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N.Korea tells UN that satellite launch was self-defense
North Korea told the UN Security Council on Monday that its launch of a spy satellite was legitimate self-defense, rejecting denunciations led by the United States. Western powers, Japan and South Korea said North Korea violated Security Council resolutions by launching last week's satellite, which the totalitarian state said has already provided images of major US and South Korea military sites. In a rare appearance at the Security Council, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations, Kim Song, complained that other countries faced no restrictions on satellites. "No other nation in the world is in the security environment as critical as the DPRK," said Kim, using the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "One belligerent party, the United States, is threatening us with a nuclear weapon," he said. "It is a legitimate right for the DPRK as another belligerent party to develop, test, manufacture and possess weapons systems equivalent to those that the United States possesses or is developing." He mocked US charges that satellite technology also helped North Korea hone its missile capacity, questioning whether the United States put satellites into orbit "with a catapult." The US ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, rejected North Korea's assertion it was acting in self-defense and said that joint US-South Korean exercises were "routine" and "defensive in nature." "We intentionally reduce risk and pursue transparency by announcing the exercises in advance including the dates and the activities, unlike the DPRK," she said, adding that the drills did not violate Security Council resolutions. South Korea's spy agency said that Russia, eager for assistance in Ukraine, helped North Korea on the satellite following a summit between Kim and President Vladimir Putin. The United States said last month that North Korea has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia. Russia and China, North Korea's main ally, have put forward a resolution, opposed by the United States, to ease sanctions on Pyongyang as part of an effort to encourage dialogue. Chinese envoy Geng Shuang accused the United States of "further aggravating tension and confrontation" through its military alliance with South Korea. "If the DPRK constantly feels threatened, and its legitimate security concerns remain unresolved, the peninsula will not be able to get out of the security dilemma and only be caught in a vicious cycle of tit-for-tat aggressive moves," he said......»»
Malta hosts fresh round of Ukraine-backed peace talks
A third round of Ukrainian-backed peace talks opened in Malta Saturday with representatives from more than 60 countries but without Moscow, which denounced it as a "blatantly anti-Russian event". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the first of two days of closed-door talks among national security and policy advisors, which he hopes will drum up support for his 10-point plan to end the war. In a statement on social media afterward, he said 66 countries had taken part in the talks, proof that his plan "has gradually become global". It follows similar meetings in Jeddah and Copenhagen this summer, with the Ukrainians hoping to eventually hold a summit at the level of heads of state. "The meeting confirmed the broad interest and increasing support for the key elements of Ukraine's Peace Formula," an EU official said Saturday. Against the backdrop of the Hamas-Israel war, it also showed "that restoration of just peace is important beyond Ukraine -- it is about a global plea for respect of international law". Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova however has dismissed the Malta talks as a "blatantly anti-Russian event". They had "nothing to do with the search for a peaceful resolution", she said on Thursday. "Obviously such gatherings have absolutely no perspective, they are simply counterproductive." China absent Participants in Malta included the United States, the EU, and Britain, staunch supporters of Kyiv following Russia's February 2022 invasion. Turkey, which has offered itself as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia, was also represented, according to a list seen by AFP before the talks opened. So too were South Africa, Brazil, and India -- all members of the influential BRICS bloc, which also includes Russia. South Africa and India have not condemned Russia's invasion, while Brazil has refused to join Western nations in sending arms to Ukraine or imposing sanctions on Moscow. China, which insists it is neutral and refuses to criticize the invasion, did not attend, despite being present in Jeddah in August, according to the EU official. Organizers were hoping for a joint statement from the Malta summit after both previous meetings ended without a final declaration. Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, said on Telegram that the discussions on Saturday were "lively" and focused on five key areas, notably the issue of Ukraine's territorial integrity. Zelensky's peace plan calls for Russia to withdraw all its troops from Ukraine's internationally recognized borders, including from the territory of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. Russia, which claimed last year to have annexed the four Ukrainian regions of Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, has rejected any settlement that would involve giving up land. The Malta talks are also looking at nuclear security, notably the need to ensure the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and how to protect Ukraine's energy infrastructure as winter approaches. The issue of food security was also on the agenda, as Russia blocks grain exports from Ukraine; and humanitarian issues, including the release of prisoners and the return of Ukrainian children to taken to Russia. "Russia will have to give in to the international community. It will have to accept our common conditions," Yermak said. Both Russia and Ukraine are preparing for a grueling winter ahead, with Ukraine warning of renewed strikes on its energy infrastructure and Russia pushing back against Kyiv's counteroffensive. The post Malta hosts fresh round of Ukraine-backed peace talks appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Kim meets Russian defence minister, inspects missile and warship
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Vladivostok on Saturday where he met Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and inspected a hypersonic aircraft missile system before boarding a warship. Kim's first official visit abroad since the Covid-19 pandemic has fanned Western fears that Moscow and Pyongyang will defy sanctions and strike an arms deal. Moscow is believed to be interested in buying North Korean ammunition to continue fighting in Ukraine, while Pyongyang wants Russia's help to develop its missile program. The Kremlin has said no agreement has or will be inked. Kim's extended tour of Russia's far eastern region, which began Tuesday, has leaned heavily martial, including his military-dominated entourage, symbolic exchange of rifles with President Vladimir Putin and tour of a fighter jet factory in engineering hub Komsomolsk-on-Amur. After meeting Kim on Wednesday at the Vostochny cosmodrome roughly 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) from Moscow, Putin talked up the prospect of greater cooperation with North Korea and said there were "possibilities" for military ties. Upon arriving in Vladivostok, a large coastal city near the Chinese and North Korean borders, Kim was greeted by Shoigu and an honor guard, state news agency TASS reported. At the Knevichi airfield, Shoigu showed Kim "the Kinzhal missile system on the MiG-31I missile carrier", TASS said, adding that its "flight and technical capabilities" were outlined to Kim by a top military official. Kim and Shoigu then boarded frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov where the "Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolay Evmenov, spoke about the characteristics of the ship and anti-submarine weapons - four-tube torpedo tubes and RBU-6000 rocket launchers," TASS said. Kim is expected to visit the Far Eastern Federal University and marine biology laboratories at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Vladivostok. Colleges in Russia's Far East have historically accepted North Korean students. 