Authored by Federico Pieraccini via The Strategic Culture Foundation,
The geographic location of Afghanistan has always occupied a central role in many geopolitical studies. Donald Trump’s reasons for reinforcing US troops in the region are driven by the continuing US need to prevent a complete Eurasian integration among regional powers.
On Sunday, North Korea tested its most powerful nuclear bomb yet, detonating a device that caused a 6.3 magnitude tremor.
The weapon's sheer power has caused alarm but the fact that Pyongyang is claiming it can be fitted inside an intercontinental ballistic missile is sending shockwaves through Asia and beyond.
The USDJPY and 10Y yields snapped lower and gold kneejerked higher following the latest North Korea-related headline out of Bloomberg, according to which:
Bloomberg references a just released article in the Asia Business Daily, according to which North Korea started moving the ICBM-class missile, produced at a new Pyongyang research center, on Monday following Sunday's thermonuclear test.
Barely had the market digested news of the latest, 6th - and this time allegedly thermonuclear - test by North Korea (with the South Korean Kospi cutting initial losses of as much as 1.6% in half on yet another BTFNWD ramp), when Yonhap reported that South Korea's spy agency said it had detected that North Korea is making preparations for a possible intercontinental ballistic missile launch, a move that would further raise tensions a day after it conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear detonation.
As has become custom, shortly after North Korea engages in some provocative activity, in this case its first ever hyrdogen bomb test, South Korea has traditionally responded with its own military drill, and today was no difference, with Yonhap reporting "that South Korea's military said Monday it conducted a combined live-fire exercise targeting North Korea's nuclear test site."
To be sure, it's not exactly clear how a "drill" can "target" a foreign military site, but we'll assume someone just used Google translate in this case.