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Ukrainian secret services are said to be behind the double attack in Buryatia in Russia's far east, 4000 miles from Moscow.
A 50 tanker train, filled with diesel and aviation fuel, was reportedly targeted in what Russia has branded a "terrorist attack". |
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A second blast then rocked another train nearby, leaving four tanks burnt out and fuel spewing out.
On Wednesday night, Ukraine attacked the same cross-country railway line at the ten-mile-long Severomuysky Tunnel, which cut off Russia's main link to China. |
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A 41-wagon goods train - including three tankers filled with aviation fuel - was reportedly destroyed.
A Kyiv source told The Sun that the blasts had “paralysed” Russia’s Baikal-Amur Mainline which runs for 2,700 miles from central Russia to its Sea of Japan east coast. The two bombings are the deepest behind enemy lines of any Ukrainian sabotage attacks so far. The Baikal-Amur Mainline is used for munitions from North Korea and China to supply Putin’s invading forces in Ukraine, Kyiv claims. The Irish SUN Northern Ireland edition of 'The SUN', London, on 1st December 2023 Russia's Longest Railway Tunnel Blown Up? Ukraine Declares Responsibility, Hints at "Warning to China" No.1 Military Intelligence on December 3, 2023 |
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美国国防部发布最新调查报告，称截止至2023年10月，朝鲜已经向俄罗斯提供了超过1000个集装箱规模的武器弹药。其中一部分弹药如152毫米炮弹、122毫米火箭弹均已有相关照片影像披露。
但五角大楼认为在这些常规弹药之外，朝鲜很可能还向俄罗斯提供了KN-23战术弹道导弹。一句话，这些来自东方的强援规模和等级，恐怕要比所有人想象中的还要大。
毕竟朝鲜的KN-23战术弹道导弹在2019年首次曝光后，就以其酷似伊斯坎德尔-M的外形赢得了“金斯坎德尔”的昵称。而且和其他主要用于威慑美日的中远程导弹相比，KN-23作为朝军对韩主力导弹，其产量也比前者高出一大截。这既使得朝军可以进一步发展该型导弹的火车发射版以及固定发射井发射版，也让其有相对充足的产能与库存供应俄罗斯。
再考虑到俄罗斯或其他外部势力很可能为朝鲜提供了包括导弹原材料在内的一系列资源的情况下，资源充足、手头还有现成生产线的朝鲜在生产“金斯坎德尔”导弹时的产能会比俄罗斯生产伊斯坎德尔-M还要高，也并不是什么奇怪的事。
可以说，以美国为首的西方国家集团除非能够在物理层面上摧毁朝鲜的军工生产能力，否则俄罗斯很难陷入到所谓的“弹药短缺”困境中。而乌克兰面临的军事压力也将随着时间的推移越来越大，越来越难以扭转已经倾转的胜利天平。
The U.S. Department of Defense released its latest investigative report, saying that as of October 2023, North Korea has provided Russia with more than 1,000 containers of weapons and ammunition. Some of the munitions, such as 152mm artillery shells and 122mm rockets, have been disclosed in relevant photographs and images. But the Pentagon believes that in addition to these conventional munitions, North Korea is likely to have supplied Russia with KN-23 tactical ballistic missiles. In a word, the scale and level of these strong reinforcements from the east are probably even larger than everyone imagined.
After all, North Korea's KN-23 tactical ballistic missile was first revealed in 2019 and earned the nickname 'Kimskander' for its Iskander-M look. Moreover, compared with other medium- and long-range missiles mainly used to deter the United States and Japan, the KN-23, as the main missile of the North Korean army against South Korea, is also produced at much higher numbers than the former. This not only allows the North Korean military to further develop the train-launched version of this type of missile and the fixed-silo launch version, but also allows it to have relatively sufficient production capacity and inventory to supply Russia.
Considering that Russia or other external powers are likely to provide North Korea with a range of resources, including raw materials for missiles, it is not surprising that North Korea, with its abundant resources and ready-made production lines, will produce 'Kimskander' missiles more than Russia produces Iskander-M. It can be said that unless the bloc of Western countries, led by the United States, can physically destroy the military-industrial production capacity of the DPRK, it will be difficult for Russia to get into the so-called "ammunition shortage" dilemma. And the military pressure on Ukraine will also increase over time, and it will become increasingly difficult to reverse the already tilted balance of victory.
[腾讯 on Nov.27]
Some days earlier, on November 24, the delivery of North Korean weapons to Russia became a subject of the regular press conference held by China's Foreign Ministry:
France condemned supply of weapons to Russia by DPRK
[China's] Foreign Ministry responded
On November 24, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning held a regular press conference. A reporter asked: The French Foreign Ministry once again condemned the DPRK for supplying weapons to Russia. Now, what is China's position on this incident? Mao Ning said that regarding the cooperation between Russia and the DPRK, this is a matter between Russia and the DPRK as two sovereign states. On the Ukraine crisis, China's position is very clear and consistent.
[腾讯 on Nov.24]
The KN-23 is estimated to carry a 500 kg warhead to 450 km or a reduced payload to 690 km. According to analysts, the missile measures approximately 7.5 m in length, 0.95 m in diameter, and weighs 3415 kg in total.
These specifications are roughly comparable to both the Russian Iskander-M and S-Korean Hyunmoo-2B SRBMs. Like its contemporaries, the KN-23 appears to conduct a 'pull-up' maneuver in its terminal phase of flight, obviously to ensure it would be hard to intercept. Moreover, the missiles’ ranges are similar; the Iskander-M is reportedly capable of reaching ~700km ranges in reduced-payload configurations. Given these similarities, several analysts speculate that the KN-23 was constructed with foreign assistance. [Western military source]
North Korea formed a nuclear deterrent against the US,
Kim Jong-un praised it, and the US protested in the Security Council
卫星拍下白宫，朝鲜对美形成核威慑，金正恩点赞，美在安理会抗议
Only recently, the DPRK successfully launched the Wanlijing-1 reconnaissance satellite into space with the Maxima-1 carrier rocket and began commissioning the satellite. It is expected that it will not be long before the DPRK's Wanlijing-1 reconnaissance satellite will officially enter the mission implementation stage. Out of their hostile attitude toward the DPRK, the United States, South Korea, and other countries have always been skeptical about the capability of the Wanlijing reconnaissance satellite, and they have even claimed to the outside world that the Wanlijing reconnaissance satellite has not entered the predetermined orbit at all, and that the satellite is about to "be annihilated in the vast universe." DPRK = Democratic People's Republic of Korea
However, North Korea has slapped the United States and South Korea and other countries in the face with a series of practical actions. According to a report by the Observer Network on Nov. 28, after releasing photos of the US military Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, the DPRK released a number of photos taken by the Wanlijing reconnaissance satellite. Whether it is the White House, the Pentagon, and other important political places in the United States, the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia, and the Newport News shipyard, which is specially used for the construction of aircraft carriers, all have a full view of the DPRK's Wanlijing-1 reconnaissance satellite. In one photo, people can also clearly see the latest situation of the five aircraft carriers of the United States and Britain at the port of berth.
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If North Korea's satellite launch really uses Russian technology, then the United States, South Korea, and other countries should not be too surprised by results achieved by the Wanlijing-1 military reconnaissance satellite, because Russia has always been a power in the aerospace field. In any case, after the Wanlijing-1 military reconnaissance satellite officially begins to carry out its scheduled tasks, the DPRK's national defense level and intelligence gathering level will be greatly enhanced. With satellites as "eyes", the "fists" of the DPRK can hit farther.
Recently, the DPRK successfully test-fired the most advanced Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile which was launched at a large elevation angle, rose at an altitude of 6,648.4 km, and flew at a distance of 1,001.2 km, accurately landing in the target waters in the high seas of the Sea of Japan. Theoretically, North Korea's Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile can already hit the U.S. mainland. North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, has made it clear that there will be more satellite launches in the coming days. It is not difficult to imagine that after North Korea has more military satellites, countries such as the United States and South Korea will feel more pressure.
It is worth mentioning that at the same time that the DPRK released its latest satellite photos, the DPRK and the United States had a rare direct public confrontation in the Security Council. US Representative [Linda] Thomas-Greenfield strongly condemned North Korea's satellite launch, saying it was in response to US bilateral and trilateral "defensive conventional military exercises," as reported on November 28. DPRK representative Kim Sung pointed out sharply at the Security Council that the United States is threatening the DPRK with nuclear weapons, and that there is no country in the world that is in such a severe security environment as the DPRK, and that the DPRK has the right to develop and master the same weapons system.
[腾讯 on Nov.28.]
The article has been rewritten on Nov.29 under the following title:
朝鲜卫星飞过美国，宣称拍到白宫五角大楼，美在安理会抗议无效
North Korean satellite flew over the United States, claims to
have photographed the White House and the Pentagon, while
the United States protested in the Security Council to no avail.
A new satellite target mentioned was Rome, the capital of Italy.
The aspect of nuclear deterrence by N-Korea has been restricted
to the debate between US and DPRK in the UN Security Council.
The video was provided by Arirang, South Korea's national TV.
Date of broadcast: July 13, 2023