'Troubling' cooperation Kim is visiting Russia as Putin seeks to bolster alliances with other world leaders ostracized by Western countries. The longtime allies are both under a raft of international sanctions, Moscow for the Ukraine conflict and Pyongyang for its nuclear tests. Kim and Putin's gifting each other rifles at the spaceport summit on Wednesday further fueled speculation that an arms export deal could be on the table, despite Western warnings. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday however, that no agreements had been signed during Kim's ongoing trip, and "there was no plan to sign any". While meeting Kim, Putin accepted an invitation to visit North Korea, according to the Kremlin, and he reportedly offered to send a North Korean to space, which would be a first. Moscow also mentioned the possibility of helping North Korea to manufacture satellites, a prospect that has alarmed Washington. The cooperation announced during Kim's Russia is "quite troubling and would potentially be in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions", State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reports following the leaders' summit. North Korean satellites, he noted, have been used to develop Pyongyang's ballistic missiles. Pyongyang recently failed twice in its bid to put a military spy satellite into orbit. The post Kim meets Russian defence minister, inspects missile and warship appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
North Korean leader in Russia for Putin talks as US warns on arms deal
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on Tuesday ahead of a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that the United States has warned could see an arms deal to support Moscow's assault on Ukraine. Making a rare foreign trip and his first since the pandemic, Kim was seen stepping onto a red-carpeted train platform before meeting Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov. Kim and Putin are expected to meet at an unspecified location in Russia's Far East later this week, the Kremlin has said. Putin is currently attending the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, the Pacific port city closest to the North Korean border, though there has been no indication that the internationally isolated pair would hold their talks there. Reporters granted access to the Russian leader at the forum refrained from asking Putin details of the visit but he told journalists he would soon travel to the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a Russian spaceport some 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from Vladivostok. "I've got my programme there, and when I get there you'll know," he was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying. Kim received a VIP welcome from a military honor guard, with the national anthems of both countries playing, as he arrived in the Russian border town of Khasan Tuesday morning, the state-run KCNA news agency said. Kim told his Russian hosts that his visit was a "clear manifestation" of North Korea "prioritizing the strategic importance" of its ties with Russia, KCNA said. The agency did not specify when or where Kim would meet with Putin, saying only that after the arrival ceremony the North Korean leader "left for his destination." Experts say Moscow will likely seek artillery shells and antitank missiles from North Korea, which wants advanced satellite and nuclear-powered submarine technology in return. Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said it was "entirely possible" North Korea had large stocks of ammunition that could be used by Russia. "Whether any deal is struck remains to be seen," he said. "We will not know for sure until there is hard evidence that Russia has used North Korean arms and ammunition on the battlefield in Ukraine," he added. The White House warned last week that North Korea would "pay a price" if it supplied Russia with weaponry for the conflict in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Kim would "cooperate on sensitive areas that should not be the subject of public disclosure and announcements". Steadfast allies Kim is travelling to Russia with his top military officials including Korean People's Army Marshal Pak Jong Chon and Munitions Industry Department Director Jo Chun Ryong, analysts said. This indicates a Putin-Kim summit "is likely to heavily focus on Russia and North Korea's possible military cooperation," Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP. Moscow sent Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to Pyongyang in July. He has recently mooted bilateral joint naval drills. Kim has been steadfast in his support for Moscow's assault on Ukraine, including, Washington says, supplying rockets and missiles. But both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied North Korea has or will supply arms to Russia, which has eaten into its vast stockpiles of munitions since it launched its Ukraine offensive early last year. Kim has not travelled outside North Korea since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. His last proper overseas trip was in 2019, also to Russia to meet Putin. 'Begging' for help "North Korea has the crude ammunition that Putin needs for his illegal war in Ukraine, while Moscow has submarine, ballistic, and satellite technologies that could help Pyongyang leapfrog engineering challenges it suffers under economic sanctions," said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. On Monday, the United States described Putin as desperate in seeking a meeting with Kim. "Having to travel across the length of his own country to meet with an international pariah to ask for assistance in a war that he expected to win in the opening month, I would characterize it as him begging for assistance," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. "I will remind both countries that any transfer of arms from North Korea to Russia would be in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions," he added. Washington has said Russia could use weapons from North Korea to attack Ukrainian food supplies and heating infrastructure heading into winter to "try to conquer territory that belongs to another sovereign nation". Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Kookmin University in Seoul, told AFP that the upcoming meeting was part of Moscow's "gentle diplomatic blackmail" of Seoul because Russia did not want South Korea to supply weapons to Kyiv. Seoul is a major arms exporter and has sold tanks to Kyiv's ally Poland, but longstanding domestic policy bars it from selling weapons into active conflicts. "The major worry of the Russian government now is a possible shipment of the South Korean ammunition to Ukraine, not just one shipment but a lot of shipments," Lankov said. The post North Korean leader in Russia for Putin talks as US warns on arms deal appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US says N.Korea summit shows Putin ‘begging’ for help
