U.S. intelligence warns of ‘ever more diverse’ threats
A new U.S. intelligence strategy report says Russia’s efforts to expand its influence and China’s modernizing military are among the “ever more diverse” threats facing the country.
The National Intelligence Strategy report issued every four years also singles out North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, growing cyber capabilities of U.S. adversaries and global political instability as areas on which the country’s intelligence agencies must focus.
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said in releasing the report Jan. 24 that U.S. agencies must adapt to respond to what he calls a “turbulent and complex” environment.
He said the intelligence community must improve cooperation among member agencies and foster more innovation. He also said agencies must do more to increase transparency to raise public trust in their work. AP
Seoul accuses Japanese patrol plane of threatening flight
South Korea’s military has accused Japan of a “clear provocation” over what it says was a threatening low-altitude flight by a Japanese patrol plane over a South Korean warship.
An official from Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Jan. 25 that the plane flew 196 to 229 feet above the water near a South Korean naval ship.
Seoul and Tokyo are key U.S. allies and close economic partners, but are currently locked in disputes over military issues and wartime history.
South Korea also accused another Japanese patrol plane of conducting a low-altitude flight over a South Korean warship that had been rescuing a North Korean fishing boat in December. Japan has claimed the warship locked its fire-control radar onto the plane, but Seoul denied that. AP