North Korea’s missile and nuclear programme

North Korea has conducted more missile tests to advance its weapons programme, which it says is necessary to defend itself against a possible US invasion.

Already this month, tests have been carried out on hypersonic as well as short-range ballistic missiles.

Last September, a hypersonic missile, a train-based ballistic missile and a long-range cruise missile were all tested, according to North Korean state media.

In January 2021 – just before President Biden took office – North Korea unveiled a new submarine-launched ballistic missile at a military parade, calling it “the world’s most powerful weapon”.

This weapon’s actual capabilities remain unclear, as it is not known to have been tested.

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has pledged to expand his nuclear arsenal and military potential, and the country has managed to make advances despite being subject to economic sanctions.

Missiles that can reach the US

In 2017, North Korea tested several missiles demonstrating what seemed to be rapid advances in its military technology.

The Hwasong-12 was thought to be able to reach as far as 4,500km (2,800 miles), putting US military bases on the Pacific island of Guam well within striking distance.

Later, the Hwasong-14 demonstrated even greater potential, with a range of 8,000km although some studies suggested it could travel as far as 10,000km if fired on a maximum trajectory.

IMAGE SOURCE,KCNA

Image caption,

North Korean state media images of a new cruise missile tested last year

This would have given Pyongyang its first truly intercontinental ballistic missile, capable of reaching New York.

Eventually, the Hwasong-15 was tested, peaking at an estimated altitude of 4,500km – 10 times higher than the International Space Station.

If fired on a more conventional “flatter” trajectory, the missile could have a maximum range of some 13,000km, putting all of the continental US in range.

In October 2020, North Korea unveiled its new ballistic missile.

It has not yet been named or tested. Like the Hwasong-15, it is a two-stage liquid fuelled missile, but with a greater length and diameter. It could possibly carry multiple warheads.

It is believed to be able to deliver a nuclear warhead to anywhere in the US, and its size surprised even seasoned analysts when it was put on show in 2020.

In January 2021, North Korea unveiled another missile – a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile which it declared to be “the world’s most powerful weapon”.

IMAGE SOURCE,KCNA

Image caption,

Missiles on display at a January 2021 military parade

The unveiling of the new missiles appeared to be a message to the Biden administration of the North’s growing military prowess, say experts.

In March 2021, it carried out a launch of what it called a “new-type tactical guided projectile”, which is said was able to carry a payload of 2.5 tons – so capable of in theory of carrying a nuclear warhead.

The weapon has not been formally identified. Analysts at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies told Reuters that it appeared to be “an improved variant” of a previously tested missile, the KN-23.

Some experts have suggested that the missile could have features enabling it to manoeuvre more easily, and making it harder to detect.

The test last September of a long-range cruise missile could pose yet more challenges for defence systems, as these missiles don’t have to follow a straight trajectory and can be programmed to avoid detection.

State media said it could travel up to 1,500km (930 miles), putting much of Japan within range, although it’s not clear as yet how it is guided, and whether it could carry a nuclear payload.

Unlike ballistic missiles, current UN Security Council sanctions do not prohibit North Korea from testing cruise missiles.

The hypersonic missile tested last September can travel at much faster speeds, and avoid radar detection for longer than ballistic missiles.

It’s believed that North Korea may also be able to transport and store it fully fuelled, allowing for quicker launch times.

Thermonuclear bombs

It was on 3 September 2017 that North Korea conducted by far its largest nuclear test to date – at its Punggye-ri test site.

Estimates of the device’s explosive power, or yield, ranged from 100-370 kilotons. A yield of 100 kilotons would make the test six times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

North Korea claimed this test was its first thermonuclear weapon – the most potent form of nuclear explosion where an atomic detonation is boosted by a secondary fusion process to produce a far bigger blast.

In April 2018, North Korea announced it would suspend further nuclear tests because its capabilities had been “verified”.

North Korea also promised to dismantle the Punggye-ri site and in May 2018 blew up some of the tunnels in the presence of foreign journalists – but with no international experts .

As dialogue got underway between Kim Jong-un and President Trump’s administration that year, Pyongyang also said that it would destroy all its nuclear material enrichment facilities.

IMAGE SOURCE,AFP

Image caption,

President Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un in 2019

However, the talks with the US were inconclusive.

The UN’s atomic agency reported in 2021 that on the basis of satellite imagery, it appeared North Korea had restarted the Yongbyon reactor, thought to be its main source of weapons-grade plutonium.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that the nuclear programme was going “full steam ahead,” with work on plutonium separation, uranium enrichment and other activities.

Millions of soldiers

North Korea has one of the largest standing armies in the world – with more than one million army personnel and estimated reserves of some 600,000.

Much of its equipment is old and obsolete, but its conventional forces could still inflict massive damage on South Korea in the event of war.

North Korea also has around tens of thousands of special forces troops which could be expected to infiltrate the South in the event of any conflict.

A further threat comes from thousands of North Korean artillery pieces and rocket launchers deployed along the border, putting South Korea, including the capital Seoul, which is a distance of less than 60km, well within range.

In 2012, a South Korean government assessment estimated that North Korea could have between 2,500 and 5,000 tons of chemical weapons, potentially one of the largest stockpiles in the world.

And there’ve also been concerns that North Korea could have a biological weapons programme, although very little is known about it and how far advanced it might be.