The United States on Monday described Russian President Vladimir Putin as desperate over the Ukraine conflict in meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and renewed warnings that any arms deal could trigger US sanctions. "Having to travel across the length of his own country to meet with an international pariah to ask for assistance in a war that he expected to win in the opening month, I would characterize it as him begging for assistance," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. "President Putin launched this war against Ukraine, with its full-scale aggression, with a dream of restoring the glory of the Russian Empire. That hope, that expectation of his, has failed," Miller said. Miller said that Putin was traveling "hat in hand" to the talks expected in the coming days in the Far Eastern Russian city of Vladivostok after missing the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi due to his own "pariah" status. "I will remind both countries that any transfer of arms from North Korea to Russia would be in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions," Miller said. "We of course have aggressively enforced our sanctions against entities that fund Russia's war effort, and we will continue to enforce those sanctions and will not hesitate to impose new sanctions as appropriate." The post US says N.Korea summit shows Putin ‘begging’ for help appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US, Chinese and Russian officials gather at Southeast Asia summit
US Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will attend an East Asia summit in Indonesia on Thursday, offering an opportunity for direct, high-level diplomacy between the rivals. The 18-nation meeting will bring Washington and Beijing into contact a day after Premier Li Qiang warned major powers must manage their differences to avoid a "new Cold War", ahead of the G20 summit in New Delhi this week where Chinese President Xi Jinping will be absent. Interactions between the officials from the world's top two economies will be closely watched as they seek to control tensions that risk flaring anew over issues ranging from Taiwan to ties with Moscow and the competition for influence in the Pacific. "To keep differences under control, what is essential now is to oppose picking sides, to oppose bloc confrontation, and to oppose a new Cold War," Li told regional leaders on Tuesday. Harris held her own talks with Southeast Asian leaders on "the importance of upholding international law in the South China Sea", according to a statement from her office, the disputed waterway where Chinese claims have angered several Southeast Asian nations. Thursday's summit will be the first time top US and Russian officials have sat around the same table in almost two months after US and European officials condemned Lavrov at a July ministerial meeting over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $1 billion in new assistance to Ukraine in a surprise visit to Kyiv on Wednesday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Canada's Justin Trudeau, and Australian PM Anthony Albanese will attend the summit, as well as leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. G20 host Modi addressed ASEAN leaders on Thursday morning, telling them it is essential to "build a post-Covid rules-based world order" and make collective efforts to ensure a "free and open Indo-Pacific", using another term for the Asia-Pacific region. Thursday's talks come several months after Blinken traveled to Beijing, the first visit by the top US diplomat in nearly five years, where he met Xi as well as former foreign minister Qin Gang. - 'Broken' - The meeting was not expected to be a fiery affair despite the differences between the major powers, according to a Southeast Asian diplomat who will attend. "They will state their positions, these meetings are not tense. Especially at the leaders' level where some degree of decorum will be observed." The group will issue a negotiated joint statement after the summit. While the gathering can bring major players together, its ability to help resolve a range of regional and global disputes is limited, experts say. "It's a sign of the ASEAN convening power but lately we can say that the East Asia summit is broken. It has been turned into a forum for talking points," said Aaron Connelly, senior fellow at Singapore-based think tank IISS. While Thursday's meeting will be more geopolitical in scope, big powers used earlier talks in Jakarta to shore up alliances and lobby the Southeast Asian bloc. Li traveled on a Chinese-funded high-speed train project between the capital Jakarta and the Javan city of Bandung with a senior Indonesian minister on Wednesday. Harris held separate meetings with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. -- both ASEAN members -- on the sidelines of the summit. "The Vice President reaffirmed the United States' ironclad alliance commitment to the Philippines, and highlighted the role the US-Philippines alliance plays in ensuring a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific," her office said in a statement. South Korea's Yoon reportedly pushed for the bloc to counter North Korea's nuclear threats, calling for any military cooperation with the country to stop. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will also give an address on the sidelines of the summit later on Thursday. ASEAN members are holding bilateral meetings with India, Australia, and the UN on Thursday. The post US, Chinese and Russian officials gather at Southeast Asia summit appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
U.S. warns N. Korea on arming Russia
North Korea would pay a price. This was the warning of the United States to Pyongyang if it forges a weapons deal with Russia. The White House issued the threat in Washington on Tuesday ahead of a looming talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. US President Joe Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan has said that Pyongyang could trade munitions and missiles to Russia for satellite and nuclear submarine technology as well as food. Sullivan said Tuesday Russia could use weapons from North Korea to attack food supplies and heating infrastructure heading into winter to “try to conquer territory that belongs to another sovereign nation.” “This is not going to reflect well on North Korea and they will pay a price for this in the international community,” Sullivan said without elaborating. The Kremlin declined to comment on the reported summit between Kim and Putin in Vladivostok. The US warned last week that Russia was already in secret talks with the North to acquire a range of munitions and supplies for Moscow’s war effort. The post U.S. warns N. Korea on arming Russia appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
NoKor missile launches alarming — BBM
JAKARTA, Indonesia — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday expressed grave concern over the recent surge of intercontinental ballistic missile launches conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or DPRK. During his intervention at the 24th Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Republic of Korea Summit on Wednesday, Marcos underscored the need for the DPRK to fully comply with all UN Security Council resolutions. North Korea, often referred to as DPRK and NoKor, carried out what it called the second military reconnaissance satellite launch from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station last 24 August. Several reports said the launch was unsuccessful due to an in-flight error. The launch came after a prior satellite launch attempt on 31 May. Based on official reports, the nation is planning to carry out a third satellite launch in October. “We (...) affirm our support for the principles embodied in the RoK’s audacious initiative that aims to achieve a denuclearized DPRK, an essential component for sustainable peace and prosperity in the Korean Peninsula, in Northeast Asia, and the world,” Marcos said. The RoK may be better known as South Korea. Marcos also appreciated the RoK’s continued support in upholding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as a key pillar of the rules-based international order. “We share concerns on the militarization of reclaimed features, the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, and other coercive activities,” he said. “We are equally alarmed by illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing which are being detected.” Marcos also welcomed the implementation of the Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative, which will further deepen ASEAN and RoK’s collaboration on common political, economic, social and cultural concerns. “In particular, we welcome the enhancing policy dialogue on maritime affairs with the RoK under the initiative to contribute to the overall enhancement of ASEAN-RoK comprehensive security cooperation,” he said. Marcos also thanked the RoK for its valuable assistance in addressing the recent oil spill in Mindoro and for its contributions to emergency humanitarian assistance for the damage caused by the recent typhoons. The post NoKor missile launches alarming — BBM appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
