US has assessed North Korea could be preparing to carry out first weapons test since Biden took office.

US intelligence has assessed that North Korea could be preparing to carry out their first weapons test since President Joe Biden came into office, according to several US officials speaking to CNN on condition of anonymity.

The US officials are on alert as the US and South Korea conduct scaled-down, simulated military exercises and US Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are in Asia for meetings with their Japanese and South Korean counterparts.

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SOUTH KOREA – Today’s 2+2 meeting with Minister Suh and Minister Chung is a testament to the importance of the U.S.-ROK Alliance in these unprecedented times.

From regional security issues to cooperation on global challenges.

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The U.S. remains committed to the defense of the ROK using the full range of U.S. capabilities. As the U.S. and ROK continue to maintain a robust combined defense posture, we also remain committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

🔗 Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef)

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We stand shoulder-to-shoulder, arm-in-arm, with Japan. The cornerstone of the alliance in the Indo-Pacific that has preserved peace and security in the region and across the globe for more than half a century.

🔗 Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef)

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The German Luftwaffe, which is carrying out missions for the Baltic Air Policing mission on its fighters in Estonia, has completed more than 100 training flights from the Amary AB airbase since January of this year.

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#Kazakhstan: The 'Matybulak' test site hosted an active phase of bilateral brigade tactical exercises of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan.

🔗 Asian OSINT (@AsianOSINT)

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🇺🇸 U.S. Secretary of State Blinken: "Beijing has a clear self interest" in dealing with North Korea.

It is a "source of instability and danger"

Blinken says US will consider pressure and diplomatic options on North Korea, and the policy review on the North will be done in close consultation with South Korea, allies.

@DefenseBlog

UKRAINE – The Army has deployed its OTR-21 Tochka-U ballistic missile to the Donbas.

This type of missile is known as "The End" and is a Tank Killer.

Further escalation inevitable!

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SYRIA – Combat aircraft of the Russian Air Force today for the first time struck at militant targets in the direction of the Bab al-Khava crossing border with Turkey.

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JUST IN: @SecDef made a surprise stop in Afghanistan today, his first as Pentagon chief, as @POTUS weighs a decision on whether to draw down US troops by May 1 — a deadline stipulated by the agreement he inherited from the Trump administration.

🔗 Lara Seligman (@laraseligman)

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BREAKING – Syria: Five Turkish UAVs are active around border amid reports about Russian air and missile strikes in Idlib province.

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#Syrian Army shelling rebels in the Jabal Al-Zawiya region, southern #Idlib. #Syria

🔗 Asian OSINT (@AsianOSINT)

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Russian jets hit civilian areas near Turkish border, witnesses and rebels say

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Saudi-led coalition targets Houthi missiles' workshops in Yemen's Sanaa: State media

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BREAKING – The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission announced that its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) came under fire near the settlement of Veselaya Gora, controlled by the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, near the contact line in Donbas.

In turn, Yakov Osadchiy, an official representative of the People's Militia of the self-proclaimed LPR, said that the Ukrainian side had placed an armored personnel carrier in a residential area of ​​the Kiev-controlled city of "Happiness" so that OSCE monitors would not find it, and then fired at the mission's drone.

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https://t.me/WW3INFO/2575

BREAKING – Israel Aerospace Industries say they completed a series of tests with the BARAK ER long range surface-to-air missile, reaching an interception distance of 150km.

@DefenseBlog