Briefly

DPRK

Unidentified projectiles fired into East Sea

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea fired two unidentified projectiles into the East Sea, the Republic of Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Thursday. The projectiles were launched into the eastern waters from the DPRK's South Hamgyong Province in the morning. Yonhap news agency reported the projectiles were estimated to have been ballistic missiles. The JCS said in a statement the intelligence authorities of the ROK and the United States were analyzing further details. If confirmed, it would be the first ballistic missile launch by the DPRK in about one year. It also followed Pyongyang's test-launch on Sunday of two cruise missiles off its west coast.

EUROPEAN UNION

Blinken snipes at Nord Stream 2 on trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday he had told his German counterpart that sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline were a real possibility and there was "no ambiguity" in Washington's opposition to its construction. Berlin has so far been betting the new administration of US President Joe Biden will take a pragmatic approach to the project to ship Russian gas to Europe because it is almost completed, officials and diplomats have told Reuters. Reiterating Biden's concerns about the pipeline from Russia to Germany, Blinken said he told German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Tuesday in a private meeting that companies involved in the project risked sanctions, particularly at a point when construction might finish. The Kremlin says Nord Stream 2, a $11 billion venture led by Russian state energy company Gazprom, is a commercial project. But several US administrations have opposed the project and Europe has vowed to reduce its reliance on Russian energy.

UNITED STATES

Biden puts Harris in charge of border influx

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday put Vice-President Kamala Harris in charge of handling the influx of migrants at the Mexican border, addressing a row that has galvanized his critics."I can think of nobody who is better qualified to do this," Biden said at a White House meeting with Harris by his side. Harris said there was "no question this is a challenging situation". Thousands of migrants have sought to enter the United States in recent weeks as they flee violence and poverty in Central America. While increases in migration are common at this time of year, Republicans have called the influx a crisis and accused Biden of emboldening migrants by relaxing the harsher policies of his predecessor Donald Trump.

UKRAINE

Air defense exercises held on Crimea border

Air defense brigades of Ukraine's Armed Forces performed combat missions on the border with Crimea, the press service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on their official Facebook page on Wednesday."Certain forces and means were used to destroy the enemy. In addition, to suppress further enemy attempts to conduct reconnaissance to destroy its locations, a unit of Smerch rocket launchers was used in the exercise," said Lieutenant-General Serhiy Nayev. During the exercises, Ukraine's artillery units performed several dozen training and combat exercises. Smerch heavy multiple rocket launchers and Osa short-range tactical surface-to-air missile system were used during the military drills.

Xinhua - Agencies