PBBM expresses support for ROK’s initiative for a denuclearized NoKor
JAKARTA, Indonesia – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday expressed grave concern over the recent surge of intercontinental ballistic missile launches conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. During his intervention at the 24th Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Republic of Korea Summit on September 6, 2023, Marcos Jr. underscored the need for the DPRK to fully comply with all UN Security Council Resolutions. For context, North Korea, often referred to as DPRK, carried out what it termed as its second military reconnaissance satellite launch from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station last 24 August. Several reports mentioned that the launch was unsuccessful due to an in-flight error. This launch comes after a prior satellite launch attempt on 31 May. Based on official reports, the nation is planning to carry out a third satellite launch in October. "We (...) affirm our support for the principles embodied in the ROK's audacious initiative that aims to achieve a denuclearized DPRK, an essential component for sustainable peace and prosperity in the Korean Peninsula, in Northeast Asia, and the world," Marcos said. Marcos also appreciated the ROK's continued support in upholding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as a key pillar of the rules-based international order. "We share concerns on the militarization of reclaimed features; the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels; and other coercive activities," he said. "We are equally alarmed by illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing which are being detected." Marcos also welcomed the implementation of the Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative (KASI), which will further deepen ASEAN and ROK's collaboration on common political, economic, social, and cultural concerns. "In particular, we welcome the enhancing policy dialogue on maritime affairs with the ROK under the initiative to contribute to the overall enhancement of ASEAN-ROK comprehensive security cooperation," he said. Marcos also thanked the ROK for its valuable assistance in addressing the recent oil spill in Mindoro and for its contributions in emergency humanitarian assistance for the damages caused by the recent typhoons. "We are optimistic that what we have achieved together in the past decades will be quickly surpassed when relations with ROK are elevated to that of a Comprehensive Strategic Partner of ASEAN," he said. On the economic front, Marcos said that ASEAN and ROK will continue efforts at enhancing ASEAN connectivity and supply chains to further expand mutual trade through the effective implementation of ASEAN-ROK economic cooperation projects and programs. He also underscored ASEAN's strong partnership with the ROK on preserving biodiversity throughout the years. "We thank the ROK for its consistent support for the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, located in the Philippines, in fulfilling their vision of conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity," he said. Marcos concluded by welcoming ROK's intention to elevate their relation with ASEAN to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. "We are optimistic that what we have achieved together in the past decades will be quickly surpassed when relations with ROK are elevated to that of a Comprehensive Strategic Partner of ASEAN," he said. "Such deepening relations continue to serve as a good indicator of the development and evolution of the ASEAN-ROK relation." The post PBBM expresses support for ROK’s initiative for a denuclearized NoKor appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden salutes ‘new era’ of united Japan, S.Korea in face of China
US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Japan and South Korea said Friday they saw a "new chapter" of close three-way security cooperation as the Asian allies joined a first-of-a-kind summit that has already rattled China. Going tieless at the bucolic Camp David presidential retreat, Biden praised the "political courage" of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in turning the page on historical animosity. "Your leadership, with the full support of the United States, has brought us here because each of you understands that our world stands at an inflection point," Biden told a joint news conference in the wooded hills outside Washington. Biden insisted the summit was not about China, which has been flexing its muscle both at home and in Asia under President Xi Jinping, including with major exercises around self-ruling Taiwan. But in a joint statement, the three leaders said they opposed the "dangerous and aggressive behavior" of China in maritime disputes in the East and South China Sea. "We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific," it said. The two US allies largely see eye to eye on the world -- and together are the base for some 84,500 US troops -- but such a summit would have been unthinkable until recently due to the legacy of Japan's harsh 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean peninsula. But Yoon, taking political risks at home, has turned the page by resolving a dispute over wartime forced labor, and is now calling Japan a partner at a time of high tensions with both China and North Korea. Yoon said he hoped to be "forward-looking" and called the summit a "historic day" in bringing a "firm institutional basis" to the three nations' joint relationship. The three leaders also agreed to a multi-year plan of regular exercises in all domains, going beyond one-off drills in response to North Korea, and made a formal "commitment to consult" during crises, with Biden saying they would open a hotline. The leaders also agreed to share real-time data on North Korea and to hold summits every year. Camp David marks the first time the three countries' leaders have met for a standalone summit, not on the sidelines of a larger event, and is the first diplomatic event since 2015 at the resort, which is synonymous with Middle East peacemaking. 'You can never become a Westerner' Even if Biden said the summit did not target China, Rahm Emanuel, the blunt-speaking US ambassador to Japan, took another tone when he previewed the meeting, saying the three nations were defying China with the United States showing, "We are the rising power; they are declining." Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the two economically developed Northeast Asian democracies instead to work with Beijing to "revitalize East Asia." "No matter how blond you dye your hair or how sharp you shape your nose, you can never become a European or American, you can never become a Westerner," he said in a video shared on official media. "We must know where our roots lie," he said. But China's pressure tactics have led to a sharp deterioration in its favorability in Japan and South Korea, which have traditionally been more discreet than the United States in their comments. Tensions have also risen with North Korea, which has launched a volley of missiles in recent months and is feared to respond to the summit with new action. The leaders' joint statement renewed a call on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and urged all nations to enforce sanctions. As the Camp David summit opened, North Korea said it had scrambled jets in response to what it called a US spy plane's incursion. Global allies The summit also set its focus beyond North Korea and even Asia. Tokyo and Seoul have offered a major boost to Ukraine as major non-Western powers joining pressure against Russia's invasion. Kishida said greater cooperation with South Korea was "almost inevitable" in light of the "crisis" in the world order. "Due to Russia's aggression of Ukraine, the international order is shaken from its foundation. The unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force in the East and South China Seas are continuing and the nuclear and missile threats of North Korea are only becoming even greater," Kishida said. The summit aims to institutionalize three-way cooperation to make it difficult for any reversal by a future leader -- a South Korean president who again seizes on hostility with Japan or, potentially, a return of Donald Trump, who has disparaged US troop commitments overseas as wasteful. To the surprise of many observers, Yoon's embrace of Japan has drawn relatively muted protests at home. Yoon, a conservative, has quickly become a close US ally, with Biden welcoming him for a rare state visit in which the South Korean leader regaled the audience by singing "American Pie." But Yoon is constitutionally prohibited from serving more than a single term, which ends in 2027. The post Biden salutes ‘new era’ of united Japan, S.Korea in face of China appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden to host Japan, South Korea leaders 18 Aug — White House
US President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol for a summit at his retreat outside Washington on 18 August, the White House said Friday. "The leaders will celebrate a new chapter in their trilateral relationship as they reaffirm their strong bonds of friendship and the ironclad alliances between the United States and Japan, and the United States and the Republic of Korea," an official statement said. The summit, held at the Camp David presidential retreat in rural Maryland near Washington, DC, will be a chance to "discuss expanding trilateral cooperation across the Indo-Pacific and beyond," the White House said. They will address the "continued threat" from North Korea and "advance a shared trilateral vision for addressing global and regional security challenges, promoting a rules-based international order, and bolstering economic prosperity." Biden has made a priority of getting close US allies Japan and South Korea to overcome years of tension and work together in the face of nuclear-armed North Korea's ongoing saber rattling and fear of confrontation with superpower China. Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul are at one of their lowest points, with diplomacy stalled and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calling for increased weapons development, including tactical nukes. In response, Yoon has pulled South Korea closer to long-standing ally Washington and sought to bury the hatchet with former colonial power Japan. In April, Seoul and Washington said that if Pyongyang ever used its nuclear weapons against the allies, it would face a nuclear reaction and the "end" of its regime. The post Biden to host Japan, South Korea leaders 18 Aug — White House appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US nuclear-armed submarine visits S. Korea for first time in decades
An American nuclear-armed submarine is making a South Korean port call for the first time in four decades, a White House official said Tuesday, as the allies counter North Korea's growing military threats. Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points, with diplomacy stalled and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calling for increased weapons development, including tactical nukes. Seoul and Washington have ramped up defense cooperation in response, staging joint military exercises with advanced stealth jets and US strategic assets. On Tuesday, they held the first Nuclear Consultative Group meeting in Seoul, which aims to improve nuclear coordination between the two allies and boost military readiness against North Korea. "As we speak, an American nuclear submarine is making port in Busan today, the first visit of American nuclear submarine in decades," White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell told reporters after the meeting. The last time Washington deployed one of its nuclear-capable submarines to South Korea was in 1981. Washington announced it would deploy a submarine capable of launching ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads to the Korean peninsula in April, while South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was on a state visit. It did not specify a timeline. "The US side demonstrated strong resolve that in case the North attacks the South with nuclear weapons it will be met with immediate, overwhelming and decisive counter measures, leading to the demise of its regime," Kim Tae-hyo, the national security adviser who co-chaired the NCG meeting with Campbell, told reporters. North Korea baulks at having US nuclear assets deployed around the Korean peninsula. Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said Monday that such actions would only "make the (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) go farther away" from possible talks. North Korea was "ready for resolutely countering any acts of violating its sovereignty", said Kim Yo Jong, who also dismissed holding talks with the United States as a "daydream". The post US nuclear-armed submarine visits S. Korea for first time in decades appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
North Korea threatens to down US spy planes
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea on Monday threatened to shoot down any US spy planes violating its airspace and condemned Washington’s plans to deploy a nuclear missile submarine near the Korean peninsula. A spokesperson for the North’s Ministry of National Defense said the United States has “intensified espionage activities beyond the wartime level”, with “provocative” flights made by US spy aircraft over eight straight days this month, and one reconnaissance plane intruding into its airspace over the East Sea “several times”. “There is no guarantee that such shocking accident as downing of the U.S. Air Force strategic reconnaissance plane will not happen in the East Sea of Korea,” the spokesperson said in a statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. The spokesperson cited past incidents when Pyongyang shot down US aircraft, and warned the United States would pay for its “frantically staged” air espionage. The statement also slammed the planned deployment of US strategic nuclear assets to the Korean peninsula as “the most undisguised nuclear blackmail” to North Korea, saying it posed a grave threat to regional and global security. “The present situation clearly proves that the situation of the Korean peninsula is coming closer to the threshold of nuclear conflict due to the U.S. provocative military action,” it read. Washington said in April that it would send a nuclear-armed ballistic submarine to make the first visit to a South Korean port in decades, without specifying the timing. North Korea has conducted multiple sanctions-busting launches this year, including test-firing its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles, and in May attempting to put a military spy satellite into orbit. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol has ramped up defense cooperation with Washington in response, staging joint military exercises with advanced stealth jets and high-profile US strategic assets. Yoon is set to attend a NATO summit in Lithuania this week, seeking stronger cooperation with NATO members over North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats, his office said. The post North Korea threatens to down US spy planes appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
North Korea threatens to down US spy planes violating its airspace
