missile equipped with a nuclear warhead toward the West Sea, causing the United States and South Korea to react. Japan responded proactively to a mid-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea, and a reconnaissance satellite was launched toward the Southwest Sea on November 21 last year to protect U.S. space defense. U.S. Air Force Undersecretary Melissa Dalton responded to the system at her personnel hearing on the 23rd.
In a briefing on the 23rd, White House Coordinator John Kirby pointed out the ‘suppression of Ukraine’s air defense network’ in relation to ‘North Korea-Russia military cooperation’.
Coordinator Kirby explained Russia's war strategy in Ukraine that day, saying, "Russia's current goal is to overwhelm Ukraine's air defense system," and confirmed the "continuous launch of North Korean-made ballistic missiles" regarding the North Korea-Russia arms trade.
In a briefing on the 9th, he stated, “The Russian military fired several North Korean-made ballistic missiles into Ukraine again on January 6th,” and in a briefing on the 4th, Russia fired twice into Ukraine on December 30th and January 2nd. The Voice of America (VOA) reported on the 23rd that missiles provided by North Korea were actually used to attack , and photos showing the missiles, launchers, and missile landing points were also released.
At a press conference on the 23rd, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa responded to a question regarding the Japanese government's response to Russian President Putin's expression of willingness to visit North Korea while North Korea was providing weapons to Russia, saying, "Japan has a positive response to North Korea, including North Korea-Russia relations." “We have always paid great attention to the situation and have paid close attention to information collection and analysis,” he said. “We are also concerned about the possibility of Russia’s military support to North Korea and are keeping a close eye on it.”
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that North Korea launched several cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea on the west side of the Korean Peninsula around 7 a.m. on the 24th.
VOA reported that the U.S. and South Korean forces are tracking the flight path of this missile and that it was a presumed test launch of a missile capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons, but Japanese intelligence did not make any announcement about this.
In September of last year, North Korea also fired a cruise missile toward the Yellow Sea and claimed that it ‘detonated a simulated nuclear warhead in the air during a 1,500 km flight’, making a sharp turn from its announcement that excluded a ‘nuclear warhead’ against Japan, which is on the East Sea.
This is North Korea's second missile launch this year, and the mid-range ballistic missile launch on January 14th was towards the East Sea, and the Japanese government responded actively.
North Korea previously set a ‘West Sea direction’ for launching a reconnaissance satellite, and on the 23rd, U.S. Air Force Vice Secretary-designate Melissa Dalton added North Korea and Iran to the list of major actors engaging in space activities that pose a threat to the United States, in addition to Russia and China.
Dalton, nominee for Deputy Secretary of the Air Force, said in a written response to the Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing that day, “Iran and North Korea are both actively pursuing domestic space programs, and each conducted a successful space launch last year,” adding, “Both countries have access to information from their own citizens and regional competitors.” “It has demonstrated the willingness and ability to interfere with foreign satellite communications in order to suppress,” VOA said, pointing to the U.S. Space Force as an interfering strategic agency.
The Deputy Secretary of the Air Force is responsible for supporting policy development and implementation for the Air Force and Space Force within the Department of the Air Force.
Dalton was nominated as a candidate for Deputy Minister from the position of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Hemispheric Affairs for Homeland Defense in September of last year, and previously served as Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategic Planning Capabilities for one year starting in 2021.
In a space policy briefing on the 17th, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plum responded to the question, "How can North Korea's threat from space be suppressed?" "Regarding the view that North Korea poses a threat from space, is there a point where their war capabilities are enabled?" “We are seriously watching this and making plans for it,” he said.
VOA reported, “On the 16th, when North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hee was waiting to meet President Putin in Moscow, the cover of a document held by a North Korean attendant included the title ‘List of Observation Targets in the Space Technology Field’ and the Space Rocket Research Institute ‘Progress’, which is presumed to be the location of the observation. , ‘Woroneju Machinery Factory,’ etc. were written on it,” he said. “When Chairman Kim Jong-un visited Russia last September, he met with President Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur Region.”
Japan's Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Mitsuko Shino said at the Security Council regarding the Ukraine war on the 22nd, "In addition to Russia's initial invasion in violation of the UN Charter, it also violated Security Council resolutions and mercilessly used weapons acquired from North Korea and its own weapons in Ukraine." He said 'violation'.
Foreign Minister Kamikawa said at a press conference on the 23rd, “We strongly condemn North Korea’s provision of weapons to Russia because it could worsen the situation in Ukraine and violates the relevant Security Council resolution that completely prohibits arms transfers with North Korea.” “Japan will cooperate with the international community, including the United States and South Korea, to demand full implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and complete abolition of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs,” he said, prioritizing “international cooperation” through its status as a member of the Security Council. did.