at 18:00 (JST), October 31 (AI-CC by Clipchamp)

 

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20241031180000_english_1.mp3

Here in Japan, it's a Thursday evening. I'm James Tengah in Tokyo. Welcome to NHK Newsline. 

North Korea has now confirmed it did test fire an intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday morning. Japan's defense ministry says it flew a record amount of time for the North and may have been a new type of ICBM.
An NHK camera on Hokkaido Prefecture's Okushiri Island captured this footage at about 8:30 AM. It shows white objects appearing to fall over the Sea of Japan. The ministry says the North fired at least one missile at 7:11 AM from an area believed to be close to Pyongyang. It likely landed in the sea outside Japan's exclusive economic zone west of Okushiri.

Defense Minister Nakatani Gen. spoke with reporters shortly after attending a National Security Council meeting.

The missile launch this time is believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, but the ministry is continuing to analyze details, including whether it was a new type of ballistic missile. 

He added the missile flew about 1,000 kilometers and stayed airborne for one hour and 26 minutes. It appears to have reached a maximum altitude of over 7,000 kilometers, another record for the country. The Japanese government has lodged a protest strongly condemning the test. The U.S. National Security Council also condemned it, calling the launch a flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.
North Korean media reports leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the test. And he said his country will never stop strengthening its nuclear weapons capability.

This is the 12th time this year the North has fired ballistic missiles or projectiles believed to be ballistic missiles. Earlier, I discussed the matter with NHK World's Tokuda Ryosuke. He's our former Seoul correspondent and has been covering the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Yosuke, what have you learned about the missile launch?

South Korea's defense ministry says it may have been a new type of solid-fuel, long-range biotic missile, and the North may have used a mobile launcher to fire it. The ruling Workers' Party newspaper carried a photo of it last month. The launcher has 12 foils on each side. There has been speculation that it might carry a new type of an ICBM cross missile.

What's behind the timing of this latest launch?Why now?

There is no doubt Pyongyang did a death with the United States in mind ahead of the presidential election next week. Onodera Itsunori chairs the Policy Research Council of Japan's main ruling liberal Democratic Party. He told reporters that, given the wrong flight time, the missile may have been capable of reaching the east coast of the U.S.
Onodera says the North sent a very strong message. Also, take a look at these photos recently released by Pyongyang. They show Kim Jong-un visiting some notable locations, including a Ranium enrichment facility and a strategic missile base. He's showing off the North's nuclear and missile development.

I think Pyongyang wants to signal it, signal it remains a nuclear power and that it will continue to strengthen deterrence against the U.S. no matter who becomes the next president. 

Finally, what do you think North Korea will do next? 

Well, James, it's hard to predict. Japan's chief cabinet secretary saysThere could be more missile launches and also possibly a nuclear test. We do know Pyongyang plans to launch three military reconnaissance satellites by the end of the year. The Japanese government says it will work with the U.S. and South Korea to monitor the situation.
It will also coordinate with the international community, including the UN Security Council. But there's key relationship to factor in. Russia is one of the council's parliament members and has been rapidly getting closer to the north. That makes it difficult for the international community to take a united response.

Tyongyang may further advance its military development if the international community does not find a way to stop it.

Members of the UN Security Council held a heated debate Wednesday over reports North Korean troops have been sent to Russia. The council convened an emergency meeting at Ukraine's request. The country's UN Ambassador, Sergei Kisiltya, said up to 12,000 North Koreans are being trained in Russia's Eastern Military District.
He also said up to 2,100 soldiers flew to Russia's border with Ukraine in late October.

It is also expected that in November 2024, DPRK military personnel will begin directly participating in combat operations against Ukraine's defense forces. 

Council members expressed concern over these developments. Japan's UN Ambassador Yamazaki Kazuyuki said North Korea's involvement will worsen the situation in Ukraine. But Russian Ambassador Vatsile Nabiensia said, his country's interaction with North Korea on military matters is in line with international law, and that no one can forbid it.
North Korean Ambassador Kim Song did not refer directly to reports on his country's troops, but had this to say: 

If Russia's sovereignty and security interests are exposed to and threatened by continued dangerous attempts of the United States and the West, and if it is charged that we should respond to them with something, we will make unnecessary decision.

U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood called these developments a major threat to peace and security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

Should DPRK's troops enter Ukraine in support of Russia, they will surely return in body bags.

Wood also said he would advise the North's leader to think twice about engaging in such reckless and dangerous behavior.

