North Korea’s test of its ‘super large’ rocket may signal its deployment soon

North Korea said Friday the latest test-firing of its “super-large” multiple rocket launcher was a final review of the weapon’s combat application, a suggestion that the country is preparing to deploy the new weapons system soon. South Korea’s military earlier said North Korea fired two projectiles, likely from the same “super-large” rocket launcher, on Thursday. It expressed “strong regret” over the launches and urged North Korea to stop escalating tensions. On Friday, the North’s Korean Central News Agency confirmed the launches were made with the presence of leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials. “The volley test-fire aimed to finally examine the combat application of the super-large multiple launch rocket system proved the military and technical superiority of the weapon system and its firm reliability,” KCNA said. It said Kim expressed “great satisfaction” over the results of the test-firing. Analyst Kim Dong-yub at Seoul’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies said North Korea appears to be entering the stage of mass-producing and deploying the rocket launcher. He wrote on Facebook that the weapons system may already have been deployed.

Thursday’s firing was the fourth test-launch of the rocket launcher since August. Some experts say the flight distance and trajectory of projectiles fired from the launcher show they are virtually missiles or missile-classed weapons. The projectiles fired Thursday flew about 380 kilometres (235 miles) at a maximum altitude of 97 kilometres (60 miles), according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday called the projectiles ballistic missiles. North Korea has fired other new weapons in recent months in what some experts say is an attempt to wrest concessions from the United States in stalled nuclear diplomacy while upgrading its military capabilities. A U.S.-led diplomacy aimed at persuading North Korea to scrap its nuclear program in return for political and economic benefits remains largely stalemated since the February collapse of a summit between Kim and President Donald Trump in Vietnam. Most of the North Korean weapons tested since the Vietnam summit were short-range. Attention is now on whether North Korea resumes nuclear and long-range missile tests if Trump fails to meet a year-end deadline set by Kim for Washington to offer new proposals to salvage the negotiations. Trump considers North Korea’s self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests a major foreign policy win.

Jody Wilson-Raybould says partisanship needs to be put aside to tackle Canada’s divisions

Independent MP Jody Wilson-Raybould says setting aside party politics is key to addressing the deep divisions within Canada that were front and centre in the recent federal election campaign. The former justice minister called the election polarizing and divisive — specifically referencing western alienation and the Wexit movement, as well as “challenges” in Quebec. She called for co-operation and collaboration to address those matters. “We need to be less partisan and recognize that the only way we’re going to solve these issues and maintain the very fundamental nature of our democracy is if we take our partisan hats off,” she said. Wilson-Raybould was speaking at an event with former MP Jane Philpott that was hosted by Montreal’s Concordia University on Thursday. Her comments come just over a month after the Liberal party was re-elected to a 157-seat minority government. Wilson-Raybould also addressed two rumours about her political future. She said she’s not running for the leadership of the Green Party, currently helmed by an interim leader after Elizabeth May stepped down earlier this month. She’s also not looking to become speaker of the House of Commons. The speaker, who presides over proceedings in the house, is elected through a ranked secret ballot. Wilson-Raybould clarified, however, that she hasn’t removed her name from the ballot. (All MPs except cabinet ministers and party leaders are automatically included unless they opt out). Wilson-Raybould said that people “from right around the House of Commons” have asked her to run. But she has other goals in mind. “I have two [private members] bills that I want to advocate strongly for and I want to continue to push with other like-minded members of Parliament to have a fulsome climate caucus that’s empowered.”

She didn’t clarify the contents of those bills. Wilson-Raybould, who represents Vancouver–Granville, is Canada’s only sitting independent MP. She previously served as attorney general and justice minister in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet. She was kicked out of the Liberal caucus earlier this year after it came to light that she refused to intervene in a legal case involving SNC-Lavalin. She told a House of Commons committee in February that she faced “consistent and sustained” pressure from key members of the Trudeau government to resolve corruption charges against the Quebec engineering giant through a new legal tool called a deferred prosecution agreement. The deal would have allowed the company to avoid the possibility of a lengthy ban on competing for government contracts. Philpott, who served as Treasury Board president as well as health and Indigenous services minister in the Liberal government, sided with Wilson-Raybould and was ousted on the same day in April. She sought re-election as an independent in Markham–Stouffville, Ont., but lost to Liberal Helena Jaczek. Philpott, a doctor, is now a health adviser to Ontario’s Nishnawbe Aski Nation. She told the Montreal audience she doesn’t know if she’ll run for office again, but hasn’t ruled it out. Both women said they faced questions from voters during the campaign about what an independent MP could accomplish in Ottawa versus one aligned with a major party. “People sort of imagine that those partisan MPs are going to be able to do more for them than an independent MP,” Philpott said. “Unfortunately, the reality is that most partisan MPs except for those who are willing to stick their necks out, as Jody has been known to say, they are mostly toeing the party line.”