North Korea made an offer for peace talks with the US and South Korea, and the allies have dismissed it as a publicity stunt.
South Korea and the U.S. rejected North Korea's proposal to start peace talks to formally end the Korean War, with Seoul saying Tuesday that can happen only after the North rejoins disarmament talks and reports progress in denuclearization.
The North, however, said Monday that its return to those negotiations hinges on building better relations with the United States, including signing a peace treaty. The North also called for the lifting of international sanctions against it.
On Tuesday, South Korea's defense chief repeated his country's suspicion of such calls from the North, which regularly pushes for a treaty. Kim Tae-young told reporters he will continue to try to find what the North's true intention is behind the proposal.
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Following the sale of US missiles to Taiwan, the Chinese have tested a new anti-missile missile.
China successfully tested emerging military technology aimed at destroying missiles in mid-air, the government said, while state media warned ties with Washington would be hurt by U.S. missile sales to Taiwan.
China claims Taiwan is an illegitimate breakaway from mainland rule and sees the U.S. arms sales an intrusion into a domestic dispute.
The brief report on the "ground-based mid-course missile interception technology" from China's state-run Xinhua news agency gave few details, and did not specify whether any missile or object had been destroyed in the test, staged on Chinese soil
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China is also setting a date for joint army exercises with India.
India and China have decided to resume joint army training exercises from 2011, three years after the last round of bilateral anti-terror war games were conducted in Belgaum.
A contingent of Indian soldiers will visit China next year for a new series of training exercises. This was decided during the visit to Beijing by a high-level military team led by Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar.
The two countries have also decided to exchange information and intelligence on anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden. “The two sides have identified a number of areas of cooperation, one of them being joint military drills. The next round of joint exercises is likely to be held in China in 2011,” sources in the Defence Ministry said.
Are we redrawing the battle lines on the subcontinent again?
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And in another case of engineering around stupidity, the South Koreans look to follow the US lead and outlaw the very thought of USB computer drives, following the leaking of sensitive documents left on one.
The military will phase out use of USB flash drives starting next year after a slew of military secrets were leaked, the latest being a joint South Korea-U.S. military action plan that was apparently accessed by North Korean hackers.
A Defense Ministry official on Monday said the ministry plans to build a new data exchange system by investing W2.8 billion (US$1=W1,121) this year. The new system to be completed by year's end will link the Defense Ministry, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the headquarters of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
A military spokesman said the Intranet will be thoroughly separated from the Internet and a new server will allow exchange of data between the Intranet and the Internet. The new system will put tight controls on USB flash drives, he added.
'Cuz y'know, we wouldn't want to actually train our guys to behave properly and then enforce a standard on them, would we?
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Looks like the Japanese government is going to admit what everyone already knew: US nuclear-armed ships used to dock there. Surprise!
To the government's critics, it was a long and shocking act of official stonewalling: Agreements long hidden in Foreign Ministry files allowed nuclear-armed U.S. warships to enter Japanese ports, violating a hallowed principle of postwar Japan. Yet their very existence was officially denied.
Now, in a clear break from the past, a new prime minister has gone where none of his predecessors dared go: He has ordered a panel of ministry officials and academics to investigate the secret agreements.
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By: Brant
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