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News reports from this week...Why is North Korea considered so dangerous?

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Pyongyang described the exercise, which involved two B1-B bombers, as a "nuclear bomb-dropping drill" that made nuclear war more likely. North Korean state media described US President Donald Trump as a "warmonger".

The outburst came as the officials said that a controversial US missile defense system was up and running in South Korea -- albeit in a limited capacity. That announcement came a week before presidential elections in South Korea that are expected to bring in a government critical of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, known as THAAD.

The latest belligerent statement from Pyongyang was a response to the deployment of two US bombers over the Korean peninsula on Monday -- as part of a joint drill with South Korea and Japan's air forces.

South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a briefing Tuesday that the deployment was part of an effort to "respond to North Korea's nuclear missile threat and to deter North Korea's provocations."

North Korean state news agency KCNA denounced the exercise in typically bombastic terms. "The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war," KCNA said.

It claimed that "Trump and other US warmongers" were determined to make a preemptive nuclear strike on North Korea. Trump said on Monday that he might be willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "under the right circumstances

THAAD deployment

The latest rhetorical tussle came amid increasing military activity around the Korean peninsula. A US official said the the THAAD missile system was now capable of shooting down a North Korean missile,although it was operating in a limited capacity. The official said thatthe US hopes to install additional units to increase coverage over South Korea.

THAAD was deployed to South Korea by the US in response to North Korea's increased missile and nuclear tests, but the defense system has drawn sharp opposition from China and Russia, whose territory is within the system's range.

China again expressed its displeasure Tuesday, urging both sides to "stop the deployment immediately."

"We will also firmly take necessary measures to safeguard our own interests," added Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.

THAAD is not expected to be fully operational until the end of the year, but US and South Korean officials publicly stressed the need to speed up the deployment of the technology as tensions mounted with Pyongyang.

South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-kyun said at a briefing last week that equipment, including launchers, combat control stations and radar, had been deployed to the site in North Gyeongsang province and would be imminently operational.

"These things are now in place, so you can connect them to get the operational capability from early on -- that's what 'within days' means," he said.

Political opposition

Moon Jae-in, the frontrunner in South Korea's Presidential election which takes place on May 9, has expressed skepticism over THAAD.

Throughout his campaign he's called for its deployment to be decided by the next government.

Speaking to South Korean radio station BBS FM on Tuesday, Moon said the deployment was "not a done deal yet," and should be based on public consultation and a vote in the country's National Assembly.

Moon's Democratic Party is currently 20 points clear of its nearest rival, according to the most recent Gallup Korea daily opinion poll. Around 40% of voters surveyed said they favored Moon, compared with 24% for centrist candidate Ahn Cheol-soo.

THAAD is designed to shoot down short- and medium-range ballistic missiles in the latter stages of their flight as they plunge toward their targets.

While this means it cannot act against the type of intermediate-range missiles North Korea has been testing in recent months, THAAD also includes a sophisticated radar that will fit into an overlapping series of US missile defense systems, including Aegis warships operating in the Pacific and Patriot missile batteries deployed to Japan.

The radar could provide critical early tracking data to these missile interception systems, as well as those protecting Guam, the closest US territory to North Korea.

CNN's Pamela Boykoff and Brad Lendon contributed reporting.

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north korea us bombers nuclear war warning - cnn

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North Korea accuses US of provocation after bomber drills

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Pyongyang described the exercise, which involved two B1-B bombers, as a "nuclear bomb-dropping drill" that made nuclear war more likely. North Korean state media described US President Donald Trump as a "warmonger". The outburst came as the officials said that a controversial US missile defense system was up and running in South Korea -- albeit in a limited capacity.

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are seldom in the news but make up one of the most dangerous borders of the world

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Share on Facebook: http://testu.be/1xibAY9 Three wars later, there's no end in sight to the cross-border violence between India and Pakistan. Why exactly are these countries fighting each other and is there any hope for peace?

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CLICK TO WATCH FULL DOCUMENTARY ONLINE: http://www.docsonline.tv/documentary/353 THIS FRAGMENT OF THE DOCUMENTARY "TIBET THE CHINESE LIE" IS FOR PROMOTION PURPOSES ONLY. WE DO NOT OWN THE MATERIAL EXCLUSIVELY, BUT HAVE A LICENSE CONTRACT FOR INTERNET STREAMING.

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Why is Taiwan not recognized as an independent country?

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Why are population pressures in the middle east making desalination an important technology?
What are alternatives to desalination?
What do you need to have a lot of for desalination?