A Ukrainian government official has told NHK that Kiev will urge North Korean soldiers in Russia to surrender if they're sent to the front line to fight against Ukraine.

Russia is running out of its mobilization resources. They are trying to involve other countries in order to reduce tensions within the country. We said it's a small threat, but we are all well aware that they will not succeed.

Vitaly Matvienko is involved in the project, which aims at encouraging North Korean soldiers to surrender. Ukrainian authorities recently released a video targeting North Koreans. It says Ukraine will offer prisoners of war three meals a day. Matvienko said that if North Korean soldiers are sent to the front line, Ukraine will drop leaflets in the Korean language, urging them to lay down their arms.

Our address to the North Korean military. Do you want to live? Surrender.

He also said if North Koreans become prisoners of war, Ukraine would use them as a bargaining chip for exchanges with captured Ukrainian soldiers.

Japan's political sphere is still reeling from the results of last week's lower House election. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party will need support from the opposition to stay in power. Today, it met with the Democratic Party for the People to discuss policy.
LDP Secretary General Moriyama Hiroshi and his DPFP counterpart Shimba Kazuya held talks Thursday. Each party's diet affairs chiefs also attended. The LDP and its junior coalition partner Komeito failed to secure a majority in the election. Moriyama asked for the DPFP's cooperation on 2 upcoming budget bills. The 1st is a supplementary budget bill for the current fiscal year. The second would be a new budget plan for April onwards.

The LDP also sought support in Diet deliberations, but Shimba said his party won't get too close to the LDP.

The DPFP will stay equally distant from the other parties. If the LDP or other parties want our cooperation to implement policies, we will decide on an issue-by-issue basis.

We have agreed to discuss specific issues, including taxation. Democratic Party For the People has agreed to our request for a meeting between the leaders. I hope to settle on a date soon.

The party's leaders are Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru from the LDP and DPFP President Tamaki Yuichiro. They're set to meet before a special diet session to vote on the next prime minister. That's currently scheduled for November 11th. Meanwhile, Komeito's leader says he's stepping down. Chief Representative Ishi Keichi made the announcement Thursday. His party lost eight seats, including his own. He said he's taking responsibility for the set back.

An Indian media outlet says India and China have completed withdrawing their troops in a part of disputed border areas. The outlet reported the news Wednesday, citing Indian militarysources.
China's foreign ministry did not mention the withdrawal at a news conference on the same day, but it said both countries had reached resolutions on border-related issues, and their frontier troops are implementing them. The two countries had been at odds over a tentative demarcation line in the contested border. Both sides suffered casualties there during fighting in 2020. Last week, Beijing and New Delhi reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Russia last Wednesday. During their first formal talks in five years, the two leaders agreed to seek ways to resolve the border issue.

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Now let's turn to world weather. People in Taiwan are bracing for powerful typhoon Kong Rei. Our meteorologist Yumi Hirano has the details.

The storm is one of the strongest typhoons hitting Taiwan in October. It has already brought over 1,000 millimeters of rainfall since Wednesday, People in the east also experienced gusts of over 280 kilometers per hour. We have some video.
Kumrei has brought heavy rain and strong winds to Taiwan, reportedly injuring dozens of people. The storm has triggered mud slides in mountainous areas and massive waves along the coast. All cities and counties have declared Thursday a day off, with schools and businesses closed. Hundreds of flights and ferry services have been canceled. 

Due to the developed typhoon, gusty winds and high waves of up to 12 millimeters are expected along the coast. In addition, up to 700 millimeters of rainfall is possible by Friday afternoon. Even Taipei may receive heavy downpours of up to 300 millimeters. 

The storm is also expected to impact eastern China, including Shanghai, into Friday, and then it will bring heavy downpours to Japan as a low-pressure system into Saturday. 

The wane will start from Friday and be heavier on Saturday, so if you are traveling over the holiday weekend, please keep an eye out on traffic information.

Moving to Europe, a low-pressure system lingering over the Iberian peninsula brought severe floods in eastern Spain this week. Rain is expected to move west on Thursday with risks of thundershowers, lightning and strong winds. 

Another storm in the north is impacting southern parts of the Scandinavian peninsula. Potential floods and landslides are a concern in southern Norway into Friday. 

That's it for me. Stay safe.

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Do visit our website for more news and information. You can also follow us on X and Facebook as well. I'm James Tangan. Thanks for watching.