ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE On January 21 st , Jordan reopened its main border crossing with Syria, a key Middle East trade route, after keeping it closed for three years,  an AFP photographer reported. The border gate was opened at 8:00 AM local time, while more than a dozen police officers and customs officials stood nearby. Several cars with Jordanian license plates lined up to enter Syria, with travelers expressing their joy at being able to cross the border, the photographer reported. “Today is a celebration for us and I wanted to be among the first to cross the border,” said Syrian businessman Mohammed Hisham, who resides in Jordan. Jordanian taxi driver Imad Sariheen called the reopening of Jaber a source of “great happiness for all of us” which will help ease “economic hardships” caused by the closure of the crossing. “Our conditions have worsened over the past years. Our work (driving taxis) was halted because of the closure of the border between Jordan and Syria,”...

Click to see the full-size image The oldest of North Korea’s approximately 20 undisclosed missile operating bases – Sino-ri houses a regiment-sized unit equipped with Nodong-1/-2 medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM) has been disclosed by  a study of Beyond Parallel published on January 21 st  discovered. Click to see the full-size image The key claims of the study are as follows: 212 kilometers north of the demilitarized zone is Sino-ri, an operation missile base that houses a regiment-sized unit equipped with Nodong-1 medium-range ballistic missiles. Click to see the full-size image It is presumably the oldest of  approximately 20 undisclosed missile operating bases . It is reported to serve as the headquarters of the Strategic Rocket Forces Nodong Missile brigade. “It may have also played a role in the development of the newest  Pukkuksong-2 (KN-15) ballistic missile first tested or unveiled on February 12, 2017 , shortly after Donald Trump’s ...