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Planet 100: Water Desalination Explained

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You've heard the term before, but what exactly is water desalination? Our Planet 100 team explains.

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What was the human toll of the project?

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Why was the 3 Gorges Dam built? What does it give people? What is the problem now?

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CNN's Eunice Yoon reports on how the ongoing drought in China is reviving controversy over the Three Gorges Dam.

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Color the graphic on your sheet

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Explore a global timelapse of our planet, constructed from Landsat satellite imagery. With water diverted to irrigation, the inland Aral Sea has shrunk dramatically. Many areas were completely dry by 2009. Each frame of this timelapse map is constructed from a year of Landsat satellite data, constituting an annual 1.7-terapixel snapshot of the earth at 30-meter resolution.

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Desertification in China: Explaining cause and a solution

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Desertification in China: Explaining cause and a solution

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What caused an expanding desert? Why is the desert harmful to those who live there? What is being done to fight desertification?

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Vanishing Grasslands: Fighting China's growing sands

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Mixed media project documenting desertification. Over 400 million people in China are being effected by Desertification today. Over population, over grazing and poor management practices have degraded grasslands to the extent the land has become unfarmable and unsustainable. Sands from the north are growing at 2500 square miles a year in the global environmental issue threatening people everywhere.

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Mark on the map what area of China is already desert

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Syria War & Syria Conflict - To understand the bloody, convoluted war happening inside and outside of Syria's borders, you need to watch this. This 5 minute video will tell you who is with who and why: 1. Why US is backing Syrian Rebels? 2. Russia is back Assad? 3.

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A very good overview...IS explained!

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The rise of ISIS, explained in 6 minutes

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What is IS?  How does this violent group attract members?

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Most young Arabs say they do not like the Islamic State (IS). This information comes from the Arab Youth Survey.

IS is a violent group. It wants to start its own country. IS fighters have taken over parts of Syria and Iraq. The group has carried out deadly attacks around the world. They have killed people in places like Paris and Tunisia.

The survey asked the young Arabs many other questions, too. These young people live in the Middle East and Africa. They come from 16 countries. These countries include Egypt, Algeria and Iraq. The men and women are between 18 and 24 years old. The survey shows what young Arabs are thinking.

Most Join Group Because They Cannot Find Job

The survey has happened every year for the past eight years. Last year, some Arabs said they liked IS. Others said IS was too violent. The survey was different this year. Not many young Arabs said they liked IS at all.

Young Arabs still join IS. The survey said Arabs join IS for one big reason. They cannot find jobs.

The World Bank is a group that studies jobs. The World Bank says that young Arabs have fewer jobs than other young people. About 1 in 4 young Arabs do not have jobs.

Many countries in the Middle East used to have strong rulers. They were like kings. They did not need to be elected or chosen by the people. The ruler often did not listen to what the people wanted. Young Arabs wanted a country more like the United States or Japan. They wanted to live in a democracy. They wanted to vote for their own rulers.

Hope Is Fading After Rulers Removed From Office

Young Arabs fought against the rulers five years ago. The fights were called the Arab Spring. Some of the rulers were kicked out. Many young Arabs said that the Middle East was better after the Arab Spring.

The countries became a more difficult place to live in. Nobody was in charge and people did not know who was in charge. Everyone was fighting. The survey said that many Arabs have changed their minds. Now, fewer young Arabs say the Arab Spring was a good idea. The young Arabs would like to have a more peaceful country again. They do not care if an unfair ruler comes back. They do not want more fighting.

Still, the survey said Arab young people would like more freedom.

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Poll finds more young Arabs no longer support violent Islamic group

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Most young Arabs say they do not like the Islamic State (IS). This information comes from the Arab Youth Survey. IS is a violent group. It wants to start its own country. IS fighters have taken over parts of Syria and Iraq. The group has carried out deadly attacks around the world.

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Why is Jerusalem important to Jews? to Christians? to Muslims?

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How many are internal refugees? How many are external? How many have died? What countries are involved? Why did the Revolution start?

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Why Korea Split Into North and South Korea

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A video explaining why the country of Korea split into two different countries: North Korea and South Korea.

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Watch to 3 minutes

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The Israel-Palestine conflict: a brief, simple history

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https://youtu.be/0ZvYJmzvgLo

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Middle East Explained - The Religions, Languages, and Ethnic Groups

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Who claims the land (now known as Israel)? Why do both groups claim it

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North and South Korea are divided.   Find out why

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North and South Korea are divided. Find out why