Pakistan Warns Of War After India’s Move to End Kashmir’s Special Status
Diaa Hadid, Scott Neuman, and Abdul Sattar | NPR
Pakistan's prime minister warned that a move by India to strip Kashmir of its special status could lead to war between the two countries and the "ethnic cleansing" of Muslims in the restive Himalayan region. Imran Khan cited a suicide attack in February that killed at least 40 Indian security forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir and was followed by airstrikes and a dogfight between Indian and Pakistani pilots. "Such incidents are bound to happen again. I can already predict this will happen," Khan said, addressing a joint session of Parliament on Tuesday.
No Discussions on U.S. Missile Deployment in South Korea: Ministry
Yonhap News Agency
South Korea has had no discussions with the United States on the possible deployment of U.S. intermediate-range missiles on its soil, nor does it plan to do so, the defense ministry said Monday. Some media outlets have speculated that South Korea could be one of candidate sites for U.S. missiles, after Washington pledged to deploy them in Asia and elsewhere to maintain deterrence after withdrawing from an anti-missile treaty with Russia. "Our government did not have any official discussions with the U.S. on the possible introduction of intermediate missiles (on South Korean soil). We have not internally reviewed the issue and have no plan to do so," defense ministry spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo told a regular briefing. "As of now, I believe that (the matter) is not among agenda items for the upcoming defense ministers' talks," she said.
NATO Needs to Address China’s Rise, Says Stoltenberg
John Mair and Colin Packham | Reuters
NATO needs to understand the implications of China’s rise as Beijing expands its power around the world, including areas that may challenge members of the North Atlantic security body, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday. “This is not about moving NATO into the Pacific, but this is about responding to the fact that China is coming closer to us,” Stoltenberg told Reuters in an interview in Sydney. “Investing heavily in critical infrastructure in Europe, increased presence in the Arctic and also increased presence in Africa, and in cyberspace,” he added. “So all of this makes it important for NATO to address the rise of China, and we do that not least by working closely with our partners in this region – Australia, New Zealand, but also Japan and South Korea,” Stoltenberg said.
Inside a Trump-era Purge of Military Scientists at a Legendary Think Tank
Charles Levinson | Reuters
The advisory group, known as Jason, is a team of some 60 of America’s top physicists and scientists who spend each summer in La Jolla, California, conducting studies commissioned by the Pentagon and other U.S. government agencies. On March 28, Trump appointee Michael Griffin – the Pentagon’s chief technology officer – unexpectedly moved to terminate the group. Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, objected, telling Griffin’s office the scientists were crucial for keeping America’s nuclear stockpile secure, according to an NNSA official and others affiliated with the Jason program. Gordon-Hagerty’s agency offered to take responsibility for the program. She only needed Griffin’s signature to make it happen. Griffin refused.
Hypersonics by the Dozens: U.S. Industry Faces Manufacturing Challenge
Jen Judson | Defense News
The U.S. military is just a few years from launching offensive hypersonic weapons under development and building those initial missiles is one thing. Manufacturing the weapons in multitude is another issue entirely. “I would say we really need to understand again, how can we produce precision hardware at scale,” Dr. Michael Griffin, the Pentagon’s under secretary of defense for research and engineering, told a group of reporters Aug. 7 at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama. “If we talk about ballistic missile defense or hypersonic offense and we talk about proliferating architectures, we need any dozens, many hundreds, maybe thousands of assets,” he added.
North Korea Unveils New “Multiple Launch Guided Rocket System”
Vann H. Van Diepen | 38 North
North Korea announced the launches on July 31 and August 2 of a “newly-developed large-caliber multiple launch guided rocket system.” North Korea does appear to have launched a new, guided, multiple launch rocket system with a range of at least 250 km. While most of its characteristics currently are unknown, the new system has the potential to extend North Korea’s current 190 km-range multiple launch rocket capabilities at least another 60 km into the ROK. Longer-range, guided, multiple launch rocket systems like the KN-09 and the new DPRK system will provide a modest increase in the threat by subjecting more US and ROK targets in South Korea to saturation attack.