Operations

“An event with multiple explosives devices is clearly act of terror,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said.

The military said non-lethal rounds were fired after detainees resisted a transfer with improvised weapons.

North Korea is dangerously close to fielding a mobile, intercontinental ballistic missile, but the weapon remains untested and its reliability is highly questionable, U.S. intelligence officials told Congress. 

The Topline: North Korea could launch a missile test this week, but the United States is prepared to intercept it if necessary, U.S. Pacific Command Chief Adm. Samuel Locklear said Tuesday.

Locklear said that North Korea posed a “clear and direct threat” against the United States, but emphasized that the military was “ready today” to deal with North Korean aggression.

Locklear testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday, as Pyongyang continued to make new threats against South Korea and the United States.

On Tuesday, North Korea told foreigners to evacuate South Korea because of a looming war, as Pyongyang was reportedly readying a missile test this week.

In response, the White House criticized North Korea for telling foreigners to leave, and the State Department said there was “no imminent threat” to Americans in South Korea.

The new threat from North Korea was just the latest in a string of provocations that have ratcheted up tensions in the peninsula.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday that he has not seen tensions in Korea as high as they are right now since the Korean War.

Locklear hedged just a bit but basically agreed, saying he could not recall a time of greater tension.

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American and South Korean forces are "ready today" should North Korea attack, Adm. Samuel Locklear said.

A highly anticipated North Korean missile test slated for this week will not be nuclear, despite recent reports from Seoul that the test would showcase the country's atomic weaponry.

The administration touts Fatima, a Pakistani firm, after Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) blocked the company's proposed fertilizer plant. 

Washington and Japan have reached a deal to significantly drawdown the U.S. presence in Okinawa, Japan, but congressional lawmakers are threatening to scuttle the deal if the Defense Department cannot provide a price tag for the effort. 

A case of friendly fire by NATO forces in Afghanistan Thursday ended with the deaths of four Afghan police officers, reigniting the debate between U.S. commanders and Kabul over the use of allied air power in the country. 

The North Korean Uriminzokkiri site’s Twitter and Flickr accounts appeared to have been hacked on Thursday.