North Korea fired a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Thursday, despite a recent olive branch offered by US President Donald Trump, who signalled a willingness to reengage with the North’s leader Kim Jong-un.The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected roughly a dozen short-range ballistic missiles launched from the Pyongyang area at around 5 pm, adding that further analysis is under way in cooperation with the United States.

The military has stepped up surveillance and vigilance for possible additional launches while closely sharing related information with the US and Japan as they maintain a full readiness posture, the JCS said.”Under a staunch South Korea-US combined defence posture, our military is closely monitoring various North Korean activities as we maintain the capability and readiness to overwhelmingly respond to any provocation,” it added.

The latest missile launch came after Trump expressed his willingness to resume dialogue with Kim, whom he met three times during his first term in 2018 and 2019, when a flurry of nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang was in full swing, Yonhap News Agency reported.Nuclear talks have been dormant after their 2019 meeting in Hanoi ended without a deal.Trump floated an overture on a social media post earlier this week, stating he had instructed the Pentagon to scale down military drills with South Korea that he sees as sending an “inappropriate and hostile” message to Pyongyang.

Seoul and Washington announced Wednesday they will cut short the ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise by half, ending the annual drills this Friday.Pyongyang has strongly denounced the drills as rehearsals for invasion and typically responded with a series of weapons tests in protest.In a White House press availability Wednesday (US time), Trump said he would meet Kim later this year, claiming that the recalcitrant state possesses “57 very powerful” nuclear weapons, a specific figure he has cited for the first time regarding the North’s nuclear stockpile.

Despite Trump’s olive branch, the North appears to have given Washington the cold shoulder. Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the North’s leader, said in a statement late Wednesday that Pyongyang has no interest in the reduction of the allies’ military exercise, calling it “unworthy of comment.”Following the launch, the presidential national security office said it convened a meeting attended by officials from the defence ministry and JCS to review South Korea’s response and assess the move’s impact on national security.

“With the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise currently underway, the office stressed the need to maintain a thorough readiness posture,” it said, urging Pyongyang to halt such provocations in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.The latest missile launch took place about a week after Pyongyang fired a short-range ballistic missile eastward on Aug. 12, following the launch of another short-range ballistic missile on Aug. 6.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that negotiating with the United States did not mean surrender.At a conference in Tehran on Wednesday (local time), Pezeshkian stressed the need to defend Iran’s territorial integrity, according to a statement posted on his office’s website.

“In the process of negotiations, we are moving forward step by step at the height of our power and while maintaining wisdom, dignity and expediency,” Pezeshkian said.”Our goals have been to end the war, lift the (anti-Iran naval) blockade, release the country’s frozen assets and, then, (hold) nuclear talks,” he noted.

US President Donald Trump reportedly told top administration envoys to halt their conversations with Iran on Tuesday, local media reported, citing a US official, reports Xinhua news agency.On Wednesday, Trump announced a “crushing economic operation” on Iran, hours after saying that the situation with Iran is “so good.”Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on ending the war on all fronts on June 18.Yet, it remains unclear how the talks will proceed after a 60-day negotiating period under the MoU ended on Monday and tensions between the two sides escalated last month.

Additionally, a senior Iranian lawmaker said Wednesday that a draft plan under review by Iran’s parliament to safeguard security in the Strait of Hormuz would bar hostile and espionage vessels from transiting the strategic waterway.In an interview with state-run IRIB TV, Ebrahim Rezaei, a member of the parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, elaborated on the plan, whose general outlines have been approved by the committee.

The plan stipulates that vessels deemed hostile or involved in espionage activities that could threaten Iran’s national security would not be allowed to pass through the strait, Rezaei said.He added that Israeli military or civilian vessels would also be prohibited from transiting the waterway, with enforcement to be supervised by Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces.Rezaei said the plan included provisions for charging passage fees in the Iranian rial or other currencies, as well as penalties for vessels violating the regulations.”If someone in another part of the world harms Iran’s interests or our citizens, we will deal with that government in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said, adding that the plan allows for measures including cargo confiscation and higher tariffs against governments that take hostile positions toward Iran.

Rezaei said the Strait of Hormuz had become a national security concern for Iran following US and Israeli strikes against Iran, and that Tehran must maintain control of the waterway to prevent military threats.The parliamentary committee approved the general outlines of the plan earlier this month, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported.

Jammu: For the first time, the Vande Bharat train operated at 100 km per hour on the world’s highest railway bridge, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Jammu, Uchit Singhal, told reporters on Thursday.

He said the increase in speed would reduce travel time and further strengthen connectivity between Jammu and Kashmir.

“The move would provide passengers with faster, safer and more comfortable travel while also boosting tourism, trade and economic activities in the region,” he said.

The Vande Bharat train has, for the first time, operated at a speed of nearly 100 kmph on the world’s highest railway bridge over the Chenab River, following the Railway Ministry’s approval to increase the maximum permissible speed on the Katra-Banihal rail section.

The senior divisional commercial manager also said the approval allows trains to run at speeds of up to 100 kmph on the 111-kilometre-long new Broad Gauge rail section between Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra and Banihal under the Jammu Division of Northern Railway.

Earlier, the permissible speed was 85 kmph on the Katra-Sangaldan section and 75 kmph on the Sangaldan-Banihal section. Northern Railway has also said the speed enhancement was approved after ensuring compliance with all prescribed safety conditions.

With the revised speed limit, travel time between Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra and Banihal is expected to reduce further.

The Chenab Rail Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir is the highest railway bridge in the world and is considered a marvel of railway engineering.

It towers 359 meters (1,178 feet) above the Chenab River bed, making it 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower. The length of the bridge is 1,315 m. The bridge has a steel and concrete deck arch bridge built to resist heavy winds and strong earthquakes.

The total length of the railway project connecting Jammu to the Kashmir Valley (the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link or USBRL) is 272 kms for the newly constructed track portion, with the overall continuous rail line spanning roughly 324 to 345 kms depending on the specific start and end junctions measured from Jammu to Baramulla.