Japan’s military on alert, fearing Nokor

Missile

TOKYO—Japan ordered its military Saturday to prepare to shoot down a North Korean ballistic missile after Pyongyang said this week it was ready to launch its first military spy satellite.

Placing the satellite into orbit would require a long-range projectile, which North Korea is banned from launching because the United Nations views such exercises as tests of ballistic missile technology.

On Saturday Japanese minister Yasukazu Hamada told the country’s Self-Defense Forces “there is a possibility of ordering destructive measures against ballistic missiles and others”, according to a statement from the ministry of defense.

Hamada instructed troops to “implement measures necessary to limit damage in the event of a ballistic missile falling”.

He ordered preparations for the deployment of destroyers equipped with SM-3 missile interceptors, as well as military units in the southern prefecture of Okinawa that can operate Patriot PAC-3 missiles.

In 2012 and 2016, North Korea tested ballistic missiles that Pyongyang called satellite launches. Both missiles flew over the Okinawa region.

Japanese media reported Saturday that the defense ministry issued the same preparation orders in 2012.

Pyongyang has not provided a launch date, with leader Kim Jong Un only saying the satellite will be sent up “at the planned date”.

On Tuesday G7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan demanded North Korea refrain from any further ballistic missile tests following a spate of launches this year.

The group of rich nations also warned Pyongyang against carrying out an expected nuclear weapons test and said there would be a “robust” response if it did not comply.

A week ago Pyongyang said it had successfully tested a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, hailing it as a breakthrough for the country’s nuclear counterattack capabilities. AFP

Fighting in Sudan enters 2nd week as truce breaks

KHARTOUM—Fighting in Sudan’s capital entered a second week Saturday as crackling gunfire shattered a temporary truce, the latest battles between forces of rival generals that have already left hundreds dead and thousands wounded. Overnight, the heavy explosions that had previously rocked the city in recent days had subsided, but on Saturday morning, bursts of gunfire resumed.

Heavy gunfire, loud explosions, and fighter jets roared in many parts of the capital by Saturday morning, according to witnesses.

Violence broke out on April 15 between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy turned rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The former allies seized power in a 2021 coup but later fell out in a bitter power struggle.

The army announced Friday that it had “agreed to a ceasefire for three days” for the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had called for a day earlier.

Daglo said in a statement he had “discussed the current crisis” with Guterres, and was “focused on the humanitarian truce, safe passages, and protecting humanitarian workers”. AFP

Inbrief

Twitter drops media tags in latest changes

Moscow reacted with anger to the latest gathering in Ramstein, with the Russian foreign ministry saying the allies’ action for Ukraine “confirms their direct involvement in the conflict and participation in the planning of military operations”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also accused NATO of trying to “absorb and drag Ukraine into the alliance”, showing Russia was right to “launch this operation” to ensure its security.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had urged Western allies to send more fighter jets and long-range missiles to help repel Russian troops, making his case directly to Stoltenberg who visited Kyiv on Thursday.

Allies have so far stopped short of sending Western-made fighter jets to Ukraine, focusing on protecting Ukraine from incoming Russian rocket attacks with anti-air missiles.

Top US general Mark Milley underlined that militarily speaking, the most “cost effective, efficient” way to control the airspace at the moment is through air defense rather than fighter jets.

Modern fighter jets were still on Kyiv’s “wish list”, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov insisted after the talks.

“I am sure that we will have modern, NATO-standard... fighter jets as a part of air defense systems,” Reznikov said, acknowledging that it would take time. Battle continues

Other points of emphasis for the talks included supplying Ukraine with desperately needed ammunition and maintenance for equipment already deployed.

“This is now a battle of attrition, and a battle of attrition becomes a war of logistics,” Stoltenberg said, adding, “maybe it’s also a bit more boring but the logistics is extremely important”.

Earlier in the week, Kyiv confirmed it had received the first shipment of Patriots, seen as one of the most advanced US air defence systems.

The United States is also sending Abrams tanks to Europe for use in training Ukrainian forces. They will arrive “in the next few weeks”, said Austin.

“We are not letting up,” German Defence

Minister Boris Pistorius said.

Training of 100 Ukrainian soldiers on the German-made Leopard 1 tanks would begin on Saturday, Pistorius said, with delivery of “up to 80 units” beginning from the middle of this year.

While talks were going on in Ramstein, battles with continued to rage in the east of Ukraine.

Several Russian missiles earlier this week ripped the tiles from the roof of Karina’s home in Kostyantynivka, a city in the eastern Donetsk region, and very nearly claimed the lives of her, her son and partner.

“Everything happened unexpectedly,” the 40-year-old recounted to AFP standing ankle-deep in mud, staring at the remains of her home.

“Everything started falling apart. And my son screamed, ‘Mama, mama.’ I was blown away by the blast.

“I thought it was the end,” she added.

Kyiv last year ordered the evacuation of residents of the region last year but Karina told AFP she will remain in the Donetsk region despite the attack. AFP