North Korea on Monday threatened to shoot down any US spy planes violating its airspace and condemned Washington's plans to deploy a nuclear missile submarine near the Korean peninsula. A spokesperson for the North's Ministry of National Defence said the United States has "intensified espionage activities beyond the wartime level", with "provocative" flights made by US spy aircraft over eight straight days this month, and one reconnaissance plane intruding into its airspace over the East Sea "several times". "There is no guarantee that such shocking accident as downing of the US Air Force strategic reconnaissance plane will not happen in the East Sea of Korea," the spokesperson said in a statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. The spokesperson cited past incidents when Pyongyang shot down US aircraft, and warned the United States would pay for its "frantically staged" air espionage. Late on Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister Kim Yo Jong said that a US spy aircraft had violated the country's eastern airspace twice on Monday morning, according to a statement. Kim Yo Jong said that the North would not respond directly to US reconnaissance activities outside of the country's exclusive economic zone, but warned that it would take "decisive action" if the US military crosses its maritime military demarcation line. The earlier KCNA statement also slammed the planned deployment of US strategic nuclear assets to the Korean peninsula as "the most undisguised nuclear blackmail" against North Korea, saying it posed a grave threat to regional and global security. "The present situation clearly proves that the situation of the Korean peninsula is coming closer to the threshold of nuclear conflict due to the US provocative military action," it read. Washington said in April that it would send a nuclear-armed ballistic submarine to make the first visit to a South Korean port in decades, without specifying the exact timing. North Korea has conducted multiple sanctions-defying launches this year, including test-firing its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles, and in May attempting to put a military spy satellite into orbit. South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol has ramped up defense cooperation with Washington in response, staging joint military exercises with advanced stealth jets and powerful US strategic assets. Yoon is set to attend a NATO summit in Lithuania this week, seeking stronger cooperation with NATO members over North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, his office said. The post North Korea threatens to down US spy planes violating its airspace appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US, Japan, S.Korea aim to share N.Korea missile warning data
The United States, Japan and South Korea aim to share North Korean missile warning data before the end of 2023, the three countries said in a statement following a Saturday meeting of their defence chiefs in Singapore. The announcement followed a North Korean attempt to launch a spy satellite that ended with it crashing into the sea after a rocket failure earlier in the week, the latest in a string of banned tests conducted by Pyongyang. The three sides "recognised trilateral efforts to activate a data sharing mechanism to exchange real-time missile warning data before the end of the year in order to improve each country's ability to detect and assess missiles launched" by North Korea, their joint statement said. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts Yasukazu Hamada and Lee Jong-sup met on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit. They "discussed the growing nuclear and missile threats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as well as efforts to enhance trilateral security exercises and address common security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region", the statement said. South Korea's defence ministry said in a separate statement that they "committed to making further progress in the coming months towards the activation of a real-time sharing mechanism for missile warning information". Hamada told a news conference the initiative "will improve the ability of countries to detect and assess the threat of missiles launched by North Korea, and we will work firmly to achieve this as soon as possible". A senior US defence official said ahead of the announcement that the planned data sharing is ultimately about "strengthening trilateral cooperation, which we believe is in all three of our countries' interests, which we believe strengthens deterrence, and which we believe also institutionalizes this cooperation". Grave danger Seoul, Tokyo and Washington all slammed the failed North Korean satellite launch, which they said violated a raft of UN resolutions barring Pyongyang from any tests using ballistic missile technology. South Korea's military said it had managed to locate and salvage a portion of the suspected debris in a potential intelligence bonanza. North Korea does not have a functioning satellite in space and leader Kim Jong Un has made developing a military spy satellite a top priority, despite UN resolutions barring its use of such technology. Because long-range missiles and rockets used for space launches share the same technology, analysts say developing the ability to put a satellite in orbit would provide Pyongyang with cover for testing its banned intercontinental ballistic missiles. Before the failed launch, Pyongyang had launched five satellites since 1998. Three failed immediately and two appeared to have been put into orbit. North Korea has doubled down on military development since diplomatic efforts collapsed in 2019, conducting a string of prohibited weapons tests, including test-firing multiple ICBMs. Kim last year declared his country an "irreversible" nuclear power and called for an "exponential" increase in weapons production, including tactical nuclear weapons. The North's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs "pose a grave threat to international peace and stability", the United States, Japan, and South Korea said in their statement. The post US, Japan, S.Korea aim to share N.Korea missile warning data appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
North Korea confirms June launch of military spy satellite: KCNA
North Korea has confirmed it will launch a reconnaissance satellite in June, saying it is needed to monitor military movements of the United States and its partners in real-time, state media reported Tuesday, citing a senior defence official. Japan said Monday it had been informed by Pyongyang that a satellite launch could happen as early as this week, but Tokyo warned the North may in fact be planning a sanctions-defying ballistic missile test. The North's state Korean Central News Agency cited Ri Pyong Chol, vice-chairman of the ruling party's central military commission, as saying the "military reconnaissance satellite No. 1" would be "launched in June". That satellite, along with "various reconnaissance means due to be newly tested, are indispensable to tracking, monitoring... and coping with in advance in real time the dangerous military acts of the US and its vassal forces", the statement said. Citing "reckless" acts by Washington and Seoul, Ri said North Korea felt "the need to expand reconnaissance and information means and improve various defensive and offensive weapons" in an effort to bolster military preparedness. The official also accused the United States of conducting "hostile air espionage activities on the Korean peninsula and in its vicinity", according to the KCNA dispatch. North Korea informed Japan it would launch a rocket between May 31 and June 11, identifying waters near the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and to the east of Luzon Island in the Philippines as warning areas, a Japanese coast guard spokesman told AFP. Such zones are usually designated for falling debris or rocket stages. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told officials to gather intelligence "on North Korea's notification about the launch of a ballistic missile that it describes as a satellite", his office said in a tweet. "Even if it's described as a satellite, a launch using ballistic missile technology would be a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions" and would threaten people's safety, Kishida told reporters. In 2012 and 2016, Pyongyang tested ballistic missiles that it called satellite launches. Both flew over Japan's southern Okinawa region. