Jeffrey Lewis: My Thoughts on Kim Jong-Un’s New Year’s Speech
Jeffrey Lewis | National Interest
Each year, Kim Jong Un gives an address on New Year’s day. On the first day of 2017, Kim signaled the ICBM test that was to come. And on the first day of 2018, he hinted at the diplomatic thaw that would bring “love letters” and a finger-heart. So what does 2019 have in store for us? Ultimately, there were few surprises in the speech. The first half of the speech was dedicated to the economy, just as much of North Korea’s propaganda has been since Singapore. (One interesting wrinkle is a renewed commitment to nuclear energy.) And when Kim turned to the issues of peace on the Korean peninsula and the stalled negotiations with the United States over denuclearization, he reiterated the line that we have seen from Pyongyang in recent months: Positive words about the transformation of relations with South Korea, but growing impatience with Trump.
Trump Says he Expects Meeting with North Korea’s Kim Soon, Denies Urging Rapid Denuclearization
Japan Times
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had received a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and expected to meet him again soon as part of the U.S. administration’s efforts to press Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump defended his negotiations with Kim and said he had never emphasized the speed of Pyongyang’s denuclearization.
Kim Jong-un Vows to Meet South Korea’s Leader Frequently in 2019
Guardian
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has vowed in a rare letter to meet the South’s president, Moon Jae-in, “frequently” next year to discuss denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, Moon’s office said on Sunday. The leader of the isolated North met Moon three times this year, twice at the border truce village of Panmunjom and once in Pyongyang, as a reconciliatory push gathered pace. During Moon’s visit to Pyongyang in September, Kim promised to pay a return visit to Seoul “at an earliest date”, sparking speculation that he may visit by the end of this year. But the much-anticipated trip has not yet materialised, which has left Kim feeling “much regret”, according to his letter, sent to mark the end of the year, Moon’s spokesman said. The North’s leader “expressed a strong determination to visit Seoul while watching [the] future situation”, Moon’s spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told reporters.
Russia is Poised to Add a New Hypersonic Nuclear-Capable Glider to its Arsenal
Anton Troianovski and Paul Sonne | Washington Post
Russia on Wednesday conducted a final test of a nuclear-capable glider that flies at 20 times the speed of sound, President Vladimir Putin said, adding that the weapon will be included in the country’s arsenal next year. Putin described the successful test, in which the glider was launched from a site in southwestern Russia toward a target on the Kamchatka Peninsula more than 3,500 miles away, as a “wonderful, perfect New Year’s gift for the country.” The fanfare surrounding the test — it led the TV news, and state media reported that Putin gave the launch order — underscores how central nuclear saber-rattling has become to the Kremlin’s effort to depict Russia as a global superpower for audiences at home and abroad. The new weapon, dubbed the Avangard, is of a type that the Pentagon has been both working on and worrying about as an arms race emerges among the United States, Russia and China for missiles that can maneuver easily and travel far faster than the speed of sound. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the test.
U.S. Warns Iran on Space Launches, Tehran Rejects Concerns
Doina Chiacu | Reuters
The United States issued a pre-emptive warning to Iran on Thursday against pursuing three planned space rocket launches that it said would violate a U.N. Security Council resolution because they use ballistic missile technology. Iran rejected the warning, issued by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying its space vehicle launches and missile tests were not violations. Pompeo said Iran planned to launch in the coming months three rockets, called Space Launch Vehicles (SLV), that he said incorporate technology “virtually identical” to what is used in intercontinental ballistic missiles.
China Makes ‘Big Progress’ on Nuclear Strike Range with New Submarine-Launched Missile
South China Morning Post
The Chinese navy tested the JL-3 missile in the Bohai Bay late last month, a source familiar with the matter told the South China Morning Post. The new missile has a flight range of about 9,000km (5,600 miles), which is less than the 12,000km (7,500-mile) range of the American Trident II and Russian Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). But the source said the successful flight test still represented a significant advance for the PLA since its predecessor, the JL-2, had a flight range of only 7,000km (4,350 miles). “It’s still big progress, although it’s still far less powerful than the Trident or the Russian Bulava … their flight range means they can reach any targets in the world,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.