North Korea slams U.S. ballistic missile testMay 26, 2013 - 16:33 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - North Korea condemned on Sunday, May 26 the United States' recent ballistic missile test, saying the "military provocation" justifies its military buildup, according to Yonhap news agency. On May 22, the U.S. fired the intercontinental ballistic missile Minuteman 3 from a California base as part of the country's test flight aimed at determining weapon accuracy. The original test plan scheduled for mid-April was delayed amid tensions with North Korea. "Today's reality on the Korean Peninsula desperately urges our republic to strengthen our defense capacity with every means," North Korea's mainstream Rodong Sinmun said in an editorial. "We do not hide the fact that we are developing (ballistic) missiles in order to secure final victory in an all-out war against the U.S." The U.S. missile test contradicts its argument that the North's weapon tests constitute a violation of the international law, the newspaper said, calling the recent launch a "missile threat." North Korea's Pyongyang Broadcasting Station radio also criticized the U.S. test on the same day, saying it constitutes a double standard applied by the U.S. The claims have been long held by the North, which argued that its missile and nuclear developments are intended to counteract potential attacks by the U.S. The North heavily denounced annual Seoul-Washington military exercises in March, saying they are a war rehearsal targeting North Korea. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |