Nuclear weapons

North Korea's fire power and military might foil South's attempts to tame the communist regime, by all odds.

South Korea is considering redeploying U.S. tactical weapons in the country in response to North's fresh nuclear activity. Defense minister Kim Tae-young suggested that the plan could be proposed to Washington at the Extended Deterrence Policy Committee meeting scheduled for next month.

United States' top envoy on North Korea, on Monday, stated that the evidence of a new North Korean nuclear plant was provocative. But, he also toned down the fears that the region was on the brink of a nuclear crisis.

The U.S. Department of Treasury sanctioned two North Korea companies for being controlled and used by a secretive branch of the North Korean government for illicit activities.

President Obama, last Saturday in Japan, reiterated his administration’s commitment to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev to get the new START Treaty approved by the lame-duck U.S. Senate before the year is out.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is planning an official visit to Israel in January next year, the Haaretz reported on Wednesday. This will be the first Russian presidential visit to Israel in almost five years. It was in 2005 that Vladimir Putin met Ariel Sharon, which improved the bilateral ties between the countries.

Combat aircraft accounted for one-third share in worldwide transfers of major weapons in the past five years, says a report on Wednesday.