Central News Agency News

China will ban vessels from an area near Taiwan on Sunday because of the possibility of falling rocket debris, its maritime safety agency said on Thursday, as Japan sought details from Beijing on a reported no-fly zone in the same location. China has not commented on the no-fly zone, but South Korea, which was also briefed on the plans, said it was due to a falling object related to a launch vehicle. The disruption comes during tension in the region over Chinese military exercises around Taiwan…

Chinese warplanes and navy ships were still in the waters around Taiwan, the island's defense ministry said on Tuesday after the end of three days of war games, as Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen criticized Beijing for its "irresponsible" behavior.China began the exercises on Saturday after Tsai returned to Taipei following a meeting in Los Angeles with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy.China, which warned the U.S. not to allow Tsai to visit or meet McCarthy, has never renounced the use of force to bring the democratically governed island under Beijing's control.

The Trump administration has approved the marketing license required for American manufacturers to sell technology to Taiwan that would allow for building domestic submarines, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported on Saturday.The news agency said Taiwan Ministry of National Defense Chen Chung-chi confirmed that the U.S. Department of State had agreed to grant the license needed to sell the technology to Taiwan that it would need to build its own submarine.The U.S. State Department…

North Korea has test-fired newly deployed anti-ship rockets -  three short-range KN-01 type missiles - with a reported range of 120km just weeks after the country claimed it tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile, , the North's media said. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has watched a test-firing drill of a new type of anti-ship rocket, which is being deployed at the military's naval units. Kim watched the drill of the "ultra-modern" rockets that flew at the designated altitude while accurately detecting and hitting the "enemy" warship, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "North Korea on June 14 fired three KN-01 missiles near North Korea's eastern city towards sea off east of the peninsula," the South Korean Defense Ministry official said.

North Korea has successfully test-fired a newly developed ballistic missile from a submarine in what would be the latest display of the country’s advancing military capability. Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, ordered the test of the “world-level strategic weapon” and was present when it “soared into the sky from underwater,” the state-run agency reported. “There took place an underwater test-fire of Korean-style powerful strategic submarine ballistic missile,” the KCNA article reads. Development of submarine-based missile technology provides North Korea with “world-level strategic weapon capable of striking and wiping out in any waters” hostile forces. The report did not reveal the exact timing and location of the launch.

North Korea has test-fired a new a new "ultra-precision" intelligent anti-ship cruise missile demonstrating the increased capability of its naval forces. The exercise was carried out by its East Sea fleet, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. Images published by Pyongyang's newspaper today also showed leader Kim Jong-un observing the missile being fired from a small naval vessel. "The ultra-precision anti-ship rocket blasted off from a rocket boat. The intelligent rocket precisely sought, tracked and hit the 'enemy' ship after taking a safe flight," KCNA said, without giving a location or date. The rocket would soon be deployed across North Korea's navy, it said.

Taiwan's government has come under fire from the largest opposition party for stalling on the clean-up of an oil spill threatening the island's southern coast. A Greek cargo ship, the Amorgos, ran aground near Kenting National Park on Taiwan's southern tip 25 days ago, leaking 1,100 tons of fuel that have since spread across an area of some 24 acres (10 hectares). "We see people dredging buckets of oil while the government pushes responsibility, drags and delays," Central News Agency quoted Nationalist Party chairman Lien Chan as saying. "We are watching the environment dying right beneath our eyes," said Lien, whose party dominates parliament.

The coast guard squad stationed on the island of Matsu has recently been equipped with a new 50-ton patrol boat. the addition of the vessel aims to boost the island's ability to catch Chinese poachers, coast guard officers said Monday. With the new ship, the squad now operates a fleet of three 50-ton patrol boats that have a shallow draft, allowing them to cruise between the reefs surrounding Matsu to intercept the poachers, who often escape patrols by making for shallow water, the officers said. In the past, an increasing number of Chinese fishing boats have sneaked into the seas surrounding Matsu to poach, mostly with banned electric devices and explosives, according to the squad. Source: Central News Agency