Missile

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. spy satellites have detected renewed activity at the North Korean factory that produced the country's first intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States, a senior U.S. official said on Monday, in the midst of talks to compel Pyongyang to give up its nuclear arms.

At a meeting on Monday with Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Devin Nunes, Romania's Ambassador to the U.S. George Cristian Maior underscored the defensive benefits of the US anti-missile shield and its strategic importance to Romania, the US and the other NATO member states.

Turkey's plans to buy the Russian S-400 missile defense system would give a weapon used by "known foes" of NATO deep insight into the radar-evading F-35 fighter jets arriving in growing numbers in Europe, the top U.S. Air Force general in Europe said.

Turkey will not retreat from procuring the Russian S-400 anti-missile defense systems despite U.S. warnings for sanctions, Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın said on June 28.

Romania's Defence Minister Mihai Fifor has welcomed the announcement by the US Department of Defense on Thursday, of the award of a contract for production of Romania's Patriot Air and Missile Defense System.

The Defense Ministry announced on Friday that the Dutch are also suppressing information about those who handed the engine over to the investigators.

It added that the Dutch investigators could have glossed over the source of origin of the missile engine because it could belong to Ukraine's armed forces, Sputnik is reporting.

Washington does not recommend Turkish authorities to buy Russian air defense systems s-400, the US is willing to offer Ankara alternative systems, said the head of the U.S. defense Department James Mattis.

"The appearance in the area incompatible missile defense system hardly impact on the interests of NATO", — he said.

Moscow and Ankara have agreed to speed up delivery of S-400 anti-ballistic missile systems to Turkey despite growing concerns in NATO over the Turkish government’s purchase of a non-interoperable system.

The U.S. is seeking cooperation with Turkey to boost Turkish air defense capabilities as an alternative to Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has described Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 anti-ballistic missile systems as “a difficult issue” for the alliance while at the same time welcoming the Turkish government’s cooperation with the French-Italian consortium on the procurement of SAMP-T to augment its air defense.