SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — With leader Kim Jong Un in attendance, North Korea opened a key political conference to discuss improving its struggling economy and reviewing defense strategies in the face of growing tensions with rivals, according to state media reports Saturday. Weapons tested by the North this year include a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile designed to reach the U.S. mainland, and various shorter-range weapons targeting South Korea and Japan. Thursday’s missile firings were North Korea’s first rocket activity since May 31, when a long-range rocket carrying the country's first spy satellite crashed off the Korean Peninsula’s west coast. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Friday that military search crews have salvaged what it believes is part of the crashed North Korean rocket. The debris was to be analyzed by the U.S. and South Korean militaries.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 18, 2023 00:06 UTC