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this month inspected the country's first military spy satellite as it was prepared for launch, and gave the green light for its "future action plan". In 2021, Kim had identified the development of such satellites as a key defence project for the North Korean military. Because long-range rockets and space launchers share the same technology, analysts say developing the ability to put a satellite in orbit would provide Pyongyang with cover for testing banned intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Japan's defence ministry issued an order to shoot down any ballistic missile confirmed to be on course to fall into its territory. South Korea's foreign ministry condemned the launch plan, but officials did not confirm to AFP if Seoul had been directly notified of it. "North Korea's so-called 'satellite launch' is a serious violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning all launches using ballistic missile technology, and is a clearly illegal act that cannot be justified under any pretext," the ministry said. South Korea and Japan have been working to mend long-frayed ties, including with greater cooperation on North Korea's military threats. Meanwhile, Kishida on Monday reiterated that Tokyo is open to talks with Pyongyang. North Korean state media on Monday published a statement from the country's vice minister of foreign affairs, appearing to endorse a conciliatory approach to relations with Japan -- an unusual stance from Pyongyang. If Japan avoids "being shackled by the past, and seeks a way out for improving the relations, there is no reason for the DPRK and Japan not to meet", said the statement from Pak Sang Gil, using the initials of North Korea's official name. Pak said, however, that Japan needs to move on from sticking points such as the "abduction issue" for ties to improve. Japan suspects dozens of people who are still missing were abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s to train spies in the Japanese language and culture. The post North Korea confirms June launch of military spy satellite: KCNA appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
French minister demands Assad trial
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should be put on trial following “hundreds of thousands of deaths” and “chemical arms use” during the country’s civil war, the French foreign minister said on Tuesday. Catherine Colonna’s call followed Assad’s appearance at a summit of the Arab League, a regional organization that had banned him and suspended his country for a decade. “We have to remember who Bashar al-Assad is. He’s a leader who has been the enemy of his own people for more than 10 years,” Colonna said, Agence France-Presse reported. A lifting of European Union sanctions on the Syrian regime was “certainly not” planned, she added. Comeback, legitimacy Several Arab capitals cut ties with Assad after the Damascus regime’s repression of anti-government protests sparked a civil war in 2011, with some supporting the opposition instead. The brutal war has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions and devastated much of the country’s infrastructure and industry. States that once bet on Assad’s demise have warmed to him as he clung to power and clawed back territory with Iranian and Russian support. “There is relief on the Syrian street in general, and great optimism about the future,” Bassam Abu Abdallah, who heads the Damascus Center for Strategic Research and is close to the government, said. “We have turned a new page.” Arab outreach peaked after the deadly 6 February earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey. Lina Khatib, director of the Middle East Institute at SOAS University of London, said Assad saw the Arab League return “as recognition that he has won the war and as formal acceptance of his legitimacy as president.” The opposition and rebels’ role in determining the country’s political future has vastly shrunk, Khatib added. Large parts of Syria’s north remain outside government control after 12 years of war that pulled in foreign powers and global jihadists. Though the frontlines have mostly quietened in recent years, Russian, Iranian, Turkish and United States forces are still present in Syria. Several rounds of United Nations-brokered talks in Geneva between the government and opposition groups, aimed at forging a new constitution, have failed, with no political solution in sight. The post French minister demands Assad trial appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Air strikes shake Khartoum as Sudan rivals agree 1-week ceasefire
Air strikes and artillery exchanges shook the Sudanese capital Saturday and armed men ransacked the Qatari embassy as the country's warring generals kept up their struggle for control even as they agreed to a brief humanitarian pause. With heavy fighting raging in Khartoum, the rival sides struck a deal on a seven-day ceasefire beginning the evening of May 22, the United States and Saudi Arabia said Saturday in a joint statement after talks in Jeddah. The ceasefire "shall remain in effect for seven days and may be extended with the agreement of both parties," it said. Multiple announced truces have been violated since fighting broke out five weeks ago, which the Saudi foreign ministry acknowledged in a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency early Sunday. "Unlike previous ceasefires, the Agreement reached in Jeddah was signed by the parties and will be supported by a US-Saudi and international-supported ceasefire monitoring mechanism," it said. It said subsequent talks "will focus on additional steps necessary to improve security and humanitarian conditions for civilians such as vacating forces from urban centers, including civilian homes, accelerating removal of impediments to the free movement of civilians and humanitarian actors, and enabling public servants to resume their regular duties." The power struggle between regular army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, erupted into fighting on April 15. The conflict has killed hundreds of people, most of them civilians, and displaced more than one million. The United Nations has warned of a fast-deteriorating humanitarian situation in Africa's third-largest country, where one in three people already relied on aid before the war. Saturday's ceasefire announcement comes two weeks after representatives of the warring generals first gathered in Jeddah for talks. By May 11 they had signed a commitment to respect humanitarian principles and allow in badly needed aid. But UN aid chief Martin Griffiths told AFP on Thursday that there had been "important and egregious" violations of that agreement, which fell short of a ceasefire. On Friday, Burhan sacked Daglo, giving his title of vice president of the ruling Sovereign Council to former rebel leader Malik Agar, and appointed three allies to top jobs in the military. A former rebel leader who signed a peace deal with Khartoum authorities in 2020, Agar said in a statement Saturday he was determined to try to "end the war" and press for negotiations. He also addressed Daglo directly saying "Sudan's stability can only be re-established by a professional and unified army". Integration of the RSF into the regular armed forces has been the main bone of contention between Daglo and Burhan. The force, which traces its origins to the notorious Janjaweed militia recruited in the early 2000s to crush a rebellion by ethnic minority groups in Darfur, is highly mobile but has a reputation for being ill-disciplined. Its fighters have been accused of widespread break-ins and looting, including at diplomatic missions and aid group offices. On Saturday, Qatar's embassy was the latest diplomatic mission to be attacked, drawing condemnation from Doha. "The embassy staff had previously