North Korean Leader Oversees Tactical Missile Weapons System

This picture taken on May 10, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 11, 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the 240mm multiple rocket launcher system at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on May 10, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 11, 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the 240mm multiple rocket launcher system at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)
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North Korean Leader Oversees Tactical Missile Weapons System

This picture taken on May 10, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 11, 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the 240mm multiple rocket launcher system at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on May 10, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 11, 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the 240mm multiple rocket launcher system at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday oversaw a tactical missile weapons system that will be newly installed at missile units of its army, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday.
Kim expressed satisfaction with missile system production in the first half of the year and emphasized it was important to carry out this year's military production plan, saying it would bring a breakthrough in the military's readiness for war, Reuters reported.
Missile launchers produced in the first half of this year will be installed at western fire strike units in charge of "important fire strike missions," KCNA added.
Last week, Kim inspected the country's artillery weapon system and attended the test-firing of such weapons



Cyprus Says US Decree on Security Affirms Island's Stabilizing Role in Region

Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images
Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images
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Cyprus Says US Decree on Security Affirms Island's Stabilizing Role in Region

Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images
Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images

Cyprus on Thursday hailed a US memorandum allowing military sales, including arms, to the island as a milestone affirming recognition of the island as a pillar of stability in the east Mediterranean region which has been fraught with conflict.
US President Joe Biden boosted security ties with Cyprus on Wednesday by issuing a memorandum that makes the island eligible to receive American defense articles, military sales and training.
Cyprus has over the years played a key role in evacuating people out of conflict zones and established a maritime corridor for aid to war-ravaged Gaza last year.
"This (memorandum) is a clear recognition of the Republic of Cyprus as a pillar of stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean, with the potential to further contribute to peace and the management of humanitarian challenges," the Cypriot presidency said in a statement.
Cyprus was close to Russia for decades, but there has been a marked shift in allegiances in recent years, Reuters said.
For many in Cyprus, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has drawn parallels to Türkiye’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974, and Cyprus, an EU member state, has followed its peers in adopting sanctions on Moscow. It is now getting FBI expertise in countering illicit finance.
Access to the US programs would enable greater interoperability to respond to regional humanitarian crises, counter malign influence, and combat terrorism and transnational organized crime, the US embassy in Nicosia said.
Deepening US-Cyprus relations are closely followed by Türkiye, which in September criticized the signing of a roadmap to boost defense co-operation between the United States and Cyprus.
Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion following a brief Greek-inspired coup in 1974, following years of sporadic violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots which triggered the collapse of a power-sharing administration in 1963.