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Pacific volcano: British woman reported missing after Tonga tsunami

Friends and family of a British woman living in Tonga have said she is missing after she was caught in Saturday’s tsunami.

In social media posts, they said Angela and James Glover were hit by the 1.2m (4ft) waves, but only her husband was able to cling on to a tree.

Searches continue for Angela, 50, who was swept away along with her dogs.

Brighton-born Angela co-managed a tattoo parlour and ran a dog rescue centre in Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa.

Information about the extent of the damage from the tsunami on the pacific island nation remains scarce.

Both New Zealand and Australia are sending surveillance flights to assess the situation.

Mrs Glover’s brother, Nick Eleini, confirmed to the BBC that she still had not been been located. He is leaving his home in Sydney, Australia, to go to the UK to be with their mother in Hove, East Sussex.

One person commenting on social media said the couple were his aunt and uncle. He said Angela and James had gone home to get their dogs when the wave hit.

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Another person said she had spent Sunday morning with Angela’s mother, who had received a phone call in the early hours from James to say her daughter was missing.

She said: “We are hoping and praying that amongst the devastation she is found.”

 

Watch: Satellite images capture eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai

Tonga is a group of more than 170 islands spread over an area of the South Pacific roughly the size of Japan.

The tsunami which hit the main island of Tongatapu was triggered by the eruption of a huge underwater volcano on Saturday. The eruption could be heard more than 1,000 miles away in New Zealand.

Its capital Nuku’alofa is just 65km (40 miles) south of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano.

Aid organisations say up to 80,000 people on the islands could be affected by the disaster, but so far no deaths have been confirmed.

A source at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was assisting British nationals and their families following the resulting tsunami in Tonga.

Angela previously worked in the advertising industry in London. Her social media profiles suggest she grew up in Brighton before beginning a new life in the Pacific island nation around 2015.

Past media reports identify her as the vice-president of Tonga Animal Welfare Society, which was founded in 2020 to offer basic animal care in a nation that has no qualified vets.

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The Voice: Dutch TV suspends show over sexual misconduct claims

The Voice of Holland, which originated 150 global versions of the hit talent TV show, has been pulled off-air amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

The singing show is suspended while the allegations are being investigated, said the news website for Dutch broadcaster RNL, which produces it.

Jeroen Rietbergen, the series’ band leader, resigned on Saturday, admitting to “relationships of a sexual nature” with women involved in the programme.

ITV Studios owns the show’s rights.

In 2015 it bought the rights to the Dutch version of The Voice, created in 2010 by John de Mol and Roel van Velzen.

Its global versions include the US show broadcast on NBC, which has been awarded seven Emmys and 69 nominations.

Image caption,

The UK version of the show was broadcast on the BBC before it moved to ITV

The UK version was previously broadcast on the BBC for five series, before it moved to ITV.

The show sees the singing coaches do initial “blind auditions” with singing hopefuls, who have to perform while the judges’ backs are turned, so they are assessed only on their vocal merits.

ITV Studios told the BBC they are “shocked” by the allegations about the Dutch show, which started its 12th series in early January.

“Our utmost priority is to provide a safe and supportive environment for everyone who takes part in or works on our shows and there is zero tolerance at ITV Studios for the type of behaviour alleged to have taken place,” they said.

“We have immediately commissioned an external investigation into the allegations.”

RTL told the BBC the “very serious and shocking” allegations “were not known to RTL”.

They said they were told about the “allegations of sexually transgressive behaviour and abuse of power in relation to The Voice of Holland” on 12 January by by news programme Boos, broadcast on Dutch public broadcaster BNN/VARA, which had been conducting an investigation.

Alleged misconduct

RTL added that a “mutual agreement” was reached with ITV about it conducting a “diligent, independent investigation” into the allegations.

“We take this very seriously. Everyone, including both participants and employees, must be able to work in complete safety. There is no room for interpretation here. The priority now is to get the facts straight,” they said.

The BBC has asked RTL for comment from Rietbergen.

The Hollywood Reporter said it was “not clear whether the alleged misconduct at The Voice of Holland took place before or after the ITV takeover”.

RTL suggested there is “talk of abuse of power and sexually transgressive behaviour of three employees”, including “a complaint against jury member Ali B” but that his management said: “Ali has never abused his position and has never acted” in a sexually transgressive way.”

Dutch rapper Ali B posted on Instagram he is “100% convinced” of his own innocence and his management said they currently had nothing to add to his words on social media.

Pre-recorded shows held back

Rietbergen said in a statement he had some years ago had “contact of a sexual nature” with women involved in the programme, and that he had exchanged sexually explicit messages” with them.

He added he did not feel he was abusing his position of powerbut has “now become very aware that my own perception is not relevant at all, but much more the perception of the women concerned. And that these women may have experienced this very differently”.

The identity of the third employee has not been made public.

The Hollywood Reporter said Rietbergen has been in a romantic relationship for more than a decade with Dutch TV star Linda de Mol, who is the sister of one of the show’s creators. but that she declined to comment.

Reitbergen said he has been very aware for “a number of years” that he made a mistake, and that he has received professional help for his behaviour, according to RTL.

ITV Studios told Hollywood Reporter they were contacted “this week” by Boos with the allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” associated with the show.

RTL said the show runs for 15 episodes and that 12 have been recorded, with two broadcast. The last three would have been broadcast live.

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