been evacuated and... none of the diplomats or embassy staff were subjected to any harm," the ministry said. It renewed calls for "an immediate halt to the fighting". Qatar did not specifically identify Daglo's RSF as responsible but a statement from the pro-Burhan authorities put the blame squarely on the paramilitaries. The embassies of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey have also come under assault in recent weeks. Saturday's attack came a day after Arab leaders meeting at a summit in Saudi Arabia urged Sudan's feuding generals to halt the fighting. Although the main fighting is being played out in Khartoum, the violence has also spread to the war-ravaged western region of Darfur, where the RSF has its roots. In South Darfur capital Nyala, fighting since Thursday has killed 22 people forcing civilians to flee for safer areas as shells crash on their homes, the bar association in Darfur has said. On Friday, the UN aid boss Griffith said he was allocating $22 million in emergency funds to help Sudanese fleeing the violence. The funds will help relief efforts in Chad, the Central African Republic, Egypt, and South Sudan where Sudanese have sought refuge, he said. The United States promised $103 million for Sudan and neighboring countries to support displaced people. The post Air strikes shake Khartoum as Sudan rivals agree 1-week ceasefire appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Zelensky heads to G7 as Ukraine wins access to F-16s
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday headed to Hiroshima to join G7 talks, after winning long-sought US support for access to advanced fighter jets and training for Kyiv's pilots. The rare long-haul trip is a chance to confer with allies like US President Joe Biden, but also to woo key unaligned powers at the summit, including India and Brazil. Zelensky's surprise appearance -- he had previously been expected to appear by video -- comes after a stop in Jeddah to address the Arab League and a breakthrough in his long-running campaign to convince Washington of Ukraine's need for F-16s. Momentum had been building for providing the planes, but US support is key because its approval is legally required for the re-export of US equipment purchased by allies. The United States had previously cited long pilot training times and high costs as a reason not to supply the jets, with officials insisting there were more cost-effective ways to boost Kyiv's air defenses. But F-16s now appear likely to join the list of advanced systems, including Western tanks and long-range weaponry, that Ukraine's supporters have agreed to provide after initial reluctance. Biden told G7 leaders in Japan that Washington would now support the request, in a move hailed by Zelensky as a "historic decision". The two leaders will meet in Hiroshima to discuss the "practical implementation" of the plan, Zelensky said, with the White House saying Biden was "looking forward" to the talks without confirming a date. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan insisted the fighter jet decision did not reflect an about-turn in US policy. "Nothing has changed. Our approach to the provision of weapons, material, and training to the Ukrainians has followed the exigencies of the conflict," he told reporters in Hiroshima. "We've reached a moment where it's time to look down the road and to say 'What is Ukraine going to need... to be able to deter and defend against Russian aggression?' "F-16s, fourth-generation fighter aircraft, are part of that mix. The obvious first step there is to do the training and then to work with allies, partners, and the Ukrainians to determine how to do the actual provision points as we move forward." The timeline for that training remains unclear, with US officials previously estimating it could take up to 18 months. Still, the decision was welcomed by allies including the United Kingdom. "The UK will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted, adding: "We stand united." Sullivan denied providing the planes would further escalate the conflict, and said Ukraine has pledged that no US military equipment will be used for attacks inside Russia. "We are going to do everything we can to support Ukraine in its defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we are also going to proceed in a way that avoids World War III," he added. Zelensky's arrival has cast a long shadow over the remaining two days of the G7 summit, with Ukraine stealing the spotlight from a long list of other thorny subjects, including how to address concerns about China's growing military and economic power. Sessions on Saturday will address "economic coercion" and how to diversify key sectors and supply chains. "What we have done over 20 years with China, encouraging development, was right, but maybe we should have been more careful on critical material, supply chains and those elements," an EU official. "I think the aim of all G7 leaders is to say that China has followed a systematic policy of acquiring critical raw materials, controlling supply chains... and we are responding to this by diversifying." There will also be talks with non-members as G7 leaders try to convince developing nations they can offer diplomatic and economic alternatives to the likes of China. Several invitees, including Brazil and India, have declined to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and are also likely to be key targets for diplomacy by Zelensky, whose arrival is expected later Saturday, Japan's NHK broadcaster said. Japan's foreign ministry said he would participate in Ukraine talks with G7 leaders on Sunday, as well as a session on "peace and stability" that will also include invited non-member countries. The bloc has already unveiled new sanctions against Moscow, pledging Friday to "starve" Russia's "war machine." The post Zelensky heads to G7 as Ukraine wins access to F-16s appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Xi calls for ‘higher stage’ of China-North Korea ties: state media
Chinese President Xi Jinping will push for a "higher stage" of relations with Pyongyang, North Korean state media said Tuesday, as G7 foreign ministers condemned the North's unprecedented string of weapons tests. China is North Korea's longtime treaty ally and main economic benefactor, their relationship forged in the bloodshed of the Korean War when Mao Zedong sent in millions of "volunteers" to fight US-led United Nations forces to a standstill. Mao once described the two countries as being close as "lips and teeth", and while relations have fluctuated over the years, a breakdown in negotiations between North Korea and the United States has spurred both sides to strengthen their alliance. "The traditional China-DPRK friendship has weathered the trials of the changed international situation for a long time," Xi said in a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, using the initials for the North's official name. In the message carried by the Korean Central News Agency, Xi noted the current international and regional situations are "changing seriously and in a complicated way", adding: "I will continuously push the friendship and cooperation between the two sides to a higher stage." The message came just hours before G7 foreign ministers demanded North Korea "refrain" from further nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches, warning of a "robust" response. "Such actions must be met with a swift, united, and robust international response, including further significant measures to be taken by the UN Security Council (UNSC)," the diplomats said in a statement after talks in Japan. Pyongyang has carried out a blitz of banned weapons tests this year, including firing several of its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Last week, the North hailed its first successful test of a new solid-fuel ICBM, saying it will "radically promote" the country's nuclear counter attack capabilities. The post Xi calls for ‘higher stage’ of China-North Korea ties: state media appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»